The Portal 2 Thread **Warning May Contain Spoilers**

i just finished hte game tonite. Took me about 7 hours and I was exploring all that I could. A few rooms had me stumped for a few minutes. Trial and error and finally got them

Honestly... i enjoyed it. Mostly from the storyline and commical banter with the AI's. I bought it on the pre-order, so only cost me $45. Was a little disappointed that its over, thought it would be a little longer. Sure I could try the co-op.... but I hate playing with people I dont know on something like this, and my friends list is short.
 
I'm well into chapter 5, just turned it off for the night because I got stuck for the first time in the game.

So far it does seem like there are fewer precise jumping puzzles than in the first one; more an emphasis on seeing and recognizing the pattern you're supposed to follow. I've had a lot more 'ah.. that's what I'm supposed to do' moments than in the first, and a lot fewer 'I totally nailed that across the room, mid air portal shot.'

The writing for the first few chapters is every bit as good as what you got from just GlaDos in the original, I really did laugh multiple times listening to that. I'm not quite as fond of the middle few chapters yet, it's still funny, but lacks maybe a bit of the sincerity that gave that little extra punch to Glados in the first.
 
Well I gave in and bought the game tonight, downloading at 1.1MB/s right now, unfortunally even at that speed I'll need to be asleep by the time its done. Damn 12 hour work shifts kill my gaming time, thank god I get a week off at a time to catch up lol.
 
I just finished the game at 7.4 hours which is apparently slow compared to most of you guys so far :p. I took my time but I also go stuck on a few parts, especially in the later levels. If I played it again would probably be closer to 5 hours.

I have to say that I really enjoyed the game. There were a few really good lines in there that had me cracking up. I know a lot of people don't see the replay value in the first Portal or this one but I think their great games to run through when you're bored on a weekend. I definitely don't regret preordering it and I definitely think Ill get my moneys worth in the end.
 
Coop is way too short IMO, it took about 5 hours 40 minutes for us to finish it and that is with spending over an hour on that one level where you have to shutdown the huge fan, just couldn't figure it out, spend over an hour on the very last coop level so ~4 hours total...

What else is there to do in coop? I can see maybe 1 more playthrough (which will take way less time) but there is nothing after the fact, no challenge levels, just a couple coop achievements left to get...just wish they could've made single player coop as well


Don't get me wrong, it was fun as hell, tons of laughs
 
Tudz said:
Yeah but my point is that if its meaningless, why is it there, or why if its there is it not free. Whatever happened to unlocking meaningless crap through actual gameplay? Or just having it there for free to make the game more colourful and interesting?

I'm not the sort of person who buys meaningless DLC, but I still find it hard to ignore. Like in JC2, I can't help but look at the DLC guns/vehicles and think "I want to try that, why isn't it in the game for free? Why the hell are they trying to charge $1 for that when it should be free?". The DLC guns may not even be the strongest, but I dont agree you should have to pay just to have a meaningless add on. Leave the meaningless add ons in the actual game, dont charge extra for them.

Good DLC should be like the expansion packs of old. Where you paid a bit extra for the expansion pack and got maybe 20% extra gameplay out of it without detracting from the main game. The "meaningless" shit and the "release day" shit should be free IMO. If its not it sets a bad precedent for games become micro-transaction dependent which is worse for gamers in the long run.



I wasn't trying to guilt trip you at all, I have no idea what your stance was on Crysis 2, just pointing out the fact there were pages of bitching over tiny little things in Crysis 2 for very little reason. I dont really see the "severe levels" of designing according to the weakest platform in Crysis 2... no more than any other modern games. The community bitching about "Press start to begin" was the biggest crock of shit, it saddened me to think that's what the PC gaming community is like. And then how it deserved a mention in the patch release notes that it was removed, lol.
Click to expand...

The same thing happened to them as happened to free maps. Developers sell things people are willing to pay for. Its business and thats the way it goes. As long as they're not forcing me to buy DLC to play the game they can sell whatever they want. I don't bitch about EA and Namco selling cheats and unlocks as DLC I'm sure not going to complain about useless fluff.

