Portal

[TheMightyEthan]

Contrast with something like Halo which provides about 16 hours for first run through

lolwut? I fucking love Halo, but they're only like 12 hours or less on a first run through.

 

Also, and this is a big thing for me: at least on the PC Portal allows mods, which allow user-created test chambers. There's theoretically infinite play-time once you take that into account.

[Mal]

That how I usually look at how well my money was spent on a video game. I can seriously see his point but as I see it... Portal 2 can have you come back to it for a replay. So it will eventually evens out.

 

So yeah, just enjoy the damn game or wait for it to be discounted to your liking. No one is forcing you to buy it at maximum price.

That way of thinking is just not too healthy in the long run.

[deanb]

So completed it on PS3 while the PC version downloaded. Pretty damn good.

 

 

 

At first I was happy for the bit of nostalgia with the early test chambers and the GLaDOS banter. But then the game took a turn for the awesome with the whole GlaDOS potato thing.

Going through the bowels of aperture science with the old chambers was cool. tbh I was slightly disappointed that there was no mantis men, or like something just scurrying about in the distant. There was a couple of times where it wasn't entirely obvious on where to go, but that's maybe just a case of not "thinking with portals".

The gels were kind of cool but white gel is OP. I'd of liked to have more to mess about with them, I especially liked combining them with the funnels.

I didn't feel this time around the out-of-test-chamber areas got much use out of the portal mechanics, quite often it was just a case of walking around corridors compared to the first game. (though the first game you only spent about 20 minutes out of the chambers I guess). Also when they did it sometimes wasn't so obvious where you were meant to go. Bad valve for the closed doors.

Getting in some back story was pretty cool.

 

 

 

Thursday:

 

Definitely was one of the robots. The tall one. Whatever his name is (I peeked at your post yesterday, knew what to look for). I actually expected the guy from lab rat

 

 

Overall it was a pretty cool game and I'm up for replaying it tomorrow if I hadn't work to do. So at most just co-op. Feel free to hit me up on Steam.

[Mr W Phallus]

Portal 2 is apparently sexist.

Steam forums topic

Source article

 

I don't think these people have ever played Portal or Portal 2 at all.

There are some days when I just hate the internet.

1. The article begins with the fallacy that the original Portal is a feminist game. In what way is it a feminist game? Because the two main characters are female? That just makes it...well nothing, that means absolutely nothing. Unless you read read the incineration of the companion cube is some sort of ritual rejection of male companionship. (Hint that is meant to sound ridiculous.)

2.

We do get a few very minor pieces of information via insults from the bots around her, but nothing that dare take Valve's important demographic out of immersion.

Exactly. Why would you want to prevent immersion in a game? This applies whether Valve's target demographic is white, fat, teenage misogynists, or you know...anyone who isn't actually Chell.

3. The article is sexist.

wonder how many collective hours have been wasted as nerdboys shakily move their mouse to better approximate the precise ideal viewing zone of the elusive Chell?

Gordon Freeman is the direct realization of the audience in all his heterosexual, boring, white male glory.

et cetera

4. The article attempts to demonstrate Valve's sexism by showing us box art that shows an androgynous stick person and two androgynous robots respectively.

5. The issue of weight and attractiveness is not exclusive to women, but society does tend to judge women more harshly. If anything, however, the fact that these insults and have no real impact on Chell and she triumphs regardless is a rejection of these shallow values and empowers women to ignore societal pressures constantly telling them to worry about their weight/looks etc. In addition GLaDOS' bitchiness itself, and her role as antagonist, paints her insults in a negative light - it doesn't encourage the audience to act like this. Finally GLaDOS is a robot, she doesn't care about weight, she's just preying on human weaknesses.

6. Unfortunately most of the counter-responses will be equally as stupid and invalid and will only serve to validate the OP's opinion.

 

Well that's enough ranting for now.

 

I can seriously see his point but as I see it... Portal 2 can have you come back to it for a replay. So it will eventually evens out.

A few months down the line I'll have forgotten most of the puzzles, and whilst I'm sure it won't take as long it should still present a relaxing challenge. Besides I replayed a few bits today and it's still enjoyable just listening to Wheatley, GLaDOS and the turrets. I just wish they had the extra time trial/least portals/least steps modes from the first game but I guess they'll come later.

Edited April 20, 2011 by Mr W Phallus

[BrainHurtBoy...2]

I... Portal 2 was so incredible.

It's one of the best games I've played in a very, very, very long time. Every aspect of it just came together so excellently, and it's been polished to such an incredible quality one can't help but be in awe. I'm wowed in every way possible by the game. If you're on the fence, get the fuck off it and play the game. It's damn near perfect.

