The backlash against Portal 2 on this site is somewhat mystifying to me. As far as sequels go, it would be inconceivable to hope for a better one than this. Much of the bitterness of others probably stems from the underwhelming conclusion of Valve's alternate reality game leading up to the release and the fact that Portal 2 lacks some of the freshness of Portal 1 (but then again, it's a sequel--what do you really expect?). The brilliance of Portal 1's storytelling came as a surprise to people just expecting an experimental puzzle game; Portal 2, then can only lose points by not having even greater writing/humour/etc. Regardless, Portal 2 improves on the original with a longer and more challenging single-player mode, a co-op mode, several new mechanics, and more Portal humor. It's a great sequel to a great game. If the price seems steep to console users, just wait a while and pick it up later--it's worth your time.… Expand

Completed the single player last night and I feel as if I've lost a friend.
I won't go into detail because one of the best aspects of the game is discovery, both physically as you explore Aperture Laboratories, and in terms of plot as you encounter new characters and elements of the story.
Some people might not like the middle section, where the puzzles are outside of the 'test chamber' environment, but for me these add a massive boost to the game, since the urge to explore is as strong as the urge to solve the puzzle of how to get from A to B.
Solving all of the puzzles is a joy... figuring out the solution then experiencing it made me laugh out loud many times. And there's great humour in the script, from Steven Merchant's bumbling Wheatley, to GLaDOS's withering put-downs.
Replayability is limited to going back and winning trophies you may have missed along the way, which is all well and good except that if you're trying to get the trophy for completing a test chamber in a given time, actually finding that chamber post-completion is a task in itself since you can't just load up individual chambers.
But I'm not going to mind revisiting some areas, since for now that's the only way you're able to get a puzzle 'fix' without playing the multiplayer.
I've not done more than a few multiplayer levels, which I went through with my son. They're a great challenge, and I wish I didn't have to wait for someone else to play with in order to get to them!
Having an early copy meant I couldn't find anyone online to play with, but I suspect it's going to be very frustrating to team up with someone you don't know. And I am pretty sure some players are going to be griefers who just want to wind up strangers by getting their robot character destroyed as often as possible.
But maybe that in itself could be part of the fun...
All I hope is that it's not going to be too long before Valve unleashes some single player downloadable content!… Expand

Pretty pathetic the lengths people will go to trash this game. One or two complaints warrant a 0 score for the game? Complaining about the DLC store which isn't part of the PS3 game? 4 hours in, this has been a fantastic game so far. The new objects, bridges, lasers, gels offer plenty of new challenges. The story in engaging and dialogue is hilarious. Granted, the graphics are a bit dated, but if you let any of these naysayers talk you out of trying this game, you will be missing out on one of the best games released since the first Portal.… Expand

These people don't know what they have played, they say shooting portals is monotonous, which is not true. The game is very varied, the place where you play it, even though is decaying is very beautiful, it even reconstructs itself. The characters are amazing as well, they have unique personalities. I have to say those people rating low are just trolls who have no idea what a game is and who think a game is just about shooting and killing. Those call of duty fanboys don't know what a quality game is. I highly recommend this game. 10/10… Expand

Great game, when I got it I was expecting a rehash of Portal with some added extras but what I found was that this is a great improvement from an already amazing game. While the campaign in the original portal was short, this one was amazing with a great story to match. My problems with the game is the co-op which required a lot of cooperation and is oftentimes very difficulty and replay value which isn't as great as other games with not much incentive to play after you beat the campaign.… Expand

A great continuation of the portal story. It's sad to see users such as "Valvesucks" needlessly bring down the user score when they obviously haven't tried the game.

I can say, without any single doubt, that this is the best game I have ever played since the golden Half Life 2 - Doom 3 era. It's maybe me, but I could say that this game is a potential GOTY.
Great gameplay mechanics, superb voice acting, great humor, beautiful environments and general awesomeness make for a game that shouldn't be missed by anyone. And the campaign is pretty long, too.

This is a truly amazing game. I had high expectations and they were definitely lived up to, if not outdone. The new atmosphere is amazing, and the robots have more personality than most human characters. This will be the best game of 2011.

Talk about a vindictive attack. I registered for Metacritic for no other reason than to help balance the senseless voting of a few limited minded individuates. If you are stupid enough to run through a game like this in 3 hours (not that I believe you can without glitching), than you deserve your sub-par experience. Go back to staring into a strobe light to fry your brain. Single player play time for me 7.5 hours. Enjoyed every moment. Great writing, acting and overall the ambiance is brilliant. Valve polished every inch of this game (will almost every inch) to a painful shine. While I won't call it hard, it is very satisfying. Looking forward to going through the game again just to see what I missed and pick up a few missed achievements. The biggest downside... Source. You can't help but notice that this game is running on one of the most out dated graphics engines still in modern production. Sure they upped some texture resolution and added a few more reflection effects, but it doesn't change the limited polygon count, and the slow loading times. Valve did great for the limitations of the technology, but longer draw distances would have made some scenes infinitely more epic in their scope. Technically I actually give this game a 8.5, strictly for the technical short comings, but for balance sake I will enter a 10.… Expand

