Portal 2 Gets ‘Perpetual Testing Initiative’ DLC; Goes on Sale for $6.79

For fans of Portal 2, the amount of DLC released so far has been a little lackluster. The first piece was “Peer Review”, released this past fall. It offered up additional co-op missions and a challenge mode. For single-player gamers or those who wanted to create their own levels, it could be argued that Peer Review delivered little. DLC released this week, however, should make up for that. Called “Perpetual Testing Initiative”, fans can begin creating their own Portal 2 levels and make them available right on Steam.

An obvious downside to some level editors is that they are complicated for novices, but with the case of this week’s DLC launch, an in-game editor is made available that makes it easy for anyone, and I do mean anyone, to create their own maps. Unfortunately, that means that it’s made simplistic in design, but for those who want to make more advanced maps or add custom art, Valve still offers the Hammer editor under the Tools section of Steam.

In the time I spent with the editor, I was left rather impressed. I created a simple puzzle here which took me about 20 minutes to make, once I understood how to better use the tool. That includes the time to test, making sure that the level couldn’t be completed by skipping the hurdles I put in place. And when I call my map simple, it certainly is. When you look at some of the maps others have created, your jaw just might drop. I’ve already subscribed to a couple different map editors and look forward to taking their levels for a spin soon.

Because Portal 2 uses Steam Workshop, levels can be easily published to it from inside the game, with your own custom blurb and of course the screenshot and title. On the site itself, you’ll be able to edit these fields, and also replace the image screenshot with a custom one. Then, you can share the link with others so that they can play it, and get rated by anyone who takes it for a spin. It’s a great setup overall.

Some say that Portal 2 was a short game, but with the influx of quality levels coming from fellow gamers, there’s a lot more playtime to be had.

Don’t own the game? Until tomorrow, it can be purchased for $6.79 – a true steal in every sense of the word (aside from the fact that it’s not actually stealing).