SubJeff on 20/4/2011 at 23:43
Portal 2 MP is fantastic. Been playing it with Skype on for voice coms and it's a blast. We found out that GLaDOS was telling us different things, and some of it is about each other! And anyone who says the graphics are poor in this engine has a crappy machine. Fact. It's so good looking.
Aerothorn on 21/4/2011 at 01:03
Looking forward to MP. That said, I wasn't thrilled with single player.
Really, it's entirely the fault of the narrative elements. From a puzzle design standpoint it's consistently brilliant, and if Portal had been released with the typical bare-bones narrative trappings it still would have been a great game, and Portal 2 would have been an equally great sequel.
The problem is that the elements that made Portal's narrative so delightful have been (for me, and for many of the people I've talked to about it) made tired in the intervening years, where everything became a meme and the type of humor was repeated ad nauseum. It's not Valve's fault, of course, but that's the way it is. I'd imagine it's a lot better for people who aren't in college; I can assure you that I was pretty close to murdering the next person who screamed "The Cake is a Lie!" or started singing Still Alive back in 2007.
And so Valve had to make a choice: take things in a substantially new direction to avoid that tiredness, or build on what they had done before. They did the latter. And it's well done, but it's tired; I didn't laugh or chuckle once during the proceedings, and there were some jokes (mostly in the early chapters) that seemed to be outright re-treads, going over the same old ground. It opens up later, but never quite shows the daring or creative spark that the original did.
Of course, this is a bit unfair - Portal 2 was NEVER going to be as enjoyable as Portal 1, not because it couldn't be a better game (in many ways, it is) but because that sense of surprise, of freshness, is gone. I had certain expectations going in, and every single one of those expectations was met, and none of them were exceeded or subverted. It was a pleasant enough experience, but it's times when I am surprised and shaken up that stick with me.
Also, minor point: Why the hell don't the emancipation grids destroy GlaDOS?
SubJeff on 21/4/2011 at 01:26
Because she's part of the gun?
Volitions Advocate on 21/4/2011 at 04:57
has anybody bought this on Ps3 and redeemed their Steam copy? This is my plan and I'm wondering if i'm going to run into any hiccups. Also, I wonder if they will continue to offer this deal past the initial launch. I wouldn't mind picking it up after the first price drop if I can still get my steam copy. Then i can invite a friend over and play coop.
Muzman on 21/4/2011 at 18:26
That's such an interesting/peculiar deal. I can almost imagine it coming from Sony wandering in and asking, with a certain amount of insistence, for Portal 2 exclusivity and it becoming a bit Gabe's Bank Account vs Mega Keiretsu for a while there.
Scott Weiland on 21/4/2011 at 20:17
Portal Kombat is awesome.
june gloom on 22/4/2011 at 04:38
Thing is, he's right. Actually, when it comes to the way fans behave, he usually is. Sure, he's a troll, and he's built a reputation on riling these people up, but holy shit, have you seen some of the comments over at RPS? My favourite was the guy who said Portal 2's plot wasn't as good as Planescape Torment's and therefore PS:T is a better game.
I don't even.
I DON'T EVEN.
Koki on 22/4/2011 at 05:19
Quote:
I swear, no company gets shat on by its fans more than Valve
hahaha what?
june gloom on 22/4/2011 at 06:24
Do you have a counter-suggestion, Kokes?
(I can see Blizzard being one though)
