Game review - Portal
[Valve Corporation]
Developer: Valve Corporation
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Genre: Puzzle-platform
Original release date: 9 October 2007
Platform(s): PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
Reviewed on: macOS
As one of the many masterpieces of gaming crafted by Valve, Portal definently stands out as the most unique and most innovative of the bunch, and is unlike any puzzle game I have ever played. It’s innovative game mechanics, deep puzzle solving, and great villain makes this game a blast to play, even if it doesn’t last for long.
The game is set in the Half-Life universe where you control a silent female protagonist named Chell, a test subject of the Aperture Science Laboratories Computer-Aided Enrichment Center. You are required to use a special portal gun in order to solve puzzles with promise of receiving cake. Yes, this is a 3D first person video game, but the gun you use is not even a weapon. Instead, you use this to shoot portals at surfaces as a form of navigation.
Two different portals (a blue one and an orange on) may be fired at one time, and traveling through one end of the portal will transport you through to the other end. A simple concept, but it’s mind-bending execution is the big reason why this game is so innovative. The well-designed puzzles use this portal technology in the game to it’s full advantage, where this one gun is your only defence, and your thinking is the one bridge between life and death.
[Valve Corporation]
It is also the difficulty variety that makes Portal engaging to play from beginning to end. The first few stages are relatively easy in a way to get the player familiar with the game’s mechanics. As the game progresses, the difficulty of the puzzles will increase, but then there will be times where they will see a bit easier with the increased knowledge of the mechanics. Physics also play a very important role in the game, where the use of moveable objects can be used to overcome obstacles.
Presentation-wise, the Source engine makes the look a bit dated since Portal was released almost 10 years ago, but it still looks great for it’s time. While the industrial design and limited colours give it a prison-like feel, it works to it’s advantage to make the portals easy to visually identify, plus the portals themselves contain some nifty visual tricks. I encountered no bugs or glitches throughout my play thought, and most computers nowadays should have no issue with performance.
While silent Chell lacks any character herself (possible an way to make the player feel like the protagonist), the main star of defiantly stands out is the villain GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System). Voiced robotically by Ellen McLain, GLaDOS watchfully supervises you throughout the levels and may seem like just an evil computer, but her character is really something to admire. Her humorous lines, random glitches, and threatening nature make her a very unique villain in video gaming. The fact she’s an AI computer instead of a human makes her even more intimidating.
The one and only problem with Portal is the very short length. I was able to complete the entire game from start to finish in about 2-3 hours. However, when you think about all the positives I have listed in this review, Portal is absolutely an amazing case of quality over quantity. It’s innovative gameplay and fascinating villain defiantly makes this a must play.
Portal is also bundled with Valve’s The Orange Box, which also includes Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, and Team Fortress 2. All these five excellent games in one bundle, theres defiantly no excuse to not try out Portal. The game may be over very quickly, but there will be lots more to experience with once you get to playing the sequel Portal 2.
