Portal 2 Released to Mixed Reaction

After weeks of being teased with various trailers, Portal 2 was finally released late last night – but to mixed reaction. Around the Web, every review I’ve seen has awarded the game very handsomely, with a couple of perfect scores, and the lowest being 9.3/10. For PC games, seeing scores this high is rare, so it appears that Valve, has done it once again.

A major feature of the game is that it features a separate single-player and co-op campaign, with the former lasting about 8~9 hours, and the latter, 4~5 hours. From the reviews I’ve read, it seems the co-op campaign is the more fun of the two, but it’s imperative to make sure that you play with someone who hasn’t already beaten the game, because obviously, it will suck some of the fun out of things if one person already knows how to beat each level.

Many are calling Portal 2 a “Game of the Year”, which for the fact that we’re still in April, is rather impressive. But, others are not so impressed, and you only need to take a quick look at the Steam community forums in order to see what I’m talking about. There’s absolute vitriol with regard to how Valve handled this launch, with its “Potato Sack” offer that promised gamers the chance to help launch the game early. At a mere couple of hours before the real launch, gamers didn’t get much of an advance at all.

Another complaint is with regards to graphics, or Portal 2 being a “console port”, which is something I can’t disagree with. I played for a mere half an hour last night and could see the console-itis immediately (the first clue was the first door handle that was a totally flat texture). Though it might be hard to call it console-itis, since this is the first time Valve has released a game also for Mac OS X. Some considerations may have been taken there.

Regardless of your thoughts, Portal 2 is bound to be one of the best games this year, and I’m stoked to play through it this week, both in single player and in co-op. Anyone else out there prepping to play?

Portal 2 draws from the award-winning formula of innovative gameplay, story, and music that earned the original Portal over 70 industry accolades and created a cult following. The single-player portion of Portal 2 introduces a cast of dynamic new characters, a host of fresh puzzle elements, and a much larger set of devious test chambers. Players will explore never-before-seen areas of the Aperture Science Labs and be reunited with GLaDOS, the occasionally murderous computer companion who guided them through the original game.