I keep staring at rocket parachute for JC2. Only because it will make one of the mods I use work better since it was designed with it in mind. If its ever on sale for $.50 or $.75 I'll probably grab it. Annoys me that I have to do that, but it'll extend my game time even further so I guess its worth it.

Smaller levels, launching without DX11, Crytek's comments, cheap rushed out demo, COD clone MP, insanely low FOV, mouse accel, no graphics options, etc that really makes Crysis 2 look like a bad port. The good thing is that despite that its fun and it runs well. Still some of the shit people give the game is well deserved. The whole "press start" thing was a little much though.

On topic: Portal 2 SP is amazing. Took me six hours to beat and if I hadn't gotten hungry I would have done it all in one go. It has been ages since I've wanted to burn through a game that quickly. Considering how old Source is it looks good. The writing in Portal 1 was good, but I think its better here. Seriously people if you are on the fence buy it. I don't believe many games are worth their asking price, but Portal 2 is worth what I paid. Well okay the SP is worth it, I haven't played co-op yet so guess I'll have to wait to give a final judgement.

PS: I'm running the game absolutely maxed out 1080p and it runs super smooth.
 
fattypants said:
GSC Game World seems to have no difficulty with this in the Stalker series. Borderlands was pretty good too.
Click to expand...
Again, Stalker is not a fair comparison. It's an open world game vs. a linear corridor "shooter" like Portal 2. I haven't played Borderlands, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt there. But one doesn't make a trend. :)

Regardless, whether or not others find value in it, I'm really enjoying the game. I just got to Chapter 8 and stopped for the night. It is pretty easy, but once the gels come in there's more thinking involved. And the environments in the middle part of the game are just plain fun to look at. I love the dynamic music they have as well for the gel intro chambers.
 
drako said:
Again, Stalker is not a fair comparison. It's an open world game vs. a linear corridor "shooter" like Portal 2. I haven't played Borderlands, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt there. But one doesn't make a trend. :)

Regardless, whether or not others find value in it, I'm really enjoying the game. I just got to Chapter 8 and stopped for the night. It is pretty easy, but once the gels come in there's more thinking involved. And the environments in the middle part of the game are just plain fun to look at. I love the dynamic music they have as well for the gel intro chambers.
Click to expand...

Borderlands is more FPS/RPG than a straight shooter side quests and all. Ignoring the side quests Borderlands can be burned through pretty quickly actually.

I love the gel puzzles. They really show off the physics at work in the game and show that Valve has done some work on their version of Havok since HL2.
 
drako said:
Stalker is not a fair comparison. It's an open world game vs. a linear corridor "shooter" like Portal 2.
Click to expand...
So by asking for a "long FPS", you mean "a long, linear, corridor FPS which fits my very narrow definition". So I guess Borderlands won't count with you, either. I suppose if you disqualify all my answers by moving the goalposts back when I provide them, then I have no other option but to be wrong. Oh well.
 
fattypants said:
So by asking for a "long FPS", you mean "a long, linear, corridor FPS which fits my very narrow definition". So I guess Borderlands won't count with you, either. I suppose if you disqualify all my answers by moving the goalposts back when I provide them, then I have no other option but to be wrong. Oh well.
Click to expand...
No, I'm just asking you to compare similar game types. Open world FPS games tend to be much longer than linear ones. That's just the nature of the beast. If you purchase a linear shooter expecting it to be the length of an open world one with RPG elements, then I'd say it's you that has unrealistic goalposts. But you're welcome to dream. Sadly the days of HL1 or Quake length linear FPS games are dead and gone I think.
 
