14 DAY TRIAL // 
Being the successor to the critically acclaimed Portal can't be easy, and Valve really had a tough job ahead of it when it formally announced Portal 2 last year. The new title was set to continue the story of Chell, the heroine from the original game, and introduce brand new mechanics as well as a cooperative multiplayer mode.
As you can imagine, given the surprising cult following of the original, the company needed to tread very lightly, so that it could equal or even surpass the level of quality delivered with the original.
Now, after a serious marketing campaign, Portal 2 has been officially released by Valve, and we've already seen it divide gamers into two major sides. So, is Portal 2 up to the challenge of being the sequel to the critically acclaimed original or should it enter a portal leading to oblivion? Let's find out.
Story It's hard to talk about the story of Portal 2 without revealing some major spoilers, so I'll keep it simple.
If you didn't read the Lab Rat mini-comic release by Valve, you should know that Chell, after the events of the first game, was rescued by one of the surviving scientists at Aperture laboratories, and put into a stasis pod in order to survive.
Now, after an indeterminate amount of time, she is woken up by Wheatley, a former personality sphere of the original game's antagonist, GLaDOS. Wheatley is endearing right from the first moment, and will no doubt become the favorite virtual character of many players.
He says that the whole Aperture Science facility has been ravaged by the forces of nature, and that he and Chell must escape before the whole thing comes crashing down.
That's pretty much the only thing I can say, as from then on, the story goes through some major changes, which are best left unspoiled.
Suffice it to say that Portal 2 has an even better story than the first one, paced wonderfully and filled with twists and turns that reveal many things about almost all of the characters, as well as the actual Aperture Science facility.
Valve, after critical hits like Half Life 2 and its subsequent two episodes, has once again delivered a flawless narrative in the form of Portal 2, which, depending on your skill, can play out in around 8 to 10 hours. Some living and breathing "ninjas," however, have even posted 4-hour completion times, but they're in the minority.
Gameplay Portal 2 doesn't mess with the basic recipe of its predecessor, as players, once again the gravity-defying boots of Chell, must use the Portal gun to solve ingenious puzzles in a variety of test chambers as well as in and around the Aperture facility.
This time around, puzzles are a bit changed, mostly because of the rooms, that showcase just how much time has passed since the original and how nature, and the disasters it brought, has taken a toll on the whole building.
As you progress through the story, you go from the old crisp and white labs that were present in the original game, to ravaged ones or into the depths of the Aperture facility, which provide a stunning look at the origins of the company, as well as its past experiments.
In terms of difficulty, the puzzles are a bit easier than in the first game, largely because the surfaces on which portals can be placed are fewer, so figuring out most test chambers usually comes down to just shooting portals onto all of the available surfaces until you figure out the correct sequence.
While this may seem like Portal 2 has been dumbed down, rest assured that Valve still makes solving the puzzles a difficult endeavor, largely because of all the new features it introduces. We have things like light bridges, aerial fate plates, lasers, or the new gels, which have different abilities like making things extra bouncy, making the surface very slippery or converting regular walls into ones that can support portals.
All of these new mechanics are slowly added to the game and provide extra layers of difficulty when approaching the test labs of the Aperture science facility. Objects like companion cubes or turrets make a return, while new things like reflection cubes for lasers or special walking cubes are now introduced.
Being a Valve game, there are plenty of hidden "Easter eggs" throughout its single-player campaign, so it's up to the player to explore every nook and cranny in order to uncover all of the tidbits of information left by the developer. What's more, you can also go through the game with developer commentary turned on, so you can get a glimpse on how Portal 2 was actually made.
One of the very few downsides to the game is the pretty big number of loading screens. Thankfully, they're pretty short, and appear in times where you can expect them, usually during elevator rides.
Multiplayer One of the big new additions to the old Portal recipe brought forth by the new game is a multiplayer mode, specifically a cooperative one, where players assume the roles of two robots, Atlas and P-body, who must now complete even more complicated puzzles that were designed for two players.
While some believed that puzzle solving couldn't work with two people, Portal 2 proves them wrong, as the Co-Op mode is a blast, and will no doubt create (or possibly destroy) many friendships.
The game allows players a variety of tools at their disposal to communicate with one another and facilitate solving the fiendishly complex puzzles.
What's more, you are also accompanied by GLaDOS who makes great remarks on your progress and adds that extra bit of flavor to the whole cooperative puzzle-solving experience. The length of the mode is proportional to your skills, but will still require at least 4 to 5 hours of dedication and hard work.
It's better if you finish the single-player campaign first, however, as there are some key mentions about the two robots found towards the end of the story and also provides a great learning curve for the levels in the co-op mode. It's not mandatory, however, so you can still jump straight into co-op with a buddy before going solo in the single-player campaign.
Graphics and Sound Portal 2 isn't the prettiest game of the year, as Valve's old Source engine is showing its age. Still, the company managed to add an extra bit of polish and shows off just how capable the engine still is, showcasing quite a lot of varied locations, from the laboratories of Aperture, both brand new and ravaged by nature, to the inner-workings of the whole facility.
The robots Chell encounters are also quite detailed, managing to seem almost lifelike, if not through their appearance then through their reactions and animations. The mechanics of things like the special gels are pretty well done, and won't make you notice any irregularities.
Sound-wise, the game is once again top notch, with Valve employing brilliant voice actors for the various robots or AIs, even if Chell remains, even now, without a voice. The sounds of the Aperture facility are detailed, while a variety of retro, 8-bit tracks highlight major puzzles or confrontations.
Jonathan Coulton returns with another great ending track, which, at least in my view, will equal if not raise above the levels of popularity encountered by the original's Still Alive song.
Conclusion Overall, Portal 2 manages to act as a worthy successor to the original Portal, retaining its core mechanics while adding quite a lot of new things and other great additions that enrich the puzzle solving experience.
Portal 2 has a top notch story, an extremely smooth gameplay, from the single-player campaign to the co-op multiplayer, and will no doubt be regarded as a serious contender for the game of the year award at the end of 2011.
