85
Portal
$20.00
Released October, 2007
The Pros:Well thought out gameplay. Excellent script. Excellent learning curve - not much handholding, but you can figure out everything as you go along.
The Cons:Short. Can be frustrating at times. Preforms 30-50% slower on OSX, and looks worse - due to a different, under developed OpenGL renderer.
Portal is a single-player first-person action/puzzle video game first released as part of The Orange Box collection of games released in October 2007 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. The game was included along with more established titles Half Life 2, and Team Fortress 2, but, somewhat unexpectedly, Portal became a standout on its own, with many gamer's buying the box set for Portal alone.
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It was released as a standalone game for the PC on Steam in October 2007 for $19.99, and retail games appearing in stores on April 9th, 2008. Portal was released on Xbox Live! arcade on October 22, 2008 for 1200 points.
Gameplay
In Portal, the player controls the character, Chell, from a first person perspective as she is challenged to navigate through a series of rooms using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device ("portal gun"). The portal gun can create two distinct portal ends, orange and blue. Neither is specifically an entrance or exit; all objects that travel through the one portal will exit through the other with no change in momentum magnitude. If subsequent portal ends are created, the previously created portal of the same color is closed. Not all surfaces are able to accommodate a portal, and any attempt to do so will not affect the existing portals. Chell can also pick up objects, though she can only throw objects a short distance (affected by the player's momentum). These objects ("Aperture Science Weighted Storage Cubes" or a "Weighted Companion Cube") can be used to press large buttons to open doors or activate platforms, but barriers (known as "Material Emancipation Grids" or 'fizzlers', as described by the audio commentary) at the end of each test chamber or within certain test chambers prevent the player character from carrying such objects beyond them. Passage through these fields also closes any open portals, and portals cannot be fired through these fields
* source Wikipedia
User Reviews (40)
Pros & Cons
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35
Well thought out gameplay
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30
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26
Excellent learning curve - not much handholding, but you can figure out everything as you go along
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25
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24
great gameplay dynamics, a new and exciting way to use the source engine
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21
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19
connects interestingly to the Half-Life universe
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16
has a good song at the end "Still Alive"
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11
potentially creates a new Half-Life storyline
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10
Lots of extra achievments.
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5
Available on Xbox Live! arcade for ~ $15
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4
Addictive time trial mode
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2
available on Apple OSX as of May 2010 (and for free for a short time)
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11
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1
Can be frustrating at times
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1
preforms 30-50% slower on OSX, and looks worse - due to a different, under developed OpenGL renderer
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-2
Never made available separately on the PS3 (only bundled with the Orange Box)
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-2
Feet not visible, which makes jumping puzzles very awkward.
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-3
Flying through portals can often make the player dizzy.
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-7
Voices and sounds can be loud and annoying at times
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-12
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Comments (10)
Howlsthunder:
#portal Thought I'd update to say that this game is one of two reasons I went out and bought an XBox 360 (the other reason being Fallout 3, though Halflife2 is right up there). ;)
Definitely a great deal when you buy "Portal" as part of "The Orange Box". I wasn't into first person shooters (FPSs) until I played "Portal". Valve does a great job keeping the game mechanics and controller functions pretty much identical across games, so it was an easy thing for me to get comfortable with getting around in "Portal" and then feel at home running around "Halflife 2". Makes it a great showcase game for when friends who aren't into gaming come over. ;)
Also want to second Erik: this game is laugh-out-loud with the BEST videogame monologues I've ever heard, hands-down. I want to quote practically everything from this game.
Lastly to address the shortness of length: news is out that we can expect a "Portal 2" out by 2011! It will be a full-length game. :)
Apr 14, 10
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BrileyKenney:
#portal Awesome game, if you can buy it with the orange box set; great price! I bought the orange box over steam when it first came out. The only problem I have with steam is that no matter what, it takes forever to load; come on valve get rid of those load times! Regardless it is still an awesome game, puzzles are great, voice-overs are solid, and the environment is unique; and what most of these reviews don't mention is that there is a large Portal user base with fan created content. Which means even though the game is short, the experience doesn't have to be. Not to mention the fact that the orange box version comes bundled with the source code and editing content to make your own mods and add-ons.
Nov 13, 08
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Erik:
#portal First time playing last night, and already addicted. Now, I know what everyone is raving about. The puzzles are fantastic, and well thought out. The script is laugh out loud funny.
Oct 24, 08
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GT-D:
#portal Yeah it was a bit short - but it seemed like they weren't sure how far to go with it and wanted to get it out there... the advanced stages and various challenges modes did expand the replayability of it a bit.
May 29, 08
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Manzabar:
#portal @Howlsthunder: If you're on a recent Mac and want to try playing Portal, you might want to look into trying
Crossover from Codeweavers. They give Portal a Silver rating (runs but not flawlessly).
May 28, 08
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Howlsthunder:
#portal I rented the Orange Box specifically for Portal on multiple occasions. If I had a console or computer that would run any of the versions (I am a Windowsless Mac/Wii owner currently) I would own this. :D One of my top 5 favorite games of all time.
I agree that the game is too short, but only in that I want more to play. I think that this incarnation of the game is a good length for the small, yet tight plot and that a longer game would require a bit more story.
That said, this game has awesome humor, slick puzzles, and game mechanics unlike any other game out there due to the portal gun. Portal appeals to a wider variety of gamers as well with its unique shooter/puzzle meld.
Apparently Valve has plans in the works for a much longer, full-size "Portal 2". I am sure it will do amazingly well. :)
May 27, 08
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Manzabar:
#portal Agreed though it is a bit too short. I wanted more when it was done and I still want more now! :)
May 15, 08
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