Portal 2 ("MASSIVE FUCKING SPOILERS!")

[Master Gunner]

The not-in-any-way, completely spoiler-ific, thread for Portal 2. Beware of unmarked/hidden spoilers.

[JackSlack]

So HOLY FUCKING SHIT. The second act, right? The truth behind GLADoS, and how damn sad is it? I felt utterly heartbroken for Cave Johnson.

I really liked one reviewer's observation: Portal 2 inverts much of Portal 1. It's deliberately messier, less perfect, and more human. It's got some real pathos. It's the Spielberg to the original's Kubrick.

[InsaneFool]

The third era of Aperture Science was really tugging at the old heart strings...as funny as the burn-down-your-house-with-lemons bit was, it was almost too tragic to be elicit any actual laughter.

[Myrph]

I must admit, I'm really enjoying playing through the game a second time and finding all the little things that I hadn't paid attention to the first time round, but explain some of the occurrences in the game, such as the announcement in the first or second act that states that Aperture Science Personality Cores are able to survive in post apocalyptic voltages of as low as 1.1 volts, which is why GlaDOS is able to survive in a potato battery, as well as other stuff such as the almost religious looking Chell iconography in the room where you find the dual portal gun.
Its fascinating listening to the dev commentary too. Got some really interesting insights about the behind the scenes happenings, that you wouldn't necessarily think about otherwise!

[Master Gunner]

I'm not good at this kind of puzzle solving, so some puzzles that were incredibly simple in retrospect frustrated me to no end my first time through. Now that I actually know what I'm doing, I look forward to going through a second time and actually enjoying the game.

[8bitmaster]

I beat it earlier, and all I have to say is man that ending was hilarious! The cores this time around were voiced by Nolan freaking North! Funny funny stuff. The game is awesome and even with it only being 7 hours long, I could play it so many times with it not getting old. I still play the original a lot too. I missed all of the rat man dens too, plus commentary. Looking forward to my next play-through. Also, want you gone vs still alive?

[Master Gunner]

Still Alive, by a long shot. The new song is nice, but it just doesn't have that same timeless feel to it.

[Fugiman]

Oh right. This forum is a place that exists. That is nice.

So I started playing when it came out, and the application hasn't been closed more than 5 minutes since then. Beat the campaign three times and co-op twice. Really, I love it that much.

Portal was a great game, but I don't think there was much to it past the challenges. I'll have to replay it again in light of Portal 2, but the sequel just has so much more depth for me. By the end, I liked GlaDOS, and didn't want Chell to leave.

I wonder if we'll see Chell anymore, now that she is outside. I know the universe is the same as Half-Life, but theoretically Portal 2 occurs way after the takeover...

[JackSlack]

Yeah, I concur. I'm fine with a Portal 3, but I'd like to see Chell no longer be the main character.

Although, consider: Valve, a Western developer, just put a clearly Asian, female lead character at the front of one of its top franchises. And it didn't even make a fuss over it. That's kind of nice.

[EikoandMog]

By the way, Chell was taken in as a child during Take Your Daughter to Work Day, the potato battery project with the massive overgrowth actually has Chell's name on it. Take Your Daughter to Work Day also happened to be the same day GLaDOS took over the place. For anyone else who really enjoyed the corrupt core interrupting Wheatley's speech, here you go: http://spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaccee.com/

[Darkobra]

Just beat it there. I like the new song better. The singing feels more human which just makes me think back on the whole game.

Not to mention: CAVE JOHNSON! BLOWING UP HOUSES WITH COMBUSTIBLE LEMONS!

[xdeathknightx]

Finished it as well and going through the co-op now with a mate.

Have to agree, the truth behind GlaDos was tugging at the heart strings in a major way.

And Cave Johnson is a massive boss.

And I liked how they threw me for a loop a few times. Thought the game would be over sooner than it really was. I was like "man is this it?" and then you just kept going and Cave Johnson came into play.

[Dave-O_Boy]

SO what do you guys think about the theory that Chell is actually one miss Chell Johnson, daughter of a one Mr. Cave Johnson and his lovely assistant Caroline?

Personally I think it's a bit of a stretch.

[Myrph]

I think it is a somewhat of a stretch, but I am amused by the circularity of it all. I wouldn't put it completely beyond Valve to do something like that, but there could have been a few slightly more obvious clues to suggest it.

Not that that's necessarily a bad thing though

Love to see more of the Turret society though. Maybe we'll see more of it in Portal 3?

[Drinnik]

"Oh. Hi. How are you holding up? Because I AM A POTATO."

Line of the game.

[Gordon Fearman]

I disagree. I think the line of the game is "Finally, a nemesis worthy of my vast intellect. Holmes versus Moriarty. Aristotle versus MASHY SPIKE PLATE!"

[GreigKM]

More Space, because can't get enough of SPACE!

[Ed.]

I really need to play co-p now I take it that happens after the main campaign

[Master Gunner]

I need to play coop too sometime.

[Kag]

SO what do you guys think about the theory that Chell is actually one miss Chell Johnson, daughter of a one Mr. Cave Johnson and his lovely assistant Caroline?

Basically 99% confirmed.

[JackSlack]

SO what do you guys think about the theory that Chell is actually one miss Chell Johnson, daughter of a one Mr. Cave Johnson and his lovely assistant Caroline?

Personally I think it's a bit of a stretch.

What's the evidence?

[Keab42]

The opening sequence was good but clouded by the fact that I dislike Stephen Merchant and so Wheatley just annoyed me. I think they should have gotten Simon Pegg to do it...

The first act once GlaDOS woke up was a bit meh, it just felt like same-old same-old. Although there were some lovely jokes and the aerial faith plates and thermal discouragement beams made for some interesting puzzles.

Chapter 5 was fun, but I think the game really picked up for Chapter 6 and the second act. The whole historical Aperture Science and the story of Cave Johnson was just epic, and the gel puzzles were a lot of fun.

The third act was an interesting subversion of the game and a nice way to combine some of the parts of the puzzles from the rest of the game.

Overall though the SP campaign felt very short, but packed in a lot of awesomeness, it's amazing how much they achieved. I've yet to try co-op, but I hope it makes this game up to the £25 I paid for it.

As much as I'd love to see a Portal 3, I concur that it should be a new character. Chell is free, her torment has ended and I think that fleshing out her past anymore will ruin the mystery.

[Vanguard]

Line of the game.

I beg to differ. "Rick" the Adventure Core had some outright hilarious dialogue for the few minutes he was on screen.

“Happy Explosion Day, gorgeous."

The Fact Core gets a few good lines in, too.

[Agloriouscuppa]

I quite liked the lines of the emergency protocol narrator guy. And the argument when you flip glados for wheatley the first time.

'New core are you ready?'

W: 'Yes'

Corrupted core are you ready?

G: 'No' (background wheatley: Oh yes she is)

G: 'No no no no no no'

Stalemate detected Cannot proceed

W: 'Pull me out Pull me out Pull me out'

Unless a stalemate representative is present to press the stale mate resolution button

W: 'leave me in leave me in'

and the dialogue that follows...

[JackSlack]

Also, my line of the game? Right at the intro. "There is a slight possibility that you might have a minor case of severe brain damage."

Also, "I'm in space."