*I'm shaking up the system, so no, I'm not making any jokes about cake, unlike EVERY SINGLE OTHER PORTAL REVIEW!

For those of you who know me, it shouldn't come as any surprise that I like puzzle games.... a lot. And portal seems to be one of the most innovative of the bunch, it took one of the most mind numbing genres, first person shooters, and combined it with fantastic puzzle mechanics that form a franchise that I adore. Development for portal 2 started soon after portal was made in 2007, eventually being released in 2011. Portal was released by valve, a company behind many popular franchises like "Team Fortress" and "Half-Life". Portal exists in the half-life universe and the first game of both series happen at the same time. But I'm not talking about portal 1 or half-life, I'm talking about portal 2, lets do this.

Gameplay: This game revolves around getting from point A to point B, though this can be more difficult than it sounds. It is always physically impossible to get to point B. Because of that, you have to use something also physically impossible. You use blue and orange portals to get to new places in the map. Walking through one portal takes you through the other portal. You may think that all you have to do is shoot a portal at point B and then be done with it, but doing so isn't so simple. Portals can only be shot at white walls, which will be very obvious and distinct from the rest of the testing chamber. Portals are momentum based, so if you jump 40 feet into the blue portal, you will be launched out of the orange portal, and that can be used in your favor as a way to getting to point B. And don't worry about fall damage, as Chell (the main character) has long fall boots on that allow her to fall from any distance and not be harmed. Solving puzzles are involves the use of bridges that come out of portals, a gel that causes you to bounce, gel that makes you run incredibly fast, gel that makes it so that you can shoot a portal against anything on it, crates, and much more. Let it be known that you have no weapons in the game, and there exist some enemies, turrets being the only ones that pose a real threat. You will have to use portals, thought, and stealth to be able to kill these things without weapons, and of course without them killing you. This games HUD is simple, it shows the cursor to help you aim, and shows which portals you have shot. This game uses the game engine of the half life series, so if you notice the similarities between the two, that's why.

Graphics: This game looks great. You may not think it looks great, but that's for a simple reason. This game has good graphics, but the environments are meant to look run down and dull in the chambers, I mean the place has literally been abandoned  for, well it isn't clear about that, but it has been a very long time. Comparing it to other 2011 releases like Modern Warfare 3, it isn't as colorful, but it is way more pleasing to the eye.

Sound: This game doesn't have much sound, and I'm so glad that it doesn't. Some epic tune to shoot portals to really doesn't fit with the atmosphere of this game. Like the last game, portal 2 tries to make you feel totally alone in those testing chambers. This game is supposed to enforce ominous isolation. Chell is alone in those chambers with an AI that would just love to kill her. And when Chell is brought to (and this is a legitimate spoiler alert) the original aperture science and Aperture, it is supposed to be run down and creepy, and the small amount of music enforces that. Music isn't the only sound in this game though. While most of the voice acting is mechanical voices, characters like Wheatley and Cave Johnson have phenomenal actors. Wheatley is voiced by big name actor and comedian Stephen Merchant, who does a fantastic job. The dialogue in this game ranges from pretty serious to absolutely hilarious and it will have you laughing.

Addictiveness: It is really hard to gauge the effectiveness of puzzle games. These games cause you to think, and a fair amount people don't like to think while they play video games, while others prefer games that challenge their brain and make them think. It really depends on what you're into. But, if you need some gauge, check out all of the reviews that rate it in the 4-5 star area. Gamespot and IGN both rated it very highly. I would play this game again and again, though I like to wait until I forget the puzzles before I do it again.

Story: First of all, keep in mind that this is a puzzle game, they rarely have stories at all, to find a story this good in a puzzle game is rare. We start the game with Chell, an Aperture science test subject. This game starts soon after portal ended. Chell is in sleep to keep her alive for longer. We then wake up after what the recording says is 99999... before it cuts off. We then meet up with Wheatley. Chell and Wheatley make their way to the portal gun, and Chell uses that to make her way a little further until she runs into GLaDOS, an evil AI that killed many thousands of people at Aperture science and was then killed by Chell. GLaDOS poorly pretends to forgive Chell and brings her into a testing chamber. Throughout the next ten or so chambers, GLaDOS will thinly veil her attempts to kill Chell through testing. Eventually you meet up with Wheatley again and try to stop GLaDOS. Chell then deposes GLaDOS from her position of control over Aperture science and places Wheatley in charge. Wheatley goes mad with power, turning GLaDOS into a potato (yeah, you heard right) and accidentally shoves Chell and her into a pit, where Chell falls a few thousand feet. Chell then finds herself in the original Aperture science, when she realizes that she will have to get Wheatley out of his position of power and get herself back to the enrichment center.

Depth: There are tons of chambers, using different objects and strategies to get through them. There are also different environments that you will traverse. If you remember the strange paintings that Doug Rattman made in the first portal game,(am I the only one who found them to be really creepy?) you can find those in the enrichment center as a secret Easter egg, I have only found one and I'm not entirely sure if that is the only one or not. There are different objects you can use to beat the different chambers.

Difficulty: If you have experience with the portal mechanics and the series itself, then you have an advantage. This game features puzzles that are incredibly difficult and when you do figure them out, it is SO satisfying. Yeah, its difficult, it isn't Ghosts n Goblins difficult, its a difficulty level that keeps you thinking. Here is a quick outline.

9- If you don't have much experience with portal or puzzle games.
8- If you have a decent amount experience with puzzle games and portal.
7- If you have a large amount of experience with puzzle game and portal.
6- If you are the man when it comes to puzzle games and portal

Thanks for reading you guys, that's all for this review. This game is truly worth checking out and I encourage you to get your hands on it. The controls, the story, the sound, the environments, it is all breathtakingly great and I hope puzzle games take some inspiration from this.

Nice review, like puzzle games as well, and you make this game in particular sound very interesting and worth while like it is the game to play. I like your descriptiveness and detail in your review and all the detail you put into each category of the game. I really like that about this review and I think that you are also very positive in your review as well which is good, it is also very nice and neat making eat easy to read and understand. So overall really excellent work on this review and I think that I may play this game in the near future from how good you describe it. Keep up the good work and keep making reviews!

Another good review. I don't have to tell you that though. I've never played a portal game, but it sounds interesting enough.

Keep up the good work, man.

Nice Review.
I still will not bother with the "Portal" series.
Since the invention of Internet video "Lets Play" video's?
I can catch all of the comedy without playing. (Note: the flaws of "F.P.S." games. They are all the same.)
Besides I went through a couple of levels of the same kind of puzzles with "Darksiders" and found the challenge to be a bit lacking and a gross waste of my time.
If I need a new cure for insomnia I might give the game a try.
But...
I sill like your review.
For puzzle fans that want something to quench their thirst I might refer them to this page and site.
Good Job.
Good Luck.

Good Luck To All.
I'm done. Stick a fork in me.
Peace.