I played around 14 hours and a friend helps me a lot to see the options!
This game ist really tricky and the looking of portal 2 is okay not the best graphic but for this time really good.

Can't wait to play the coop mode with a friend ;)

Portal 2 keeps my brain burning^^

Another winner from Valve. They may not release quantity, but everything they make is a winner. This game brought me back to Half Life 2 in parts, and that's a good thing considering I consider HL2 the best game in the past 10 years. So much fun, especially if you played and loved the first game.

Just some pure facts about the game Single player is 5-7 hour long Co-op is 4-6 hours long The "DLC" Is just like the TF2 hat store. It bears no impact in game. The users complaining about buying it expecting content then feeling ripped off are idiots. The "Potato collecting" bears no impact in the game at all and these users got 12 great games for $30. The game is not a console port. The game expands both the universe and gameplay a large amount. It is a completely new game worth every penny.
DLC will be coming out in the future. The actual content DLC will be free for PC and PS3 gamers, 360 will not receive the DLC.

Overall I give this game a 9/10 it was 10 hours of hilarious laughter for me with an ending that no one saw coming. Pick it up if you enjoy both thinking and comedy. I will actually be giving the game a 10/10 score however to counter many of the trolls giving it a 0/10.… Expand

Ok this game it's all I've waiting for, and I'm sure truly fans will agree with me, and the co-op mode it's a nice and great bonus. Graphics are good, gameplay is as awesome as Portal was and I'm in love with the wonderful soundtrack, the VALVe team did a magnificent work there. Worth the buy nuff said.

Simply put... best game this year by far! All these people who are complaining about "single player is 4 hours and I'm bored now," get some friends with the game and play co-op. Amazingly more difficult then single player and a lot more fun. The only down side to the whole game is the store to buy more outfits, gestures and other things is lame... you are not Zynga, you're Valve!!! Amazing graphics and really fun. Love the computer too in co-op... it tells you that "...the other guy is dragging you down..." while your friend gets some random message... very smart and funny. All your games need this co-op experience. Lastly... Great game again!… Expand

I beat the single player portion of this game in about 4 hours almost 4 1/2 hours. And holy crap it was the best 4 1/4 hours of playtime I think I've ever had, and the greatest $45 I have ever spent. Just to be clear before the release date I had been playing and replaying the first portal. Manly to remember how to "think with portals", also because I can't find those **** radio's.
I can empathize with the people who think it was to short, and not as challenging as I would liked, but thats not the point. The point is that it was an amazing game: funny, witty (sort of), ingenious, very clever, and it requires you to think beyond 'run over there and shoot that guy'. Yeah I would have loved it to be 5 hours longer with uber hard puzzles, but you know what that's just selfish considering all the work Valve put into this.
I will end by saying that Portal 2 deserves to be Game of the Year.… Expand

I've always been a firm believer that games should last around 10 hours, unless their genre requires more. In many ways, Portal 2 didn't last 10 hours, but it wasn't as short as the first game. And you know what? Every minute of those hours was enjoyable.

Portal 2 expands in every way with a great presentation (thanks to a menu design that's similar to the more recent Team Fortress 2 menu), a whole range of new gameplay mechanics (Cubes that redirect laser, Light Bridges that you can expand with the use of puzzles, Gooey colors courtesy of an independent developer hired by Valve, and many others), and innocent yet very good gags. Coming from just playing Bulletstorm, it's nice to see gags like "Engaging Smooth Jazz in 3... 2... 1", which I believe can be enjoyed by everyone.

Are there any faults with this game (specifically the PC version)? Well, you can no longer change the FOV but, to be fair, I found I didn't need to do so. It looks just as good as any other Source game does. The game tries to sell you the idea of "customization", which basically is just buying clothing for your Cooperative Robot, but it's completely optional, there's no one forcing you to "participate in this scam" (This probably coming from the same gentlemen who buy pets in World of Warcraft). Finally, an issue I've seen too much is that there are now "loading screens" (a reminder of Left4Dead, if you ask me), but those who complain about those screens probably forgot that every Source game has had loading screens in some way, even the original Portal (what do you think happens when you take an elevator in the original Portal?)

In conclusion, Portal 2 manages to go steps beyond what the first game could do, with each chamber having a unique gag so you can laugh all you want, new gameplay mechanics which just feel fun, an impeccable presentation, and the best part? The requirements aren't that big. With the way the Source engine works, even my whiny little Laptop can play Portal 2, on the highest resolution (1337x763), and then some!

I recommend Portal 2 to anyone, believe me, it doesn't disappoint.… Expand

Peaple who vote 0 you are quite patetic.. If you don't like the DLC simply don't buy it.. If some one like the new skin and stuff the DLC will be good for them..
Vote for the game not for this **** The hours of game play is more than many others game that cost 20â

There is brilliance here beyond the norm. The pacing, the puzzles, the voice-over work, and all integrated in a very funny...yet menacing...way. There's not a wasted moment in the game and when I complete a tough puzzle it feels like an accomplishment. I also love that they've integrated the TF2-style store to purchase whimsical hats and the like w/o bashing me over the head like other games do w/micro-transactions. It'll be fun to play COOP and wear silly hats.… Expand

This is one of the best games i have ever played. if you are a fan of the original portal, it takes a while to get your head around, but other than that it is fantastic!

Great continuation of the story. The new items (gels, light beams, thermal discouragement beams, aerial faith plates) work so well with the already amazing game play.

Great writing. Amazing voice acting. Detailed story, adding a lot to the Half life lore.
Could have been longer, but satisfying none the less.
I see no reason to complain about DLC. I would expect this will help fund more free content and updates. ie TF2's 198 patches since launch.
Quality well polished game.

this game is sick. all the haters out there are just pissed because the single player was short, boo hoo. there is a 12 hour multiplayer campaign that is totally separate. valve made a great game and all the lonely people who bought it and are complaining need some friends.

Better than the original, improved gameplay and visuals, a lot longer (single-player took me roughly 8-9 hours) and a lot more humour in my opinion, too. The voice acting was also phenomenal. I can only recommend to purchase this game, especially if you have a good friend to play the coop with. On a side note: The DLC are merely cosmetic, so there really is no need to be so angry about it.

Best game ever.

Don't listen to the guys trolling here - Portal 2 is just awesome in every aspect!
- Potato Sack rip off? You did not have to buy it if you don't like the games it contains. Why criticize Portal 2 for that?
- Pricey ingame items? Sure, they are not the cheapest things around, but again, you don't have to buy them.
Incredibly good co-op gameplay, you won't find anything better out there. The Dialogs are very funny, Puzzles are challenging, everything is just incredibly good!… Expand

Easily the best game of the year. I don't see why people are complaining about things that have nothing to do with the actual game itself (i.e. why didn't it release earlier because I played the potato sack). That's too bad but why rate the game a 0 when this is easily the game of the year. The gameplay here is so unique and immersive that it's unlike anything else I've played, I wish we would have more innovative games like this. Thank you Valve, you've done it again.… Collapse

Excellent. Above and Beyond the original in every way. Hilarious scripting, updated graphics (slightly), and outstanding, memorable gameplay make this the ultimate game so far this year.

Valve did it again, they made a wonderfulgame full of atmosphere and fun. I won't go into detail, since this is Day One so, I don't think everyone that reads Metacritic reviews has actually played it yet.
The dark humor of Portal was captured perfectly in this game, this is not, I repeat: NOT a Copy-Paste Portal, it is infact a new game. Obviously I gotta adress the "Day 1 DLC" which there is none, at least I don't see it. DLC is something that is not in the game and has to be bought seperatly to get content. The stuff that is in the shop however, is not DLC, it is a Bonus. They could've left it out, but they wouldn't be Valve if they didn't atleast try it.
Anyway, back to the game. The first 2 hours are a perfect recap for people who haven't played the first Portal game.. the two..or three(joking obviously). Portal is no Call of Duty obviously, it doesn't have a "Short" (in comparison to other games) singleplayer and a multiplayer that sucks out so many hours you can't even count, but it is a great game. I'm gonna tell you about the game length now: the singleplayer is about 6-8 hours long, obviously people can play it in 4 hours, but if you don't rush through it, you should have a playtime of atleast 6 hours. Now to the coop part: I honestly played all day... as in, Portal 2, coop and single. It took me 11 hours and 23 minutes to finish everything in the game. For me that is more than I could say from for example, Dead Space, Crysis, Bioshock and so on.
The replay value is extremly high as well, since I pretty much raced two friends of mine while we were talking on Skype, I obviously missed alot of the game. Anyway, I would seriously recommend it.

