Warp Fun … Engage!

Published October 17, 2007

Since we've already all agreed that this is the single best year for gaming ever—and specifically the best holiday season in history—it's important to single something out that might otherwise be criminally overlooked.

Portal™.

With all due respect to the rest of the contents of The Orange Box—Half-Life® 2, HL2: Episode One, HL2: Episode Two, and Team Fortress® 2—the student-project-turned-Valve-game called Portal is worth The Orange Box's $60 asking price on its own, and it represents a doused-by-water wake up call to an industry seemingly bent on cranking out one shooter after another.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Valve's giant mind-bending game, Portal.

But Portal is something fresh, something smart, and something that's even funny. It might fool you into thinking it's a first-person shooter at first glance, since it is in the first-person view, and your character is holding what appears to be a weapon.

That weapon is, however, a tool: the portal gun. Fire it once to create an "entrance" portal, and a second time to create your exit. The "game" involves conquering each new room. Figure out how to warp your way to your destination, which might feature an automated gun turret or other obstacle in your path. Your only "weapon" is the portal gun, which can be cleverly used to drop boxes onto turrets or even other turrets onto turrets. All the while, you'll be teased by a dry-witted female computer voice who promises you cake.

Oh yeah, and the excellent Half-Life 2 is in this box as well.

Old school adventure game fans who remember the Monkey Islands, Sam & Maxes, Full Throttles, and Maniac Mansions of the world will get the same puzzle-solving buzz from Portal that they probably haven't felt since first playing those classics, while younger gamers should appreciate the intellectual challenge cleverly candy-coated by the slick Source engine of Portal and its tonally perfect art design.

So while Portal has far and away the least brand name recognition in a package where powerhouse brands Half-Life and Team Fortress easily overshadow it, don't forget about this title. If anything, forget about those pieces—two of which you might've already played before—and show your love to Portal. Tell the powers that be that you want more of what the students turned game designers at DigiPen are selling.

Article by Ryan McCaffrey, Senior Editor, Official Xbox Magazine
Gamertag: Ryan OXM