Portal 2

I can't believe its taken me this long to actually review Portal 2 since I actually beat it back in 2013. But, thanks to my friend +Ahmed Jadaa, who played the co-op part of the game with me after +Hakeem Jomah abandoned me to go pursue his dreams, this game came back to my attention now and I'm finally getting this review out.

This review is obviously late, there are no ways around it. But lets get through this together so that we can move to something else. Portal 2 is the direct sequel to the cultural icon that is the first Portal game. It was developed and published by Valve Corporation and is available on the PS3, Xbox 360 and is obviously also available on the PC through Steam. I played the game on PC using Steam, because Gaben is our true lord and savior.

The entire reason that Portal 2 even got made was that the first Portal had such tremendous writing and characters that even though it was a two to three hour game it just flooded everything with so many references that it was just so inescapable. Now, while Portal 2 lacked the same kind of stickiness when it came to catch phrases, but it was a much funnier game. A few more characters were added, the back story of a number of characters and Aperture Science are also included and there was just a lot more room to actually be funny. While some might disagree on the quality of the humor between the two portals, Portal 2 definitely wins in terms of the quantity being almost three to four times as long as the original portal without taking the co-op into account that makes it even longer. Those are just the kind of numbers that cause my calculator to make a happy face when I punch them into it.

With respect to game play Portal 2 keeps the same solid mechanics of the last game by keeping the portals as the main focus of the game. But, a couple more physics elements are added in the game in the form of bouncing and sliding gels. The added length of the game also means there are more puzzles there for you to actually play. The entirely new feature here as well if the co-op which add puzzles that are significantly more complex than the single player puzzles due to the sheer need to not only use all four portals but to actually actively co-operate and plan timed jumps, grabs and slides through portals without losing your temper.

It isn't entirely fair to say that Portal 2 is better than the first Portal. So, I won't. What I will say is that the game is much longer meaning you get to spend more time solving puzzles, more time exploring the world of Aperture Science and more time spending with the characters in the game itself. With the addition of the co-op you also not only get to spend more time doing everything I mentioned before but now you get to do it with a friend. In conclusion, get this game already.