Foreword

He is called for in many places also on PC games, but rarely delivered: the speech is of just as much-discussed how important factor “Innovation”. This factor is much discussed, because it is by no means clear what just below to understand is important, however, – because it significantly helps to make a title unique and thus sometimes at least potentially more successful.

But do yourself hard with the legendary innovation known to also game developers. Because as well as elsewhere in this segment, is innovation prerequisite full: one needs time, a solid financial position, and finally and above all creative minds to break out of the great monotony and to break new ground – criteria to score nowadays generally to the team of scarce goods.

And so it is not surprising that the majority of PC Games releases from the past few years has been generally just not groundbreaking, but conventionally what practiced that – again – explains regular whining around the topic of “0815″ content.

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Portal 2 – Packshot

Now, there are however also in this regard in all the indeed beacons of hope. To do this is by some exceptions apart, to include also the bustling development and distribution Studio valve.

2007 it proved how playing easy can be, is to conjure up a fun title by the combination of puzzle and sci-fi elements, although by no means to count the serious, epic pearls in the industry, but meant a really refreshing breeze through his unconventional way at valve with the supplement product “Portal” impressively.

With “Portal 2″, the successor to and at the same time the evidence is available, that from a small game with a genuine full-price product is now recently. The following is to be clarified to what extent can convince “Portal 2″.

System requirements

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Portal 2 at a glance

Actually you could have some fear to “Portal”, because after all valve has a quite full game made from the side product due to the strong response with the successor, that more than ever in the large mass targeted – a fact which quite fear left that you would do to get it (highly simplified) preserves content.

Entered this “worst case” is not however fortunately. Instead, it can be seen that the developers meet the wildest hopes, by developing a generally clever gameplay of the short-time fun to a game with a good extensive single-player campaign.

In that round eleven – the actual playing time varies depending on the competence and sensing interest of the player – the small “portal” universe expands significantly, so that you can learn more about the background, for example, much; But of course still many new puzzles and environments are the core of the whole.

The story is divided in ten chapters plays accordingly only a minor role and is high-quality cement for the different puzzles to understand rather than funny; for those interested, it provides some tension and surprising turns.

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See you is a pleasure: an old acquaintances in the awakening

The player awakens in a post-apocalyptic future in which the Research Institute of the “half life” company aperture science, in which it was held in a permanent deep sleep, looks like a shambles. All the more so, that the bustling maintenance robot Wheatley helps a combative use to escape from the dreary one-room prison – a brief moment of freedom, the short time later but the accidental activation of an old acquaintance a sudden end is set at the same time the beginning of many new tests means.

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Portals: the proper placement makes it

On the basic game mechanics, nothing has changed here. Central element accordingly remains the portal gun developed by aperture science, whose functioning is simple: per click may place the games inputs and outputs in the walls of the area.

The related tasks, mainly provided by the just mentioned old acquaintances are less simple. In essence, these require that one moves through the portal gun in a limited, but peppered with obstacles area from A to B (the short video below shows such a puzzle from the beginning). The correct use, the proper placement of said portals and the use of third goods are here to leave at the end of each area.

The implementation can convince this principle without sacrificing: the sections are sufficiently large and authentic and represent a good basis for a high mystery variation due to different elements and obstacles. Significantly contributes to this impression, that the current test areas are broken up by a short trip in the not for subjects, sometimes confusing parts of the research facility, where friends of the content are provided with some additional information about the context and the objectives of Aperture science.

The puzzles vary not only, but are on a steep but nevertheless successful learning curve. While it gently but deliberately introduced in the first minutes within a content lined tutorials in gameplay, lots of brain lard is needed just in the Middle, and of course especially later in the game, to pass through the provided each course to be able to.

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The variation of objects requires the variation on puzzles

This is made possible by the continuous add message of new interaction items such as dice, counters, catapults, prisms, Selbstschussanlagen, tractor beams and lasers that partially represent a danger, as well as an instrument. Still more complex, the whole is is considering three new gel varieties which change the property of their environment in different ways and help this even more so that the player for minutes reviewed the environment and the right approach.

Portal 2 at a glance (cont.)

The high degree of complexity risks also. While real friends of continuously in the genre will be happy, less bedarfte players are likely to achieve in this respect quite often the frustration level as no later than at the particularly demanding sections in the last third of the season clearly noticeable is, that there is no support in the game. If you do not even progresses, so quickly seek out online all-in-one solution or but completely jump – a fact which although is in the nature of things, but any potential “Portal 2″ player should be clear.

The successful single-player campaign on the one or the other way once durchgespielt “Portal 2″ due to the obviously non-existent levels of difficulty and the now famous puzzle offers a little replay value per se. But the co-op, which is so different from the game mechanics, lures at the latest two players are confronted with puzzles can be solved only in consistent combination. The very good in this respect implementation at this point will be crowned by some small things, for example, the ability among them, one-touch view the perspective of the player, so that despite some distance never track missing comes.

Technically much has happened in the meantime not too. “Portal 2″ is because in a solid, but certainly not groundbreaking visual style that in some places well a little more development resources would have tolerated. However should be noted restrictive, that it is a title, which is dependent not on an outstanding graphical implementation, making themselves noticeable is, that you interfere with itself at any time on the offered. Also has the advantage that you can easily play “Portal 2″ also on older systems to (see “System requirements”) somewhere between “good” and “satisfactory” chessboard graphical implementation – on our test system ran the game with maximum details, 4 x AA and a resolution of 1,680 x 1,050 largely stable at 60 frames per second.

In addition conceals is the average graphics by the way by the other technical implementation: you are looking for bugs in vain, the setting is superb and the “portal”-typische humor white through the entire season through very well to please – what you want more?

Conclusion

At first glance you could meet “Portal 2″ with some skepticism, because after all, changes little valve to the old familiar game mechanics and puffs on the content instead “only” so that a full fledged product is from a game declared previously as an “Experiment”.

This skepticism is gone however quickly. Sure, “Portal 2″ fines compared to the predecessor of freshness, a because most players with the content should be in principle somehow familiar. However, bears the “portal” principle thanks to a very good implementation loosely by the single-player campaign and the co-op.

The latter is above all the good design of the sections and the puzzles associated. Here, the makers prove that they still have creativity a proper portion that flows on the basis of more and more interaction objects in increasingly complex requirements and “Portal 2″ are never boring.

In combination with the implementation of otherwise convincing, nothing in the way would be a comprehensive recommendation thus actually. But the thing has a hook: “Portal 2″ is, as well as its predecessor, not a game for everyone. So every potential buyer be clear, that it is a puzzle and puzzle game of a different kind, which can be squeezed in a common pattern.

Therefore, you should advance necessarily clarify to what extent the gameplay actually like a. All those who can answer this question with at least one “good”, by saying: “Portal 2″ currently belongs to the sometimes interesting PC games at all.