Gamernode: Reviews

Portal

Category: PC, Posted: 10/16/2007 at 10:18PM EDT by Kyle Stallock, Contributor

Portal
PC
Valve Software
Valve Software
October 09th, 2007

Does the length of a game matter if it provides the user with an enjoyable and thought-provoking experience throughout its entirety? Analogically, is a short film as viable as a piece of that medium as a feature-length film? Most would agree that the answer to the latter is a definite "yes," but to the former, the most common response is a rather hesitant "yes." With Portal, Valve and its team of Digipen graduates seem to be on a one-developer crusade to change our attitudes towards how long a game should be, intentionally or not.

When compared to most games, Portal is short. Most people should be able to run through it in under 3 hours and some might even be able to rush through it in under 2 hours. But during those few hours, the player takes part in an experience that is wholly unique and somewhat unexpected.

New methods of interaction that end up being the very foundation on which a game is built can either make it or break it. Valve knows this, and in Portal, you don't simply walk through portal A and exit portal B and complete the training segment. Oftentimes, you'll have to jump off a 30ft ledge into portal A and use your momentum to exit portal B to reach a ledge that was nearly out of sight.

Without giving too much away, before long you will be using your portals to quickly navigate across moving platforms and knocking out deadly machine-gun wielding robots that nigh apologetically say "I don't hate you" after you render them incapacitated. It's this almost unsettling human quality of the most inhuman of things that quickly becomes the glue that holds the entire experience together.

Throughout the game, you are somewhat guided by a computerized voice that seems a bit...unnatural. After completing a challenge, the voice congratulates you and "awards" you with some unusually dry humor. Whether you find it funny or not, the things that the voice says are always so irreverent that you may in fact start anticipating the next level not for the puzzle/s that it may hold, but for the voice's next lame attempt at a joke. The writing and presentation are really that good.

It's hard to find something not to like about Portal. Everything, from the gameplay to the presentation, are top-notch from beginning to end and makes it more than a worthy addition to the level of quality presented by the other titles in the Orange Box.

Posted by rtanger on 10/17/2007 at 12:02PM

uninspired and bland?You really think so?My impression of the style was one of over-the-top blatant sterility. It fits the focused nature of the game nicely, and much commentary indicates that this graphic style was chosen to keep the goals and hotspots clearly visible for the player to aid in solving the puzzles.
Bland? Perhaps, but they're certainly about as far away from "uninspired" as you can get, given the circumstances behind the logical choices made in the look of the game.

Posted by Coyotegrey on 10/17/2007 at 03:21PM

Somehow the "Graphics" section of my Yaris review is included in this review as well.
Don't worry. This will be fixed. :)

Posted by Brendon on 10/17/2007 at 08:20PM

Yeah, no idea how that got mixed up. Must have been some sort of bug or late-night copying.
Glad to see rtanger is so enthusiastic about the game, though :)

Posted by Brendon on 10/18/2007 at 05:12AM

I just had to mention here (since I didn't see it in the review) that the ending song "Still Alive" by my pal Jonathan Coulton is a fantastic song, and COMPLETELY makes the ending of the game. I've never been so addicted to playing a song from a game.

Posted by Mercer on 10/18/2007 at 03:08PM

But there's no sense crying over every mistake/You just keep on trying 'til you run of out cake!

Posted by Falchion on 10/18/2007 at 03:57PM

my only complaint is that its WAY too short for my taste. it seemed like as soon as i started geting into the 'portal zone' it was over. im positive there will be expansions for it but other than that i love it

Posted by The Hylden on 01/21/2008 at 08:25AM

I found the humor quite humorous. the only dry element being the AI voice delivering the "jokes", which, a lot of the time, the joke was in all actuality serious. That's what made it all funny. She is serious... Like, if you touch the “water” (looks like the same radioactive sludge from Half-Life) in this next test, it will result in your penalization for this test, followed by death. lol, that was great stuff;)

Portal is an exceedingly great game. If you feel let down by the length, in which case, boo hoo:p, then play the advanced maps, and such. Go for all of the achievements, while you're at it.;)

Posted by Dr Stupid on 03/28/2008 at 10:17AM

I find it hard to fault this game personally. It's a new concept to young gamers and in the next gen race, it is a welcome installment...even if it means we had to wait ages for HL2:EP2 to be released. I had loads of fun doing infinite falls, chasing myself around a corner and enormous jumps through the portals. Plus, GLaDos was a boss well worth killing. Such an annoying voice...

Posted by Quasar on 04/04/2008 at 07:27PM

As I mentioned to Kyle one late night, the guys who thought up the entire concept of Portal had to be high because no sane mind could have ever dreamed it all up. lol. Great game. I was sad when it ended, but DLC here we come.

Gameplay: A truly unique puzzle game that always presents a challenge to the player in ways that never feel overwhelming or overly complex.
Graphics: The Source engine may be dated but given the environments and what you are doing, the graphics never seem to be an issue.
Sound: From the low frequency sound of a portal being created to the over-the-top voice over guiding you through the game, the sounds in Portal end up being one of the the shining stars.
9.5	Final Word: From beginning to end, it's hard to find something not to like about Portal.

Gamernode: Reviews - Portal

Portal