I like the end where GlaDOS is your mother.

Did anyone buy the potato sack games to help speed up the release date? I didn't

Now, who bought the game and who wants to play multiplayer with Fusionaut?

I do, I do! but I have work now for the next 8 odd hours.

I'm at work an hour early to get some cheeky playing in before work.

"Decrypting Portal 2 game files" - 32% done.... COME ON! COME ON!!!!!

An hour in and it's nothing short of superb gaming genius.

First two chapters have been pretty lame in regard to the puzzle factor. Let's see what's next...

Well they are pretty much tutorial levels to be fair.

Got to chapter 2 last night before hitting the hay. Glad0s is awesome.

Funny, now I have to work!>> ^gwiz665:

I do, I do! but I have work now for the next 8 odd hours.

I'll probably pick it up this weekend. I didn't buy any of the potato games, but I already had audiosurf so I played that for the first time in months.

Just finished the single player. Here are my pros and cons:

Pros:
- Some really head scratching puzzles.
- Very humorous, thanks to Merchant and Simmons. The last game that I played that was this funny was a Lucasarts adventure title more than 15 years ago.
- Some really nice additions to the mechanics of the game. I'm surprised that the floating energy spheres didn't make an appearance, as well as some of the other older mechanics, but then again, that let us focus on the new stuff to play with so fair enough.
-decent enough back story

Cons:
- the whole Potato game promotion/tie-in for all the reasons everyone's already complained about
- sad to see Valve is going the DLC route. On one hand I'm glad it's just cosmetic stuff and doesn't enhance the gameplay; on the other, what does this spell for future games like HL3 and L4D3? Fucking horse armor.
- I didn't care for the ending as much, but in keeping with making this thread spoiler-free, I won't go into it here. Maybe later, after everyone's gotten through it.
- by the end of the game, I was really surprised that Valve only did x amount of stuff with the new gameplay mechanics. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the community comes up with. However, I haven't heard whether or not an SDK will be released. I fear that Valve may follow suit with all the game companies and start holding back tools, just to nickel and dime with DLC. I certainly hope not.

Yes, the DLC for skins, hats, taunt animations etc. are waaay overpriced. Not a good move by Valve, surely they make enough money nowadays to not have to rip people off!?

co-op is a bit lame regarding story i must say, but hey, it's portal for two, what do i want? :-)

8,5h singleplayer. a bit disappointing.

Game was good, but the puzzles were waay to easy. I guess that's what you get from a mainstream puzzle game that everyone has to be able to solve. Was always waiting for some real head-scratchers, but they never came

I liked the ending, and the level design was just superb. It's incredible that they managed to pull it off like that with the source engine.

I'm on chapter 5 and loving it so far. The writing is superb.

>> ^Hybrid:

Yes, the DLC for skins, hats, taunt animations etc. are waaay overpriced. Not a good move by Valve, surely they make enough money nowadays to not have to rip people off!?


I could care less about purely cosmetic DLC, but the pricing point on this crap has always confused me. Most people seem to find it a huge rip-off. I can't help but imagine it'd be financially more successful if it were priced a lot lower. Or maybe I underestimate the number of people that'll blow money on something a gnat's nuts away from being completely useless.

>> ^Crosswords:

>> ^Hybrid:
Yes, the DLC for skins, hats, taunt animations etc. are waaay overpriced. Not a good move by Valve, surely they make enough money nowadays to not have to rip people off!?

I could care less about purely cosmetic DLC, but the pricing point on this crap has always confused me. Most people seem to find it a huge rip-off. I can't help but imagine it'd be financially more successful if it were priced a lot lower. Or maybe I underestimate the number of people that'll blow money on something a gnat's nuts away from being completely useless.

I remember reading (or watching. I can't remember if was a video or an article) that their highest grossing item in the Team Fortress 2 store is the highest priced item in it. But the second highest grossing item is the lowest priced item in the store.

Finished it this evening... Loved pretty much all of it... And the ending was superb I thought. Very unique and clever. 10/10.

... now for the co-op.

DLC/Inapp purchases are interesting. I work with them daily and often the highest grossing one is the most expensive one even if you think it's ridiculously expensive (or a lot of crap).

