Friday, April 22, 2011

Portal 2: First Impressions

"I think you have a very mild case of serious brain damage."

I'm about six hours into Portal 2 and, unless the game takes a drastic, horrifying turn (which I doubt), it could end up becoming one of my favorites of all time. 

If you haven't played the original Portal--what are you waiting for? The concept is simple: you wake up in hygienic starkness to a disembodied voice telling you that your blood work is back and good news! The testing can proceed. 

The "testing" involves a series of puzzles masquerading as chamber rooms. The only tools you're given to complete these tests are a gun that allows you to create two portals at any one time (one to enter, the other to exit) and weighted cubes. 

Your tests are monitored by an AI known as GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform Disc Operating System), who, by the end has, well, gone a wee bit crazy. 

Portal 2 opens after your defeat of GLaDOS. You've been "resting" in the care of Aperture Laboratories, the company who runs the portal tests all in the name of science. Soon your slumber is permanently interrupted by what appears to be the arrival of Armageddon and a robot named Wheatley (hilariously voiced by Stephen  Merchant) who gets you back into the testing chamber as a means of escape. 

As with the original Portal, the puzzles in Portal 2 start off fairly simply, letting the player get the feel for using all the tools at their disposal. I'll often start each room with a couple minutes of just looking around, trying to get my bearings and attempting to recognize the design cues (slanted walls, portal-friendly pieces high up or on the ground, etc) that are scattered throughout. 

This time around new elements, such as lasers and sky bridges, are introduced. Smart move--these make the puzzles feel fresh and new even to power Portal players. Later in the game, chemical compounds that provide the player unique abilities become available. While I loved the new design elements, these waterfalls of chemical goo, which allow a player to do things like jump like Tigger or cheetah sprint, have been my least favorite part of the game so far. It's a minor quibble really that's more about my ability to adjust when solving the puzzles than the inclusion of the goo. 

But even if I get frustrated occasionally at goo deployment, the dialog and voice acting are more than enough to keep me portal-ing through. Wheatley is a brilliant little companion with several seriously laugh-out-loud lines. When GLaDOS finally returns (oh you knew she would...), she proves to be far snarkier than when you last met. Disgruntled over the fact that you, well, killed her, she becomes the queen of the back-handed compliment, insulting you every chance she gets. 

A few twists and turns that come at what feels like the mid-way point change alliances and the course of the story to introduce the President of Aperture, Cave Johnson (perfectly voiced by JK Simmons). Cave's appearance marks a significant shift in the look of the game, which at first glance feels a lot like Bioshock. The good news is the game never strays too far from its core concept and simply uses these new elements to move along the story and game play. 

As the best possible testament I can give to any game: I'm excited to log back in and see what happens next. The puzzles are interesting, the game looks great, and the dialog is silly, but sublime.There's no doubt I will be flummoxed, but the secret to Portal 2 is that frustration can be a heck of a good time.  

And I haven't even touched co-op play yet....

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Nothing to see here...

But a picture of Tilda Swinton:




She's awesome, isn't she?

Friday, April 15, 2011

The End of Cinematical

Since I've had access to the Internet, I've been using it to read about movies. At one point or another, I began dabbling in writing about film, but for whatever reason--time, talent, take your pick--I could never do it quite as well as the film bloggers I loved to read on sites like /Film, CinemaBlend, or Cinematical.

Today, one of those sites has shuffled off its mortal coil. I'm very sad to write that Cinematical is no more.

A casualty of the AOL/Huffington Post merger, Cinematical's last days were spent in chaos with little communication between the new parent company and long-time Cinematical editors and contributors, many of whom jumped shipped right around the point they were sent an email saying they would likely be fired, but would be welcome to work for free.

I won't go into all the gory details. As someone who makes a living writing, it just makes me too damn sad. For those interested, former Cinematical writer Eric D. Snider's blog post about the debacle is essential reading.

While new AOL Overlord Arianna Huffington (a woman I once admired) has said she plans to hire full-time staffers to write for and manage the site, Cinematical's last post--about Blake Lively's upcoming work on Oliver Stone's "The Savages"--is dated April 12. There's no farewell post or update to readers as to why a site that was known for posting new content several times a day is in a coma. I suppose there might be no need: the fans already know. It bothers me though that this is the last breath of what was one of the first and best movie blogs.

So, even though none of them will likely ever read this, I want to thank the editors, writers, and staff of Cinematical for their outstanding work over the years. I didn't read Cinematical just for the reviews and commentary--I read it for the people who, through their great writing and insight, gave Cinematical a heart and a voice worth coming back for.

If Cinematical is somehow reanimated with a group of drones willing to sell their souls to work for The Overlord, it will be a shadow of its former self. I have no doubt and less interest.

R.I.P. Cinematical. You will be missed.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Oh, how I love Joss Whedon.

At this moment, I'm sitting on my couch wrapped in a slightly-too-big sweatshirt (adorned with the chemical formula for caffeine--thanks ThinkGeek!) re-watching episodes of Angel.

I should say, I love Angel.


And David Boreanaz.



And Buffy.


And Firefly. I really love Firefly.


Then, of course, there's Nathan Fillion.


This post was, in fact, an excuse to post a picture of Nathan Fillion.  Thank you for your indulgence.