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....