Derangel said:
I love the gel puzzles. They really show off the physics at work in the game and show that Valve has done some work on their version of Havok since HL2.
Click to expand...
Yeah the physics do feel less clunky than they did in the last generation of Source games. That said it seemed to me that a lot less of the objects in the world were physics interactive, which was disappointing to me because I loved throwing boxes and chairs into crazy stacks in the first Portal. I guess they had to make concessions, but it couldn't help but remind me of the complaints levied towards Crysis 2 for the lack of physics interactivity.
 
drako said:
I love the dynamic music they have as well for the gel intro chambers.
Click to expand...
The music is extremely well executed. Usually I find dynamic soundtracks annoying, but it seems so 'right' in this game — just fits.
 
drako said:
No, I'm just asking you to compare similar game types. Open world FPS games tend to be much longer than linear ones.
Click to expand...
You asked this:
drako said:
Find me a modern FPS that offers a campaign that takes 20-30 hours to beat. I'll be surprised if you can.
Click to expand...
I gave you the examples you asked for, but then you made qualifiers after the fact to pretend that I didn't correctly answer your question.

FPS is a game type. "Open world FPS" and "linear FPS" are sub-genres of this type of game. "Linear corridor FPS" is a sub-sub-genre.
 
fattypants said:
You asked this:
I gave you the examples you asked for, but then you made qualifiers after the fact to pretend that I didn't correctly answer your question.

FPS is a game type. "Open world FPS" and "linear FPS" are sub-genres of this type of game. "Linear corridor FPS" is a sub-sub-genre.
Click to expand...
No, you did correctly answer my question. But then I tried to clarify my intent. In the future I will try and be more explicit. Anyway, this is just turning into a pissing match so let's agree to disagree and not clutter up the thread with more back and forth.
 
KENNYB said:
The content store is optional and doesn't add game changing enhancements.
Click to expand...

fattypants said:
Precisely; now you're thinking! At least EA and Activision give you something that adds to your gameplay when you hand them cash. As you have pointed out, Valve gives you nothing for your money.
Click to expand...

You are missing the point as to why they don't sell game enhancing items. Game enhancing items become must own. Imagine a weapons pack for COD being sold on launch day for $5 that will give you an instant advantage.

Valve can keep peddling hats. Obviously there is a market and if it doesn't affect the core gameplay, good for them.
 
drako said:
Anyway, this is just turning into a pissing match so let's agree to disagree and not clutter up the thread with more back and forth.
Click to expand...
Agreed. As a final word on the matter (from me, anyway), I enjoy all the games we mentioned, and I'll likely enjoy Portal 2 when it reaches a price I'm willing to play. I just see the cash shop/day-1 DLC as Valve going the way of EA.
 
Last edited:
Did anyone else have this much fun with the moon/portal gel..? :D









And to that guy who said the PS3 version had sharper textures, I can most certainly say it doesn't. I played it for an hour or so on PS3 on my PC monitor (1920x1200) and then played it immediately afterwords on PC when it got done downloading and it was almost night/day difference. Having 8X MSAA helps a lot too though. The game only goes to 720p too so that doesn't help it much.
 
Well I have played for about an hour now, and so far it is really fun and everything looks great (minus the loading screens on elevator rides, really low res and just plain fugly). Definitely a visual improvement over the original, and I like how they added the blur effect when looking around (kinda like Crysis). Definitely looking forward to finishing SP and finding someone for some coop shenanigans.

I have a big gripe though, and it is the FOV. I play on triple monitors and I am quite used to the stretchy looking images on the side monitors, as its supposed to be the peripheral vision. Some peeps complain about it but I like it, and when I game, I am obviously staring at the center. In this game though, I get the stretchy images on my center monitor, about 40% of it (20% of the screen on the L and R). Interesting thing is I just gave Portal a complete run through a couple days ago, and the FOV is perfect on that game.

Not really a huge deal and I will still continue to play (after another 15 mins of looking for a fov fix) but geez I wish it just worked the same as Portal 1....

**Also, getting a solid 50-60 FPS with everything maxed except 4xAA and 4xAF on sig setup.
 
Can't wait for people to start cranking out coop maps/campaigns when they get the tools, none of the tests in the entire game require any sort of fast reactions you just put a portal on the wall on that side and place another right there behind you and head through

What on earth could've caused that?
 
Having fun with coop so far. Spent about 2 hours with a late start which was bad idea since it's now 1:30am and both myself and the person I was playing with work at 6.

Friend and I were stumped on level 3? Then we realized we had to slam our robots into each other. That one took some target switching so not sure how consoles will enjoy it
 
phide said:
The music is extremely well executed. Usually I find dynamic soundtracks annoying, but it seems so 'right' in this game — just fits.
Click to expand...

