20121225: (First Impressions)
This game has amazing graphics and the environment is breathtaking. Right from the start, the game felt familiar to the first game, Portal (2007), but with a greater sense of danger. In contrast, the first game started out on a much lighter note only to end on a dark one. As for the humor, there's the same frequency of humor in the sequel as the first, but in between moments of humor, the environment of the sequel evokes a darker atmosphere.
I can't wait to continue with the game.
Progress: (via timestamps of screenshots)
20121225 10:45 PM PT to 11:08 PM PT End @ Chapter 1 Room 5
[20150204 Edit][20181208 Edit]
20121226:
I continued playing today and realized that I forgot to make in-depth comments on the voices. At the start of the game, the player is greeted by a robot with an English accent. I would liken the experience as if one is speaking to Ricky Gervais. Doing some research, I learned that the robot's name is Wheatley and is voiced by Stephen Merchant, a writer, director, comedian and actor who has collaborated with Ricky Gervais on various works including the British sitcom The Office.
Gameplay Log:
: Honestly, at least half the reason I enjoy playing the game is to listen to Wheatley's commentary.
: As an observation, this game seems to have longer loading time between levels than Portal has. As another observation, when the player enters an elevator, the next level loads with the player automatically facing towards the exit.
: Hahaha. This one cracked me up. "Well done. Here come the test results: You are a horrible person. That's what it says: A horrible person. We weren't even testing for that." - GLaDOS
: I like this new testing element: hard light bridges.
: This one has a long set-up. "That jumpsuit you're wearing looks stupid. That's not me talking, it's right here in your file. On other people it looks fine, but right here a scientist has noted that on you it looks "stupid". Well, what does a neck-bearded old engineer know about fashion? He probably – Oh, wait. It's a she. Still, what does she know? Oh wait, it says she has a medical degree. In fashion! From France!" - GLaDOS
: I'm stuck at the entrance of the facility.
Progress: (via timestamps of screenshots)
20121226 8:31 AM PT to 8:50 AM PT End @ Chapter 1 Room 7
20121226 10:49 AM PT to 1:00 PM PT End @ Chapter 4 Room 20
20121226 2:14 PM PT to 3:27 PM PT End @ Chapter 6
[20121226][20181208 Edit]
20121227 AM Hours:
Yesterday I thought the game was close to finishing, but it turns out there is much more.
Gameplay Log:
: More story unfolds and I've encountered two new testing elements: orange and blue gel.
: I unlocked an achievement for looking at a painting of Cave Johnson and Caroline. GLaDOS says for some reason she knows the woman. At that point I sort of catch on to what she was getting at.
20121227 Noon:
Gameplay Log:
: I get to a part in the game where GLaDOS repeats the name Caroline and tells the player character she has to go think a while. That's when I thought the situation seemed clear, but story can easily take an extra unsuspected twist. I'm excited.
: Aww. Not the saddest moment. But certainly sad. "Goodbye, Sir."
: I was really puzzled by one of the test chambers. (Chapter 7 Room 16)
: In a different chamber, I wasn't stuck, but kept bouncing when I didn't want to. Then I remembered that you can press the control button to ignore the bouncing. Thank goodness.
: Observation: I like how the game adjusts for small errors - almost like a generalized auto-aim. It makes the game enjoyable as opposed to annoying.
: The ending is great, because there's still moments of tension regarding the player's fate.
Progress: (via timestamps of screenshots)
20121227 1:17 AM PT to 3:04 AM PT End @ Chapter 7 1972
20121227 12:07 PM PT to 2:25 PM PT End @ Chapter 8 Room 15
20121227 6:07 PM PT to 7:12 PM PT End.
[20121227][20150204 Edit][20181208 Edit]
20130113 Comment:
The main story for Portal 2 took me longer to finish than the main story for Portal; I spent about 9 to 10 hours playing Portal 2 (on my first playthrough) and I spent about 4 to 5 hours playing Portal (on my first playthrough).
20140703:
Today my friend Josh and I played part of the game's co-op mode. More specifically, living in two separate states, we played the online co-op mode.
Co-op Overview: In this mode you and a friend play as Atlas (me) and P-body (Josh). While puzzle solving is similar to the single-player mode, it differs in that each player is only able to fire a single portal color: Atlas firing blue and P-body firing orange.* As such, you and your friend must work together in order to solve the mode's puzzles.
One useful feature the game provides is the ability to see what the other player sees (default: Tab). Another useful feature, or in fact a necessary feature, is a countdown timer.** Use it to get pass events that require precise, coordinated (possibly simultaneous) actions.
