This Was a Triumph

A few days after the whole debacle with the PlayStation Network, I purchased a video game. Not just any game, but one of the most hotly anticipated games of the year. No, not Mortal Kombat (though the demo was pretty entertaining even if I could never get the X-ray moves to work right), but Portal 2.

The original Portal was more or less a short, little distraction (and I use that term loosely, as none of Valve's games are throwaways) introduced in The Orange Box as an extra game to entice buyers. Looking at the history of the game (they hired designers specifically for Portal), it's difficult to understand that decision. But hey, can't complain about the results. The first Portal was given all kinds of love in the gaming community, so a sequel had to be close behind.

And in terms of Valve development time, it was. I mean, three and a half years to get a sequel out is akin to Infinity Ward/Treyarch getting a new Call of Duty game out every twelve months. That almost seems like they rushed it out (not really true, since I think the gap between the two Left 4 Dead games was much shorter than this).

So how is Portal 2? Delightful. I didn't even play much of the single player (Kelly did that), but even as a spectator I was constantly entertained. The dialogue among Chell and GLaDOS and Wheatley was amazing (yes, Chell never speaks, but that doesn't stop her from being part of the conversation). There are so many little details and connections (I found blue paint in one of the test chambers during co-op and didn't stop laughing for twenty minutes) that upon completion, I wanted to go through it again.

I don't think I can be more indepth than any of the game review sites, but I will say this: buy it. And buy the PS3 version, you get the PC version with it. Assuming the PSN is still around, of course.