Portal 2

I'm sure you can help them sort it out, Dunban. ― Fiora, Xenoblade Chronicles

This article is about a 2011 Valve game. You may be looking for a 2003 Running with Scissors game called Postal 2 with slightly different spelling (s & r switched lettering)..

Portal 2
Thinking with portals, again!
Genre(s): Puzzle-platform Platform(s): Microsoft Windows Mac OS X PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Linux Nintendo Switch Release Date: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X WW: April 18, 2011 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 NA: April 20, 2011 PAL: April 22, 2011 Linux WW: February 26, 2014 Nintendo Switch WW: June 28, 2022 Engine: Source Developer(s): Valve Publisher(s): Valve Country: United States Series: Portal Predecessor: Portal

Portal 2 is a puzzle-platform game developed and published by Valve, it is the sequel to the first Portal instalment, and was released in April 2011 for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, also available for Nintendo Switch under the name Portal Companion Collection (which also includes the first game).

Why It Rocks

1. Retains the same features from the original game and adds more.
2. Awesome graphics that are a lot better than the first one.
3. Decently lengthy single-player campaign that is more than double the length of the previous game.
4. Hilarious game moments, like GLaDOS' potato battery form.
5. Wheatley is a hilarious character who acts as your sidekick and villain as well.
6. Introduces a special gel that when placed on the floor, can either give you great speed or high jumps. There is also a conversion gel, which lets you create portals on surfaces that don't support portals, and a cleanser gel, which cleans other gels.
   • What's even more interesting is that the gel shows the Source engine's capabilities. The gel pouring is very realistic, just like the ink shooting in 2015's Splatoon.
7. The story is introduced in a way where you can simply start without the need to play the original game.
8. Awesome bosses.
9. Great soundtrack by Mike Morasky.
10. Introduced co-op mode, which can be played offline or online, even on the PC version.
11. Unlike previous Valve PS3 games, which had issues due to outsourced to EA and because of PS3 development issues at the time, this time PlayStation 3 version works well.
12. The PS3 version could be linked with Steam to allow cross-platform play (no longer supported).
13. The PS3 version has move support.
14. Physical PS3 copies had a code for a free copy of Portal 2 on Steam (unfortunately it can no longer be redeemed).
15. The Challenge mode returns, but this time you can make and upload your challenges online for everyone to try. You can also download other challenges that other players made.
16. Lots of mods that are still being made even today.
17. You can also create custom test chambers with an easy-to-use in-game editor or a more complex editor called Portal 2 Authorizing Tools (PC only) allowing for more possibilities.
18. Unlike the Half-Life games, this one's ending isn't a cliffhanger and there is no need for another game to be made.
19. Amazing voice acting, especially with Stephen Merchant (who also portrayed Captain Deertz in Jojo Rabbit).

Bad Qualities

1. Despite Valve and Gabe Newell hyping up the PS3 version with Steam integration and cross-play with PC, this only lasted until 2018 as Valve quietly dropped Steam and online support for the PS3, making the platinum trophy unobtainable and most importantly making it impossible to redeem the PS3 version for a PC copy. They later removed all mention of the PS3 version from their support site. The Xbox 360 version was unaffected as it never had Steam support to begin with (see below).
2. The Xbox 360 version didn't receive any Steam or cross-play support, though this can be blamed on Microsoft as they refused to let Steam implement it. This ironically gave it an advantage in that 360 players are still able to play online after PS3 support was dropped.
3. Long load times, especially when starting or resuming. You can beat some rooms faster than it takes to load.
4. The Portal 2 In Motion DLC was somewhat disappointing, especially since you need a $200 controller to play it on PC.
5. Some plot holes:
   1. When shutting the neurotoxin off, you can somehow shoot portals on the moving panels, even though portals can’t land on moving surfaces as shown previously.
   2. GLaDOS, in her potato form, somehow doesn’t splat upon the impact of landing in Old Aperture. Sometime earlier, she even tells the player (Chell) to stuff her into one of her long-fall boots but to remember to land on one foot to prevent the aforementioned supposed result.
   3. After the stalemate button blows up, the ceiling of Aperture crumbles away to reveal the moon, even though the elevator ride up to the surface at the end of the game takes longer than expected.
   4. Even if you play along with the game and carry Wheatley when needed, during Chapter 9: The Part Where He Kills You, Wheatley mentions how before he took over Aperture, Chell would usually cooperate whenever he said to come back.
   5. During the core transfer attempt at the end, GLaDOS is somehow accepted as a core replacement, although her corrupt mind is most likely what started the first core transfer.
   6. Despite GLaDOS's lack of power outside the test chambers, Wheatley is somehow able to retrieve the original turrets as well as re-activate the neurotoxin, despite not having the ability to do so. However, this can likely be answered with the fact that he found Atlas and P-Body and likely used them to help with that.
   7. In one of the pre-recorded messages from Cage Johnson, he states not to get covered in repulsion gel, as there is an unidentified lively element in the gel that “doesn’t like the human skeleton”, however, actually getting covered in it does absolutely nothing.

Reception

Although some reviewers initially expressed concerns about the difficulty of expanding Portal into a full sequel, Portal 2 received critical acclaim, particularly for its writing, pacing, and dark humor. The voice work of McLain, Merchant, and Simmons was also praised, as were the new gameplay elements, the challenging but surmountable learning curve, and the additional cooperative mode. Some journalists ranked Portal 2 among the best games of 2011, and several named it their Game of the Year. Portal 2 has since been hailed as one of the greatest video games of all time.

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