On chapter 8 now and completely blown away. The plot twists are excellent and the dialog is laugh out loud funny. The puzzles are easier, but they are far from dull. I think they wanted to keep the story pacing brisk. It would be nice if they released a difficult puzzle pack.

I just got the test results. It says that you're a horrible person. It says so right here, a horrible person. It's funny, we weren't even testing for that.
>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

On chapter 8 now and completely blown away. The plot twists are excellent and the dialog is laugh out loud funny. The puzzles are easier, but they are far from dull. I think they wanted to keep the story pacing brisk. It would be nice if they released a difficult puzzle pack.

You wankers. I don't have it yet.

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

On chapter 8 now and completely blown away.


Shock Doctrine?

On the bright side, it has validated your mother's decision to abandon you. >> ^gwiz665:

I just got the test results. It says that you're a horrible person. It says so right here, a horrible person. It's funny, we weren't even testing for that.
>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:
On chapter 8 now and completely blown away. The plot twists are excellent and the dialog is laugh out loud funny. The puzzles are easier, but they are far from dull. I think they wanted to keep the story pacing brisk. It would be nice if they released a difficult puzzle pack.

Valve certainly could have rewritten my personal constitution and sold off my natural resources if they wanted to. I'm thankful that they did not. >> ^blankfist:

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:
On chapter 8 now and completely blown away.

Shock Doctrine?

Does it require Steam installation to play?

Loads of fun, but I'm kinda mad because it turns out the "fake" ending movies that leaked turned out to, well, actually be the ending movies for the game.

Oh well, at least the cake was delicious and moist.

10/10!!!!!!!!!!!!!

>> ^xxovercastxx:

Does it require Steam installation to play?


It does indeed. I find it kind of odd why people are so accepting of steam, my self included, yet hate any other form of dial home copy protection. Maybe its cause steam is up front about what its doing, or because it offers a lot of features people find desirable.

>> ^Crosswords:

It does indeed. I find it kind of odd why people are so accepting of steam, my self included, yet hate any other form of dial home copy protection. Maybe its cause steam is up front about what its doing, or because it offers a lot of features people find desirable.


I assumed it would. Unfortunately that means I won't be buying it.

I don't have time to play with it. I will wait until summer. I missed the sale on Amazon.

Just finished the single campaign. It was much easier than I expected but the humor was great. I think the ease of the game comes from being used to "thinking with portals" from the first game. They also did a bad job of making the solutions really obvious. If you're in an entire room of non-portal surfaces" and there are only 4 small panels that are "portalable" it gets pretty obvious.. The catwalk rails were also irritating. Here, walk on this catwalk until you find the ONE place where you can possibly fall off and oh, what are the odds, there's also one single white panel on the ground below... ARE YOU GETTING THE HINTS?? ARE YOU??

still pretty fun for the story. I'm excited for co-op

Not had a chance to play II yet, but I did wonder if people would view Portal II's puzzles as easier because they were trained to 'think with portals' in the first one. I found a lot of the replay value with the first one was solving the levels in a way not intended, which is why they have all those challenge modes, least portals, least time, least steps. Hopefully while II has obvious paths for advancement they've made it so you can advance using less obvious methods.

>> ^residue:

Just finished the single campaign. It was much easier than I expected but the humor was great. I think the ease of the game comes from being used to "thinking with portals" from the first game. They also did a bad job of making the solutions really obvious. If you're in an entire room of non-portal surfaces" and there are only 4 small panels that are "portalable" it gets pretty obvious.. The catwalk rails were also irritating. Here, walk on this catwalk until you find the ONE place where you can possibly fall off and oh, what are the odds, there's also one single white panel on the ground below... ARE YOU GETTING THE HINTS?? ARE YOU??
still pretty fun for the story. I'm excited for co-op

I really enjoyed the special challenge modes from the first one too, but I don't think there are such modes in 2, which is a disappointment. There are certainly some creative ways to get through some areas, but there's no way to pick one specific room at a time. I'm replaying it again now to look for the achievements which are really pretty well thought out and fun to find

>> ^Crosswords:

