Why aren't we talking about Portal 2?

[etiolate]

Game is full of false endings. I keep thinking I'm on the final segment just to have the whole process reboot. Haven't beaten it yet, but its Friday and I want to get outside. I think I got one chapter left, so I should finish it tonight.

[Stoney Mason]

Probably finish it up late this weekend or early next week. When I tried to put in a good number of hours on the second day I found I was burning out on the game. So it's better if I take it in smaller chunks.

[Great Rumbler]

Game is full of false endings. I keep thinking I'm on the final segment just to have the whole process reboot.

Eh, there's really only one false ending and that's basically the halfway marker.

[demi]

The parts that arent "Portal" are way better than actual Portal. The whole escape bit (with GlaDOS offer for the final test) was better than everything else leading up to it.

[pilonv1]

I agree demi, the test chambers in the second half of the game were rather weak while the escape was really fun,

[Great Rumbler]

I thought the first half was a little weak, except for a few parts like the escape. Second half was great though with

spoiler (click to show/hide)

A journey through the history of Aperture and the introduction of the gel mechanic. Also, Wheatly's twisted test chambers were nice as well.

[close]

[etiolate]

Finished it. Need to find some co-op.

[demi]

The entire Cave Johnson oart was complete crap.

[Great Rumbler]

Cave Johnson
Gel
60's look

[pilonv1]

Oh I thought of something I really didn't like with this game

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Loading

[close]

[archie4208]

Loading
Lack of advanced chambers and challenge rooms

spoiler (click to show/hide)

One puzzle in chapter 7 where you have to fill the entire room with white gel that I hated

[close]

Otherwise, it is one of the best games I have ever played.

[Great Rumbler]

It's a Source engine game, so load screens are a given, unfortunately.

[MyNameIsMethodis]

The entire Cave Johnson oart was complete crap.

the first smart thing demi has said since approving my membership back in 07

[demi]

Portal 2 in a nutshell:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

intro -> boring portal rooms -> ESCAPE -> explore mysterious area -> learn about aperture -> boring cave johnson rooms -> come back up -> more boring portal rooms -> ESCAPE -> awesome boss and end sequence

[close]

anything thats not "portal" = ace

[demi]

A lot of the puzzles had the same "solution" as well. Did you notice that? It was funny cause I'd be kinda stumped then I'd be like OH DURRRRRRR and just re-do the same thing I did in the previous room.

[bachikarn]

Cave Johnson
Gel
60's look

Apparently the game was originally a prequel set in the 60s and Cave Johnson was the main component of the storyline. No portals, and no Glados either.

[demi]

Why would there be no portals? He even mentions it in the first instance of white goo.

[bachikarn]

The background story would have been completed different (something about Johnson leading a robot revolution) and they had a completely different game play mechanic. They decided to scrap it for whatever reason.

[archie4208]

Sounds like we have info on Valve's next project that will further delay Half-Life 3. 

[brob]

I wouldn't mind - don't really care for HL2 and it's spawns...

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[demi]

The co-op mode is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy better than the entirety of Single Player.

Does anyone else here have 360 ver or just me and Stoney? Need to look for someone for Professor Portal (do calibration course with someone who hasnt played co-op, and you have beaten co-op yourself) or Friends With Benefits (hug 3 people on friends list)

[Sho Nuff]

Confused as to when the game takes place --

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Portal 1 takes place in 1999. Chell is put in stasis for an indeterminate amount of time and wakes up years later. I am wondering whether or not this takes place AFTER the events of HL3 because she emerges into a cornfield and the sun is shining and everything looks a-ok and not at all post-Combine'y

[close]

[TEEEPO]

i'm done with X360 single player, will get myself on for some coop when i can (though this morning i was playing 5am-7am)

spoiler (click to show/hide)

so Chel is the second player in coop Half life 3 then?

[close]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

that would be not only be incredibly stupid

but it would entirely defeat the importance that was placed on Alyx throughout the episodes, especially the final part of the last one... you know, with the whole unforseen consequences.

and there is still a question as to whether halflife 3 will feature coop. can't imagine it being very cinematic and engaging if so. having two mutes would be distinguished mentally-challenged.

