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Available on: PS3, PC, Xbox 360

Portal 2 super review

GLaDOS is back, and she thinks you look fat

Words: on April 21, 2011
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43 comments

  • FireIceEarth - April 22, 2011 12:34 p.m.

    @hoba Exactly, especially with a game which inherently has little or no replay factor; the main joy of the game is discovery, once you've played it once, do you need to play it again?

  • sexyman500 - April 22, 2011 1:39 p.m.

    ignore my earlier comment (merely an observation) but reading the review and seeing that it has some hiccups, i find it cantankerous (my opinion). A 10 should be given to game which has zero faults/hiccups (if there is any). Just saying.

  • veryweirdguy - April 22, 2011 3:29 p.m.

    Reserving 10s for games with no flaws whatsoever is pointless - no game is perfect, therefore no game would ever get a 10, therefore 9 would be the highest score, making a 10 point scale worthless. Great review, btw. I completed the single player today, and loved it a great deal.

  • TanookiMan - April 22, 2011 3:36 p.m.

    Great review Tyler! Put into words a lot of the stuff I was unable to articulate to my friends after playing the game (having a conversation with the game, not knowing where to go next in the Cave Johnson sections, playing till the wee hours of the morning then resuming...)

  • Pry0citer - April 22, 2011 4:02 p.m.

    Are you saying portal 2 is better than halo Reach?! oh wait, it is? Coulda seen that one coming. If you look at MetaCritic, GR is NOT the only website to give Portal 2 a perfect score. Calm down guys, it's an incredible game, so it gets the score of "Incredible" (a 10). It's MetaCritic average is a 95 right now. So it looks like most other gaming sites/mags gave it a 9 or 10. The reviewers can have an opinion, and usually if a game is good, then the review is good, not because they were bought out, but because they like the game. If you think it's worth a 9 good for you, but different scores mean different things to different people. I loved the review!! It was funny, informative and based on the way you described the mood you had while playing the Co-Op mode, I think I will buy this game, and a copy for my friend so we can Co-Op online :D nerd boner is huge right now, but I do have one question: Does it look like expansions/DLC Packs will be released for this game?

  • NightCrawler_358 - April 22, 2011 4:20 p.m.

    I love Portal 1, and have beaten it multiple times, but I think Portal 2's singlepayer blew 1 out of the water. they got rid of those stupid plasma balls, made more interesting scenery, it was about 3 times as long, and my favourite part was the sound. The dynamic music was really cool, but the voice acting was the greatest part. Wheatley really took the cake (not the lie one) in the voice acting. i have yet to try the co-op, but it looks super fun. My main feeling when going through Portal 2 was that it feels so much like i am going through a Pixar movie! Its a really nice feeling!

  • tomasspipass - April 22, 2011 5:28 p.m.

    This has been the most enjoyable review i've read about a game. GR your articles only get better :) The cost of the game is an interesting one. There has been an increasing trend of games coming out with incredibly detailed worlds but a shorter play time. Some full priced games can be finished in 6 hours on the first playthrough. As an example, if I can only afford one game, do I buy Portal 2 or Brink? Brink has many more hours of multiplayer gameplay so it is a game I would want to hold onto for longer. Portal 2 is certainly a game I plan to have in my collection however the length of the game (which is fairly respectable), but more importantly, its replayability is limited. This makes me consider waiting for the price to come down or to find a second hand copy in a couple of months time. However I find this a disservice to Valve who have created something unique, innovative and pushes the boundaries of gaming. Extending the life of a game is important, but needs to be done properly. Dead Space 2 added multiplayer which flopped. However they also added replayability of the single player which is excellent. Portal: Still alive made challenges harder and added replayability to existing challenges. This is what I hope valve will do for portal 2. New maps for single player and co-op, and extra challenges in the existing campaigns.

  • Snoochie - April 22, 2011 8:48 p.m.

    Good Review Tyler. As if people need to be told that Portal 2 is a fantastic game. But you're still probably my favorite writer on staff, so I'll read whatever you post anyway :)

  • district9000 - April 22, 2011 9:29 p.m.