Not had a chance to play II yet, but I did wonder if people would view Portal II's puzzles as easier because they were trained to 'think with portals' in the first one. I found a lot of the replay value with the first one was solving the levels in a way not intended, which is why they have all those challenge modes, least portals, least time, least steps. Hopefully while II has obvious paths for advancement they've made it so you can advance using less obvious methods.
>> ^residue:
Just finished the single campaign. It was much easier than I expected but the humor was great. I think the ease of the game comes from being used to "thinking with portals" from the first game. They also did a bad job of making the solutions really obvious. If you're in an entire room of non-portal surfaces" and there are only 4 small panels that are "portalable" it gets pretty obvious.. The catwalk rails were also irritating. Here, walk on this catwalk until you find the ONE place where you can possibly fall off and oh, what are the odds, there's also one single white panel on the ground below... ARE YOU GETTING THE HINTS?? ARE YOU??
still pretty fun for the story. I'm excited for co-op

In regards to Crosswords wondering if there's more than one way to solve the puzzles in Portal 2, I'd say yes, but not to the same degree as the first game in my experience (played the single-player 3 times now). Many test chambers require one specific solution with not much room for creative puzzle solving, well, besides the trial and error process of figuring a puzzle out; it seems that the introduction of all these new mechanics (the three kinds of gel, hard-light walkways, forward/backward tractor beams, faith plates, etc.) cumulatively make for much more specific solutions with less room for player delineation from the designer's intended sequence of events to complete them. So, the instances of forging your own path are there, just not as abundant as in the original. The puzzles themselves are varied enough to make repeat playthroughs still enjoyable, imo. The fantastic sense of atmosphere and thoughtful level/sound design, writing, and story also help.

I haven't played the co-op yet, so no clue on that front.

About the DLC stuff, it seems likely Valve will soon release more level packs, hopefully free. It would make no sense to spend dev resources making paid hats/gestures/doo-hickies if all there is to enjoy them in is the out-of-the-box coop campaign. It would be a smart move to counterbalance paid, non-vital cosmetic stuff with more meaty-but-free maps to ensure a vital and thriving community, a less disgruntled one at that. Valve is usually good about making the essential stuff free, and the paid optional stuff at least theoretically attainable through other means (if TF2 is any indication, also Portal 2 hats/gestures are able to be Found by playing/achievements a la TF2, not sure to what capacity though).

Some advanced chambers of the single-player stuff and a Challenge mode would be nice too. But I digress, we'll see which direction Valve takes it soon enough! Just an already happy customer thinking out loud about how Valve could make it even betterer than it already is.

Buying useless DLC: WTF? I wouldn't give them ten cents for a fucking hat that does nothing. I paid enough for the game as it is and it was too short. There's no way I'm paying for crap that doesn't even do anything.

>> ^MarineGunrock:

Buying useless DLC: WTF? I wouldn't give them ten cents for a fucking hat that does nothing. I paid enough for the game as it is and it was too short. There's no way I'm paying for crap that doesn't even do anything.


At first I was irritated by the DLC store, too. Think of it this way: There are people who love to spend money on hats and other purely cosmetic gimmicks. The money from these sales goes to Valve, who might use it to fund their next game.

It's only acceptable if helps Ep 3 come out sooner. Or an FPS with a portal gun.>> ^campionidelmondo:

>> ^MarineGunrock:
Buying useless DLC: WTF? I wouldn't give them ten cents for a fucking hat that does nothing. I paid enough for the game as it is and it was too short. There's no way I'm paying for crap that doesn't even do anything.

At first I was irritated by the DLC store, too. Think of it this way: There are people who love to spend money on hats and other purely cosmetic gimmicks. The money from these sales goes to Valve, who might use it to fund their next game.

I played the co-op campaign over the weekend and it was just as fun as the single player campaign. My only criticism is that it was all over way too quickly. Moar!

Sometime this summer, Valve are releasing free DLC for the game for all platforms. It will include new test chambers, leaderboards, a challenge mode for single and multiplayer and "more".
>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

Moar!

*quality

Awarding Hybrid with one star point for this contribution to VideoSift - declared quality by dystopianfuturetoday.

Cheers for the quality... for science!>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:

quality