[close]

[Joe Molotov]

i'm done with X360 single player, will get myself on for some coop when i can (though this morning i was playing 5am-7am)

spoiler (click to show/hide)

so Chel is the second player in coop Half life 3 then?

[close]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

that would be not only be incredibly stupid

but it would entirely defeat the importance that was placed on Alyx throughout the episodes, especially the final part of the last one... you know, with the whole unforseen consequences.

and there is still a question as to whether halflife 3 will feature coop. can't imagine it being very cinematic and engaging if so. having two mutes would be distinguished mentally-challenged.

[close]

Gordon dies, Chell/Alyx co-op (with lesbian subtext). Problem solved.

[tehjaybo]

i'm done with X360 single player, will get myself on for some coop when i can (though this morning i was playing 5am-7am)

spoiler (click to show/hide)

so Chel is the second player in coop Half life 3 then?

[close]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

that would be not only be incredibly stupid

but it would entirely defeat the importance that was placed on Alyx throughout the episodes, especially the final part of the last one... you know, with the whole unforseen consequences.

and there is still a question as to whether halflife 3 will feature coop. can't imagine it being very cinematic and engaging if so. having two mutes would be distinguished mentally-challenged.

[close]

Gordon dies, Chell/Alyx co-op (with lesbian subtext). Problem solved.

Mmm.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

by the way

spoiler (click to show/hide)

as the paper and wood had not degraded in the relaxation chamber (theory is the 9999..99 is a glitch and it means 27 years), it turns out that this almost exactly puts Chell [REDACTED] (Cave and Carolines daughter unless you like ignoring the obvious) on the almost EXACT same time line as the return of Freeman

[close]

Why do...

spoiler (click to show/hide)

people say Chell is Cave and Caroline's daughter? Are there hidden game files or levels or ARG data to substantiate this? Or is this "Rinoa is Ultimecia" fanwank all over again?

[close]

[Great Rumbler]

by the way

spoiler (click to show/hide)

as the paper and wood had not degraded in the relaxation chamber (theory is the 9999..99 is a glitch and it means 27 years), it turns out that this almost exactly puts Chell [REDACTED] (Cave and Carolines daughter unless you like ignoring the obvious) on the almost EXACT same time line as the return of Freeman

[close]

Why do...

spoiler (click to show/hide)

people say Chell is Cave and Caroline's daughter? Are there hidden game files or levels or ARG data to substantiate this? Or is this "Rinoa is Ultimecia" fanwank all over again?

[close]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

It's broad speculation based on the fact that Chell's last name is redacted on her form in the motion comic that comes with Portal 2. The only other bit of evidence is the fact that Chell was apparently the daughter of a male Aperture employee.

[close]

[TEEEPO]

that would be not only be incredibly stupid

why would it be stupid?

because Chell's character is a mute who would add nothing to the Half Life universe? while both games loosely coexist within the same "universe", they exist entirely independently from one another. having Chell and Gordon interacting would validate the existence of GLaDOS/Aperture Science and Cave Johnson--an advanced r&d firm that has an incredibly smart, self-aware AI that killed everyone on "bring your mother to work day" which resulted in her single handily running an impossibly large space where everything they do makes no fucking sense which is all the result of a man who funded the company through becoming a billionaire selling shower curtains to everyone except the navy. do i need to spell it out any more clearly? there is a very thin line Valve has created and if they cross it, everything they had worked for would literally become this

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

if they wanted to simply tie the two games together, they would've given more context to what's inside the Borealis instead of giving us a ton of easter eggs, which is basically what the entire game is, a fucking joke.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

OH NO

TEEPO IS HEADCRAB ZOMBIE

[Great Rumbler]

Yeah, I really don't see Valve crossing that line and pairing the two games together. Hints in both games that the other game world exists is fine, it's one of those little things that makes fans all giddy, but it's pretty obvious that the two games are completely different in tone and style and throwing them together just won't work.

Half-Life 3 may have some sort of portal technology, but you're not going to see Gordon fighting against GLaDOS with a wise-cracking British AI by his side.