We stopped playing somewhere in the middle of Course 2: Mass and Velocity.
*20200808: Later on each player character has it's own set of portals, but must still work together to solve most puzzles.
**20200808: Theoretically less useful in 2020 where voice communication is common place. One remark I would make is that the countdown is consistent in timing, which would make it superior to a human countdown.
[20150204]
20200808:
Today, my friends and I stopped trying to play Fall Guys because the servers were too full and not functioning properly. As such, "Cow" and I decided to play Portal 2.
Gameplay Log:
Using "Cow"s save file, we played a single chamber in each course.*
We played the first challenge level for number of portals.
: We used three and thought for a while about trying to use less.
: The main thing we tried was trying to stand on each other but the game seemed to prevent jumping after doing so.
We played then played for time.
Moved onto the second challenge level
: Due to the flow of our initial solution we leaned towards going for time.
: We started with the "standard" solution (e.g., extending the platform near the exit)
: Small update: Don't need to extend the platform. Instead, prep a portal at the beam and when near the exit, fire a second portal to extend the beam which will catch the player characters.
: Big update: Cow managed to reach the other side directly. We proceeded to try and reproduce it. Cow eventually had it down with about a 50% success rate, though the success often came in streaks. My success rate was much lower, maybe 5% (I would estimate having succeeded about three times while trying between fifty and a hundred times).
Steam Game Time: 3.6 hours (session game time) / 17.3 hours (total game time)
*We didn't realize this until later.
Summary:
Overall, this game is amazing. First, it has a fantastic story. Second, the gameplay is continually fresh. Third, the game has large, beautiful levels with attention to detail. Fourth, it has entertaining, often humorous, dialogue. And last, but not least, the game has a solid soundtrack and sound.
[20121227][20181208 Edit][20181222 Edit]
Portal 2 (PC) (2011)
Relevant Links:
Portal 2 Website
Portal 2 (Wikipedia.org)
Portal 2 (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
This game has amazing graphics and the environment is breathtaking. Right from the start, the game felt familiar to the first game, Portal (2007), but with a greater sense of danger. In contrast, the first game started out on a much lighter note only to end on a dark one. As for the humor, there's the same frequency of humor in the sequel as the first, but in between moments of humor, the environment of the sequel evokes a darker atmosphere.
 |
| Check out what's drawn on the panels. |
I can't wait to continue with the game.
Progress: (via timestamps of screenshots)
20121225 10:45 PM PT to 11:08 PM PT End @ Chapter 1 Room 5
[20150204 Edit][20181208 Edit]
20121226:
I continued playing today and realized that I forgot to make in-depth comments on the voices. At the start of the game, the player is greeted by a robot with an English accent. I would liken the experience as if one is speaking to Ricky Gervais. Doing some research, I learned that the robot's name is Wheatley and is voiced by Stephen Merchant, a writer, director, comedian and actor who has collaborated with Ricky Gervais on various works including the British sitcom The Office.
 |
| Startling Wheatley. |
Gameplay Log:
: Honestly, at least half the reason I enjoy playing the game is to listen to Wheatley's commentary.
: As an observation, this game seems to have longer loading time between levels than Portal has. As another observation, when the player enters an elevator, the next level loads with the player automatically facing towards the exit.
: Hahaha. This one cracked me up. "Well done. Here come the test results: You are a horrible person. That's what it says: A horrible person. We weren't even testing for that." - GLaDOS
: I like this new testing element: hard light bridges.
 |
| Hard light bridge. |
: This one has a long set-up. "That jumpsuit you're wearing looks stupid. That's not me talking, it's right here in your file. On other people it looks fine, but right here a scientist has noted that on you it looks "stupid". Well, what does a neck-bearded old engineer know about fashion? He probably – Oh, wait. It's a she. Still, what does she know? Oh wait, it says she has a medical degree. In fashion! From France!" - GLaDOS
: I'm stuck at the entrance of the facility.
Progress: (via timestamps of screenshots)
20121226 8:31 AM PT to 8:50 AM PT End @ Chapter 1 Room 7
20121226 10:49 AM PT to 1:00 PM PT End @ Chapter 4 Room 20
20121226 2:14 PM PT to 3:27 PM PT End @ Chapter 6
[20121226][20181208 Edit]
20121227 AM Hours:
Yesterday I thought the game was close to finishing, but it turns out there is much more.
 |
| Orange gel. |
Gameplay Log:
: More story unfolds and I've encountered two new testing elements: orange and blue gel.
