Portal 2 review roundup

Portal 2, the sequel to the cult hit Portal, hits a range of platforms this week –– the Mac, the PC, the Xbox 360, and the PS3. Portal 2 brings back Chell and GLaDOS, along with a series of futuristic puzzles. So how does the latest Valve game stack up? Let's turn to the Portal 2 review scores.

The opening shot

"[W]hat really underpins the best games is so often unseen," writes Tom Hoggins of the Telegraph, in a 10 out of 10 review. "The invisible hand of direction that gently guides you into a world so carefully built, introducing you to the lore and mechanics of a game so deftly you barely even notice it. Making sure you know what you’re meant to be doing, that you never get lost, and are always looking in the right direction when there’s something worth seeing. Portal 2 is the new standard to which this approach is set. It’s a work of masterful craft, mechanically constructed with military precision, artistically wrapped in a tremendous story and environment. Most impressively, its achievements feel effortless."

The script

"The best thing about the first Portal games was the commentary it made on highly structured corporatism, like a stripped-down sci-fi cousin to Office Space," writes Evan Narcisse of Time. "Portal 2's a different kind of funny. It's jokier, chattier and a bit more mean-spirited at times. Where the first game felt chilly and academic, this game evinces a certain weariness and wariness that makes the human vs. AI faceoff much more charged."

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The characters

"The beginning of Portal 2 finds our voiceless protagonist Chell has returned once again, for reasons explained in Valve’s wonderfully designed 'Rat Man' comic," writes Matt Braga of the National Post. "But without spoiling the brilliant opening sequence, it’s quickly apparent that things have changed. For instance, we’re introduced to Wheatley, a small, spherical 'personality core.' Voiced by the brilliant Stephen Merchant, of The Office and Extras fame, Wheatley acts as your incompetent, rambling guide for a good portion of the game. There’s a uniqueness in Merchant’s delivery, so utterly opposite of Ellen McLain’s voicing of GLaDOS, that makes Wheatley among one of Valve’s most impressive characters yet."

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