Don’t Overlook Portal
Before Orange Box came out, no one had really heard much about Portal and assumed it was being thrown in simply as a technology demo. Now that people have it in their hands, it’s been getting a lot of buzz as a great game. After spending the last couple nights playing it to completion, it’s become one of my favorite games of the year.
While I waited to read articles that included any spoilers, what I did read gave me the impression that the game was a series of puzzle and included some witty voice acting. That is al true, but what really surprised me was the genuinely good narrative and the way the game lead you through that storytelling without the heavy handed approach of cut scenes. Instead, you find little bits of the story as you go along.
I think Portal benefited from the fact that the game is short and focused on the single game-play mechanic of the Portal gun. Another developer might have tried to make Portal into a full retail package and be faced with some bad design choices to extend the play out another few hours. One way might have been to add other gameplay elements such as the use of different weapons, a vehicle level, or the now in vogue, quick time events ala God of War. Another way, from the school of Mario, is to increase the difficulty as each level progresses making you having to become better skilled at the controls. While Portal does get more difficult as the game progresses, the answers lie in using more sophisticated uses of the Portal gun as opposed to having to become more dexterous with the controls. At the end of the day, Portal is all meat and no filler, and as a result, is a satisifying gaming experience.
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