Don't listen to the haters, Portal 2 is masterful. The dlc is more of an avatar store, optional stuff people shouldn't be complaining about. Both full campaigns equal up to about 15 hours and they just beg to be replayed. This cake is not a lie

I love this game. The frame rate is crisp and the puzzles fun and imaginative. People detracting from this game are generally PC fanboys loosing another "exclusive" from their short list. The campaign lasts about 9 hours and the humor is top notch. The humor is not generally for children, and not because of vulgarity, but much like The Office, the humor is just above little one's heads. I love how the levels really feel to be actively changing as you move through them and the place feels alive. You never forget that you being toyed with. I honestly can recommend this game enough.… Expand

Beautiful, puzzling, innovative, all in all just a perfect game that I'm sure I'll be playing for years to come. The PS3 copy came with a code for downloading a large file on the PC or Mac that is labeled portal 2 but all it does is crash. I wouldn't recommend bothering with the code.

Portal 2 is easily the equal of Portal 1, and a fantastic followup that adds much to the already established perfection. Not only is the humor easily as good as last time, the puzzle solving goes from okay, to Portal 1's equal, to amazing and beyond anything Portal ever did over the course of the 7 to 10 hour campaign.

Addressing some concerns that other reviews have said (don't listen to them, they are mad about an ARG and DLC that have nothing to do with the actual game), no, the game is not 3 hours long. No, there is no game-enhancing DLC to get upset about, the DLC, which is PC only in the first place, is purely aesthetic and no one who isn't interested has any reason to buy it. Finally, the ARG that took place before this game was release not only resulted in a midnight release on Steam (as opposed to the planned 7am release), it also got everyone who got all of the "potatoes" in the ARG Valve's *entire library of games for free*.

There is no reason to dislike this game, and many of the reviews are simply venting frustrations not at all related to the game's quality. It's better in every way than one than the original Portal, save one, originality. And let's face it, that magic has passed, we can't get that moment in time back, so we should enjoy an amazing game for what it is, the best possible sequel to Portal, and the best game of the year so far.… Expand

Okay this trolling is getting out of hand. I am going to both review the game and dispell all the lies.

#1 The game is NOT 4 hours long. It has been disproven by many gaming outlets; Rock Paper Shotgun, 1up, Kotaku, etc. On a speed run it takes about 7 hours to beat the SP.

#2. The DLC is ALL cosmetic. They do not charge for any added levels so this motion of you are missing game content because it costs money for a hat is ridiculous.

The game is amazing and one of the best and most creative games made. Fantastic voice acting, great story, mind boggling gameplay. Better than Portal 1 in every way and the best Valve game yet. Do yourself a favor and buy it!… Expand

please dont listen to the user score as of 4/19/11 i have no clue how they will be in the future but right now its all the trolls and the idiots thats dont know what a good game is or how to review a squeal. im giving it a 10/10 because it is a good sequel i am in no way saying its better then portal 1 because nothing ever is better then the original.the story line is not short its a perfect length the crazy antics are the same and it is a bit different then portal 1 and thats a good thing.get this game you will not be sorry.… Expand

Valve has created a wonderful sequel to Portal. The enrichment center is alive. There are holes in the ceilings and walls that let the light filter through and plants grow through the cracks. The sounds of birds and crickets give it the feeling that nature has taken over. The graphical detail is much greater than the original Portal and I found myself wanting to explore as much as solve the puzzles. Everything about the game is an improvement over the first Portal. I highly recommend it to anyone who is tired of zombies and explosions. Portal 2 is a breath of fresh air.… Expand

Portals genius is the way it takes a simple premise (get from A to B using portals) and turns it into one of the most mind boggling, original and downright addictive games you'll ever play. Even if you don't normally like puzzle games i'd urge you to at least try this as apart from being one of the best games of this generation it's also like no other game this generation.
Is it perfect? No, but it's not far off. If you want to be picky then, yeah, it's a little bit short and lacks genuine replay value but does any of that really break the game in any way or stop it being one of the greatest puzzle games ever? Hell no!… Expand

Valve have done it again! This game is Awesome, Pitty about the PSN being a bit rubbish, perhaps Sony should let valve take over the on-line side using their Steam systeml, GOTY in my opinion, Oh and ignore the trolls, if you want to experience a fine wine of a game get Portal 2

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.

