Portal 2 review [PC/360/PS3]

Posted April 21, 2011 by James Pickard.

[Reviewed on PC]

There’s some benefit to a slightly delayed review – especially, it seems, in the case of Portal 2. Early scores were phenomenal across the board, placing Portal 2 as the highest-ranked videogame on Metacritic so far this year. But a quick look at the user reviews would reveal a different story: a dismal four-hour single-player campaign, ridiculously easy puzzles, a console port for PC players and dreaded day-one DLC.

All of these statements are simply wrong. While the cosmetic items up for purchase for the co-op bots may be a grey area, Portal 2 is one of the most enjoyable, inventive, challenging and hilarious games we’ve ever seen.

Taking place many, many years after the events of Portal, the Aperture Science Enrichment Center is in an even greater mess following GLaDOS’s takeover of the facility and eventual destruction by Chell. Awoken from an extended period of stasis by the personality core Wheatley (voiced by Stephen Merchant) the pair plan to escape the crumbling ruins of the test centre, but inadvertently reboot GLaDOS, thwarting their attempt to flee. The ensuing adventure takes Chell on what is essentially a grand tour of the Enrichment Center, from the cavernous bowels of the facility that hides its history, to the countless test chambers that GLaDOS insists on putting Chell through perpetually – all in the name of science, of course.

Thankfully, each chamber is filled with imaginative new devices that fit elegantly into the Portal universe, creating all manner of mind-bending puzzles. There are lasers that can be redirected by specific cubes and through portals, launch pads that send you and objects flying across the room, hard-light bridges to traverse abysses and shield against sentry fire, and energy funnels that can suspend and float you across an area. All are appropriately named in Portal’s comical vocabulary. Especially brilliantly, launch pads are ‘Aerial Faith Plates’.

However, the greatest addition is that of the new paint-like gels, which you can use to coat surfaces, altering their properties. The blue gel sends Chell bouncing up high, the orange gel increases her movement speed, and the white gel allows portals to be placed on any surface. The combinations that arise from using these gels create some of Portal 2’s most ingenious puzzles, and hint at so many future possibilities should Valve decide to continue the series.

Together, they supplement the portal mechanic incredibly well, and recapture that sense of wonderment you experienced the first time you stepped through the orange and came out the blue. It certainly alleviates the fear that maybe Portal 2 would be unable to evoke such a response due to the originality of Chell’s previous, short-form campaign.

But it’s not just the new puzzle mechanics that ensure Portal 2’s brilliance. They are delightfully wrapped within a masterpiece of writing and storytelling, supported by incredible acting performances from Stephen Merchant, J.K. Simmons (Cave Johnson), and Ellen McLain, who returns as GLaDOS. Merchant’s natural and well-timed delivery brings untold amounts of character to Wheatley, while McLain manages to convey delight and disgust in every line; the dark humour never ceases to elicit laughter. It’s a testament to the quality of the writing and voice-acting (not to mention some stellar animation work) that although there is a presence of at least one of these characters at all times, you never wish for a moment’s respite.

In part, this can be attributed to Portal 2’s magnificent pacing over the six-to-eight-hour campaign, something we’ve come to expect from Valve games. Just when you feel that you’re settling into a rhythm and think that a section is becoming ever-so-slightly tedious, a new event will completely switch the direction of the game – be it the introduction of a new puzzle element, the discovery of a new location, or an exhilarating set piece. Some of these moments are so powerful and immersive, with music that kicks in at exactly the right moment, that adrenaline can’t resist rushing through you. It’s just a shame that loading screens, unusually for Valve, pop up frequently enough to interrupt the flow.

The single-player alone is a work of genius. But there’s also a meaty co-op campaign to extend the life of Portal 2 even further. You and a buddy take on the role of Atlas and P-Body, two Aperture Science robots that GLaDOS has decided to put to use for testing. Being the non-organic life forms you are, your disposability and ease of reproduction suit GLaDOS and the inherent dangers of co-op play perfectly. Accidentally dumping your pal into a pit of toxic liquid is no problem when a new you can pop out only moments later.

Co-op is its own separate mode, with a new story and puzzles that use the same mechanics of the single-player, yet introduce them at a steady pace to ensure you’re not overwhelmed by the additional portals. Solving rooms with a friend brings the same sense of satisfaction – more so, in fact, as you work together to reach each exit. Some challenges seem impossible, until it clicks that you now have access to four portals, and solutions have been staring you in the face the whole time. The bots are loaded with personality, and performing gestures such as high-fives with your partner always draws out a smile, especially when it’s to the irritation of GLaDOS.

In fact, Portal 2 will leave you positively grinning from ear to ear, whether it’s from solving a puzzle, hearing a line of dialogue or flinging your co-op friend face-first into a pit. Valve have successfully scaled the Portal concept to a full release, and in doing so, they’ve created one of the most downright entertaining videogames ever made.