When it was released almost four years ago, despite being one third of a larger package of games, the original Portal was groundbreaking. Its elegant portal gun mechanic, exceptional writing and sparse but intriguing narrative made up for what it lacked in terms of overall length. It was a huge hit with critics and fans alike. Since then test subjects (players) worldwide have been waiting feverishly to get their hands on the sequel, and last week game maker Valve delivered with a bang.

Portal 2 improves on the original game in every way. Valve has raised the puzzle solving portal gameplay to new heights of ingenuity and frustration. They have also introduced a superb cast of supporting characters that will crack you up (and even choke you up) throughout your adventure. Spectacular writing and top notch voice acting ties it all together.

Everything that made the original game so addictive and entertaining has been polished for the sequel. Plus, Valve has thrown in a slew of new goodies and contraptions, many of them quite lethal, to keep ”˜test-subjects’ on their pneumatically-reinforced toes.

Oh, and there are some potatoes, too.

But don’t eat them, you monster! You’ll need them to do science!

The Gameplay

Portal 2 is, at its heart, a puzzle game. There are some fast-paced action sequences sprinkled through a handful of chapters, and they’re a lot of fun when they pop up, but like the original most of the game consists of navigating increasingly complicated and puzzling test chambers.

As you progress through the challenges your critical thinking skills will be put to the test as new portal-related puzzle mechanics are introduced. If you thought wrapping your head around Portal was difficult, you haven’t seen anything yet.

Aside from the classic two-way blue and orange portal gun, Aperture Science has rolled out laser beams, light-bridges, jump-pads and repulsion gel, among other things, for test subjects to use to strategically escape test chambers.

Portal veterans will glide through the first half of the game without much of a problem, but the learning curve starts to get deviously steep once you pass the half-way point. The challenges toward the tail end of the game are excruciatingly difficult to conquer, with all of the new puzzle mechanics stacking up on top of each other, like an elaborate portal puzzle parfait. When you do eventually manage to conquer one of these crazy complicated meta-chambers, though, the ”˜testing-euphoria’ really kicks in, and it’s damn hard to put down that portal gun and take a break.

That said, Portal 2 is best served in small doses, assuming you can force yourself into taking breathers. As innovative and entertaining as it is, the gameplay still becomes repetitive and frustrating enough in the later chapters to warrant frequent breaks. I tore through the first three quarters of the game in one sitting, but the last few sections are so mind-numbingly complex, enduring them all at once is a tall order.

Although it vastly outstrips its predecessor in terms of length, Portal 2 is not a long game. Experienced players will wrap it up in 10-15 hours. The more god-like players out there will likely manage it much faster than that.

To stretch things out a bit, Valve has introduced a two player co-op campaign. Players take control of a pair of goofy-but-loveable robots to tackle test chambers that require an extra set of hands — and portals.

Co-op can be extremely rewarding if you’re playing with a friend, and I highly recommend making use of voice enabled communication, as good coordination and timing are crucial. If you’re playing with a stranger on Steam, I wish you the best of luck, because more often than not it’s a rather painful experience trying to coordinate with someone you just met.

The Writing

Where Portal 2 really shines, setting itself apart from other puzzle games, is the writing. In terms of the back-story, the overarching in-game narrative and the 13,000 lines of dialogue, Portal 2 is an exceptionally well written and creatively constructed game. I’m a sucker for well-written stories and this time Valve has really blown me away.

The story of the Portal games takes place in the same fictional universe as Valve’s flagship IP, Half-Life. Access to this established world opens up a plethora of narrative possibilities, but aside from a few Half-Life references and Easter-eggs, for the most part the game’s storyline stands on its own.

Threads of a larger, overarching narrative were subtly woven into the original Portal. The sequel picks up on these threads and spins them into a much larger, detailed tapestry of sci-fi jokes and nerd humour, set against the backdrop of a surprisingly grim post-apocalyptic world. Players learn about the history of Aperture Science and GLaDOS, as well as more about the game’s silent protagonist and her capacity as ”˜test-subject #1′.