I like how the music has such a retro-scientific feel to it. I feel like I am participating in experiments for Howard Stark in the Cave Johnson section of the game.
 
T4rd said:
And to that guy who said the PS3 version had sharper textures, I can most certainly say it doesn't. I played it for an hour or so on PS3 on my PC monitor (1920x1200) and then played it immediately afterwords on PC when it got done downloading and it was almost night/day difference. Having 8X MSAA helps a lot too though. The game only goes to 720p too so that doesn't help it much.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is a misunderstanding based on a bug in the game where some people don't get the config file written properly to after making changes in the video settings menu. You set the texture settings to high in the menu, but it only gets set at low. Typing "mat_picmip -1" in the console fixes the issue, but then it resets again back to low settings (picmip 1) when a new map loads. I just enter the console and hit up+enter whenever a new section loads, kind of annoying but fortunately it isn't a widespread issue.

As for comparisons, the main difference is obviously framerate and better anti-aliasing in the PC version. In terms of visuals effects and texture quality, the PS3 version is definitely on par. The 360 version is a blurry mess.
 
Woah just beat the game, seriously enjoyed myself. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun with a PC game... Oh wait Portal 1 / HL2:ep2

Personally I don't understand the hate towards the DLC. Its completely optional and for silly shit, if you don't want to buy things, DONT! No one is trying to push it on you, the only reason you prob found it was curiousity of clicking. Not because there are pop ups every where trying to get you to buy it. Be smart, if YOU don't want it DONT GET IT! Some people like that stuff, not sure why but if thats what they want let them have it.

On section 4 with co op, pretty fun across console. I love that feature and wish they would've implemented it years ago so I could play with my friends and show them how to play a FPS. The voice works really well across console to pc, a little grainy but clear.
 
Serpico said:
Yeah, it is a misunderstanding based on a bug in the game where some people don't get the config file written properly to after making changes in the video settings menu. You set the texture settings to high in the menu, but it only gets set at low. Typing "mat_picmip -1" in the console fixes the issue, but then it resets again back to low settings (picmip 1) when a new map loads. I just enter the console and hit up+enter whenever a new section loads, kind of annoying but fortunately it isn't a widespread issue.

As for comparisons, the main difference is obviously framerate and better anti-aliasing in the PC version. In terms of visuals effects and texture quality, the PS3 version is definitely on par. The 360 version is a blurry mess.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's pretty odd. I never had that issue and all my textures looked just like the first of those three comparisons you posted here. I just verified I had all settings maxed before I started playing and it looked nice the whole way through. I guess after comparing the wall drawings, they look just as clear on PS3 as on PC (when set on high), but the PC still has much better IQ just because it can run at 1080p+ (as opposed to 720p on the PS3) and AA helps a lot. At least it looked considerably better to me on my monitor.

Just beat the game too. Ending was gratifying to say the least. The moon shot was a pretty cool idea, lol. Fits perfect too because they were saying that portal gel was made from the moon so it was highly conductive to the portals. I was hoping GladOS would befriend you after helping her, but I guess her throwing you out (and letting you live) fits better. The last song wasn't nearly as good as "Still alive", but it was decent.

Now I just need someone to play Co-op with. None of my broke/cheap-ass friends decided to buy it yet :(.
 
Plague_Injected said:
The double-standards roll in by the truckload. So you "5 hours is cool for FPS games" people are fine with 5-hour COD and Bulletstorm campaigns then and have never bitched about such things in their post history? "But it has co-op which extends the game length!!!" So does CODMW2, so does Black Ops and so does Bulletstorm. And the two CODs both have extensive competitive multiplayer modes.

No I'm not saying COD is better than a Valve-developed game, but call a spade a spade for christ sakes.
Click to expand...

5 hours for the SP campaign in a $50 game is only good for Valve games. Other developers need to have single player campaigns with at least 10 hours, plus a solid multiplayer otherwise they suck and it's not worth the $50!
Not to mention they need to use the latest greatest graphics API, because otherwise the game sucks, regardless of how fun it is. For Valve it's "If it's fun, who cares what graphics API it uses" :)

Plague_Injected said:
Sweet. Apocalypse is put on hold then.
Click to expand...

