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Portal Review (continued)
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Manufacturer: Electronic Arts
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ESRB Rating: Teen
Platform(s): Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Release Date: April 8, 2008
Average Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
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Retail Price: $9.99
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More User Submitted Portal Reviews
Date: 2008-04-29
Very fun but short (or perhaps just concentrated)
The game is a blast to play, if you are into physics-based puzzles. I'm not going to describe it, because it's well-described elsewhere (Wikipedia, for instance). So the question comes down to, "Is it worth buying?" And the answer is a qualified yes.
The game is short. Yes, really short. Compared to the typical puzzle game ("Myst", etc.), you blast through this in half the time (or less). But what is cut out is all the "envirnoment exploration". It has just as many puzzles as the typical puzzle game, but none of that walking around and looking at the scenery stuff. No bits where you have to go to island A to get the key that opens a lock in island B, which gives you the answer to a puzzle back on island A again, etc.
But it's not sudoku, either. GLaDOS is hilarious and menacing at the same time. Even with no other visible characters to interact with, the plot is a surprisingly important part of the experience. You start to get emotionally attached to the idea that you are a lab rat trying to get out of the maze before you get euthanized.
So, yes, it's worth the money. It's short, but intense. In the same way that an hour-long movie might be better than that same movie stretched out to three hours, I'm not sure the game would have worked if it was much longer than it is. In fact, I bought the whole "Orange Box" just to try this game, and I'm happy with the purchase. (That doesn't mean I'm not also going to play Half-Life, eventually.)
If I want to just kill hours on the computer, I can play solitaire. What I wanted was what I got -- an exciting and challenging set of puzzles with a surprisingly compelling plot as a bonus.
Date: 2008-04-27
awesome game for those who want to use their brains
I had so much fun playing this game! I only wish I got it for the ps3 rather than PC (I'm just more used to gaming on there). For the guy on here who whines about the $20 price tag...i got mine from a major retailer for ten bucks on sale so just shop around. It's your own fault for paying full price for something.
Anyways - the game is well worth 10 or 20 bucks. I had hours of enjoyment and you really need to think "outside of your brain" for this game.
You experience enter & exit portals. soon you get a gun where you can create either of the two. You just have to see how the two react to you going through and then later in the game velocity and momentum play a role in it as well. I know my description might not be the greatest but it really gets your mind thinking about how to get to the otherside of the room which mostly seems impossible. Tons of fun - especially the computer GlaDos system that mocks you the entire way. Laugh out loud funny lines especially towards the end. I had tons of fun and for that same guy who whines about the length - there are many advanced levels you can unlock after you solve the initial game and online ther are many DIY portal dimensions you can do that people have posted themselves.
I can't wait to play it again! Level 15 sure had me stumped for awhile :)
Date: 2008-04-19
Don't pay $20 for a two-hour tech demo.
Portal is very very short for a standalone game. It's more of a tech-demo showing off a gameplay concept rather than a full-length adventure. You'll probably breeze through all 20 levels in 2-3 hours, which is not good for a $19.99 package. The Orange Box ($49.99) provides a far better value, as you'll get both episodes of Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2 along with this game.
The gameplay centers around a single gimmick: a gun that allows you to shoot two portals. You enter one, and exit out the other. These portals enable you to cross seemingly impenetrable walls and dangerous hazards. You will carry items called weighted storage cubes through portals to activate switches, drop the same cubes through portals to deactivate turrets, and shoot portals into very deep pits to generate momentum. The portal gun gimmick doesn't really allow for that many puzzle varieties, and by the last few levels, they start to get stale due to repetition.
On the other hand, the storytelling is suspenseful and witty. Throughout your experiment, you are led by a robotic voice known as GLaDOS, who provides you with hints -- and often, heavy sarcasm along with them. More and more is revealed about this character as you progress through the game, leading up to a final, dramatic showdown.
Portal is good for a rent (or a purchase with The Orange Box bundle pack, if you are into shooters), but its short length and limited gameplay do not justify the $20 price tag.
Date: 2008-04-11
One of the few original games out there
I'm not sure what I can say about the X-Box to the PC conversion, as I haven't played it on the 360. I can say that Portal is the best game I've played for a long time. I'm not a big gamer, but this got me hooked, it's so addicting and challenging, that you won't rest until it's completed.
Essentially, Portal is a game about Physics. Every portal has a begining, and an end. By using this peice of information, you create portals using a gun. Sounds simple, but your brain needs to sweat to be able to play the game.
So far, the story is lacking, but I'm barely into the game. The design on the other hand, is insanely good. When you make portals, you can see yourself moving in the next portal and the next and onto infinity. It is such a trippy feeling. They must have spent hours figuring out the physics of the game. While playing, you have to sit back and think: "Look at how far we've come from the the days of Pong."
Finally, the graphics are great, the music, although there is not much, is great, and the game is the most original 'first-person shooter' out there.
This not entertainment, this is science.
UPDATE: Wow. Just...wow. The final peices of the game just blew me away. The plot unfolds brilliantly, GLaD's dialogue is frickin' awesome in the final battle, and the song playing in the credits is so original and caputures silliness of the game amazingly. Once finished, Portal leaves you with a bitter/sweet feeling in your heart. It is over, and yet somewhere, deep down, you know they have to make a sequel.
The Cake Is A Lie
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