Now for the flaws, no game is perfect and neither is this one.
Well, I gotta say there were some pretty funny bugs in the game, for example one time in Coop I was stuck because my "partner" put a ball into an opening I was just crawling in....fun stuff, anyway, I just opened the console (pc) and typed in "kill". Since you respawn the moment you die, it wasn't realy a big thing, but it was kinda annoying.
Some other stuff was also kinda annoying, the new gameplay element I was looking forward the most was not in the game(Pneumatic Diversity Vents), but that's not going into my verdict.
(Spoilers ahead) I was looking forward to see some plants and such in the facility, like the trailers, but there were close to none.
There were some small texture glitches here and there, but overall it was okay.

Some minor stuff I can think of right now. It isn't much, which goes to show that I realy can't find much that realy bothers me in the game.

Anyway, this is going on way longer than I wanted it to be, but I guess, that is just the way I type.
This game gets a recommendation from me, if you own a console, borrow it from a gamestore or friend and play it, it is worth it. If you're on pc, wait for it to drop a little, since it is a great game, but it is short, I would recommend buying it, if you're a hardcore fan of Portal.

Okay, last but not least.. THERE WAS NO MENTIONING OF THE CAKE...DAMNIT

Sparox 9/10… Expand

Amazing game, from the amazing concepts in puzzle solving all the way to the superb choices for voice acting for all of the games amazingly clever and funny dialog. Level design is very nice and a person could spend at least an hour just trying to find all of the funny little bits and pieces that valve designers put through this game. Play time is about 7 hours for the first play through of the single player campaign and a considerably shorter co-op campaign. Overall Valve has released one of the best game that I have played in years.

For all of those that question the choice for day one dlc I assure you that you are in no way pressured into paying anything extra for the game and all things available are purely cosmetic and in no way relevant to game play. While I have no intention on buying anything I can see the appeal to some people, Xbox live avatar clothing is basically the same concept and while I have not bought any of that I know that many people have.… Expand

Loving this game. 6 hours played so far and I'm failing on the white-out level due to my eyes hanging out! Beautifully polished game, with great voice acting and good humour. Was absolutely worth the wait. I've not tried cooperative yet but the single player alone has been worth the purchase and I'm not even finished yet!

10/10 Valve - superb work.

Aight. So i'm going to explain the history of the ARG to those who are thinking of buying this game. Here we go.
First, clues were released. Some you could find in real life, some on websites, some in games. 36 potatoes were believed to be attainable for a certain 'reward' that was hinted at. A timer for a POSSIBLE early release was shown on Friday April 15th. No promises, never worded like "ITS RELEASING EARLY THIS FRIDAY." None of that. Being the non-idiot that I was, I anticipated an april fools joke, which it wound up being. Apparently nobody found it funny, although I found it hilarious, especially when everyone nerd raged. So then ARG became official. If you wanted to partake you either had to buy the potato pack or had to have all the indie games already. It wasn't FORCED or OBLIGATED, and yet everyone complains of course. If you didn't want to participate, didn't want the early release, THEN DON'T PARTICIPATE most of us said, but they kept whining. They even have the gall to say that every game in the pack sucked. Amnesia, Killing Floor, Audiosurf and more, in the pack, all some of my most favourite games have been heralded for being some of the best most unique indie games out there. Not my fault that you love your Black Ops or Dragon Age 2 so much you lost sight on what makes a game good, but moving on.
Disaster happens, Portal 2 console gets leaked, spoilers are spammed all over the forums by trolls, and somehow Valve becomes responsible. Even if people don't claim they are responsible though, they still cling onto this "We are entitled to early release because at this point i'm sad and the ending is spoiled for me, please don't make me sad anymore, the damage is done now release release release!!!" Which of course is ridiculous. Games get leaked or pirated early ALL THE TIME. You are NOT entitled to anything. There was no sense in having it released this early simply because a few idiots went on the forums despite the leak being common knowledge. Those that aren't whiny emos either leave it alone or participate, or at the very least looked at all this with more of a critical eye. 60% of the profits from the potato pack was going to indie developers, which is always a good thing in my book. We were racking up the indie game hours so we could chip a few hours off the timer, and thats what we got. We had a midnight release, which was glorious. Those that collected all the potatoes(Which the whole process was actually fun by the way, was kind of like detective work) got it even earlier than the others, and also received the valve complete pack. Amazingly generous, and yet people still complain about not getting extra copies if they already had it, those that didn't complete it on time called it **** blah blah blah. So what it all was was a bunch of people being sore losers. They either couldn't afford the potato pack which is fine, it just means you don't get the perks. Don't know about you but I think the world works that way, the more you pay the more perks you get. Also those that work (for their potatoes) those that put time into it get huge perks. Simple as that. If you missed out thats entirely your fault. If you don't like it this way and you are incapable of looking at Valve as a game company, not a charity case, then your view is skewed.
They can be generous, but there is a limit. All in all the ARG campaign was intricate and fun, and Portal 2 (As of now I have finished it) was a gorgeous gorgeous game. I have to admit with it being rated E and all I expected it to be stuffed with cheese, but it had just the right amount to make it enjoyable. The day one dlc that everyone is making a fuss about are just a few extra skins. Nothing akin to Bioware having day one dlc like an entire character that affects the story or anything. Don't want it? Don't buy it, simple. This goes for just about everything that I mentioned in this review.
I hope this brought some perspective. If it didn't thats too bad, because you're missing out.… Expand

Fantastic game - single player and co-op. A bit short, at 8-ish hours for the single player mode, but those were a very entertaining 8 hours. I haven't beaten the co-op yet, but it's fantastic so far as well, even better than the single player.

It was, admittedly, over all too soon for such an enjoyable game, but I trust that valve will keep up to their tradition of releasing quality content, for free, for all of their full-priced games. As far as the negative reviews, the number one biggest complaint is the "day 1 DLC" - Seriously? These people don't know what real day 1 DLC is - this is a couple of moustaches and hats and useless gestures that if they had not been in the game at all no one would have given the slightest **** - it's just icing on the cake that they're there at all, especially considering essentially no one will buy them, just like most of them would never be used anyway even if they were all free.… Expand

Ill just put this simply. One of the most satisfying games I have played. Take your time through this and really just cherish the atmosphere, the set pieces, the story and the puzzles. With ever part you complete you will not only feel accomplished but have fun figuring it out. Get this game and don't listen to haters who where tricked by valve and bought the potato sack.

Pay no attention to any of the negative reviews posted here, excess troll spillage from **** To be perfectly blunt, everyone who is saying the game is 4 hours long is lying. If you are looking at the Steam timer, don't. It is wrong. I have been playing for nearly 5 hours now and it said I have been playing for 2.

As for the DLC, that is also a myth. Yes there are downloadable hats and such for your bot in co-op, but that is it. Yes, the hats are overpriced but so are the ones in TF2. Sorry if you lack the free will, but you don't have to buy them. Also, the game is not a console port, I guess no one realizes that. They see the message that says "Don't turn of your console" and freak. Yes, the game is made for multiple platforms and they aren't going to change the message for each one. So they put console because if the had written anything else the Xbox tards would have gotten confused. It is a fine game and ignore all of the negative reviews. As for price I pre-ordered and paid 44$ with no tax, hell I paid 60$ + tax for Black Ops. A game that is much, much worse and a little shorter. Don't believe the trolls. Grow a brain and form your own opinions.… Expand

Without a doubt, one of the best games of the year so far. I loved "time traveling" through Aperture History and the new characters Valve put into this creative addition to the Portal universe.

Oh, and just in case there's any confusion, DLC is completely OPTIONAL. If you don't want to buy it, don't! Pretend it's not even there and you won't have to throw a hissy fit about it.

very unimpressed so far. paid way too much for just a short game, expected more game time for such a high price. The cash shop (day 1 DLC) pretty much sealed the deal for me. Big letdown from Valve.

Ignore all the trolls giving this game any score other than the 10 it deserves. Does not feel like a port - This is one of the best looking games ever released. Easily the most interactive environment to date.

