Portal 2 Review

The original Portal was an unexpected hit, with it's mind-bending logic games and surprisingly dark plot twists. People fell in love with the monotone computer GlaDOS and her increasingly odd and witty burns on the main character. They fell in love with a gun that twisted the laws of gravity and physics. Could people fall in love with these things all over again?

Portal 2 reprises your role as a female test subject in the Aperture Science facility. But this time, you go through three different kind of worlds as you complete the puzzles the game presents. One is the overrun and broken down facility you awake in, the pristine and futuristic testing center you advance to, and the abandoned 1960's warehouse where you explore Aperture's troubled history. The game is beautiful and the story the landscapes tell is stark.

The gameplay is just as fun and challenging as ever, with new obstacles and ways of overcoming them. The game is a bit short, but its so engrossing its barely noticeable, and you'll probably play straight through. But the true strength of Portal 2 is the hilarious and witty characters.

First, is a little robot played by british phenomenon Steven Merchant, who adds a whole new level of humor to the game--really, one of the funniest performances I've experienced in a video game. GlaDOS also makes a return and is as creepy and witty as ever. A new character--the deceased CEO of Aperture--is played by J.K. Simmons. The man is pure comedy gold in this game and it reminds heavily of his role as the Newspaper Editor in the Spider-Man series.

Portal 2 sticks with what made Portal great, with enough changes in plot and gameplay to keep it fresh and worth it. But the game is definitely worth it's price in story and character performances.