So this last week I finally got my hands on Orange Box, as soon as I got home I popped it in and completely ignoring Half-Life 2, HL2 Episode 1, HL2 Episode 2 and Team Fortress I went straight to the critically acclaimed Portal.
Now portal is something completely different, it’s a FPS styled puzzle game which is addictive from the get go..
The story is that you wake up in a science lab and proceed to undergo some training exercises using a portal gun. The portal gun can fire two portals an orange and a blue one. When you or something else enters one of the portals you come out instantly through the other one, keeping the same direction and momentum that you entered with.
Big red buttons need to be pushed, floating electric balls need to be sent home and camera’s should be removed from walls…. That is the entire game…
Does it get boring? Hell no, this game is absolutely fantastic. The stages are well laid out and keep you thinking, the humour is brilliant. The speed is perfect and the replay ability is there due to the stages being made harder on the second run. Much much harder…
This is easily one of the best games I have played this year and while it is short (4 hours) it is well worth the money you would spend on Orange Box even if Orange Box didn’t come with 4 more games….
Negatives – short
Positives – wickedly funny, truly original, immersive and just plain clever.
Score: 8/10
Remember for me anything above 8 is a must have title….
Portal is part of Half-Life 2 Orange Box and is available now on Xbox 360 and coming soon to PS3 (PC version also exists)
Last Updated: November 27, 2007
Banana hammock
November 27, 2007 at 06:41
Lol, finally someone who doesn’t just dish out 10s for games he likes. Thanks for that! There are way too many reviewers out there who just give scores of 9.5 and 10 out of 10.
LazySAGamer
November 27, 2007 at 07:36
Yeah these 10/10’s drive me nuts… there has not been a game made ever that is perfect..
Vijay Sinha
November 27, 2007 at 09:04
Can’t forget Ellen McLain’s “Still Alive”, Portal’s Ending Song! That tune can get infectious, I tells you.
Milesh Bhana ZA
November 27, 2007 at 11:10
LOL yeah, i have that song as my ringtone. I get lots of odd looks from my co-workers when my phone rings.
Anyway, I loved Portal. It was just so much fun, and the GLaDoS comments were hilarious.
Lazy, play the boss fight again and take your time and listen to all the things she says… classic stuff. (I missed a few first time around because i wanted to beat the timer.)
LazySAGamer
November 27, 2007 at 11:34
@Milesh, I played the last level while looking after my kids so I spent a long time on it and heard it all ;)… the kids wanted to play as well 😀
bokka1
November 27, 2007 at 11:45
I am on level 18 and try to do a new level every few days. I love it especially the later stages where it gets more difficult.
@Lazy: I saw you playing it on Saturday morning at 6AM:)
LazySAGamer
November 27, 2007 at 12:19
@Bokka, yup hangover and all… you gotta love kids 😀
Gazza ZA
December 18, 2007 at 21:20
I dunno if id say the shortness of the game was a downfall, actually i think it worked, Yes at the end i wanted more, but had it been a couple of hours longer i wonder if repetitivness may have crept in, Im pretty sure it would have lost some of its charm.