Valve's awesome tease is finally coming to its conclusion, and it's now confirmed that this was all a giant leadup to the announcement of Portal 2. Valve has sent out a press release officially announcing Portal 2 for the upcoming holiday season. Get ready to spend your Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Islamic New Year/December break with Chell and your companion cube!
I said it before, but I want to say it again. Other game developers -- take some cues from Valve the next time you want to make a major announcement. This Portal ARG was an absolute masterpiece.
Game Informer has some details on the game which will be in the upcoming April issue. Also keep an eye on their Portal 2 hub, as they'll slowly be releasing information there over the course of the month.
Jonathan Ross is an Associate Editor in Los Angeles who is obsessed with capybaras. Like, seriously, obsessed. If he's not playing Team Fortress 2 or getting into arguments about why PC gaming is superior, he's either off having a fancy dinner with lots of expensive wine, or sitting on the Destructoid IRC complaining that's he's not off having a fancy dinner.
Likes: Chrono Trigger, Street Fighter, Steam, everything Blizzard and Valve have ever made, playing Angry Birds on the toilet.
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Contest:
11:56 AM on 03.05.2010
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Then again, I'm a pessimistic bastard, so it might just be that.
It's NOT Ok to make a Bioshock sequel because the first games story was perfect and had the makings of a classic. Leave it alone, right?
But it IS Ok to make a Portal sequel because the first games story was perfect and had the makings of a classic. Am I right about this?
Unless this does wind up tieing in with Half-Life 2.. I really don't see why we need another Portal game. Although, I'm sure it'll be good. I just wonder why Bioshock got so much crap.
If anyone can ensure that Portal retains its charm in the sequel, it's Valve.
The covers are amazing!
And I came would be an understatement.
The potential of awesomesauce for this game is just... so much.
I came.
Portal has always been tied with the Half-Life universe. Aperture Science has been Black Mesa's major competitor for government funding for teleporter technology.
In fact in Opposing Force you get to use the Black Mesa brand portal gun (be careful with it's secondary fire!).
Additionally the mention of the Aperture vessel at the end of Episode 2.
I'm......I'm just so happy right now. I'm weeping sweet tears of joy right now.
Oh, I know my HL lore. So much so that I know that Opposing Forces is not considered canon by Valve.. so whatever happened there, didn't really happen.
But, I still think it's a double standard to say it's OK that one game with a great story needs a sequel because it ties in with some other game (that happens to have a great story), but another game with a great story doesn't need a sequel (because it doesn't tie in with anything?).
Just pointing that out. I will still be playing whatever Valve produces because I secretly am quite the Valve fanboy.
I get ya, though I think to be fair Portal was a pretty small game by comparison to Bioshock. TF2 (at the time) and Portal 2 felt as substantial a game as one of the HL2 episodes.
The hope is perhaps a greater expansion in this sequel to Portal by contrast to the sequel to Bioshock which appeared to retread more of the same ground.
That's just the way I see it. Much in the same way people had a lot of friction with L4D2, disregarding the 'too soon' feelings.
I'm sorry, but I'm not sure that I agree. I was a very big fan of L4D, but not soo much the sequel.
Here's the difference:
BioShock 2 - The original game ended without any need for a continuation of the story. All questions posed were answered, all wrongs were righted. Then, it was announced that not only was there going to be a sequel, but that it was going to be developed by two different studios than the first game, with one of said studios adding multi-player to a previously single-player only game.
Seemed reason enough for people to be skeptical...
Portal 2 - The first game left things wide open, with a ton of unanswered questions, and the references to Aperture in Episode 2 only added to the lore. Also, the sequel will be developed by the same studio as the original, with said studio having a proven track record of making sequels that improve upon the originals.
Seems reason enough for people to be excited...
There might be more...
AND YEAH! PORTAAAL!
No, Bioshock 2 was different. The dev team was different from the first, the time between the releases (length of the game considered) was very short and you could just tell that they were going to take all of the 50s atmosphere from BS1 and none of the philosophy\social commentary.
In contrast, Portal 2 (assuming it's the same length as the first) will have had plenty of development time, is being developed by the same team as the first and is being developed at a company that has probably the cleanest track record ever when it comes to sequels.
Of course, that's not to say it'll be good. Kim Swift (project lead on Portal) doesn't work at Valve anymore. So who knows. But my mood is one of cautious optimism (mixed with a sprinkle of childish glee).
Simple answer : Portal was an open ended game. Bioshock was not.
Long answer :
Portal ended up introducing a new silent protagonist to the Half Life series : now she's out and can do her shit : now you wont be limited to the insides of a room, you'll be out there and kicking ass.
Bioshock was a self contained statement about videogames and a great allegory of Ayn Rand's work. The setting and the ending of the first game just weren't made for a second game, and indeed the second game just ended up being good looking and fun, but nothing more.
Oh and notice how no one's saying that Portal 2 will be a good game. Who knows, it might end up being crap. But considering Valve's previous work...
It's not as though Valve has recursively taken Chell out of the game and turned her into Gordon Freeman. Or changed it from cake to donuts.
Hell, they could've released add-on puzzle packs ad-infinitum and I would've bought them all. It's a good game. The story component is obviously important too, but this is Valve here. They don't skimp on that shit.
Or maybe there's just this contingency of L4D1 butt-hurt fans still looking for something to be upset about with Valve.
Until I see a Valve sequel that doesn't improve upon the original I will disagree with everyone who dissents.