According to the steam thread, fov_desired doesn't work in Portal 2

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1847656
 
Me and a buddy just finished coop, some of the puzzles were just mind blowing. The coop mechanics is setting itself for some community maps awesomness.

Turns out GLADOs is using p body and atlas to locate and secure the human harvests, matrix style

According to steam, i've put 7 hours into Portal 2 and all I have played was coop, first play through though. I am pretty sure coop can be beaten in 3 hours or less.
 
Silus said:
5 hours for the SP campaign in a $50 game is only good for Valve games. Other developers need to have single player campaigns with at least 10 hours, plus a solid multiplayer otherwise they suck and it's not worth the $50!
Not to mention they need to use the latest greatest graphics API, because otherwise the game sucks, regardless of how fun it is. For Valve it's "If it's fun, who cares what graphics API it uses" :)
Click to expand...

Pff sod that, I'm a big fan of valve games and a massive fan of the original Portal but I didn't buy Portal 2 at the £30 ($50) price point they were asking for nor did I buy the 5 hour MW2 campaign.

Valve don't get any free rides from me simply because they have a good track record, if they price the game too expensive for what it is then they don't get a sale same as everyone else.
 
PrincessFrosty said:
Pff sod that, I'm a big fan of valve games and a massive fan of the original Portal but I didn't buy Portal 2 at the £30 ($50) price point they were asking for nor did I buy the 5 hour MW2 campaign.

Valve don't get any free rides from me simply because they have a good track record, if they price the game too expensive for what it is then they don't get a sale same as everyone else.
Click to expand...

So I take it you didn't buy the $80 DLC pack on day one either ?

http://www.fudzilla.com/games/item/22467-portal-2-taking-hits-over-paid-dlc
 
I think if you added all the DLC to the current game it still would not justify the £30 price tag.

Add all of the DLC into the game, and charge £20 and I'd probably bite, or the game as is now at about £15 and I'd probably bite.

The game is just far, FAR too short for it's price point, sure I know some of you will get stuck on puzzles and spend a decent amount of time figuring them out, but from what I played of portal 2 the puzzles were no more complex than the original in fact most of them in chapter 1 were direct copies from the original portal.

If you're even remotely good at puzzle solving, especially spatial puzzle solving, then it's probably no more than 5-6 hours total across the single player and coop game. That's not good value for money in my book, not even close, and it's nothing against valve specifically I don't buy any game that has that value for money.
 
fattypants said:
Mass Effect 2 costs $39.99 on Steam and has about three to five times as much gameplay, depending on the player.

If I bought Portal and all the DLC, I'd spend about $130 for 6+ hours of gameplay.
Click to expand...

Where's the value in ME2 for $40 when Fallout 3 GOTY can be bought for $30? Where's the value in Fallout when Minecraft, where people have invested hundreds of hours, can be had for $15? World of Warcraft has consumed entire lives for $11 a month. While length is a factor, it's only one part of the whole thing. Portal 2 is an extremely high quality game with brilliant writing and perfect pacing. Took me 7-8 hours (Steam under-reports it at 5h) and was one of the best gaming experiences I've had, laughing from start to finish. To me it was totally, utterly worth it. Feel free to wait until you can pick it up for a price that satisfies the accountant in you.

If you bought Portal 2 and all the store items, you'd spend $50 for 6+ hours of gameplay and about $80 for cosmetic junk.

Exitwound said:
I disliked the first Portal immensely and have no interest in the 2nd one but am curious about one thing which the poster above hit on. Where exactly *IS* the replay value in a game like this? I never had the urge to replay the first one since I felt it was too easy. How does one find replay in a puzzle game when the puzzles don't change?
Click to expand...

The puzzles are really only good for the first time through. The real charm with Portal is the clever AI banter and the atypical gameplay. Portal 2 has turned the story and character dials not just up to 11; this game's dials go to 12.

