Portal 2 [split topic]

[mcbpete]

Damn, looks like my CPU wont quite be up to the job of running it - I only have a 2.7Ghz single core machine...

[Big Jack McBastard]

Hurrah I can take the piss out of someone else's PC for the first time!

Ahem:

#Ner nerny nerr nerr!#

and relax.

[wheatgod]

3 seconds...

[wheatgod]

09:00 – Hello again.
09:00 – I've been waiting a long time for this.
09:00 – I know it's arriving later than expected.
09:00 – But I have a message for you:
09:00 – April Fools.
09:01 – I'm joking.
09:01 – Seriously, though:
09:01 – You've been surprisingly competent at
09:01 – generating electro-chemical energy to jumpstart the system.
09:01 – But now we need raw computational power
09:02 – to speed up the reboot process.

[Still Not George]

PAGING MADHAIR

WE HAVE A SUPER MEAT BOY CRISIS

[Penfold]

oooooooooooo they've added the orange box soundtrack to audiosurf.

try it if you have it.

That's the only game I have from the potato sack.

Not sure whether to get this for xbox or ps3.

I'll probably have more friends playing it on the 360 but I rarely play games online, the ps3 comes with the free steam version but I doubt my laptop will be up to the job, but football in the groin had football in the groin.

[Rev]

They've really miscalculated this one, haven't they?  Although I'd not heard of the Wonderful End of the World before, and it seems to be worth checking out.

[The Boston Crab]

I don't understand. Do they want people to buy 13 indie games and they'll release Portal early? Or am I insane?

[waste of chops]

Well, kinda. If enough people spend enough time playing them then Portal 2 gets an early release but since I've already got quite a few of them (usually for cheap in Steam sales) I can help out without spending a penny. Also the games have had Portal-themed levels and stuff added to them, which is pretty cool.

[The Boston Crab]

I think it's a very clever bit of marketing that I woncontributing towards.

[biggytitbo]

I like the small bear on your avatar.

[Rev]

I think it's a very clever bit of marketing that I woncontributing towards.

Yeah, same.  It's a cracking bit of marketing, but they've either got the numbers wrong or exactly right (if the idea is that it won't actually make a dent or affect things either way).  As it stood a couple of hours back, the release had been brought forward by 50 minutes, which was admittedly a massive improvement on how things were last night.  Doing it over a week might have helped, I dunno.

[Mister Six]

I just watched the bit with the temp guy and I think Merchant will be a big improvement. I'd rather a decent unknown though. I suppose most people (Americans) who play the game won't know who it is anyway.

Hmm. See, I dislike it for a couple of reasons. Firstly, hearing C-list Brit comedians in video games always drags me out of them (cf. Danny Wallace in Assassin's Creed II). Secondly, the sound work on the first Portal was superb, and the sing-song voices of the turrets and GlaDOS were a large part of the world-building for me. Thirdly, I dislike the idea of having Chell hanging out with an ally, partly because being the sole Test Subject in Portal added to the blackly comical grimness of it all, and partly because (as my rants about Half Life 2 have shown) I really don't think mute protagonists work if people are actually trying to converse with them.

[falafel]

I'm sure all will not be as it seems.

[Penfold]

I read the comic they did linking the stories last night and enjoyed it

Not sure why but I've been going Portal nuts the past few days, I don't think I appreciated it when I first got Still Alive on XBLA and didn't finish it until I watched my housemate playthrough it when I got him The Orange Box for his birthday.

Now I can't wait and may paint the door frames in my house orange and blue, because i'm a twat.

[no_offenc]

I've cheated a bit and watched a walkthrough of the first twenty minutes or so and honestly Merchant works better than I thought he would. The humour seems pretty well-pitched and the art direction is very nice. Looking forward to getting paid just in time for release.

[Al Tha Funkee Homosapien]

Anyone want a copy of Portal for PC? I've got a spare copy on Steam. PM me if you want it.

[bitesize]

my pre-order for the PS3 version has been picked for packing today, according to GAME's website[nb]i don't normally buy from them, but they were said to be offering some kind of pre-order bonus (which doesn't seem to have actually happened)[/nb] - so hopefully it's getting sent out today. i am unreasonably excited for this game!


edit:  it's been sent! now watch it take a week to get here...

[Joy Nktonga]

My son started Steam about half an hour ago and Portal 2 was already live. Took about 20 mins to "decrypt Steam files" and download an update but he's just started playing now. As a good dad I shall be waiting until tonight to have a go :-( Mind you, who said I was a good dad...

Edits: It looks good and sounds good. Merchant is in typical Merchant mode (a la bank adverts) but so far only only on the intro.


Also have an extra Steam copy of Portal. PM if you're interested.

[leelo]

I do love me some Valve ARG. Bestest virals in the world.

The ARG in full(ish)...

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1824635

[Up T Bloody Tree]

If anybody needs a co-op partner: Hello.

[madhair60]

Consarnit, I was so on the fence about this one.  An

Spoiler alert

eight-hour singleplayer

[close]

just isn't enough for me.  I'm almost certainly not going to replay it, and I definitely wouldn't play co-op.  But now I wish I'd forked out when it was £26.99.

[rudi]

You finish games faster than I finish pooing, mh. I'm genuinely impressed/disturbed.

[madhair60]

New games are fucking easy.  I'm playing Police Quest 2 at the moment - that shit is punishing.  I've developed a huge interest in those Sierra graphic adventures with the text parsers (King's, Space, Leisure Suit Larry).  They should do a Portal one.  OPEN PORTAL, USE CUBE, GET CAKE

[Up T Bloody Tree]

Portal 2 seemed much easier, to me. Finished it in a snap.

[mcbpete]

Portal 2 seemed much easier, to me. Finished it in a snap.

If you're a PC user try Portal Prelude - http://www.portalprelude.com/
It's bloody tough but real good ..... I almost finished it but I think my lappy didn't have quite enough RAM to tackle the very last level as it kept kicking me out with a 'memory cannot be read' error.

[MojoJojo]

Saw an advert on the TV, which did stir a little bit of excitement in me.
Been suppressing it, as if there was ever a sequel likely to disappoint it's this.
The first game benefited from being surprising - sold as an extra to one extremely successful franchise and another reasonably well know one, was actually more enjoyable than either of them (although obviously a bit short).

Now we know the deal.
Also - even in Portal, it felt as if they were running out of ideas for puzzles using the portal mechanic.

So is it actually any good?

[Up T Bloody Tree]

It's a good game. Didn't blow my mind, and wasn't as funny to me. You're probably hit the nail on the head with the surprise/ingenuity factor.

It didn't innovate much this time. The few new gameplay mechanics are barely enough to justify a sequel. The dialogue isn't as slick, and seemed a bit too silly at times.

For fans of the original game it's great. I wonder how new players will like it, or understand the plot.

[Rev]

Wasn't Portal always supposed to be a 'proof of concept' rather that a game in its own right, though?  That it was such a small thing clearly left time for a lot of polish in areas that could have been missed, so it became this thoroughly charming one-off.  I don't doubt that the sequel's great, but it's not something I want to play either, because I don't see the need for it.  It's Bioshock 2 all over again.

[mcbpete]

Wasn't Portal always supposed to be a 'proof of concept' rather that a game in its own right, though?  That it was such a small thing clearly left time for a lot of polish in areas that could have been missed, so it became this thoroughly charming one-off.

Well it was originally this -

Narbacular Drop Playthrough - Part 1

So the proof of concept was already laid down and Valve then bought the development team to make a new version to fit into the Half Life universe (well obviously that's a rather simplistic take on what happened but you get my drift ...)