4 hours of game play is a LIE - Between the main campaign, the co-op, and the ridiculously high replay value, there is plenty of quantity as well as quality game play here. This is how DLC should be done. If there was a vote on DLC being strictly cosmetic and all actual game content being included at launch, I'd vote in the affirmative right away.… Expand

This was quite an enjoyable game to play. I started playing around 1:00 PM and finished around 8:00 PM...so that gives you an idea of how long it takes (more or less). I think I spent an average amount of time observing the scenery, which is occasionally quite beautiful and stunning; incidentally this is one of the things I'm really happy about, looking at some of the massive structures in the game. Its reminiscent of the view you get near the end of the first game, which blew me away. The *very* end is also quite beautiful, in its own unique way, which I won't spoil here :). And leading up to the end, the final puzzle is quite possibly one of the most creative and satisfying ways to finish a game that I have witnessed yet.

One slight downside is that the puzzles were a bit too easy. There were maybe two to three puzzles where I had to stop and think for 5-10 minutes or so. Watching some of the teaser videos on youtube I expected to see some more challenging puzzles, but in the end the solutions were fairly intuitive. It would be nice if they added in some expert levels at the end as an option, like in the original portal where you could play some bonus levels.

Come to think of it, this could probably be explained by the fact that its being sold on consoles as well as PCs. When you're forced to solve puzzles with a tiny analog stick, and you're marketing it to children or casual gamers (the primary market for console gamers), I guess the puzzles have to be dumbed down and simplified a little. Its a shame, but at least the game still had a great narrative and (nevertheless) entertaining puzzles to keep you interested.

I loved the story, the characters were still interesting. Although used to hearing GlaDOS from the first game, its still fun to hear her interacting with the other characters. Overall a solid 8/10. Its a little troubling that consoles are really degrading what could have been a higher quality game (i.e. more challenging for hardcore gamers with better controls)...but I suppose I'll have to get used to it.

I'd recommend purchasing it for anyone who is new to these games; if you've never played portal, buy both of these games together. The package is something I highly recommend (the original portal I would probably give a 9.5/10). The game on its own is still worth it; and I like that they put in some achievements to increase the replay value.

Also as a final note; some people may be complaining about the downloadable content (the shop where you can purchase little outfits/gestures for your characters to use in co-op play). The key factor is that its optional, and is really unnecessary if you want to enjoy co-op. The characters you use are easily distinguishable anyways, so its really nothing to get angry about (its really one of the most insignificant things you could get riled up about).

Anyways happy gaming… Expand

I cannot believe the user reviews I am seeing. Folks are mad because Valve sells hats? Or the potato pack? Seriously? Really?!?!?!? Nobody forced folks to purchase either. As far as the hats, they don't affect game play and are purely for aesthetics. Personally, I will never get one but to each their own. By far this is one of the most fresh, innovative and fun games I have played in ages, GlaDos is in rare form. The levels are fun and intriguing and the graphics are very good. Are they Crysis 1 or Warhead good? Nope. But then again neither was Crysis 2. However the graphics are still above most other games out at the moment. Plus unlike the slew of recent console ports, the Source Engine still runs extremely well on a host of computers.

Game play? Well that is top notch. The puzzles are fun and it is quite the time waster. Those saying the completed it in 4 to 7 hours were rushing through. There is tons written on the walls in side rooms you should take a look at. It all adds to the story, but if all you want to do is the puzzles you may get through in the times posted, but you are missing a lot.

Overall if you enjoyed the story line in Portal, Portal 2 is for you. As I said GlaDos is in rare form, and personally I am a bad human being. Test results don't lie. Also, don't forget to read the comics in the game as this explains how you got back there.… Expand

Awesome game and a great sequel for the original portal.Great graphics, great voice acting, great story, and great co-op. Total has over 30 hours of gameplay excluding co-op missions -replayability.

Short, easy Valve game, that really shines when playing Co-oP!
Absolutely love putting my team mate into bad situations and vice versa.
GladOS potato head!!!

By far the best game of 2011 so far from a developer that shows so much love to gamers, PC and otherwise. Sharp, brilliantly designed, and hilarious. Gaming's best villain, GLaDOS, is back in a big way.

It appears that this is a re-iteration of other reviews but Played Portal 2 through the night and needed sleep. :)

The controls for this the new mechanics are seamless and easy to understand, after your first few levels with each new mechanic your enjoying them at the same level as the portals themselves.

The length of portal 2 will really depend on how you want to play it, if your looking at simply slving ever puzzle it won't last long maybe 3-5 hours of single and 2-3 hours of co-op. If your interested in the story and/or whats going on around you then it will likely take you 7-9 hours to complete the single and 4-6 hours for the co-op. The replay value again depends on how you play it, in for the puzzles? Very little maybe doing speed runs or challenges or maybe achievement hunting. If your in for the story you'll likely have 2-3 replays of value maybe more depending on your ability to find the easter eggs.

Two points against, first the source engine is showing its age with the very common loading screens, game ruining no, annoying yes. Second point is puzzle sometimes feel leaded/leading as that there is one solution and you are forced that way, is this for all the puzzles? No only 2-4 that I felt that happen in, the flip side of this point there are puzzles that are the reverse where you will do it one way then notice another way to do it or you'll feel that you did it 'wrong' as in not how in should of been done.

Overall great game with some minor drawbacks. 9/10(10/10 because of the trolls rating low)… Expand

I was really angry with all of these "pseudo-negative" reviews.... Just garbage: fact-> critics agree with the fact that Portal 2 is clearly longer than its predecessor. Then there is no DLC including real content (like extra puzzle) but only skins available. Once you know this, here come one of the best pc Game i've ever played! (However you need to have an affinity with puzzle games to feel the same). The whole game is an example of writing, the soundtrack is not bad. The game has an unique atmosphere, and the the voice actors are really "brilliant" (ah ah). Do not listen all of these ridiculous troll, Portal 2 is a great game so inventive that it is really hard to stop grabbing your mouse! And with the co-op game you can share this compulsion with one of your friend :D (I tried it with a friend and we didn't stop laughing from the start to the end of our session. There is no real turn-offs in this game excepting maybe the store with extra skins which are a bit expensive from my point of view.
To sum up, Portal 2 is nothing but brilliant!… Expand

It's been a few years since I had so much fun with a video game. It is awesome; I laughed out loudly quite a few times during the playing. The ending was fulfilling. A somply awesome game

A very fun sequel... It is hard to understand why people judge the game over irrelevant issues and over its entertainment value. And who on earth compelled them to buy the DLC? For a change one can refer to user scores of Portal 2 on other sites like gamespot, ign, etc. and realize that most of the negative reviews are nothing but hater ****

This is an absolute splendid game from beginning to end. The Puzzles are paced most sublimely, and the "$90 DLC" my peers refer to is completely optional, and purely aesthetic. I highly reccomend

I had to make an account for this game to combat the angry nerds dragging down portal 2's score, and write an actual review (which nobody seems to actually write these days)

First: to address the concerns of angry ranting kids who think this game deserves a "0" or "1" score based on playtime, DLC, or cost. Games cost $60 now.

1.) playtime - This is a 6-10 hour game. If you can pull it off in less, you're very clever first time around. Don't criticize a game paced around a player's mental capacity (I'd say I'm good with physics and a quick learner, and it took me about six hours to complete the single player) This also excludes the concept of co-op. Which is an entirely different, 6-10 hour game. Unless you have no friends (which I'm fairly certain is the case, if you are in any way put off by this game) then this game easily trounces many of the other titles out there for the cost. People are acting as if Portal 1 was a long game. It wasn't. it was an hour or two at best. This is easily a fully fledged single player game. You have the single player (full game) co-op (also a full game) and the developer commentary (which any self-respecting nerd will do, also a full playthrough)

2.) DLC: I'm going to be honest, this could be a negative box, but hear me out. I just don't understand why the dlc costs so much money. $0.50? Sure, I'd buy $5 worth. But some individual pieces approach the $10.00 mark. It also makes little sense in a game that isn't built around playing with lots of other random players, like Team Fortress 2 is. You buy the DLC because you want other players to see how fancy you look. But the great thing is that if you don't buy it, there is no influence on gameplay whatsoever. Consider this: If valve simply didn't include any DLC and just gave you the two robots with nothing from the current DLC selection, not a single player would be whining about a lack of anything. So it's a boon for some players, and has no impact on the rest.

3.) Cost. Games are $60 now. Not $50. It's been a long time coming (and seriously, everything else on earth gets more expensive, and games have gotten -cheaper- over the past 20 years? Inflation happens.) and this is in no way a "minigame" with a big price tag. It's $45. that's 25% less than COD black ops. And it's got roughly twice the content. If you are the type who complains about full-length games dripping with polish and fabulous content costing 25% less than the industry standard, feel free to flush your head in the toilet. Or wait until it comes on sale (hello? this is STEAM. They'll put it on sale in two weeks.)

