Now I don’t often blog about things like video games… though maybe I should. I’m sure most of you have heard of a game called Portal. Originally packaged in The Orange Box Collections, it was made by Valve, the crazy people behind the Half-Life series, Counterstrike, and the Left 4 Dead series, among others. I heard a lot about the game, got really interested, and thus went out and bought it. I realize this may be old news to most, but it’s new to me!
It’s primarily a puzzle game based around the use of what’s called a “Portal-gun,” which allows you to create portals between two disconnected areas and travel between them. It’s crazy fun, and crazy innovative. You play as a character named Chell (which is a stupid name, but whatever), who is apparently a test subject at the weird and deserted Aperture Science Laboratories. The facility is run by a computer system named GLaDOS, who is hilarious. She helps you around the facility. Constantly full of wit and other subtle humor, GLaDOS is easily one of my favorite video game characters.
While at first you are simply completing tests in different rooms, you eventually begin to realize GLaDOS may be trying to kill you. It’s around this point you go on a mission to destroy the facility.
And I love it. I don’t even know why, but I’ve completed the game three times already and still want more. Portal 2 is coming out next year, and I can’t wait! So go try it out and stuff.
Happy Trails,
Sam.
PS — Since I’m now a Valve fan, I’ve started to play Half-Life 2, so we’ll see how that goes…
