What the Portal?! A video game review.
Prezi transcript
WHY?
Why would a non-gamer who doesn’t even like puzzles beyond the basic 1000-piece cardboard variety dive head first into what is said to be the greatest video game of all time? I suppose it was high time to find out what the hoopla was all about around this game known for its originality and simplicity, and considered to be nothing less than a work of art.
What the Portal?!
Portal is a first-person, single-player puzzle game. Portals are the primary game mechanic, and they can be made on any white-ish surface with the portal gun. The blue and orange portals are interchangeable — going into one spits you out of the other. Once you figure out this first BIG piece of the puzzle, you’re halfway there…well, almost.
Mind-benders
To state that Portal is just a puzzle game is to understate the matter entirely.
- Hall of (Portal) mirrors: The graphics and music set the atmosphere and give the game a certain sense of gravitas. The fact that you’re the only one in there and can see yourself sort of “in the mirror” by looking back through one of the portals (yeah, I chased myself around for quite a while before figuring this out) is a mind-bender. You are essentially alone the entire time. Unless you count GLaDOS, the robotic voice that guides and misguides you, and generally keeps you entertained throughout the game.
- There is no up: Even more of a trick is that there is no up. Walls become floors as your stomach churns through the puzzle levels. The object of the game is to work through the puzzles by figuring out how to get to and move a cube which serves as a switch that allows you to exit/complete each level.
Critique
What, Portal is not perfect?
- Replay-ability: One critique of that the replay-ability is a bit lacking because it’s a puzzle-based game. It’s successor, Portal 2, is supposed to be an improvement in this regard. It might be worth playing a few times because it’s engaging and funny, and there are often a couple of different solutions.
- Usability: Just like owning an iPhone for the first time, there are some basic initial moves that simply can’t be done without knowing about them, and no cheat sites explain it because … duh, it’s sooo obvious. Let’s just say that it took me a long time just to get through the first portal.
Kudos
It takes some truly outside-of-the-box thinking to work your way out of some pickles. For example, who would have guessed that the only way out of one of the levels was to jump off of a ledge “head” first and shoot a portal in the floor just before landing?!
This is where I will admit that my outside-of-the-box muscles are not nearly as developed, so I reached out for some social support from my son. An experienced gamer, he figured out how to give me just-right support, never giving too much away, but also not letting me sink too deeply into despair. On the benefits of playing video games, he actually said in all seriousness (and without a boasting bone in his body), “That’s why I’m so smart, Mom.” Okay, so good fun and good for the brain. Check.
Game on
Is this game fun? Well, I have not yet finished it. I am still “white-knuckling” my way in and out of puzzles, as my fingers do not yet have the muscle memory to know which is forward and back and side to side, which key jumps me and which grabs the cube. But, if you’re looking for a recommendation, this may be enough of an indication:
—> It’s game on for me with Portal.