Portal-The Game We All Forget

Portal was my introduction to gaming. I am a puzzle girl through and through, so this was the perfect gateway to my drug of choice- console games. And for those of you itching for some action, the developers found unique ways to make you dodge some bullets too.

You begin locked in a cell and have to use a portal to escape. Already I was intrigued- my first true gaming experience and I’m zapping all over the room! Eventually you pick up a gun that allows you to place the portals wherever you like, and this is where creativity comes into play. There are so many ways to solve each of the problems in this game, including playing with the finesse of portal placement and using things like gravity and momentum to help you.

Along the way, you have a sassy robot guiding you, although she doesn’t seem too helpful. She is there for comedic effect, and the writers did a stellar job with her. Her dry wit complements the sometimes impossibly frustrating scenarios perfectly.

About three quarters of the way through the game you are introduced to turrets, who will shoot to kill. Unfortunately for them, it also means they will shoot each other when tipped over, which is my favorite game to play. It’s like cow tipping, only funnier because their squeaky little voices get all excited. You can also protect yourself with some weighted cubes that have been previously used only for triggering buttons to open doors. There is nothing that tickles me more than tipping over a turret and then crouching behind a cube and holding it like a shield as I waddle towards the door.

One of my favorite levels includes a weighted “companion” cube. You have a cube for whom you are responsible, and it must accompany you all the way through the level. Not only do the developers somehow make you feel for an inanimate object, but your sassy robot guide voice has some of the best dialogue in the game.

Throughout the game, your sassy robot guide has been informing you that once you complete testing there will be cake. If you truly explore every nook and cranny of the game, there are some fun little tidbits left behind about said cake, leading to a quote I have seen appear in several other games: “The cake is a lie”. I don’t want to give too much away, but she intends for the main ingredient in the cake to be you! Needless to say, my lack of game experience led me to panic when I reached the end of this game. It is not a boss fight that poses any serious challenge, but there is a time element involved.

In terms of game play, the controls are quite intuitive. The game uses a simple point and shoot mechanism, and the only movement required is walking, jumping, and crouching. Other than that, you don’t need much more. Portal is about solving puzzles, not crafting a masterful combination of fight moves. It’s a low stress game because there are never enemies in your face or moving around you, but high stress in that there is a lot of timing and thinking outside the box involved.

Overall, Portal was a great introduction to gaming for me. If you are looking to get someone more involved in your interests, start here. There really weren’t any negatives about this game to me. I would say the only thing missing was to make the final boss fight a little more intricate.

Final score: 9/10