After you've completed the game, done all the advanced chambers and gotten all the challenge medals, you've still probably spent less than 6 to 8 hours playing Portal, and while its great, and one of the best games Ive ever played, sometimes you just want some more. And thats where portal custom maps come in.

Unlike TF2 which easily integrates customs easily into play, portal is a bit tricky. Simply placing the BSP files in the maps folder does not make them show up in the bonus maps area of the game. Once you are at the start screen the BSP must be manually loaded using the map <mapname> command. Don't worry about exact spelling, an auto-compete dialog will pop up allowing you to scroll through every map available to you.





Nailway was created by Deathkiller and we've tested a few of him maps on TF Tuesdays, this one is by far the best of what he's made.

Even though its an alpha version and not completely finished, the map is very playable and very fun. Its actually a series of BSPs that meld together via loading screens to create a miniature Aperture facility. From the start, the map branches out into 4 different pathways before coming back together again for the final portion of the map.

The puzzles are innovative yet not too complex. The map is also able to capture some of the creepy desolate feeling of the regular game and there are even three hidden cakes scattered throughout the facility.

In order to fully appreciate the map make sure to type ai_disable into the console, this will re-enable the turret AI since it is turned off by default in the map. The map will take between 15 and 30 minutes to complete, and about an hour or so if you go back to take all the different diverging pathways.

All in all, its one of the best custom portal maps out so far, you can download the files here. In addition if you are interested there are several other very well made portal customs that you can browse through here.