Review: Portal 2

The sequel to the best selling Portal has a lot to live up to. With the inclusion of a multiplayer and an extended storyline, does it live up to the original? It does!

This game takes place a few years after the original game. You play as Chell the silent protagonist from the first game. You are woken by Wheatley in the ruined Aperture Science labs and you need to escape from the facility. But when you hear the voice of GLaDOS the machine you thought you destroyed in the first game you know it’s not going to be easy to escape. With your trusted portal gun, you are put through your paces with many test chambers until the final challenge.

Although Aperture looks as though it has been inactive for a long time, there are a few more tools available to use. As well as the portal gun; there are repulsion gels, propulsion gels, jump pads and more at your disposal in some of the test chambers which adds a new dimension in solving the problems.

This game is far longer than the first one. With more test chambers and even further DLC to be released in the near future it surpasses the first game in length. But the process is simple you go to one of the test chambers figure out the puzzle to open the door and then move on to the next one. Each of the puzzles get increasingly difficult and the tougher ones will rattle your brain.

The co-op is a welcome addition to the series and works very well. You play as

either Atlas or P-body, robots who are tested by GLaDOS, so that they will prepared to venture outside the test centre. The majority of the test chambers are tougher than the main campaign as you will need to utilise all 4 portals to help you through the test. You will need to rely on your counterpart so that both of you reach the end of the test centre. It is recommended that you play this with another friend as you get the headset capabilities to give voice commands. However there is a ping system to indicate to the other players where to place their portal.

The Aperture Science centre is getting on and it certainly looks the part. Plants and falling debris shows the age of the centre. And going through some of the test centres you will get a sense of déjà vu as a couple of them are wreaked and older versions from the first game. The voice work is very good, especially the chilling voice of GLaDOS with her bitter and scary remarks. But there is a comic relief in the form of Wheatley voiced by Stephen Merchant.

Overall, it has very good gameplay and an interesting storyline. It’s a much needed sequel, with the added length and co-op feature, it is an enjoyable game you can play on your own or with a friend, and I would recommend this to anyone.
10/10