When I first heard about Portal 2, I was interested, maybe a little intrigued, but not much more, because puzzle games don't usually interest me too much. But, after the GIO community voted Portal 2 Game of This Console Generation over The Last Of Us and Mass Effect 3, I figured that I had to at least try it and see for myself what everybody loved so much about this game. I'm glad I did.
Game Title: Portal 2
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PS3
ESRB Rating: E+10
Player modes: 1 player single player story and 2 player co-op story
The gameplay, which I figured would play like a competent shooter, because it is developed by Valve, after all, but I was actually surprised by how, for some puzzles, it seems that you have to work around the controls to figure out some of the more complicated puzzles. The different elements that come into play at later puzzles, like repulsion gel(with the blue color helping you jump higher and the orange color speeding you up immensely), white paint(use portals to get it all over the walls so that you can shoot portals on any wall), and beams that will carry you in the direction that it's flowing.
The story, which I don't think there was much of, if at all existent, in the first one, is actually very good here. I will try to keep spoilers out, but be warned. After you killed Glados in the first one, a little golf ball shaped robot called Wheatly tries to help you get you, along with himself, out of the laboratory. And a great couple of plot twists had me wondering what would happen at the end. The ending, which I won't spoil, is just pure amazing, both to see and play. I never thought that Valve would do what they did, but I am very happy that they did. And another part of the writing, which has to mentioned, is how funny this game is. I was laughing at this game constantly, and I still laugh at some of the best lines used. The one I remember the most is when Wheatly says, "That just proves, that the people with brain damage are the real heroes," after you solve a puzzle. There are lines like this throughout the game, and I felt many times like I was playing through an episode of SNL, and that's not a bad thing.
The co-op in this game is great. Whether you decide to take the different puzzles seriously, or if you just want to mess around with your friends, this mode works great, and I think that, although the story isn't all that long for co-op, it able to be replayed at least twice, if not more. And friends are pretty much required to play this mode, so don't think that you can lone wolf it.
I did have one issue, which keeps this game from getting the perfect score, however, and that is loading screens. In a day and age where we can play in games with wide open expanses without a load screen makes having to sit through one after either one or a couple of levels is quite annoying. It doesn't take too long to load, however, so I can forgive it mostly, but after a while, you start to notice that there are a lot of load screens in this game.
Even with the load screens, I can say this is a truly great game. It's like no game I've ever played before. But there's only one game that will beat Portal 2, at this point, in my opinion: Portal 3, if Valve will ever make it.
My Score: 9.5/10