Well, I finally mustered the strength to finish the last chapter of Portal 2, with a little help from online videos. (I wasn’t using them until chapter 8, but by the time I got to Chapter 9 I was fully reliant on them).
Reflecting on the game, I can say it was well made, if not disappointing. Having only sampled the first game, I’m a little cautious in making a comparison, but I felt that the storyline was a bit weak for this game. Inevitably, Valve has fallen into the time-old problem: the sequel can’t be identical, but changing it too much will put players off. I can’t blame them. And big ol Newell was probably placing a shytload of pressure on the team (it must be his fault! Somehow!) :)
Anyway, I felt they could have been a bit more adventurous – after all, the gloomy, scary atmosphere just wasn’t as freaky the second time round. I realise they were trying to be adventurous with the old-style portal chambers, but in my opinion they were exactly the same to the modern ones, just uglier. On the plus side, I agree with the majority of reviewers who seemed quite rapt with Wheatley – whoever wrote his script evidently took the time to make it enjoyable. I’ve also thought to myself on numerous occasions that the aesthetics of the game were beautifully executed – not that the environments were particularly nice, but that’s because they weren’t meant to be. I suppose that all blockbuster games have beautiful graphics – take a look at Crysis or Halo Reach for example (they might not be the pinnacle of gaming beauty, but so far I haven’t been blown away except by them). Put simply, Portal 2 had very nice graphics.
I can’t help but want to know more about who players are – who is Chell? I understand the FPS view means we can’t see her, and the intentional ploy of keeping her mute keeps the focus on the puzzles rather than characters. But I’d like more focus on the story, and less on the repetitive, grinding, puzzle solving. Maybe the problem’s with me. Maybe I’m expecting entertainment to be served to me on a plate, like a movie, while Portal has been designed like a treadmill making me work for those juicy cutscenes. On the other hand, maybe Portal could have been more entertaining and less thought-based. I guess it all comes down to personal preference.
I’m not going to hold my breath for a third instalment, probably because the board at Valve knows that the whole sequel problem is compounded when you add that third dimension. That would explain why there’s no HL3 (not that I was dying for that), but why there is more than 2 CS games (no story = no problem with sequels). But if there was a final game, or more, I’d definitely try it. And that’s the ultimate test for a company selling a game: their players can whine about whatever they want, but if they go ahead and buy the next instalment, it was a success. Same thing goes for all consumables.
In summary: Good game, but not enough on the story. Would buy again.
Lux
[UPDATE: The Portal 2 Soundtrack is available for free here. The first volume is a load of abstract crap, but there's some nice stuff in the second two, including the trailer theme. There's also a nice comic. Kudos to Valve for giving out something for free, rather than fighting the impossible fight against piracy.]
