Portal: Still Alive: XBLA Review

Posted February 2, 2009 by agentluap in Reviews, Xbox 360.

Were you itching for more Portal after the success of the Portal game that was bundled with the Orange Box like I was? So when Valve announced it was releasing Portal: Still Alive on the XBOX Live Arcade, I thought my wishes had come true; but after releasing more information on it, I was shocked to hear it was just a bundle of the game that was on the Orange Box (which is an added bonus if you have not played the game) and the Still Alive feature was an addition of 14 extra challenges. This was not enough to put me off paying the 1200 M$ for the game. Even now, this is a decision I do not regret.

The original story mode which is a direct take from Portal on the Orange box puts you in control of a woman who is a test subject at a science company called Apature Science. The game then puts you into a number of Test Chambers which set out different challenges for you to complete, all the way through these challenges you are taunted by something that sounds like a machine. The first few test chambers do not actually use the Portal gun and just teach you the basics of the game, but then the game takes off as you pick up the first Portal gun, and later the second attachment, meaning you can create the paths yourself at this point and the challenges become trickier.

After you have completed the game, you can then move onto the extra 14 challenges that were created as the Still Alive feature. This mode does not have a story to it, which is a let down, but it is that extra little bit more that the game needed.

As soon as you start to play either Portal or the Still Alive extras, you will notice instantly what a breath of fresh air the game is on the first person market. The game is completely original in what it is doing. The gameplay does not really vary that much – it’s just a case of creating a path using the portals to solve the challenges. The reason this does not really cause a concern or become an issue is because the challenges vary a lot and become much more difficult as you progress. The skill level needed for each challenge is always increasing.

Throughout the game, the gameplay introduces new elements: be it the Companion cube or Turrets activated once its laser sight touches you. These later become integral parts of challenges on both Portal and Still Alive, resulting in a bigger challenge each time as the only way the disable the Turrets is by knocking them over, situations where the multiple uses of the portal become apparent.

The only issue I had with gameplay in Portal and the Still Alive is that, although the puzzle in each challenge increases in difficulty, some of the challenges are very boring and can make the game seem more of a chore than actually fun.

One thing you will notice about Portal is that the game has very bland surroundings. This does not take away from the game as you can expect a bland environment for a science testing area. Although it is bland, the graphics are still very sharp and detailed in areas it needs to have the detail in.

I did not see any noticeable glitches in the game’s graphics when I was playing through both the Portal game and the Still Alive challenges.

One aspect you will love about the Portal game is the sound. The sound in the game is really clear and it only uses the sounds in the environment in the challenges, which include the noise of the Portals being created, the noise of the power orbs that are used in a lot of the challenges bouncing off the environment.

Added to this are a few sound features that make the game. In levels with Turrets, you will hear the Turrets talking – when they either spot you or lose sight of you. The best use of sound in the game goes to the machine that seems to be monitoring your progress on the challenges. This machine only speaks to you in-between the challenges. Well, speak may not be the correct word, more like taunting you at times.

This little addition to the story and sound improves the game experience hugely and adds so much more to the game.

A huge problem with the original Portal was the game’s length, it could easily be finished within 3 hours. With the addition of the 14 new challenges, it increases the length of the game to around 6 hours, which is a length that is acceptable for a game that is trying something so different.

Tagged as LIVE arcade, Portal, Still Alive, Valve