: I unlocked an achievement for looking at a painting of Cave Johnson and Caroline. GLaDOS says for some reason she knows the woman. At that point I sort of catch on to what she was getting at.
20121227 Noon:
Gameplay Log:
: I get to a part in the game where GLaDOS repeats the name Caroline and tells the player character she has to go think a while. That's when I thought the situation seemed clear, but story can easily take an extra unsuspected twist. I'm excited.
: Aww. Not the saddest moment. But certainly sad. "Goodbye, Sir."
: I was really puzzled by one of the test chambers. (Chapter 7 Room 16)
 |
| The level that I had the most trouble with. |
: In a different chamber, I wasn't stuck, but kept bouncing when I didn't want to. Then I remembered that you can press the control button to ignore the bouncing. Thank goodness.
: Observation: I like how the game adjusts for small errors - almost like a generalized auto-aim. It makes the game enjoyable as opposed to annoying.
: The ending is great, because there's still moments of tension regarding the player's fate.
Progress: (via timestamps of screenshots)
20121227 1:17 AM PT to 3:04 AM PT End @ Chapter 7 1972
20121227 12:07 PM PT to 2:25 PM PT End @ Chapter 8 Room 15
20121227 6:07 PM PT to 7:12 PM PT End.
 |
| Companion cube. |
[20121227][20150204 Edit][20181208 Edit]
20130113 Comment:
The main story for Portal 2 took me longer to finish than the main story for Portal; I spent about 9 to 10 hours playing Portal 2 (on my first playthrough) and I spent about 4 to 5 hours playing Portal (on my first playthrough).
20140703:
Today my friend Josh and I played part of the game's co-op mode. More specifically, living in two separate states, we played the online co-op mode.
 |
| Co-op Mode: As Atlas, I placed a blue portal on the wall. |
Co-op Overview: In this mode you and a friend play as Atlas (me) and P-body (Josh). While puzzle solving is similar to the single-player mode, it differs in that each player is only able to fire a single portal color: Atlas firing blue and P-body firing orange.* As such, you and your friend must work together in order to solve the mode's puzzles.
One useful feature the game provides is the ability to see what the other player sees (default: Tab). Another useful feature, or in fact a necessary feature, is a countdown timer.** Use it to get pass events that require precise, coordinated (possibly simultaneous) actions.
We stopped playing somewhere in the middle of Course 2: Mass and Velocity.
 |
| Co-op Mode. |
*20200808: Later on each player character has it's own set of portals, but must still work together to solve most puzzles.
**20200808: Theoretically less useful in 2020 where voice communication is common place. One remark I would make is that the countdown is consistent in timing, which would make it superior to a human countdown.
[20150204]
20200808:
Today, my friends and I stopped trying to play Fall Guys because the servers were too full and not functioning properly. As such, "Cow" and I decided to play Portal 2.
Gameplay Log:
Using "Cow"s save file, we played a single chamber in each course.*
We played the first challenge level for number of portals.
: We used three and thought for a while about trying to use less.
: The main thing we tried was trying to stand on each other but the game seemed to prevent jumping after doing so.
We played then played for time.
 |
| Co-op Mode (20200808) |
Moved onto the second challenge level
: Due to the flow of our initial solution we leaned towards going for time.
: We started with the "standard" solution (e.g., extending the platform near the exit)
: Small update: Don't need to extend the platform. Instead, prep a portal at the beam and when near the exit, fire a second portal to extend the beam which will catch the player characters.
: Big update: Cow managed to reach the other side directly. We proceeded to try and reproduce it. Cow eventually had it down with about a 50% success rate, though the success often came in streaks. My success rate was much lower, maybe 5% (I would estimate having succeeded about three times while trying between fifty and a hundred times).
Steam Game Time: 3.6 hours (session game time) / 17.3 hours (total game time)
*We didn't realize this until later.
Summary:
Overall, this game is amazing. First, it has a fantastic story. Second, the gameplay is continually fresh. Third, the game has large, beautiful levels with attention to detail. Fourth, it has entertaining, often humorous, dialogue. And last, but not least, the game has a solid soundtrack and sound.
[20121227][20181208 Edit][20181222 Edit]
Portal 2 (PC) (2011)
 |
| Title screen (artwork changes as you progress throughout the game). |
Relevant Links:
Portal 2 Website
Portal 2 (Wikipedia.org)
Portal 2 (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
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