That said, let's actually review the game. If Blizzard is to great cutscenes, Valve is to great characters. There's no way I could imagine any other game designer giving a little sphere so much capability to display emotion with nothing but small rotating rings. The sheer amount of polish here defies logic as much the portal gun defies physics. I was expecting a shiny game. What I got was a whole world, expansive, with painstaking attention to the slightest detail, irregardless of whether or not the player will even see it. From the opening seconds to the final battle, there isn't a single dull moment.

The voice acting is second to none. There are only a few voices in the game, but they're all played to the level of the greatest shakespearean comedy. No, you didn't read that wrong. This is a tragic comedy unlike anything gaming has ever seen. There is something satisfying about knowing that the voice for your arch-nemesis was picked because she is a trained operatic soprano.

Gameplay wise, there is nothing reused that hasn't been thoroughly rethought, modified, and polished. A playthrough with the developer commentary will demonstrate how much painstaking work and effort was put into this game. The new mechanics do not feel cheesy, they feel perfectly at home in the portal world. I found myself thinking "how did they make puzzles WITHOUT all of these amazing new toys in the first place?" I won't spoil the mechanics, but it's safe to say that the puzzles are even more perfect than Portal's. They're challenging without being frustrating. There is no trace of "console-itis" anywhere. Anyone saying there is, was deliberately looking for it and ignoring the astounding world. You still feel that same sense of reward from figuring out the "trick." The puzzles are as much exploring and learning each component as blind trial and error, which is outright gameplay magic. The final boss was unchallenging, but still felt tense and frantic, and was just as deeply satisfying as the first time you laid hands on the fancy dual-portal gun.

If I had a negative point about the game, it would be the loading screens. There are lots of them. But on the whole, this is easily - very, very easily, one of the best games of all time, dripping with polish, humor, cleverness, and brilliant gameplay. And I do not say that lightly.… Expand

This is the best game in years, It does everything right from the puzzles to the dialogue to a story which was surprisingly engaging for a cast that is mostly robots. If your thinking of buying this game then ignore the user reviews and look over at the critic reviews, this game is nigh on perfect and the only reason it is getting low scores is because of trolls who scream foul at the briefest mention of hats. They are entirely cosmetic and optional. Also this game is not short like many of the user reviews say. It took me 8 hrs and I haven't even started the coop yet. All in all a brilliant game, Valve's best game since Half Life 2.… Expand

I've played only the single player portion of the game and I think that it is a masterpiece! Excellent Puzzles, voice over, graphics, story... every gamer of the world should play this game at least 1 time.

Not only is this Valve's best game this may be one of the best games ever made. Whatever you do, do NOT listen to the gaming "hipsters" that will say things like "the first one was better" "valve's marketing is terrible" etc. They are wrong. Portal 2 is, in every way an improvement on Portal. The puzzles, while sometimes easier, are more varied and have a greater complexity to them. Almost like Angry Birds: its a 30 second solution that takes 3 minutes to figure out. The writing is some of the best ever done in a video game and the voice acting is top notch. If you, even for a SECOND, enjoyed Portal, you owe it to yourself to play this one.
Now, there's always another side to the coin. For all its greatness, and it is mostly greatness, there are some faults. Even with the upgrades to the Source Engine, the game looks dated. cool lighting effects and great level design work around this, but the cracks in the skin are starting to really show. The second complaint is the biggest. The store. Its unnecessary, its annoying, its really stupid. Thankfully, unlike the TF2 store, everything is cosmetic only, but still. As for complaints like "The PC version is a console port" and "the potato sack did nothing" both are wrong. The PC version plays incredibly smoothly, and the graphics are even better then the consoles. Don't believe me? Check out Rockpapershotgun and PCgamer for their reviews, they'll say the exact same thing. as for the Potato Sack complaint? While the sack may not have really sped up the release by more then a few hours, people don't seem to realize what a sale like that does for the indie community. Most of those games were made by small teams, maybe even one person. The fact that Valve was willing to package it's biggest game with these indie games means that Valve really cares for its community and indie developers. So what if it didn't push forward the release of Portal 2? I guarantee that anyone who bought the Potato Sack isn't complaining.
In conclusion: Portal 2 is one of the best games ever made. If you want to listen to hipsters tell you otherwise, that's your prerogative. But if you can find joy in an awesome game, with awesome puzzles and awesome writing, then Portal 2 is just the game for you. Clocking in at 6-8 hours (single player) this is the perfect game for your weekend.… Expand

Lets put this out there:

1) Portal 1 came packed with 3 other games when I got it back in 2006 in the Orange Box and remains to this day one of the top PC game of all time in my book. It lacked in any proper multiplayer, it also lacked visuals, but it was still one of those games that I'd pick up and play over and over, going well over the the $10 or less I had payed for it bundled. I'd easily pay $30-$45 on this on a heartbeat.

2) EA and Activision can come out with a $60 FPS, not last as long, have medicore storytelling, and improper handling of user generated content and people bought that stuff up and the DLC for $5 to $15 a pop. They complain yet they still bite the bullet in the deal.

Anyway the game in the end is probably one of the most memorable thing I've done in a very long time. It came to the point that I exclaimed that I was (or the main girl) is the goddamn Freeman, which is not an understatement. The dialogue and the pacing is 100% perfect, I never felt like I was in the same place twice at any given moment.

The puzzles were great, though I passed through most with no problems, I found myself stumped on the one or two that seemed really obvious the first thought through.

I now await for Portal2 guys to add to this game like the TF2 guys have with their game. Hats and whatever other bull is the norm with TF2 and completely and utterly ignorable. The bad reviews you hear about price to hours played are just rants by people who actually believed that the sequel to a 6hr game would equal something of a magical longer game. Sort of like how Crysis 2 showed off a wonderful game and ended up being a 6hr jog.… Expand

I haven't finished either, but a solid 2 hours in and I see quite a bit more game coming at me, with more innovation in levels as well as co-op. To the guy that said you beat in in 45 minutes, that's completely **** I beat the first one in about 45 minutes the second time I played on steam about a week ago, and this has a significantly larger amount of chambers already, with innovative new designs. To people who say it's too short or doesn't fit the 60$ price tag, that's also stupid. I paid 35$ for this game and will get a 20$ gift card to amazon because of it. Anyone who pays full price without getting preorder benefits that will inevitably stack towards the next game you buy is dumb. With so much competition between retailers, going to the only one (Gamestop) that doesn't offer things at launch is idiotic. To people who say that the 60$ pricetag doesn't include the 80$ of day one DLC, it's all visual. Nobody gives a damn what emoticon your character can express, and again, nobody in their right mind would buy all of it. To claim it adds to the price tag is bull, it doesn't do anything, let the game be the test of the game, not the pricetag.

Nevertheless, even at a 60$ pricetag, with kotaku and others reporting >10 hours of gameplay, it beats going to the movies.

Oh and BTW this is the second valve game I've ever owned. Not a "fanboy" looking to praise anyone. I had the free copy of Portal one, and I suppose I've played Left for Dead, but never bothered buying them.

The only downside I can see so far is that so far the levels haven't been anything about the timing, all about thinking. I liked the few about timing in the first. Added reflexes and such.