[TheMightyEthan]

I agree wholeheartedly, Brain.

[Enervation]

I hear people in my dorm hall playing it.

 

It was followed shortly by a ton of angry shouting. I wonder what they're doing?

[CorgiShinobi]

I hear people in my dorm hall playing it.

 

It was followed shortly by a ton of angry shouting. I wonder what they're doing?

I can tell you what they're not doing: Thinking with portals.

 

Also, I agree with you Dean, on the whole...

 

confusion in the older parts of Aperture. Those were the only spots where I think I spent a good amount of time thinking over.

 

 

Also, Duke, I had the same problem today. Except I...

 

did make it across the gap. However, when I saw the white gel, I didn't know where to shoot another portal. Oh, it so happens that if you look ever so carefully that there is a white wall.

 

[Thursday Next]

About the

Sighting of P-body. I did know who/what it was. I just left that bit out in case someone (like Dean) peaked in advance.

 

 

Also, cooped PS3 - Steam last night with a friend who emigrated to Australia from the UK. One word. Seamless. You wouldn't know he was in another room, let alone the other side of the planet on a different platform. Everything worked, invites, voip, the lot without a hitch. Couldn't be more impressed.

[Thursday Next]

I'm loving all the fan rage out there at the moment.

 

"How dare Valve charge me $80 for day 1 DLC!"

 

It's cosmetic you prat. Here's how to get every piece of DLC you need on day one without spending a penny: "Don't buy any stupid wanky little hats you prick, they're pointless so don't buy them."

 

"This game is like 2 hours long."

 

No. It isn't. It took me around 8 hours first time out, I was moving at a fair clip, but taking in the sights now and then. Sure I could probably do a run in 4 hours once I've got it all down but...

 

"Valve promised it would be 5x as long as Portal."

 

The fastest I've seen Portal completed is ~15minutes. So as long as Portal 2 is ~1hr 15mins long. Mission fucking accomplished.

 

Besides, who cares how quickly you can get to the credits? You can finish Super Mario Bros. In ~5mins and Super Mario Bros 3 in ~15mins. When you do you miss all the content. I can pretty much guarantee that every person who finished in sub 6 hours missed a hell of a lot of amusing conversations with Glados and Wheatley as well as all the humorous dialogue from Cave Johnson (the guy from the ads). I can scan through most books in a few hours, I'll know the sequence of events, but in doing so I miss all the story, characterisation and such.

[deanb]

I'm not a fan of the DLC, cosmetic or not. They're pretty damn expensive for just being cosmetic. As many have pointed out some of them cost more than games sold on Steam. From my understanding you're meant to be able to unlock them in playing Portal 2, but as it stands I've beaten the game n played half the co-op and all I got was a companion cube hat. Which Duke had too so I assume that's the "you beat Portal 2" unlock. It's the kind of stuff that before DLC would have just been unlock content. Play the game, unlock stuff, personalize your co-op bot. Beat the game, get a hat. Open your wallet, get every colour in the rainbow.

My only thought is they're running them like TF2 drops (which doesn't make sense since it's a primarily linear game and SP on top of that) and it all drops, but only 4 times a week or whatever every 8 hours.

 

 

As for the time I theoretically took 12hrs or so, getting it at about 11am in morning n playing till about 11 at night. But counter in watching house, lunch n tea, etc it knocks off about 4-5 hours.

 

btw anyone get a Citadel vibe in parts of the game?

[Johnny]

The DLC is expensive and pointless and I won't be spending a dime on it.

 

Additionally, it does absolutely nothing to diminish the value of the actual game.

[TheMightyEthan]

Okay, so I watched the Gametrailers review, and there were a couple of puzzles shown in it that I remember seeing from pre-release videos but I don't remember from the actual game. Were these sections cut or am I missing something?

 

In the linked video, the relevant puzzles show up at the following times:

 

1:13

5:23

5:50 (I'm less sure about this one)

6:04 (I think this is the same one as 5:23)

6:13 (Might also be the same as 5:23/6:04)

7:58 (I think this is the same as 1:13)

8:14

 

@Thursday: Yeah, DaveStrife and I played coop last night, and you would never have known we weren't on a LAN.

[deanb]

Oh I read the other day the crusher stuff was stripped out of most levels as folks were put off by them. So there's that. (one of the co-op levels is the level shown in the trailer, just very obviously missing the vertical crushers)

Kind of a bummer. And obviously some of the levels will have been tweaked anyway in the months between trailers being made and the games release.

