"Short, Sweet, and Unique!"

Portal is the spiritual successor to the award-winning freeware title, Narbacular Drop. Unlike most first-person titles, Portal does not rely upon a guns a' blazing approach. Actually, there is only one "gun" in the game: the portal gun. With it, the player creates portals that can be used to solve various puzzles.

Story

According to Steam, the events of Portal take place within the Half Life universe. During the game, you take control of Chell Johnson, who for reasons unknown, wakes up inside the Aperture Science Enrichment Center. You are informed by GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System), the only other character present in the game, that you will be partaking in the testing of the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, the aforementioned portal gun. As you progress through the testing chamber, it becomes more readily apparent that all is not as it originally seemed.

Graphics

The Source engine's graphically abilities are certainly beginning to show their age. Despite that fact, the developers were still able to create an appealing environment. The test chamber has the feel of a hospital, with its antiseptic qualities. The observation areas have their glass slightly blurred, so the test subject cannot see in.

Audio

For the most part, music does not play a pivotal role in Portal. It is very light and generally blends into the background. This adds another layer of eeriness to your experience within the test chamber. You are left alone, with just the noises being made and the digital sound of GLaDOS' voice.

Gameplay

Much like the gravity gun before it, the portal gun adds a whole new dimension to puzzle solving. All throughout the game, you are presented with situations that, at first glance, will seem near impossible to overcome. After some thought, it becomes clear how you can use the portal gun to solve the puzzle. Need to get across that gap? Create a portal and walk right through. Have to disable that turret? Drop a box on it via a portal. As the game progresses, though, the complexity of the puzzles increases, and you often have to think two or three moves ahead in order to progress further.

After you complete the game, two new modes, Challenge and Advanced, are unlocked. The Challenge mode forces players to solve the same puzzles again, but this time, with time or movement limits restricting them. Advanced mode simply ups the difficulty of puzzles by adding new obstacles and hazards.

This game is obviously ripe for a mod community. Players can already enjoy some sandbox-like action, by creating portals to chase after themselves or create an endless fall. When fans begin to add their customizations to this title, one would think the possibilities are near limitless.

Conclusions

It's well-known by now that Portal is extremely short. It will take most puzzle fans a few hours to complete the initial run. The additional modes are nice, but do little to crave our appetites for more Portal. The minimal time you will spend with the game, though, is well-worth the money. Like other Source titles, one can only assume that Portal will have a long-life beyond its initial run.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/12/07

Game Release: Portal (US, 10/09/07)