The player once again takes the role of Chell, the same voiceless protagonist featured in the original game. And although she is silent, you can’t help but form an attachment with her as you escape the depths of the dilapidated and deadly Aperture Laboratories, especially considering the subtle but intriguing hints dropped regarding her possible identity and history.

The Voice Acting

Because of the Chell’s distinct lack of voice or personality, like in the original, much of the game’s story is told by other characters.

GLaDOS makes her triumphant return, of course. Considering the fact you mercilessly murdered her the last time you met, she’s understandably unhappy to see you. Ellen McLain (known for playing the overwatch in Half-Life 2) returns as the voice of the malevolent AI overlord, and gives another hilarious and maniacal robotically-autotuned performance.

At the beginning of the game, players will meet also meet Wheatley, an Aperture Science Personality Core, voiced by Stephen Merchant (of the U.K.’s The Office, Extras, and The Ricky Gervais Show fame). Wheatley will accompany you for a large portion of you adventure and has a major role in the events of the game. His dialogue is hilarious and Merchant’s delivery is perfect. I can’t think of a better voice actor for the character — a chatty, bumbling moron — except perhaps for Karl Pilkington. In fact, fans of The Ricky Gervais Show might notice that Merchant channels a great deal of Karl’s unique and moronic personality into his performance.

Later in the game, players will encounter Cave Johnson, founder and CEO of Aperture Science, voiced by J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man, Juno, Burn After Reading). Simmons’ character and voice has been featured heavily in Portal 2 advertisements, and in the game he helps shed light on the back-story during the later chapters. Simmons is an enormously underrated actor, and I like to see him get neat roles like this, although he most likely won’t get any love from Hollywood for doing video game voiceover work.

McLain, Merchant and Simmons are the soul of Portal 2. Their voice acting transforms an already well-constructed puzzle game into an incredibly funny and occasionally touching story, with its own entertaining and likeable personality.

Graphics and Sound

Valve’s Source Engine is seven years old, and unfortunately, its age is starting to show. That’s not to say that Portal 2 isn’t a beautiful looking game — it is. So is the Left 4 Dead series. Hell, Half-Life 2 can still hold its own. But if Portal 2’s not-so-subtle loading screens (of which there are many) are any indication of the Source Engine’s inability to continuously stream levels and content, we might soon be seeing Valve developing new tech, or redesigning the Source Engine entirely, to keep up with the graphical Joneses (I’m looking at you, Crysis 2).

The loading times themselves are less of an issue in the age of 7200 rpm and solid-state hard drives, but they still detract from the overall immersive experience. Loading issues aside, Portal 2 still looked and felt great on my late 2008 MacBook Pro, and I wasn’t running the game on maxed out settings, although I was close. On a modern, up-to-date gaming rig, the game looks and sounds fantastic.

The game features a significantly bumpin’ electronic soundtrack that dynamically changes depending on what you’re doing, whether its travelling at high speeds, hovering through energy beams or bouncing off walls. This is an extremely badass way to incorporate music and to engage players in ways that aren’t usually explored by other games.

One of the best and most memorable moments of Portal was the song sung by GLaDOS during the ending credits, ‘Still Alive’. If you were hoping for another ridiculously catchy tune at the end of the sequel, Valve did not disappoint. For the non-gamers (or the lazy) you can check it out here (warning: MASSIVE SPOILERS). Endings like this are a testament to the unifying artistic nature of video games, combining wonderful music and stunning visuals with immersive interactive gameplay.

Summary

Fans of the original game would be doing themselves a disservice by not picking up Portal 2. I also encourage newcomers to the series to pick up both games for a ridiculously reasonable price on Steam. It’s easy to dive into and gets bloody difficult toward the end, meaning you’ll sink many hours in a row into the game, killing entire evenings and winding up exhausted and bleary-eyed if you’re not careful.

In a nutshell, Portal 2 is a top-tier puzzle game with a surprisingly gripping storyline and brilliant cast of characters and voice actors. Despite being riddled with loading screens, the game looks, feels and sounds great. So pick it up, grab your portal gun, strap on your long-fall boots, and get ready to do some science.

Just don’t eat the potatoes. I don’t know how many times I need to repeat that.

Final Score ”“ 8.5/10