Tudz said:
Yeah but my point is that if its meaningless, why is it there, or why if its there is it not free. Whatever happened to unlocking meaningless crap through actual gameplay? Or just having it there for free to make the game more colourful and interesting?

The community bitching about "Press start to begin" was the biggest crock of shit, it saddened me to think that's what the PC gaming community is like.
Click to expand...

The oversight of leaving some console text strings in just served to substantiate the concerns PC gamers had about consolization - as you may remember it only has three presets for graphics in the settings. Portal 2 is much more "PC-complete" than Crysis 2, although I do think the excessive loading screens and some minor design choices can be attributed to console influence.

fattypants said:
So by asking for a "long FPS", you mean "a long, linear, corridor FPS which fits my very narrow definition". So I guess Borderlands won't count with you, either. I suppose if you disqualify all my answers by moving the goalposts back when I provide them, then I have no other option but to be wrong. Oh well.
Click to expand...

What needs to be pointed out is that all of the games you mentioned are open-world(-ish) and by design incorporate repetition and empty traveling. Portal 2 doesn't, it's a much tighter experience and the excellent pacing is something other developers should pay attention to.


Complaining about Portal 2's length is a lot like complaining about how much wine is in a bottle of Chardonnay.
 
About the DLC: You can find the items just by playing the game anyway, same as TF2. They're just there for the impatient/ocd players that don't want to spend time playing to get them. Played about 2 hours of co-op and already found 2 $2.50 items.

It's nowhere near the same level as the Dragon Age DLC or map packs.
 
I don't buy the argument that Portal 1/2 are such good game that it justifies a high price tag despite the length.

There is little to no real story behind the portal games, it's a novel way of experiencing the story in a similar fashion to Half Life, but it doesn't make the story good. The puzzles aren't hard or really that stimulating at all, the graphics are woefully sub par for the current generation. The presentation is generally quite good but spoilt by making it such an obvious port, stuff like leaving in console messages and leaving in low FOV are not synonymous with good presentation.

I found the humour very forced this time around, like they were trying too hard, I had a few moments where I considered what I just heard was funny in so far that it appears to meet the criteria for being funny but didn't actually make me laugh, it has a sort of expected monotony to it:

1) enter generic chamber section, listen to quip from glados
2) complete chamber in 30 seconds
3) exit towards identical lift, queue 2nd quip from glados

I think fanboyism has kind of run rampant here, portal was a cool little game, more of a tech demo really, and surprised us all I think, which was refreshing. But Portal 2 as a full £30 price point falls way short. The quality of the experience is not significantly higher than some other game where you might spend 60-70 hours like DAO or Fallout New Vegas, them games excel in many ways where Portal 2 falls flat on its face.
 
Last edited:
Is it just me or is the FOV nauseatingly narrow? I don't normally get dizzy from FPS games but playing Portal 2 for 15 minutes was enough to give me a headache.

Is it possible to change FOV?
 
PrincessFrosty said:
I think fanboyism has kind of run rampant here, portal was a cool little game, more of a tech demo really, and surprised us all I think, which was refreshing. But Portal 2 as a full £30 price point falls way short. The quality of the experience is not significantly higher than some other game where you might spend 60-70 hours like DAO or Fallout New Vegas, them games excel in many ways where Portal 2 falls flat on its face.
Click to expand...

This is entirely your own opinion and I feel like you're trying way too hard to pass it off as a fact. The quality of the experience and the value is entirely subjective. I paid $60 for God of War 3 and it only took me about 10 hours to complete it, but I felt it was very much worth the money, not any more or less than the $40 I paid for New Vegas even though I played it over 30 hours.

If you don't like Portal that much, you're obviously not going to see the value of the game as much as someone that loves the game. I wish people would stop trying to argue this because it basically just boils down to "Quit liking the games I hate!"
 
wife and I played for a few hours yesterday.

To me, it seems like they tried to hard to be funny or try to be funny and witty. The first game just flowed well. My wife pretty much just said it lost the feel that the first one made and said it doesn't seem nearly as fun as the first one.

We both loved the first one.

Why does it seem like there is SOOO many loading zones? Still feel it got consolized...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top