A few thoughts about Portal 2:
I never played the first Portal, but never heard anything bad about it. Portal is often referenced in discussions about gaming as the good example to model from. After deciding to get Blockbuster's game pass, I scanned my local store for a game to rent while I wait for fall releases. I saw Portal 2 on the shelf and decided it was time.
I was a fool to wait so long. The premise of the game allows them to legitimize a very linear story, but that story is exceptionally crafted. Though you can listen to the voices narrating to you, the scope and history of the story can be discovered in posters and the decaying lobbies. There is a crafty indirect way that you are told the story in the beginning, and my only disappointment is that it seems a little too direct as the story progresses, but even that can be legitimized within the framework of the game.
Because there are few voices in the game, and you travel through different parts of the facility that is now abandoned, it can feel very lonely. I moved at a pretty good clip, but the loneliness of the quieter parts of the game pressured me to look for walkthroughs, hoping I would meet with some companionship again. That's a kind of sissy thing to say, but its true nonetheless. The mood in the game is very effective, and very lonely.
Edit note: I wrote this a while ago but didn't publish it, so the date is inaccurate. This was from last year.