Definitely a fun game, and I haven't even started co-op! Also never buy into the hype. Make your own hype, don't go with everyone or it will be a hype inflation :P In which case this game would still be a good game, never a negative review due to solely that.… Expand

If you're thinking about getting this, stop thinking and just get it. Cause in short, it's an absolutely amazing game, it's of decent length, the characters are interesting, and the puzzles are just perfect. If you're noticing the barrage of bad review scores from users, ignore them, they're just trolls. Their primary concerns are that the game is too short, there's day 1 DLC, and that it's a console port, all of which is in short - bullsh*t. Here's my response to their complaints: It took me 8.3 hours to finish the campaign, and I haven't even touched co-op. There is an Online store where you can buy stuff, but it's only skins and hats and aesthetic stuff like that. There's no sign that it's a console port, and if it is, like Rock, Paper, Shotgun said, it's an amazing port which means there's no point to even complain. So just go to the nearest store and buy Portal 2, or better yet, buy it on Steam, you're not going to regret it.… Expand

Simply the best Valve game YET.
It started off a little rocky and worrying for me, but it wasn't long before things got back into full swing, you have both sides of the portal gun, and you're solving puzzles and listening to the pitch black humor Glados so loves.
The puzzles are extremely fun, and become much more challenging than the original, and many different elements to the mix besides.
If you're familiar with the Half Life series, there's a bunch of little nods and pieces of backstory that add to the mythos that are a joy to find and ponder on, and the art direction is truly inspired, and backed up by what must be a bit of Cryengine steroids injected into Source. I had my doubts about the game going into it, but this is Valve's product, and it has all the loving polish and attention to detail I've come to expect from everyone of their games. Play it. I'm sure you'll find it a classic :)… Expand

trolls will be trolls. the microtransactions are OPTIONAL. The game thus far is the **** and if I choose to pay to customize my character, I don't mind that. IMO valve deserves my money, especially considering that in 1998 i bought a single game that brought me years of enjoyement (due to their mod community support). Without them there would not be a Counterstrike, or Team fortress, or Portal/Portal2.… Expand

My opinion for this game is it is a very great sequel, being a predecessor to its original game, (Portal). They have added many new types of mechanics and nifty things such as Repulsion Gel, Thermal Discouragement Beams, and many more. The story in my opinion is nothing short of just amazing. The difficulty is not to hard, but at the same time not to easy. my only complaint is it is about 8 hours long, but I assure you it will be the greatest 8 hours of your life. The also added a new multilayer option that you can play local or online. I have tried it out with a friend and it is fun, and also a bit more challenging the the single player. Overall a great game and if you have the money I suggest buying it… Expand

VALVe delivers one of its greatest masterpieces in Portal 2. 8 hours of solid gameplay in the single player followed by several more in a completely different co-op story make it a lot longer than the first Portal, and new features with further ways to complete tests, as well as a witty GLaDOS and Wheatley, make me reward VALVe with a 10.

This game is absolutely awesome. Portal 1 was a magnificent game and I thought that Valve won't be able to make anything better. Now I know that I was wrong. Portal 2 has everything that Portal 1 had, but more of it and in better form. And the ending is just, just, just... (I really can't find better word) EPIC! Come one Valve, just take my money ;)

A great sequel. Is challenging and fun. Just when you think single player is over, it continues and gets even better. The new repulsion gel adds a whole new level of difficulty and fun.

The puzzles aren't as 'twitchy' this time around, but you still get the feeling that you've had to think out your answers ahead of time before you go about doing them. As you get closer and closer to solving a puzzle the procedurally generated music starts to amp up, melodies, harmonies, beats and embellishments are added to the base score of the room you are in, adding to the sense of progression. You sit there thinking "I've got this, I've got this, I know what I'm doing!" and the music rewards you. Then, at the end, you complete the puzzle and there's a climax in the score... or you fail, and the music takes away the rewards it has given you and you're left with a sense of failure. That sense of "My god, I did it, I'm a genius!" after getting stumped for a bit is still there, even if some of the novelty from solving puzzles like this is gone from the first game. All of this rewarding puzzle gameplay is anchored by one of the best stories in gaming. The characters are all developed, they go through arcs and change as the story progresses and the acting is absolutely top notch. You fall in love with the characters, even if they're trying to kill you. All of this, plus a few little secrets hidden around the game, create an atmosphere that works equally well in explaining the gameplay, telling you exactly why you're doing what you're doing, and developing the story to a logical and satisfying conclusion. It's not the longest game ever, but with a equally great coop campaign added on (perhaps slightly less lacking in overall narrative structure, but not lacking the same humorous and slightly evil tone of the single player campaign) it's well worth your money. Besides, Valve has hit the right amount of time for this game. The gameplay mechanics never get old and the story doesn't become stale. It would almost feel like a drag to go on longer.… Expand

Undoubtedly the best game of the past 5 years. First I will address the trolls: I don't know why everyone throws this $60 number around, because on Steam, it's $49.99, and it's well worth the price. Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops sold for more and have DLCs that were actually necessary to the game, and I would still say "Portal 2 is better" with a straight face. Speaking of DLCs, I would appreciate it if people didn't just say "I heard Portal 2 has DLCs, that's crap!" and actually figured out that it's similar to TF2's Mann Co. Store - just hats and weapon changes (hardly upgrades). However, Portal doesn't sell any weaponry, just simple cosmetic effects (i.e. hats) that have absolutely no effect on gameplay and are 100% unnecessary. The $80 number you hear? That's just the combined value of EVERYTHING in the store, which nobody in the world would ever buy. It should not be included in the game. If people want to put a hat on a robot unnecessarily, I believe Valve can make them pay for the privilege so we don't have everyone dressed up like pimps while solving puzzles. It is not "robbery". It is not forced. It is for people who have money to blow. If you don't want to spend extra money, pay $49.99 and enjoy the game. As for the completion time, anyone that says they're completing it in under 6 hours (ESPECIALLY on their first try) is pulling your leg, possibly because they think the Steam game timer is accurate (hint: it's not). It took me approximately 9 not including my foray into the co-op, and I didn't get stuck very often. The singleplayer is memorable, entertaining, and the ending will draw tears. I can't say that for Black Ops. The whole potato ordeal - if you had played the game, you would have noticed several references to potatoes (including one that's right in front of you for the entire second half of the game!) but the entire point of the Potato Sack sale was to market indie games, NOT to cheat people out of money for worthless potatoes. If you bought the Potato Sack to earn potatoes, I'm sorry, but you're an idiot. Those who bought it to play the indie games, congratulations, you now have $120 worth of games for only $30! Cool, huh? And hey, if you managed to earn all possible potatoes, Valve did a one-up - you got the ENTIRE Valve Collection PLUS gift codes for all of your games in your ENTIRE library to give to friends PLUS a free extra copy of Portal 2! Hence, I'm not so sure why the Potato Sack sale was a bad thing. Now, onto the review: Portal 1 was an entirely new genre, which makes it fun and refreshing, but lacking on a lot of puzzle elements. Only so much one can do with two portals and some cubes. Portal 2 takes the storyline, puzzle elements, and preconceptions based off of Portal 1 and turns it on its head. Anyone that played the original MUST play this - you will be confused, lost, and bombarded with emotions, and I will say that what you came away with from Portal 1 is all wrong. The graphics are amazing, especially for a Source game. The tweaks to the facility make the storyline really start to shine, and the underground chapters blew my mind. Those saying Portal 2 didn't expand on Aperture's history obviously have not played the game, as it showed 3 decades of it quite vividly! I loved Portal, but it pales in comparison to this game. If you have any love for the Portal series, you're a puzzle gamer by any means, or you'd just like to experience GLaDOS's impeccable sense of sarcastic humor (not to mention Wheatley, Cave, the announcer, and the defective turrets!) then you must purchase this game.… Expand

The best game ever ! Beautiful, funny, and very very immersive. Just huge! I did put the max rating because the game is not perfect, but Portal 2 clearly approaching. Great gameplay , great design and graphics, a nice story, humor and a fantastic atmosphere! An intelligent game, although I find it a little too easy. As for Coop, he's amazing. What fun ! You too, enjoy yourself, and start your adventure, you will not regret it.

Thank you so much Valve

My score : 10

P.S : Sorry for my poor English, I'm French.… Expand

Portal 2 is a great game, and will likely be the best puzzle game of the year; it will certainly be the most played one. With a much larger cast of characters than the first game, their interactions really add to the flavor of the game, and the sarcastic commentary is as great as ever.

So why a 9 and not a 10? The truth of the matter is that Portal 2, as good as it is, is not an innvoative game; Portal was the innovator, and Portal 2 merely follows in its footsteps. Indeed, the game itself is essentially two Portals stuck back to back; you go through a testing facility, then you escape into the back rooms, then you do that AGAIN. The boss fight is even quite similar, and the fact that half the game is basically Portal all over again (different puzzles, but same plot) does not help.

That being said, the game certainly is cute and is entertaining enough, and while some will complain that it is short, the truth of the matter is that it is the proper length - if the game was much longer, it would probably get wearisome, and the other problem is that, at some point, the puzzles will become too difficult for many people to solve.

The little touches to the game - the possibility of hanging around and getting additional dialogue, as well as various posters, signs, and other things which are lying around the facility, all add to the depth of the game and make it a lot more of an experience - if it was just a straight up puzzle game, it wouldn't be very good. It is the characters and these little touches that make it.

