Playing “Portal 2”

I just finished playing Portal 2. Wow, what a cool game. And so different from Portal 1. Before I get to the comparison, here’s some of my favorite things about Portal 2 (spoiler warning):

• The massive areas. Seriously, I could just look out into the largest warehouses ever. Are large areas like this common in Triple-A games?
• The history. It’s so cool that there’s an entire underground testing facility from the beginning of Aperture Science.
• The music. It really hits all the right moments. And that little arpeggio when sliding on the gel. So good.
• The attention to detail. All the areas where things don’t quite align are pristine. Areas like the spaces between doors and walls, elevators and the ground. I make 3D scenes and Portal 2 is literally perfect. Again, is this common in Triple-A games?

Ok, time for the comparison. I like how Portal 2’s direction succinctly handles the differences between them: Portal 1 was only a tiny slice of Aperture Science, so of course it would be smaller in scope. My mixed feelings about the never-made Portal 3 are resolved: I’m glad Valve hasn’t made Portal 3 because the story is complete.

The only things from Portal 1 that I wish Portal 2 had:

• Picking up random objects
• Jumping over railings

In Portal 2 it’s like, “I have a gun capable of moving huge cubes with ease, and I can’t even pick up a chair?” Then there’s the railings. In Portal 1, they’re more for decoration or handstands than preventing falls. I’m sure OSHA would approve the railings in Portal 2. Valve definitely made them that way for game design reasons, but I can still wish, right?

I like the original portal gun sounds better. I’ll have to do a side-by-side comparison to confirm, but I remember them as more elaborate and intense. I think that works well with Portal 1 because its sonic landscape is relatively minimal and there’s more space for them. Portal 2 has much more going on and the portals sometimes take a backseat.

I was much more invested in not dying in Portal 1 and I found a quote which perfectly describes how I feel about them both:
“…The entire time i played portal 2 i was playing a game, portal 1 was an experience.” – jetpig on reddit

Overall, both are great, but I think I like Portal 1 better.