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

This game is hands-down one of the best games I've ever played. The story is almost as much fun as the gameplay and all of the dialogue is genuinely funny. I've never played a game that made me audibly chuckle as often as this game does. I wanted to complete the puzzles so that I could hear the next bit of dialogue from all of the characters. Anybody that beat this game's single player campaign in 4 hours their first playthrough has to be some sort of supergenius speedfreak. It took me about 9 to finish, and I'm absolutely sure that time could be improved, but the game is so engaging, rich with detail, and fun to explore, I'd find myself reading many of the posters and pausing to make sure I didn't miss any dialogue. However, I still feel I spent at least 7 of those hours solving puzzles, so whether you care about the story and environs or not this game is still not as short as many people have noted. The puzzles are crafted so brilliantly by the creators that even though the solution may not be initially obvious, you always seem to find the solution, and they make you feel so smart for doing it. I really enjoyed the first Portal and the second installation took the best parts of the first and made them bigger, faster, and more exciting. What more could you ask for in a sequel?
This is thus far my GOTY pick and if you play video games and value a good single player experience, it would be a shame not to play this game.
I'm playing through the multiplayer now and have yet to finish it, but the puzzles are just as much fun as the single player campaign, but you absolutely must work together, so I don't recommend playing with someone you may fight with as things can get frustrating when you someone doesn't do their part or even just fires the wrong portal at the wrong time.
All in all, I feel this game is at least a 95 out 100 for any gamer who likes to invest themselves in their games. It's a near perfect game to me if ever there was one.… Expand

This is the best game out there. So far the story is amazing and I don't want to spoil you with anything. Just enjoy your ride through the Aperture facilities and try to find your way out of this mess. Only 3 games could be better in the future: Episode Three, Mass Effect 3 and Half-Life 3 :D

£33 is not much for any PS3 game, never mind one of this calibre. I did finish the single player campaign in a fairly short amount of time but I must admit to having watched the walkthroughs online (mainly for the story, but I did remember quite a few of the bigger solutions). It's a great game, it's just a shame that amazon sent it 2 days late and PSN is acting up, but I will hopefully play through the Co-op on split screen later today. Great game, slightly short but doesn't need to be longer. Not ten as little replay value, blah blah blah.… Expand

The self-righteous,entitled trolls around here are probably those who played the Valve "ARG" game and thought they'd win a house or something. Don't listen to them. This is honestly one of the best game I've ever played and I've been playing games since the Atari 2600. It's fun, It's clever, it reminded me that there are still people that *care* about making great games instead of **** them out from the game-o-tron factory.

I am not even exaggerating when I say I laughed more playing this game than I laughed playing all the other games I ever played put together. Yes, it is that good. In fact, this is more than a game. It's an experience. Personally I have a hard time finishing a game these days. I usually lose interest halfway because,well, because game-o-tron factory. This is the only game I ever restarted right after finishing it (with the developer's commentaries of course) because I wanted MORE. In fact ,I want all game developers making a game right now to stop whatever they're doing and play this game. Better yet, playing this game should be mandatory in every game-making courses (or whatever it's called right now). Long story short: VALVe has done it again but BETTER. This is a masterpiece plain and simple. Go play it NOW.… Expand

Please do not listen to any one who tells you this game is anything less that brilliant, you can easily forgive it for being short mainly due to the fact that is so fun you will find your self passing the single player more times than you feel comfortable with. The voice acting is top notch and it makes me hope to see Stephen Merchant reprising his role in any way possible, not only because he captured the character of wheatley brilliantly, but because his character is so lovable i couldn't imagine it any other way. The music is ear-gasmic, so much so it is the only game i would recommend buying the soundtrack. it offers more than any other sequel has ever done before by turning a 2 hour game in to a fully fledged 5 - 8 hour masterpiece with unforgettable characters and amazing gaming moments. you will find your self laughing more than being frustrated by the villains dead pan and hilarious comments.… Expand

One of the best story lines and satisfying game play I have played in years. It deserves All the love it gets. It's even greater on ps3, better graphics and PC and ps3 gamers can play online together.

I don't even understand how people are rating this game 0. Lack of content? There are 2 games in this game. DLC? Its so optional its crazy. And has anybody looked at the prices? I'm pretty sure its like a dollar for the things people are rating this game 0 for. Furthermore, when you buy the ps3 edition, you get a free computer version. Also, the game is $49.99 on steam right now. People pay 59 for freaking black ops STILL. FINALLY. If you bought the potato sack, and beat the games and all that junk, you got a free copy of portal 2. How are these the actions of a company that cares only about money?!… Expand

I found this game an excellent sequel. For me, it is the games writing that really sets it apart. The comedy and voice acting is brilliant and at times they manage to even scare you despite you knowing there are no actual enemies in the game (as it is all puzzle based). The player gets to explore and understand the history of Aperture laboratories and makes the relatively closed world of the first instalment a much bigger one.

On a puzzle based note, I did feel that the puzzles weren't as challenging as I thought they would be. I was expecting a much steeper difficulty curve, with only a couple of the puzzles posing any real difficulty (maybe I have been thinking with portals too long?). That said, there is no reason not to pick this title up if you are a fan of good puzzle games, a fan of the first one, or just very entertaining and clever writing. At the time of writing this, PSN has been down since its release so I am unable to comment on the cooperative mode, however, I have heard from fellow Steam users that it is just as good as the single player experience, if not with harder puzzles.… Expand