If there is one shortcoming of the game outside of being a rehash of Portal, it is graphics; the Source engine is old, and it shows badly in this game. Girders and similar objects are very triangular, and many of the textures are downright terrible. The character model for the main character also looks terrible, and any time you see yourself via the portals you have to wince at just how bad the model is; unlike most FPSes, in this game, you CAN see yourself, so it matters.

All in all a good game, though whether it is worth $50 is something of an open question.… Expand

Ignore all the reviews with a score of less than 9, for those who wrote them have obviously can't see a good game when it's staring them in the face. These kinds of people would much rather enjoy the 'sitting in a corner with an RPG' types of games like COD.

Simply Valve's best game ever with brilliant humor and intelligent awesome gameplay. Thanks Valve for making me happy with this secound part of Portal. Even the Coop is awesome which I first had some doubts. I will go playing now...

Why, oh why, are people panning this game, just because of its silly in-game store, or because the ARG wasn't the fabulous success they imagined it would be? Neither affect the core experience of Portal 2, which, just on its own, not only manages to completely blow away its predecessor in terms of content, humour, intelligence and fun factor... it also manages to be one of the best games Valve has ever made.

I started playing the Single Player campaign at 10am, and finished playing at around 6pm.
Now, I'm one of those people who'll start a campaign, and not stop until it's finished. That doesn't mean I rushed it, mind; one of the things I love about Valve's games is that it rewards you for straying off the beaten track. Easter eggs, extra dialogue... you name it. Portal 2's content is layered incredibly well, so that if you're enthralled enough to go back for another playthrough, you're sure to find or notice something that you didn't before. (I'm already on my second playthrough of the campaign.)

And the beauty of it is, it's so **** brilliant. Seriously. I can't begin to explain just how satisfying, how hilarious, how clever, and how completely fun this game is. I simply can't do it enough justice, compared to you picking it up and playing it through yourself. There is so much content; so many belly laughs, so many 'eureka' moments... That it would be completely unfair of me to just jot them down on a list. As corny as this'll sound, you really have to see it to believe it.

Another interesting point... From what I've read thus far, the true star of the show is the Co-op mode. I've not even touched it yet (mainly because I don't know anybody else who has Portal 2 yet), and I still already **** love the game as a whole. I have no idea how people can possibly pick fault with it, based on such meaningless niggles like the ones listed above. The positives outweighs the negatives to such a ridiculous degree, that second I started playing, all my doubts and preconceptions vanished. I'd spent the weekend doggedly following the ARG, as I'm sure thousands of others did, waiting for the game to be released... I'd guessed a day early. Perhaps two! But I never let myself fall into the trap of condemning the game itself because of its marketing; just because the slightly earlier release wasn't early enough for some, it doesn't make it a terrible game (or 'minigame', as some idiots on here have described it).

So please. I am begging you. Try it. Ignore the childish naysayers on here and just bloody try it. You will love every second of it, especially if you loved the first Portal. And if you've not played the first Portal, don't let that deter you. The game stands up on its own perfectly well, and I'm sure it'll be seen from now on as the benchmark for all games that fall within its genre.

Buy it, play it, love it.
Also, potatoes.… Expand

ok, THIS GAME IS GOLD, GOTY for sure man.

I'm almost crying of the excitement, i mean, i' ve never enjoyed a game this much.

P.D: The game is worth his price, and even more.

Portal 2 is brilliant cause it doesn't just have the same kinda layout as portal 1 and it is much more graphical and if you look closely at each scene there is much more going on than it seems

It's one of the most mediocre games I've played. The humor was fantastic, I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect, but it's not what makes the game. The puzzles were fairly dull. They through in some new gimmicks this time around, but they replaced a lot of the old ones. Puzzles involving old fashioned portal physics are minimal at best. Now, you just spread some goo around. Sure, it's a puzzle game and there were puzzles... but Portal 2 isn't a physics puzzle game. A big part of a physics based puzzle game is breaking it... You know, finding ways to complete the level or bypass content that was never intended. The game was built with so many invisible walls that it was impossible. I feel they improved upon the Portal mechanics themselves though. When you pass through a portal the transition feels much smoother (mostly referring to camera transitions). Still, my biggest complaint about Portal 2 is load times. When I die, don't waste my time at a load screen. What portal 2 truly needed was a sense of anxiety. Some sort of actual threat would have gone a long way to making things interesting... and how did they decide to release this without a map editor for the users? I'm appalled at how many people can give a game a perfect 0 or 10. The reviews doing so are rarely worth reading or even remotely helpful. A perfect score for any game is nonsense.… Expand

Portal 2 is a fine game. But Valve seems to have worked on the Alternate Reality Game more than they did the actual game. It's still very short (only 6-7 hours on my first run) and very rarely did I get stuck for more than 5 minutes. Don't get me wrong, everything from gameplay to graphics has been polished to a fine shine, but that's where I start to get disappointed. It feels too familiar. Everything that happens you kind of expect to happen. No big surprises like the last game. The character wheatley feels...out of place and at times, annoying. Portal was largely an out of body experience, with a very light story on the side. With the bigger and better script, Portal 2 is lighter on the gameplay and heavier on the story. Shame. When you get to thinking about it, Portal was an accidental masterpiece, to they point where valve didn't even sell it as its own product for nearly a year. They tried replicating the experience, but ended up copying and pasting many major events of the originals story. Co-Op, so far, is a nice addition. The maps definitely have more challenge to them than the campaign and the robots are very charming to be with, almost to the point where you don't want to talk, just to see the mute bots do their job. My only major issue so far is the price point. Portal 2 is fun, but has no replay value and a very short length. It's simply not worth the price of admission.… Expand

I had super high expectations for thing game, and it exceeded them in every way. This is why I play games. Beautiful graphics, funny dialogue, pure fun to play. In one word, amazing.

It's good, it's very good. I am not a fanboy, I genuinely liked Portal 2. Interesting characters, Clever puzzles, Good graphics, Excellent music, The flow of the gameplay is amazing, not repetitive, has some moments where you go " OH SH%^$% !!". This is what a polished game is. A clear vision/design that was executed flawlessly. Go play it.

I've only played a couple hours into it, but the "loading" screen is pissing me off already. For a $45 game PC game, it should utilize PC's memory superiority and load much less than a console. I'm pretty disappointed in it overall, only because the price doesn't match the product. It should be a $20 game.

I thought this game would be great, not amazing, haha i was wrong. the only complaint i can think of is the micro transactions. but hey, if people wanna give valve more money for hats, so they can keep making games of this quality (when they finally get around to making a game, that is) im happy. superb.

There is a reason metacritic should stop putting out user reviews.. there seems to be a trend for generally moronic low scores by trolls pushing a games score down from what should easily be a high score to a low score.. sort it out. Portal 2 is a classic. ok one player is a bit short but find a mate and co op is a blast. OH no i was charged full price for this game.. really.. u think. get a job and stop whining! 26 quid for something as fun. hell i bet u lot bang twice that much cash up your nose of a weekend to get so damn twitchy about stuff as u apperently are. Anyway consider this the last user review on meta i read.. bunch of tossers… Expand

Awesome game. Ignore all the retarded 0./10 reviews.

Very funny and very polished. Highly recommended. Loved it.

Its about 8 hours long not 4 hours.

These winging comments about the coop costumes and length are idiotic, I can't believe how stupid some of these reviews are. Portal 2 is an amazing game, just want episode 3 now valve!

I noticed something reading the reviews: almost every negative review (or negative portion of a review) was just typical PC gamers being whiny and entitled, and almost none of them talk about the game itself. I don't know about you but when I am getting a sequel to one of the greatest games of all time, I don't want too much change. If it aint broke, don't fix it, especially when it can be easily ruined... Otherwise this game was AMAZING and if you don't buy it you have no soul.… Expand

I thought it was OK. I didn't play the original Portal until 2009 and I loved every minute of it. Portal 2 seems unfinished - or a rushed game to apease the fan base. (This is a PC review - all settings on max 1080p)

What's cool: GLaDOS. She's mean, she wants revenge, she doesn't really like you..at all. I liked this. Although the narrative was weak you still felt sort of involved. It's also funny - she calls you fat.. a lot.

The Puzzles. Smart and pretty innovated - this is what the game is about. Challenging but not rocket science/CERN type challenging. Very polished.

Music. I didn't notice the music in the first game at all but in Portal 2 it's great and well executed.


