This review was originally published 05/15/2011 on Game Observer (now defunct as of 05/13/2014). It has been republished here for archival purposes.
Yes GladOS, we brought you back to life because we really do love to test!
To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t looking forward to this game. I love the first Portal, as it was about as close to "perfect" as any game has ever come, but I couldn’t help but fear that Valve might turn this into a franchise, and in doing so, some of the allure of the game would be lost. But the game was released, and it is a triumph. Mostly.
Apparently, a very long time has passed since the first game. The Enrichment Center is very different. Under the care of the watchful AI, Wheatley, the entire facility has been slowly falling apart. The degrading, decrepit test chambers make for much more interesting visuals than the sterile, white and gray chambers of the first game. They are now overgrown with weeds and vines, panels are falling off the walls, broken glass litters the floors, and fallen and bent metal beams and girders obstruct some of your paths. It’s just too bad that with all the debris and vegetation littering the environment, that none of it is interactive. It slightly breaks the immersion when you walk through dangling leaves and they don’t react to your passing at all.
There is a lot of visual variety in this game. You travel through the dilapidated chambers of the early game until the facility begins to rebuild itself. You watch it piece itself back together. Then you get to travel through the deepest guts of Aperture Science. And finally, you come back to see the test chambers tear themselves apart again
The co-op puzzles are fun, but not terribly replayable. [More]
9e4a4a6b-d12e-4d91-8298-afef9867183b|2|3.0
Tags:Portal 2, review, Portal, Valve, Electronic Arts, EA, Steam, platformer, puzzle, shooter, PC, PS3, PSN, GladOS, hacking, cyber-attack, cloud save, XBox 360
Now that Gods & Kings has rearranged the tech tree, I decided I would revisit my old Code of Law mod and update it for the new expansion. That updated version is now uploaded onto the Steam Workshop.
The new Code of Law technology requires Writing and leads to Philosophy and Civil Service.
It allows Courthouses and Open Borders treaties.
The primary intent of this mod is to move the Courthouse building away from Mathematics so that players do not gain access to the building that nullifies unhappiness from city occupation at the same time that they unlock the first siege weapon. This way, overly-aggressive players who beeline to Iron Working and/or Mathematics so they can capture cities will have to take a minor detour through the culture and science path of the tech tree in order to be able to annex those cities and start using them as unit-farms. [More]
50556c27-24ef-4441-a175-6878c81251a1|1|4.0
Tags:Sid Meier's Civilization, Civilization, Civilization V, Civilization V: Gods & Kings, Civ V mod, modding, Steam, Steam Workshop, Valve, strategy, Code of Law, technology, tech tree, 2K Games, forum, whoward69, Civilization V
Earlier today, I uploaded my newest mod for Sid Meier's Civilization V onto the Steam Workshop.
This new mod is titled "Fat Man and Little Boy". The effects of the mod are as follows:
Completing the Manhattan Project now grants a free Atomic Bomb unit in the city that built the project. The unit will be received regardless of whether the player has access to Uranium (usually required to build an Atomic Bomb). In addition, the first player to complete the Manhattan Project will be given two free Atomic Bombs, which are appropriately named "Fat Man" and "Little Boy". [More]
458081a7-6149-426c-9ca1-1831505007d1|1|5.0
Tags:Sid Meier's Civilization, Civilization, Civilization V, Civilization V: Gods & Kings, Civ V mod, modding, Steam, Steam Workshop, Valve, strategy, Fat Man and Little Boy, Manhattan Project, atomic bomb, uranium, Civilization V
A few weeks ago, I started reading about some new ad campaign that Sony was planning called "Long Live Play". I was kind of disappointed to hear that Sony would be taking a new approach to its advertising, as I actually really enjoyed some of the early Kevin Butler ads. Today, I saw the first advertisement in this new campaign, and it blew me away in terms of creativity and execution!
The full ad is shown below:
While a "love letter" to the gamer in the form of a TV commercial doesn't make up for losing tens of millions of people's Credit Card information, reminding people of why they love to game is a great first step towards bringing back our business. The advertisement above features many of the most beloved characters in the PlayStation 3 library giving heartfelt thanks to the efforts of one valiant gamer for bringing their stories to life and helping them through their greatest perils.
[More]
5b12cc47-f820-4f60-b64a-1ca03f9896c4|1|5.0
Tags:Sony, PlayStation, PS3, PSN, Uncharted, Nathan Drake, God of War, Infamous, Metal Gear Solid, Konami, Solid Snake, Ezio, Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft, Chell, Portal, Valve, Final Fantasy, Square-Enix, Nathan Fillion
I recently had my full review of Portal 2 posted on Game Observer (now defunct as of 05/13/2014).
If you are interested, you can also prepare for my review by reading my pre-release blog for the game, in which I express concerns that Portal may go the way of Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, and other games that oversaturate themselves with annual or bi-annual releases until the public gets sick of them. Hopefully that doesn't happen.
In the meantime...
Yes GlaDOS, we brought you back because we really do love to test!
Apparently, a very long time has passed since the first game. The Enrichment Center is very different. Under the care of the watchful AI, Wheatley, the entire facility has been slowly falling apart. The degrading, decrepit test chambers make for much more interesting visuals than the sterile, white and gray chambers of the first game. They are now overgrown with weeds and vines, panels are falling off the walls, broken glass litters the floors, and fallen and bent metal beams and girders obstruct some of your paths. It’s just too bad that with all the debris and vegetation littering the environment, that none of it is interactive. It slightly breaks the immersion when you walk through dangling leaves and they don’t react to your passing at all... [More]
5d2b9f00-c183-429e-99cc-4d09ea6eb7e9|0|.0
Tags:Portal 2, Portal, Valve, Steam, PC, PS3, PSN, review, platformer, puzzle, multiplayer
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