    I just finished the game this evening and i am ready to hop back into the single player. Not for the puzzles but for the great dialog, characters & setting. The games lasted a decent length, ballparking around 8 hours, but the more important part is I lost myself in the world of Aperture Science. Traveling through the detailed Aperture Science gave the games great depth and immersion. And I dont know how Valve makes me fall in love with omniscient voice and inanimate objects but i cant help loving all the characters. great review

  • EwoksTasteLikeChicken - April 22, 2011 10:31 p.m.

    This puts me in a tricky position. I'm short on money and was gonna wait a while to get it, but considering this game got a 10, I might have to brake down and get it. Great review Tyler, don't listen to assholes that think Valve paid you or something to give it a 10.

  • Zepaw - April 22, 2011 10:53 p.m.

    @Sexy man simply put you are a moron. Venetica had more ads on GR than almost any game I have ever seen. Did it get a 10? Nope, a 2! They had lots of ads and a contest for Body and Brain Connection. a 10 of course? Nope, GR gave it a 5. Several highly advertised games on GR have hit 5 and below. I enjoyed Portal quite a lot, but did not find it as monumental or "Best game ever" as others. Even still I get the hype thing. Funny how something so many agree is a 10 just cant match the experience of its predecessor.

  • lovinmyps3 - April 23, 2011 1:12 a.m.

    I liked it more than the first Portal. Yeah it doesn't have the same impact but does any sequel to a brilliant new series? Still Alive is a better ending song though.

  • Lolicon - April 23, 2011 1:28 p.m.

    10? Thats a tad much for a mediocre game. What have you been smoking?

  • WikiParazFTW - April 23, 2011 4:46 p.m.

    Damn, I would buy this today if I already didn't have a backlog of games I want to finish first. Definitely going to buy it soon though.

  • NuclearXmas - April 24, 2011 3:13 a.m.

    Having played the game and beaten it, I'd give portal 2 a 7, because that's all it deserves. The 10 was way to generous and does reflect negatively on GR's standards.

  • jayajaya415 - April 24, 2011 6:10 a.m.

    I enjoyed the H*** out of this game. The best story telling, voice acting, and humor in any game. I loved it. Storywise, it was more interesting then any movie I have ever seen. Gameplay wise, it was fresh in my otherwise "shooter filled" collection. If you plan on getting, it avoid spoilers. H*** avoid the internet. Don't risk ruining this game. It is THAT good. It was short, but that kept it from getting repetitive. Buy it!

  • jayajaya415 - April 24, 2011 6:15 a.m.

    Add on: Make sure you know everything about the first portal before you play this. The game made LOTS of referances to the first game, and if you don't catch them, you will not enjoy the game as much.

  • mdiaz033 - April 24, 2011 9:18 p.m.

    @AlSwearengenHatesCocksuckers not sure if you'll ever read this but i thought you should know that you make a good point. portal 2 is better than portal one in almost every way imaginable. that's a fact and for that reason it deserves a better score. My mistake was focusing on the "charm." Portal 2 has just as much charm as portal one, if not more. your comment made me think: "If P2 came out before P1, would i still think P2 deserves a lower score?" the answer is no.

  • 435 - April 24, 2011 11 p.m.

    @AlSwearengen Uh, yes, yes it will. The captcha was put in place because the site was getting swarmed by spam.

  • eltonbm - April 25, 2011 2:52 a.m.

    10 is just too much, and the 60 value how the company see its costumers. Capcom launched SSFIV, a fantastic follow up, with 10 new characters, for 50,00. Very good game, but it is really not that much appealing to a lot of people. Just try to sell the game for someone who can't understand english. You already lost a lot of the appeal. It may not be the public Valve was looking for, but it's my case. It's not a very universal game if you can't "get it". As a puzzle game with a portal gun, I hoped for more variety in the ways to solve things, but this is something we will have to wait until Deus Ex gets out. And I hope Valve try anything out of the FPS genre someday.

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Astonishing
YOU'LL LOVE
  • More brilliant puzzles
  • Impeccable dialog, acting, and story
  • A cooperative mode that's actually cooperative
YOU'LL HATE
  • It can't have the impact of Portal
  • It's big, but not long
  • 'Still Alive' is tough to follow

More Info

Release date: US
Apr 19 2011 (PS3, PC, Xbox 360)
Available Platforms: PS3, PC, Xbox 360
Genre: Puzzle
Developed by: Valve
Franchise: Portal
ESRB Rating:
Teen: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
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