What's not so cool:

LOADING SCREENS!! Ahh!! It's 2011 and I guess the Source Engine hasn't been updated since Half-Life 2. The loading screens take you out of the action, out of the moment. This also limits GLaDOS' narrative as she is limited to a 4-6 second sentence as you walk from the gate to the elevator. There is A LOT of loading screens, a lot. Did I mention there's a lot of loading screens? Bad Valve.

Graphics. The trailer/commercials show the two robots looking awesome and detailed and the foliage/environment is so awesome and creative...and they are..just don't walk up to them. The textures (up close) resemble graphics from 2004 (**I'll note this seems to be the norm in games these days, Crysis 2 has the same problem, what gives?!). Next time you're in the elevator look at the little sticker. You'll know what I mean. Value. As much fun this game is, it's not worth the MSPR price of $59.99. I do understand that the price is probably for PS3 and XBOX but I feel bad for you guys. I got the game for $44 with the pre order. Is it worth that much? Not really. Maybe $19-$29. Heres why. You don't get a lot of bang for your buck. It's a short but fun game. After the co-op, theres little incentive to keep playing. No online multiplayer sucks. Think of what they could have done. A $60 game without multiplayer seems a bit steep (I do understand a lot people don't care for it, but still -whats there to do after single player?)

DLC. I don't buy DLC, I don't think I'll ever buy DLC. Why on earth would I pay $14 for 30mins of extra play, Insane. I realize theres a lot of DLC available after launch and I get that. Valve SELLS games and DLC. Was it professional to release DLC right after the game? I wouldn't. DLC after launch is like saying "Yeah, we could have included this in the final version but...we didn't. We want more money. It's not about the gamer it's about earnings." The old Valve wasn't like that. But then again, most companies adhere to this strategy, sadly.

So all in all, I give it a 5/10. It's fun, short and theres little replay value. Hence it's not worth $49-$59. I'm sure there will be a sale sooner or later. Id wait for that.… Expand

1) If you liked Portal, you will LOVE portal 2

2) Story: there is one! characters are great and hilarious and there are some golden moments but it's not exactly a driving force in the game and leaves a few questions unanswered

3) graphics: Any computer with a graphics card can run it which is nice but it definitely lacks a hardcore graphical punch. Everywhere looks the same and uses the same recycled colors

4) Humor: it's not only golden but it's omnipresent. Cave Johnson's lemon speech is absolutely unforgettable

5) length: My friend and I both took about 15 hours total to beat both the singleplayer and co op campaigns. To those who beat it in 4 hours, you didn't have any fun because you used a guide book to beat a game who's only satisfaction is solving the damn puzzles and if you looped all the audio in the character's jokes in the game together it would probably run longer than 4 hours so good job not having any fun and **** about it as if you'll get your money back

6) Game: puzzle complexity is far greater and far more satisfying to solve with addition of so many extra mechanics, but because the game introduces them all to you before beating your brain to a pulp with them, it's slow starting.

7) replayability? lol. none

What makes Portal 2 worth? 15 hours worth of cracked ribs as a result of laughter and some of the best puzzle solving experience you'll get in digital form. Just make sure you have a co op buddy and a mic before playing this game, playing co op with a stranger or someone whose already beaten will kill the satisfaction from puzzle solving and not having a mic just leads to frustration. If you have all this and a yearn for puzzle solving and good humor, Portal 2 is for you. The only thing it lacks is replayability.… Expand

Valve has done it again. Portal 2 exceeds on every single level that the first did. The puzzles are more intricate. The story is more enticing. All of the gels add a lot more to the gameplay as well. The voice acting is great (J.K. Simmons is amazing as Cave Johnson). Portal 2 is what every gamer expects from a sequel. The same gameplay mechanics, with a new and better story. A true masterpiece. Now, let's get working on Half-Life 2: Ep. 3 / Half-Life 3.… Expand

Fantastic game. 472/177 give it a positive review. On this site, that's like gold. If you haven't noticed, people often come here to troll. Ignore them, this game is everything portal was. The magic is here, and it feels like a real PC game. Smoothest PC gameplay in years, and looks great. GlaDOS is Just as funny as before, and you get to learn where her personality comes from. Fantastic story. Wish it was a little longer, but that's hard to ask for without waiting a few more years as it takes quite a while to design and test such a game. If you really do expect a longer puzzle based game, that is as GOOD as this one, your $h17 out of luck.… Expand

I must admit I am thrilled, I loved the first portal and was very unsure if anything could live up to it. I am happy to say it blew past my high expectations. I love the game, but I am not sure how much replayability there is in it. But still - would not have missed this one for the world. I know there are some murmurs about DLC - but this time its not content, just items that change the looks - thats fine in my book as DLC goes. Had it been levels I would have set the score at 8… Expand

It's a shame to see so many reviewers up in arms about a cosmetic addition to the game. But to be honest, I think it's equally shameful for many reviewers to just throw out a "This game was perfect," even for the purpose of counterracting the negative reviews.

Let's be realistic. Alright yes, there was DLC on day 1, but some of it is unlockable in-game anyway, and the saved game message might not have been patched due to release issues with Sony and Microsoft. I can easily overlook these, but the game was not perfect by any means either. There are some definite gripes to be had, but I think everybody, both yea- and nay-sayers just needs to calm down and look at this for its qualities as a game.

The campaign was pretty short; I believe I clocked in at about 5-6 hours. The co-op campaign, which I have not finished yet but am a decent way through, adds a significant amount of time to this. An 8-10 hour game (including co-op) is perfectly reasonable, in my opinion. The single-player is more about the characters and the story, while the co-op focuses on some pretty intuitive puzzle solving, and in the end I think it balances well.

I think my biggest personal complaint, though, was the sheer amount of loading screens. I think I saw about 50-60 loading screens in the game. It seriously cuts down on game immersion if every 3 minutes you have to stare at black screen and wait for the next section of game to pop up, and it gets very tedious. But, to be honest, I can easily overlook that issue too, because there were several things this game did absolutely wonderfully.

First off, all the dialogue was exceptional, as was the voice acting. All of the robotic characters were perfectly believable, and JK Simmons' work as Cave Johnson was phenomenal. The off-kilter humor from the first Portal was still there as well, though it seems that some people didn't particularly care for that, either this time around. To me, that morbid sense of humor is what makes Portal Portal.

Another plus but also another gripe, I did enjoy all the new gameplay mechanics, but I think they could have fleshed them out a little bit more, through more puzzles. And they left out the pneumatic diversity vents, which I thought was disappointing.

Overall, this game was not perfect, but I don't think it really deserves such a strong negative reception. Some of the gripes were legitimate, like the single-player being a bit too short, or perhaps some of the puzzles being too easy. But complaints about the DLC and loading screens are just petty. Look at this game for the qualities of the actual game. I personally think Portal 2 definitely lived up to the precedent set by the first one. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I just hope that others will still be able to as well.… Expand

This is one of the finest games valve has ever made. The negative reviews are useless, they're not complaining on the game itself, rather the dlc in the start, which for me went pretty darn fast. I just finished the story-mode and im impressed. Valve has put several new and different ways for this game to get ever so much engaging as the first one. You will not get screwed over for buying this game. This is a hands down 10 from my part.… Expand

honestly one of the best videogames i`ve played so far in my life. the writing was soo funny and the lvl design is outstanding for me..defenitly worth the 50 bucks!!!

The amount of whiny trolls here is just ridiculous. I imagine most of them haven't even played the game, and are just regurgitating what they've heard the others say. First off, the single player takes a good 6-8 hours. Still not incredibly long (and the only reason why I knocked off one point), but I'll replay it just to hear the dialogue, not to mention find all the secrets and get the achievements. And that's without touching co-op. How can you even call cosmetic hats DLC? Here's a hint: just don't buy them. Your game experience will be completely unchanged. The only people who should have a problem with this are exactly the kind of morons who see shiny digital horse armor and have some strange compulsive nature that forces them to buy it.

Don't even know what they're talking about with "Please don't turn off your console." Never saw it, and the game doesn't feel like a port at all.

After L4D2 I was worried that Valve know longer knew how to make a sequel as good as or better than its predecessor, but here they've clearly done the latter. The gameplay is better (hard light trails, gels and excursion funnels add a ton of depth) and the humor is better. But maybe that's the real reason why the haters are so mad, because there's no easily identifiable meme line to clutch onto and propagate ad nauseum like "the cake is a lie" (Ugh, that got old so fast).… Expand

This game is extremely well polished, and it's all the little things that show off this fact. Ignore all the 4can morons who are trying to wage an immature campaign because they haven't got a new COD game in the last 3 months to waste their time on. This game is good and worth the money, but if 50 bucks isn't your thing wait a few months and I'm sure it will be a week end deal.

