back to article Portal 2

“The best solution to a problem,” says GLaDOS, “is usually the easiest one.” She's right, of course. But then she always is. Portal players know all too well how inadvisable it is to disagree with Aperture Science's sociopathic AI caretaker, but it's surprising how often her maxim proves true during the sequel to Valve's much- …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Woohoo!

    Aaah...Friday off, the sun is (almost) out...Shops, here we come!

    Now....where the hell is Episode 3???

  2. Clive Galway
    Thumb Up

    Good, but maybe a little light on content

    I have finished it in single player, but have not begun coop yet.

    The sp game is good, if maybe a little short for a full priced game.

    Unfortunately, there are no advanced or challenge levels like the first game, so replayability is limited, which is a shame.

    No doubt mods and DLC will remedy these situations in the longer term but a little more replay value while I waited for friends to buy it would have been nice.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Up

      <title>

      Thanks for the heads up Clive - I have ordered it on my LoveFilm sub - something to test the old grey matter for a while :)

  3. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    All Hail the Aperture Science Lab !

    Proving that good, innovative gameplay is still possible in this world of endless, boring sequels to endless FPS clones.

  4. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Happy

    Tears of joy!

    GLaDOS - just like mom!

    Must.. play... !

  5. CADmonkey
    Thumb Up

    Finished it yesterday...

    ... and started again! Worth every penny.

  6. The Mighty Spang
    Stop

    only reason i'm not buying this game

    steven merchant.

    seriously valve, why did you pick such a divisive figure? for everbody who loves merchant and gervais and their brand of 'humour' and 'acting' i can find 10 people who would rather be kicked in the testicles than listen to their childish 'ironic' prattle and sub am-dram performances

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I would normally agree.

      I watched the trailers and though the banter was completely annoying but when you get it into context and hear it as a whole from the start it actually works surprisingly well.

    2. CADmonkey

      Your loss

      Can't say I'm a big fan of Mr.Merchant either, but he's perfect for this.

    3. Chris Walsh
      WTF?

      really?

      Can you really find 10 people who don't like their humour for every one person who does?

      I wager I can find 10 people who say you are wrong to 1 who agrees with you..

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I wager

        I wager I couldn't find a single person who'd willingly be kicked in the testicles with massive compensation.

  7. David Aston
    Happy

    Just wonderful....

    Finished the single-player PC version this morning (early!) with the kids helping out with some of the puzzles. Going to play the co-op version with my eldest later on. A truly magnificent game for those of us that like to think rather than just shoot....!

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm not a big Gervais fan

    but Wheatley is superbly done, with Merchant doing some fantastic voice acting. The writing is done by Valve, as far as I'm aware.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Heart

    Merchant

    Yep, little bit annoying. But then he's supposed to be, sort of. Makes it all the more joyous when GLaDOS appears!

  10. Neil B

    A true great

    Finished the SP in around 11 hours. A leisurely turn, taking time to explore the complex and drink in every bit of humour I could find. The original was a piece of novelty genius, but I think this sequel will go down as one of the greats of the decade.

  11. Hombre sin nombre

    Hundreds of years in the future?

    Not necessarily. That whole thing is left intentionally ambiguous, as the only indication is the voice at the beginning saying "you have been in isolation for 99999bzzzt days" which could just as easily be an error as it could be accurate.

    Also it'd have to only be a handful of years at the most for the Half-Life tie ins to be meaningful.

    1. lpopman
      FAIL

      titular nonsense

      I'm not giving any spoilers, but you are dead wrong on the time-scale. It's many years after HL2-EP2.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Spoiler 2

        There's also the end credits - looks like humanity (and it's reliance on wheat crops) is alive and well. No sign of the combine...unless Freeman wins in Episode 3. (hint valve: get a f*ing move on!)

  12. Ian Yates
    Heart

    Brilliant game.

    Absolutely love the game, but with two niggles:

    * SP campaign was too short (I finished it in a little over 6 hours, and I didn't feel I rushed - I have started a second run, though, to find the last two achievements)

    * None of the puzzles felt nearly as hard as some of the ones in Portal; I was always hoping for a large mind-bender near the end, but it wasn't delivered

    The story was worth it, though, I hope they find something to continue for a Portal 3, and all of the voice acting was perfect.

    Can't wait to get some coop fun going :)

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Whats coop like?

    Is it any good?

    I always wondered what multi player would be like on this (I know that is not co-op) - it would add a real dimension to an FPS - imagine your enemy suddenly opening a portal above you and below you to frag you while you are in a constant state of movement :):):)

  14. Stuart Halliday
    Unhappy

    Tell us the truth

    Yes, yes, yes....but is it any good?

  15. justanotheruser

    Steve Merchant

    Surely Steve Merchant has nothing on the use of J.K. Simmons for Cave Johnson in the Aperture Investment vids

    We're done here.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    It's brilliant...

    ... and all this frikkin' hoopla about merchant is really getting on my tits.

    Fact is, it works bloody well, adding an extra dimension of slightly batty comedy which actually serves to make the entire game more unnerving when coupled with the dark humour of Glados.

    If anything, I found the intro levels with the american male voice-over off putting - fortunately, that's a minor section of the game.

    But I'm only on level 10 - savouring this game, rather than playing it all in one big splurge - altho I admit, the missus has something to do with that :)

    The game is so extremely polished, it makes you smile. Every detail, right down to the menu system, makes you smile.

    It detected my system specs from the get-go, giving me a perfect frame rate.

    The loading between sections is exceptionally fast.

    Heck, Valve have outdone themselves with this game, however, warning ...

    If you can't think laterally, you probably won't like it or will scuttle off to a 'cheat sheet', which kinda takes the point of the whole exercise.

  17. Goat Jam
    Paris Hilton

    Yes, yes, I'm sure it's great and all , , ,

    . . . . but will there be cake?

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    The cake

    What about the cake?

  19. Jock in a Frock
    Boffin

    You all know -

    The cake is a lie!

    1. Martin Huizing
      Boffin

      Eh...

      Have you played the original? (maybe not finished it? ;) )

      The cake is definitely not a lie!

      I just wonder who it was actually for...

  20. Paul_Murphy

    There is no cake.

    Sorry - but unless some appears in the co-op / multiplayer there is certainly none in the SP.

    There is a surprise though - but I'm not telling you what the surprise is. :-)

    Anyway the cake was a lie.

    ttfn

  21. Graham Lockley

    Cake ?

    Not finished the SP yet so I dont know about the cake but I can confirm that cake or no, GLADOS is in fine form :)

  22. Rattus Rattus
    Happy

    "It's bEen a LOng tIMe"

    More GLaDOS at last, I've missed her. Surely one of the best videogame villains of all time. I've completed it twice so far, and am considering a third time. A second playthrough is worthwhile for the developer commentary, which is something I'd like to see more devs include.

  23. Allan 1

    Its Fun

    Finished the SP game on the very same day as it was released. A mere 6.5hrs playtime.

    Finished the co-op the day after, with my best friend.

    A very short game, limited replayability, but, its actually fun while you are playing it. Ellie McLaine does an awesome job of voice acting GLaDOS, as always. Wheatly... Needs... To... Die...

    Never have I heard a more annoying "can't quite place where I've heard that voice before" voice, and sadly it wasn't till I read these comments, that I worked out why. Steve Merchant. It had to be, I guess.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Linux

    Yeh but...

    ...will it run on Linux?

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