[Mr W Phallus]

Okay, so I watched the Gametrailers review, and there were a couple of puzzles shown in it that I remember seeing from pre-release videos but I don't remember from the actual game. Were these sections cut or am I missing something?

 

In the linked video, the relevant puzzles show up at the following times:

 

1:13

5:23

5:50 (I'm less sure about this one)

6:04 (I think this is the same one as 5:23)

6:13 (Might also be the same as 5:23/6:04)

7:58 (I think this is the same as 1:13)

8:14

 

@Thursday: Yeah, DaveStrife and I played coop last night, and you would never have known we weren't on a LAN.

The escapist video review gave away every plot twist by showing footage, I'm guessing Valve made a couple of promo puzzles not to ruin anything and Gametrailers used them so as not to ruin anything. Haven't watched the gametrailers vid yet, though.

 

EDIT: Maybe not, but still they did a MUCH better job than Escapist with their choice of footage.

Edited April 21, 2011 by Mr W Phallus

[TheMightyEthan]

I'm guessing Valve made a couple of promo puzzles not to ruin anything and Gametrailers used them so as not to ruin anything.

I figured it was something like this, but I hoped there was a secret trove of puzzles I was missing so I could have more Portal to play.

 

*Edit* - And yeah, when the GT review shows actual bits of the game it almost always shows the player(s) doing it wrong, so it doesn't really give away solutions, which I thought was a nice thing to do.

[Thorgi Duke of Frisbee]

 

Listened to the ending song again. It is such a bittersweet ending; GlaDOS sounds genuinely upset, and it makes me worry that this is the last time you'll ever see these characters again. That would be a shame; the woman who plays GlaDOS always gives an extraordinary performance, and Stephen Merchant's delivery as Wheatley was spot-on (not to mention the realization that Cave Johnson had long been deceased saddened me, because more Cave Johnson would be spectacular).

 

Here's hoping Valve releases more levels for the game like they did with Left 4 Dead/Team Fortress 2. And I'm also expecting great things from the community.

 

I hate it when someone declares "Game of the Year" before the year's even halfway done, but in all honesty, I don't see how anything else could trump the sheer amount of joy this game gave me.

 

Also, make J.K. Simmons the new Nolan North. He's awesome in every film/TV show/movie/game I've ever seen him in. Even when he's doing a bit part like in "Up in the Air", he steals the show for his 5 minutes.

 

Also, does Erik Wolpaw have any novels? I would love to read/experience more of his writing.

Edited April 21, 2011 by DukeOfPwn

[TheMightyEthan]

Yeah, I think I like the ending song from this one even better than Still Alive, though it will never be able to overcome the sheer nostalgia from Still Alive since that song came as a complete surprise.

[Thorgi Duke of Frisbee]

Yeah, I think I like the ending song from this one even better than Still Alive, though it will never be able to overcome the sheer nostalgia from Still Alive since that song came as a complete surprise.

It pretty much created song-writing as a feature for a game. I think one of the best I've heard was "The Poet and the Muse" for Alan Wake, because it not only acted as a device to forward the plot; it emphasized the insanely tragic nature of the story.

[staySICK]

[

Also, make J.K. Simmons the new Nolan North. He's awesome in every film/TV show/movie/game I've ever seen him in. Even when he's doing a bit part like in "Up in the Air", he steals the show for his 5 minutes.

 

 

 

JK Simmons is greatness. I'm super bummed at the idea that he won't continue to be JJJ in the Spider-Man reboot.

[Vargras]

Don't forget the other song within Portal 2. You can find it fairly early on (Chapter 2, chamber 3), but it's easy to miss.

 

 

It's worth noting that this song was specifically written for Portal 2.

 

That would be a shame; the woman who plays GlaDOS always gives an extraordinary performance

 

That would be Ellen McLain, who also voices the Administrator in TF2 and the Overwatch Dispatcher in HL2. Her husband, John Patrick Lowrie, has had roles in Valve games as well - he voices the Sniper in TF2, Colonel Odessa Cubbage in HL2, and some of the citizens in HL2.

Edited April 21, 2011 by Vargras

[Vargras]

Also, for those of you have beaten it and didn't get to hear all of it.

 

 

 

 

[Vargras]

 

 

[TheMightyEthan]

I'm super bummed at the idea that he won't continue to be JJJ in the Spider-Man reboot.

Yeah, he was a perfect JJJ.

[deanb]

So some little snippet:

 

Caroline means "Free man". Cave Johnson n Caroline [surname unknown] were around n about late 40s-early 80s. Gordon was born in the 70's. (to be late 20's in time for HL1)