[Joe Molotov]

Mmmm...Rule 34...

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Yeah, I really don't see Valve crossing that line and pairing the two games together. Hints in both games that the other game world exists is fine, it's one of those little things that makes fans all giddy, but it's pretty obvious that the two games are completely different in tone and style and throwing them together just won't work.

it now seems pretty straight forward that the ending of P2 coincides with the arrival of Gordon at City 17.

Really?

The Final Days of Portal app suggests that

spoiler (click to show/hide)

the developers feel the game takes places tens of thousands of years after the first Portal

[close]

[Howard Alan Treesong]

well, as long as we're spinning theories...

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm rather convinced Chell is a multiply cloned Aperture Science employee, especially after the Portal 2 intro with all the Relaxation Chambers. I don't think the Chell of Portal 1 and the Chell of Portal 2 are the same person, and I think it's entirely possible that the Chell of Portal 1 could still end up in HL3.

[close]

[Herr Mafflard]

well, as long as we're spinning theories...

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm rather convinced Chell is a multiply cloned Aperture Science employee, especially after the Portal 2 intro with all the Relaxation Chambers. I don't think the Chell of Portal 1 and the Chell of Portal 2 are the same person, and I think it's entirely possible that the Chell of Portal 1 could still end up in HL3.

[close]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Eric Wolpaw pretty much discounted the clone theory in the giantbomb P2 spoilercast. I believe he said he didn't see any way that it would make a compelling story arc for Chell.

[close]

[Howard Alan Treesong]

well, as long as we're spinning theories...

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I'm rather convinced Chell is a multiply cloned Aperture Science employee, especially after the Portal 2 intro with all the Relaxation Chambers. I don't think the Chell of Portal 1 and the Chell of Portal 2 are the same person, and I think it's entirely possible that the Chell of Portal 1 could still end up in HL3.

[close]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Eric Wolpaw pretty much discounted the clone theory in the giantbomb P2 spoilercast. I believe he said he didn't see any way that it would make a compelling story arc for Chell.

[close]

look at all the misinformation we're correcting!

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I assumed at the end of Portal 1 repatch, when the robot came and gathered up Chell, that is was from Gordon Freeman's group. I guess based on Eric Wolpaw's statements we can assume it was them salvaging Chell back into a relaxation chamber

[close]

[demi]

I thought the "comic" answers what happened at the end of Portal 1.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Some "Ratman" guy watched Chell get dragged back into Aperture.

[close]

[Herr Mafflard]

yeah, I didn't read the comic yet but

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I believe Chell was dragged back into Aperture by an automated military bot that GlaDos mentions at one point in P1.


[youtube=560,345]Fvp0UR0M4ww[/youtube]

[close]

[Herr Mafflard]

Yeah, I really don't see Valve crossing that line and pairing the two games together. Hints in both games that the other game world exists is fine, it's one of those little things that makes fans all giddy, but it's pretty obvious that the two games are completely different in tone and style and throwing them together just won't work.

it now seems pretty straight forward that the ending of P2 coincides with the arrival of Gordon at City 17.

It might be that the two are going to be left independent but they've certainly put it out there now that they -could- marry the two if they wanted to.

I could see this. Co-op Ep3.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

One player, as Gordon, uses the gravity gun, whereas player 2, Chell uses the portal gun. They could design a pretty neat co-op experience around intertwining those two mechanics, I think.

Another idea is that in Ep3 you take control of Chell and Gordon at different junctures of the game.

The fact that GlaDos is finally able to let go of Chell suggests that she may be destined for greater things outside of Aperture in the HL universe.

[close]

[Herr Mafflard]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Another idea is that in Ep3 you take control of Chell and Gordon at different junctures of the game.

yeah, that's where i see it going - right now Gordon is somewhere in Europe whilst Chell is in the middle of a field in the US. It at least opens up a different location too. But yeah - i don't forsee HL3/Ep3 getting Gordon into the Portal world, meeting glados or -anything- like that. Hell, i don't even think Chell will have the portal gun if she makes it in - she'll be trading off the fact she's an 'abnormal specimin' who is too dangerous to test (as per the Ratman comic) and, possibly, psychotically diven. "Go and start a new disaster" "you want your freedom take it" - "that's what i'm counting on" still makes me think that GlaDos is using Chell for something - potentially something against what the Combine are doing outside. Or maybe the Gman is the person for whom Chell is "someone elses problem". I guess it's so stupidly open you could pretty much justify almost any jump -if- valve wanted to make it.  

