2011 Game of the Year #04 - Portal 2

What was once nothing more than content filler in The Orange Box has now become a global phenomenon. Portal as a franchise has amassed a huge following of diehard fans, so it’s absolutely no surprise how well Portal 2 was received. The hit sequel expanded the already rich and wonderful world of Aperture Science, fleshed out the already magnificent and maleficent GLaDOS and added a host of brilliant new characters, mechanics and puzzle chambers to create a serious contender for 2011’s game of the year and one of the best puzzle games you will ever play.

When someone asks me to describe Portal 2 I am always at a loss for words. I don’t want to say, “it’s just a brilliant first-person puzzle game,” because that’s not what makes Portal 2 so special. I start the discussion by always pointing them back in the direction of the original Portal because I feel if you didn’t play it, you will be at a loss with the sequel. This is because Portal as a franchise is spurred by what I can only describe as the best narrative and dialogue ever written for a video game. Due to this, the story continues over to the sequel both through environment and through story, linking both games together and pretty much forcing players to understand what happened in the original. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad thing because every gamer should have played Portal and if you haven’t, I urge you to do so – the original was a small game that could be completed in a couple of hours, but sets you up for one of the best games you will have the privilege of playing this year.

So Portal 2’s key selling point is a terrific narrative, but the story itself is worth boasting about too. Pushed forward by none other than Stephen Merchant who plays the ever-lovable personality core Wheatley, you will never be without a fantastic mix of jokes, jibes and quite touching moments throughout your time with Portal 2. Of course what Portal is known for is the infamous GLaDOS enemy, which is a supercomputer that sets up puzzle challenges for you to complete using the portal gun, a weapon that allows you to create two portals anywhere in the room to solve the puzzle and continue moving forward. Voiced by Ellen McLain, no other bad guy has ever had better narrative written for them – GLaDOS is conniving, devious and down right hilarious; you won’t be able to wait for the next brilliant thing she comes out with.

The gameplay itself is also worth writing home about. A terrific engine that really incorporates physics and velocity to let you complete the various puzzles set in unique and fascinating ways – making this a welcome divergence from your standard FPS experience. In fact, it’s such a breath of fresh air you’ll wonder why the buzz surrounds games like Call of Duty when gems like Portal 2 exist.

Portal 2 also introduced a terrific cooperative mode previously not available in the original. This mode puts you in the little shoes of 2 robots who both have portal guns – having two players in these test chambers opens up a brilliant multiplayer experience that also comes with its own narrative and story as it partially intertwines with the games single player elements.

Ultimately, if you consider yourself a gamer, the Portal series is an absolute must-play. You will be blown away by how good Portal 2 is and you will see what kind of impact the release schedule can have on when websites and people vote for their game of the year. As I mentioned in my prior article, many gamers completely forgot about Dead Space 2 and I feel the same has happened with Portal 2 after all the hype (albeit deserved) surrounding games like Skyrim – resulting in critics forgetting the other gems of 2011. I don’t think I had more fun with a game this year so Portal 2 deservedly takes number 4 on my list of 2011’s best games.

Favourite things about Portal 2:

Terrific gameplay incorporating physics to make unique and fun puzzles.

The best narrative and dialogue any modern game has scene.

A whole host of hilarious and deep characters to engage with.

A brilliant cooperative mode.

New mechanics like the gel made Portal 2 a different game to Portal in the later segments.

Most annoying things about Portal 2:

I wish it was longer – in fact I really wish it just never ended.

The original Portal allowed you to be more creative when solving puzzles – Portal 2 seemed to only have one solution per puzzle.

Thanks for reading and check the blog tomorrow as I award 3^rd place to one of this years most anticipated and expansive role play games.

As always check me out on Twitter @ss4Igor

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Portal Kombat = best dual-month release of all time?

Last month saw the release of Mortal Kombat and Portal 2--both highly anticipated titles for two very distinct and different fan bases. The Mortal Kombat series certainly needed a fresh start after the massive let-down that was Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Portal 2 on the other hand, was under a lot of pressure from a cult-like fan-base who eagerly awaited an experience that would hopefully best the gem that was the original.

Both games delivered in abundance--setting new standards for both franchises and for the most part, keeping everyone happy (except some of you Portal fans, stop being so critical!). Owning both games on PS3 (damn you Playstation Network), even though I'm yet to get the online content out of them, I can already see that these two titles are fantastic and made April a great month for gaming.

It got me thinking however, what other AAA titles came out paired together and were these pairs better than Portal Kombat? Purchasing games certainly isn't cheap, so to splash out on two games in one month would require some very impressive titles to hit the shelves. So I decided to look back a few years and check out if there were any paired releases in the same month that can top the extreme gaming plethora that is Portal Kombat.

Casting our eyes back to 2008, April was the release month for Grand Theft Auto IV. Acknowledged now as one of the biggest video game let-downs, it still didn't stop Rockstar selling over 20 million copes as of March 2011. GTAIV however, came out in the same month as another massive hit--as rivals Nintendo released Mario Kart Wii, which is the fourth biggest selling game on the console, amassing an impressive 27 million copies as of 2011.

June was another massive month in 2008--the release of what became almost every critics game of the year, Konami's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots hit stores worldwide. It only took the game 1 year to sell over 5 million copies, an impressive feat. If killing people in cold-blooded murder was a little bit more your style, then June also saw the release of the highly anticipated sequel to Ninja Gaiden. Receiving an average score of 80% and acknowledgment of being one of the most bloody-satisfying slashers of this generation, Ninja Gaiden 2 was a great release for Xbox 360 to try and tone down MGS4's sales.

2008 certainly ended with a bang as November saw the release of both Gears of War 2 and Valve's Left 4 Dead. Honorable mention goes to a third game here--Resistance 2, but I just can't help but feel that the former two were wanted so much more than Sony's exclusive first-person alien shooter. Gears of War 2 sold over 2 million copies in its first weekend on sale, while Left 4 Dead had one of the biggest pre-order lists of any Steam game ever.

2009 wasn't a bad year for games by any stretch of the imagination. Capcom's refurbished Street Fighter IV series hit the shelves in February and to this day has had numerous revisions, including the upcoming Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition. Sony also started 2009 strong with the highly anticipated release of Killzone 2--setting new standards for first-person shooters both graphically and in the gameplay department, Killzone 2 solidified its position as one of Sony's most profitable exclusive franchises by becoming the fourth fastest selling Sony published title, ever.

We all know that November is the month for video games--well 2009 had a mass of games flood onto the market including Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, New Super Mario Bros, Left 4 Dead 2 and Assassins Creed 2. All four games set individual milestones and most importantly, were roaring favourites across all available platforms.

In 2010 no one would have guessed that the Wild-West would be a perfect destination for one of the best open-ended adventure games we'd ever have the pleasure of playing. Red Dead Redemption was one of 2010's biggest surprises, winning numerous awards with games journalists and achieving an average review of 95% from both Metacritic and GameRankings, making it one of the higest rated video games of all time on the 360 and PS3. What game could have possibly had the sheer audacity to come out in the same month? Our Italian plumber for on his Yoshi and came out guns-blazing with Super Mario Galaxy 2. The aforementioned topped Red Dead Redemption and actually received an average score of 97% from Metacritic and GameRankings--Rockstar must have been so angry. Nevertheless, both games went on to sell millions worldwide and are yet to be really shrugged off the top spots on both platforms.

So April 2011 brought us Portal Kombat, two games that together have brought hours of gaming to millions of gamers out there. But as a duo can they compete against some of the incredible releases of recent memory?

It would be great to hear from you guys, hit me up on twitter @ss4Igor