Amazing game. If you don't like the DLC, don't buy it. They are completely cosmetic and have no impact on the game otherwise. I'm glad VALVe gave us the option to skin our characters, but I choose not to spend my money on them. 10/10 easily.

There is some obvious hate spam going on in here, so ignore any review under a 5. Just completed the game, and its amazing from start to finish and I haven't even touched the co-op yet. Do yourself a favor, ignore the haters and pick up this awesome game.

Amazing... Played through single player in roughly 8 hours (I go slow when exploring maps for the first time) and the co-op with a great friend of mine in about 5 hours. 10 hours for a great game? Anyone remember Uncharted? I'm not complaining. Can't wait to go through co-op again with the wife and kids.

So enjoyable, thanks Valve.

This game is almost perfect. At the beginning it sounded a bit slow and boring but then.. wow. Do not listen to all these negative reviews! 1) this is not a console port. the "pleas turn off your console" is a known bug. check steam forums for official response about this. 2) there's no "80$ DLC", it's just a bunch of skins, hats or gestures! There was no hype about this and the game is perfect as well. 3) the game is definitely NOT 4 long. This is simply awesome… Expand

Portal 2 is a remarkably awesome game. It simply has that great feel the entire time. However, like a good song, it has to end eventually. The game is so fun and fast-paced that suddenly, you're done the 4-8 hours of single-player gameplay. I personally believe that this is too short for a game, but man, was it the best 7 hours of gaming i had in a while. In other games, usually the multiplayer mode adds replay value, but the Co-op simulations also has it's short limits. Great game, but not worth $55.Hopefully they'll continually add new content... but that usually requires extra money.… Expand

While I've only played the single player campaign so far, and have yet to tackle co-op, this review is only based on the single player mode. Took me about 8 hours to beat, but that may be been a bit fast as since I've played portal 1 so much, all the "tutorial" levels I blitzed through in seconds. A player who is new to the game probably will take a bit longer to get used to the mechanics. Humor felt a little bit more forced than portal 1, but that's the only complain I can bring myself to make about the game. It's unique, interesting, challenging. Highly highly reccomend playing this.… Expand

Excellent game. There is far more variety in puzzles than last time, and contrary to claims that it's 4 hours long, it lasted me about 7 hours. Intelligent writing and humor makes this an unforgettable experience.

The DLC that people negatively mentioned is a non-issue as all the DLC is cosmetic only.

Portal 2 I feel was worth my money. there are too many loading screens but never longer than what it takes to sip my drink. never been a graphics snob but it is one of the most beautiful games on my PC and it surprisingly runs better than the original portal on my computer (some people have been complaining about the fact that things aren't photo-realistic to them I tell them FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION. the function of this is to be a puzzle game everything needs to be crisp and clear and it is they didn't waste my processing power with anything unnecessary. the best example is minecraft.) . The puzzles so far have been challenging off and on and i am around four hours in and am still getting new mechanics (yes I'm not done with the game yet its a weekday im busy). I enjoyed the original portal and this one hasn't disappointed. On the subject of Hats. Really people cant find anything better about the game to complain about than the fact that a company is trying to create a sustaining business by selling useless kniknaks to people who want to buy them. Here is a hint if you don't want to buy them DONT. Finally to all the omg its a console port people is there any way it damages the gameplay. It hasn't bothered gameplay on my crappy computer. To all the people complaining about a great game at least you bought the game maybe play it again when you are older and can appreciate it.… Expand

Super awesome. Really loved it. 10 hours in and only 3/4 through game (single & coop follow 2 connected story arcs). The bot customisation store for multiplayer is dumb, but it's optional.

Portal 2 is fantastic. I absolutely loved the original and Valve delivered with this one, improving on the original in every way possible. It's like comparing the original Assassin's Creed to AC2. It was well worth the money, delivering a much longer single player (took me roughly 7 hours to finish). Stephen Merchant was great as Wheatley and Ellen McLain once again provided great voice-over as GLaDOS. The humor was brilliant this time round and gave me quite a few laughs throughout the game.

There are some great new puzzle elements that offer much more variety as you progress further. All in all, another fantastic game from Valve. I have yet to try the co-op which probably adds a lot more to the game.

And to everyone complaining about the DLC. You're not being forced to buy it, they're OPTIONAL extras that are there if you want to buy them. Giving a game a low rating because you don't want to pay for it is disgraceful and you should re-evaluate calling yourself a gamer.

Loved Portal? Then this game is a must for you and worth every penny. Go buy it and have some fun.… Expand

Okay, the negative voting guys are just ridiculous. First of all game playtime - I've managed to *rush* through the game (SP only so far, gotta try coop as well) in 5 hours. (Because I have to write a review for one minor magasine). I'm gonna play again for achievements and such stuff.

About the "DLC" - there's no such thing. You guys are confusing DLCs with microtransactions. Or in case of some free-to-play MMOs... Do you concider extra stuff in form of microtransactions as DLCs? C'mon... These microtransactions actually do NOT affect gameplay, nor Sp, nor Coop. Period.
Engine/Graphics: Source Engine is beautiful. No kidding. Low requirements for both high quality AND high performance. Complainers are either running the game on a sh**ty PC or have a very highend and are used to Crysis at maximum quality. Well... I highly doubt about the latter one ;) Anyway, look at the Crysis 2 and then talk ;)
Not challenging: Please go through the whole game.

Simply put, this game is awesome, level design is great, dialogs are well written, companion cube is still alive (:D) and soon modding tools will be released, so we can look forward for mods. Only thing that's diasappining is... (wait for it) ...Chell. I hoped they would finally make one of their main characters speak. But I guess that they're saving it for Gordon Freeman at the end of Ep3 (yeah, I'm optimist).

Summarization: 10,5/10 :D (would be 11/10 if they would let Chell speak)… Expand

Portal 2 is a fantastic game - don't listen to the plethora of bitter Valve haters on here. They'll come around eventually. The PROFESSIONAL critics are right. Game of the decade.

Great game, very polished, very fun. Noticed reviews seem to be getting more positive as the day goes on, I think this game will end up with a high user score. Moral of the story, if you're looking for a run and gun, look somewhere else. If you're looking for the next 50-60 hour epic, look somewhere else. If you're looking for a clever, well-written, great looking game, Portal 2, in my mind, fits the bill. On a side note, this site has the lowest user scores I've seen for this games. On most other review sites, the user scores are much higher, averaging around the 90% range. What's going on Metacritic?… Expand

I feel bad for all these players who can't get off their high horse and enjoy this great game. The first Portal while short and mostly devoid of cutscenes had more story and personality than many games that come out retail. Portal 2 continues that by offering a unique experience and not just another FPS rehash.

Another positive review to offset the abuse of the system by disgruntled, entitlement bound whiners. The graphics and presentation are top-notch, the sound/music are atmospheric and creepy, the puzzles more varied and clever, the writing/humor dry and snarky. The only way it could be better is if they ever release a level maker for it.

1) If you don't like micropayment DLC, don't buy it. Nothing that is being sold is extra game content, merely window-dressing for people who want to style their co-op avatars. Given that, I take no serious issue with the DLC.

2) If you finished the game in 4 hours, then I guess there is no pleasing you. I'm willing to bet these people got the game illegally in the first place.

3) You can't simply compare the price of a product to the number of hours it takes to wolf down its content. If that's all a game is, is shoving brain-food into your mouth, then you'll never take the time to appreciate a good "steak" in your mouth. Go back to playing yet another military FPS.

4) Knowing the significance Metacritic has in the gaming industry, I suspect troll-bombing with intent to poop on other people's good time.

Play this game. Ask for more.… Expand

Absolutely stunning game, valve did nothing wrong with its release or development, I am left to conclude that the bad review surrounding this game is nothing, but greifers and trolls that hate to see a success of a much loved and publicised game

Even better than portal 2, users giving a 0 just because they don't like the potato thing/ the tf2 style dlc shop.... should stop whining and play, it's a great game. Absolutely 100% worth the price

I was a big fan of the first game, and was looking forward to this game, and in the end it did not disappoint.
I liked the new innovations and the addition of the story element. Was overall very enjoyable.
The only thing that bothered me was the amount of loading screens considering how short some of the levels were.
The game length was adequate in my opinion, about 6 hours, and co-op seems like it can add a lot more time onto the game.… Expand