At midnight on Wednesday, gaming company Valve unlocked it’s Orange Box software. In addition to a new episode in the compelling Half-Life 2 universe, you also got a quirky/awesome multi-player game called Team Fortress 2, and this enigmatic concept game called simply ‘Portal.’
In it, you wake up in a small room, and are required to navigate several mazes in a sterile, psychological experiment-looking series of rooms. The tests get progressively harder, challenging your spatial ability and your patience. At times, you just want to break free…
I’d seen videos of it before, but nothing prepared me for playing it. Overall, the game itself is way too short, but as a high concept of an aspect of gaming to come, it’s revolutionary. I’ve only played through the basic missions, the more advanced ones await me. But there are lots of puzzles, and me likely the puzzle. There are also rumors that the character here will be incorporated into the Half-Life universe. Now it’s time to start up Episode 2.
(image via Borkweb)
You beat me to it Jeremy. I played most of Portal yesterday and loved it. Valve are so good at storytelling whilst leaving the player in control of the character. The buzz of seeing yourself enter a portal as you leave another is really wicked.
It was a bit freaky at first, I kept thinking I’d finally found a person to interact with. I don’t like the little metal thingies attached to her legs. If you go through the developer commentary you eventually find out what they’re for, and it wasn’t until then I noticed them. Now I can’t stop staring.
I always enjoy Valve’s stories, especially Portal which manages it without another person to talk to.