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Portal Review - 9/10
Portal review by <insert reviewer’s name here>
As part of Valve’s incredible value pack “the orange box” it might be easy for portal to get tossed aside and forgotten in favour of its more famous cousin’s half life and team fortress. But if you stop and take one look at portal you will find out that it is one of the most innovative and unique games of the year.
see your self through portals
The goal of portal is a simple one, get to the exit. But this task is often hindered by things such as gaps in the floor, automated turrets and/or doors which need to be opened. But to aid you in getting to the exit in each test chamber you are given the “Aperture Science handheld portal device” AKA the portal gun. This allows you to create two linked portals which connects the special dimensions of the room you are in together. It’s an incredible concept but it is hard to grasp by simply reading. So to help you in you’re testing the kind folks at Aperture Science have created this educational training video to instruct in portal mechanics and use.
What pushes portal past being just a great concept into a great game, is really its incredible and hilariously funny script. You are a lone test subject, and to guide you though you’re testing environments is the Aperture Science AI GLaDOS who’s lines are an absolute laugh out loud experience throughout the entire game. As she doesn’t really seem to care for your safety too much, and starts to seem slightly sinister as the game progresses and you start to see some cracks in the testing environments allowing you to see the scrawled writing of those who have been there before you.
a simple puzzle
Graphically portal isn’t any thing special with most of the game taking place in sterile white testing environments. The wow effect comes from the portals them selves and not any graphical bells and whistles. That said the game still looks good and looking down a corridor of recursive portals is like being in a house of mirrors and great to just stare at.
Recursive portals look dam cool
Portal is a short experience that can be completed in 3-5 hours depending on your grasp of portals and how they affect things like forward momentum and gravity or in actual fact how they do not. But it has, like all the other games in the orange box (except half life 2 original) commentary mode which allows you to play thought the game again with commentary from the people who made the game to give you an inside view at the development process at valve. Also there are a bunch or advanced tests and trails that can be completed for achievements.
A much harder puzzle
Portal is a fun and mentally stimulating puzzle that is held together with the glue of great story and excellent writing. It will have you thinking to your self “if I just put a blue portal here and an orange portal there”. Then you realize that now you’re thinking with portals
Gameplay 9.5/10
Sound 9/10
Life span 6/10
Overall 9/10
Submitted by longarms
16/10/2007
10
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Comments
i've finished this game twice 
and finished 2/6 advanced levels 
08/01/2008
Brisbane, QLD {PSN = aimar120}
lol but are you enjoying the game at least?
01/11/2007
Central Coast (NSW)
Kudos: 3,825
Mates: 65
I've been playing this for the past hour and motion sickness is killing me.
Kudos: 1,334
Mates: 30
wow nice review! 
Great review longarms man, VERY NICE!
17/10/2007
California, U.S | MyPS3, MyWii, MyDS
Thanks man
17/10/2007
Central Coast (NSW)
Kudos: 13,361
Mates: 1048
Great review longarms. Very detailed along with pictures and videos. Top stuff mate 
gdmatt said: good review longarms... hope you do the rest of the orange box review 
I will be with the exception of Half life 2 original and Episode 1. if you want to see reviews of them you can find tonnes of them on the web as they are old(on the pc atleast )
16/10/2007
Central Coast (NSW)
man awesome review! i was wondering wat portal was 
16/10/2007
Brisbane, QLD {PSN = aimar120}
Kudos: 25,822
Mates: 473
Awesome stuff Longarms man, never ever played Portal but it looks and sounds brilliant. Looking forward to seeing you're Half Life 2/Team Fortress reviews mate. Good stuff!
16/10/2007
Outside Perth W.A, over those green mountains, Milkin the cows with Mandy.
Kudos: 12,601
Mates: 894
good review longarms... hope you do the rest of the orange box review
16/10/2007
Melbourne, Victoria
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Comments
zyxses: Rearranged my bedroom and now my TV is toooo far away. You know what that means? Yep, bigger telly ;)
tonyamanda: waiting a week for my new tv to come. 106cm lcd lg
Zergling: noobing it up cos i just realised thats all in the wrong section
Zergling: a wedding photographer, work at eb games and study film and television at tafe (Y) yeww
S0NY: ...looking at my 118 PS3 BD games.