The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

I guess this game came out. It’s called Portal 2 or something? People seem to think it’s a big deal.
That’s because it is, really. It’s fantastic.

I’ve beat the single player. I haven’t had a chance to dig into the multiplayer yet, but soon, I’m sure. Still, there’s no doubt about it: if you care about laughing, enjoying yourself, or video games as a medium, you need to play Portal 2 at some point. Maybe not now. Maybe when it drops in price. But you need to play the game on some platform at some point. Trust me on this.

I’m not going to discuss story or spoilers because, I dunno, I don’t need to. There are those things, but it’s mostly a vehicle for the humor in the game, which is top-notch. The game is constantly throwing funny dialog at you, and fresh dialog too. The horrible, run-into-the-ground memes from Portal are touched on in a way that indicates that they’re old school, stupid, and overused at this point. It’s cute, suitable, and way more effective than constant ref backs to those painfully overdone jokes would have been. This game is its own game, its own thing, and Valve still knows how to do humor in the best way, when they give it a try.

What really shines, to me, is the way that Valve is a master at setting up these puzzles. Everything feels extremely polished and well-designed, and you rarely feel at a loss for what to do and what you can do, even as things get extremely complicated. The game, much like it’s predecessor, is really, really great at teaching you the rules of the world organically so that it feels like you’re coming up with the tips and tricks yourself. They do this while still keeping everything feeling fresh. I never really felt like I was rehashing old territory ever in the game. Even the earlier “tutorials” that were teaching you about the basics of the game for people who didn’t play Portal were remixed from the original in interesting ways. It’s just almost a lesson in good game design. I can’t wait to listen to the commentary and see what they said about it. That probably will, straight up, be such a lesson.

I will admit, I got stuck twice, and sought help. Both times I was over-thinking the situation and missing a really easy maneuver that would solve my problems. I’m sure if I had taken a break, I could have solved it without help, though I appreciated being able to keep moving forward: the game is a fantastic ride.

Basically, Portal wasn’t a one-trick pony. This really is a full game worth your money. I’d be glad to have played just the single player, even without the lengthy co-op, honesty. But I’m also the sort who doesn’t worry much about length. (Plus I know the game is effectively twice as long, because I really want to hear the commentary and will run through it again for that.) Again, do what you think is right. Wait for a sale. Rent it for a weekend. Just put Portal 2 on your “to play” list, okay? Okay.