Also - in the shaft on the way out - you see a glimpse of something - 3 turrets and they are looking over something that looks alien. It looks like a strider...  Or is it a massive overgrown potato?

[close]

yeah, the fact is, Gordon isn't a clean slate anymore. If they need to justify player actions that contradicts Gordon's modus operandi, why not?

[archie4208]

April 29, 2011 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the first game add-on for the year's highest rated multiplatform game, Portal 2, is in development and targeted for this summer.
Portal 2 DLC #1 will offer new test chambers for players, leaderboards, challenge mode for single and multiplayer modes, and more.
Targeted for release this summer, Portal 2 DLC #1 will be offered free of charge for the PC, Mac, Xbox 360, and PS3.
Portal 2 was released April 19 and currently holds a Metacritic score of 95%, making it the top rated multiplatform game of 2011. Portal also captured the number 1 chart position in the UK, Germany, and the Nordic countries during its first week of availability, making it the fastest-selling Valve release since Half-Life 2.
A hilariously mind-bending adventure that challenges you to use wits over weaponry in a funhouse of diabolical science, Portal 2 features expansive single and cooperative multiplayer game modes.

Valve

[Great Rumbler]

Free updates

[Howard Alan Treesong]

as a PSN user I am disappointed in this day one DLC trend

[Great Rumbler]

as a PSN user I am disappointed in this day one DLC trend

This update looks like it's still a month or two away.

[demi]

I got my 1000 this morning, sent it off to GameFly. Enjoy your crappy free rooms

[Stoney Mason]

Still haven't beat it although I'm very close. I can only play the game in stretches.

While I've enjoyed it, I'm portaled out for at least a few years and I'm not even really done with the game yet. The extra dlc doesn't really do anything for me although if you absolutely love Portal I'm sure its cool and free content is always nice.

[Great Rumbler]

Enjoy your crappy free rooms

Thanks, I will.

[Herr Mafflard]

significant additions for free,  you say

and here I was acceptant of the fact that content be cut from my games and sold to me piecemeal.

thanks for that bioware

[demi]

Wow, more easy to solve rooms. How "significant"

[Great Rumbler]

More easy rooms to solve for free

[demi]

They already made you pay for some...

This whole "game" could have been a free update and they would be none the wiser.

[Great Rumbler]

I only paid $20. 

[demi]

u paid for a $20 map pack... lol

[Herr Mafflard]

it was worth it    ;c

can't wait for the next batch of maps

[Great Rumbler]

it was worth it    ;c

Yeah, well worth it. Lived up to my expectations of what the sequel should be like, so don't have any regrets at all. Even less so now that we're getting even more content handed down for free.

I've certainly paid more for far less entertainment.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

as a PSN user I am disappointed in this day one DLC trend

This update looks like it's still a month or two away.

THAT'S THE JOKE

[Great Rumbler]

as a PSN user I am disappointed in this day one DLC trend

This update looks like it's still a month or two away.

THAT'S THE JOKE

Sorry.  :'(

[archie4208]

Modders are already doing proof of concept maps and the SDK isn't even out yet.  I can't wait to have dozens of free levels to play. 

[MyNameIsMethodis]

enjoy your 1 time free DLC xbots, from here on out u payin 

[Herr Mafflard]

i herd for our convenience sony has set up a direct debit plan that auto charges your card for all future dlc

only caveat seems to be that you get charged at random intervals without warning for large bulk orders that you didn't make for dlc that may not exist

[Stoney Mason]

Just beat the game. Very enjoyable overall. Wheatley is a great character and sort of made the game for me because Stephen Merchant is just a funny dude.

There were some parts that kind of just dragged for me. I'm not sure I need a puzzle game to be that long. But overall good experience.