Portal: Still Alive Comments by Dan Whitehead
Piece of cake.
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The only problem for those not having played Portal yet is, that you have a much better deal with the Orange Box. This offering really only works if you have played HL + EP1 and EP2 (or you really hate FPS from the bottom of your heart) but not Portal...
And while Portal sure is a fun romp once, I think it is a tad overrated. At least I didn't feel like trying any of the advanced challenges. |
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I enjoyed Portal as part of the Orange Box, it was certainly neat and inventive but it wasn't mind-blowingly brilliant, best game ever or anything. As part of the whole package though, it is a lot of fun to play but it isn't something I'd have purchased as a standalone game... it's too short for that. I can understand why some people might rave about it though.
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I didn't find any of the puzzles in Portal really revolutionary. They were inventive, yes, but that's about it.
Other than that, the art direction of Portal is really crap, and the voice of the computer (which the reviewer refers to as "soothing" for some reason) is ear-bleeding annoying. It is a fun little game, but it's absolutely not worthy of all the praise it has received.
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 22/10/08 @ 11:44
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Eraser you're so wrong. The textures aren't meant to be all singing and dancing, the art direction is right on the button considering the setting, the character and voice of Glados is perfectly pitched and the overall experience, if taken in a couple of sittings so you can fully appreciate the story such as it is, is unique.
At least, that's my opinion. |
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andywilkie35
22/10/08 @ 10:56
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9/10? Seems that this was a triumph. I'm marking it down a huge success.
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Rev. Stuart Campbell
22/10/08 @ 10:57
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The pricing is really stupid. As noted in the review, you can get the entire Orange Box for the same price now, with a vast amount of extra content, PLUS it'll have some resale value. Buy Orange Box, complete Portal, sell on for one or two quid less than you paid, bingo bongo. It's disappointing to see everyone slowly getting greedy with XBLA games.
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fi->0
0->rst very clever. So are these maps ports of anything we've seen on PC? It was my understanding that these were from the Portal flash map mod, but reading the preview the other day said that they didn't feature GladOS (or even a story for that matter) which the Portal Flash Map's certainly did. It even used GladOS sound bytes that were recorded yet not used in the official game... |
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subtlesnake
22/10/08 @ 11:06
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Well, Portal sells for $20 on Steam, so this actually $5 cheaper than Valve is offering it.
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It should be marked down for bad value though, as good as Portal is this release is a complete ripoff and the Orange Box represents so much more value for money. Had this been a whole new portal game then I would agree with the price but they have just taken it of the Orange Box and bundled a few crappy extra levels.
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Rev. Stuart Campbell - Totally agree... there's hardly any 400 MP XBLA games now, the 1200 MP ones seem to be replacing those that would have been 800 MP. I guess Microsoft (I presume it is them that set the prices) feel that they can get away with it. No wonder they're keen to push the whole digital download thing, it's a gold mine really when you think about it... no publishing costs, no advertising... they sell on the strength of their reviews and if they don't well most were cheap to make anyway.
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Great game... Still have it on Orange Box and will most likely play it again at some point if theres any time given the onslaught of great titles right now. If you dont have Orange Box and dont like FPS games like Half Life this download is a must in my opinion....
If you do like Half Life and dont have OB then dont download and pick up OB for much better value. Either way its something that should be experienced. |
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IronCladChicken
22/10/08 @ 11:36
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@Rodney
I am completly, completly unable to learn the coordination required to play a FPS using dual analogue sticks It's gotten to the point where I don't ever consider buying console FPS'ers |
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Darren: Thank you so much for thinking the very same way about this game. :)
I got myself xbla points some time ago but still only got UNO as I think that most stuff on market place is simply overpriced. I would get Puzzle Quest instantly (even at the old 1200 points price point) if I didn't play that one to death on the DS already. And DOOM and Duke aren't available in Germany. I thought about getting Braid, but the demo didn't hook me. Would've got it for 800 though. Same for PA:Ep1. It's a shame. |
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@Rodney
To be fair, it's not just FPS games that "casual" players have issues with, anything using both analog sticks throws them completely. I've watched my father try to play Assassin's Creed, and he always had the camera pointing into a wall so he couldn't see anything. I also tried to play Assault Heroes with him and he couldn't cope with Robotron-style twin-stick shooting, either. @IronCladChicken Can you play FPS games with a keyboard and mouse, though? Because that's not really a lot simpler than using dual analog sticks (even if it is more precise), although maybe it helps that pushing keys and moving a mouse are very different motions. |
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I would like to know the final sale figures for this as too me it would seem to appeal to about 2% of the gaming market tops, 1% who want to play portal without HL2 + Episodes + TF2, and 1% who are crazy enough to think the extra maps with no added story are worth it.
While i consider Portal one of my favorite games of all time, this just isn't worth it when i recently saw The Orange Box on Ebay got for £13 with many more at £8 - £9 with under a hour left. I hope this is the last of re-packaged rip-offs and some people at value is working on Portal 2 which when released they will be raking the $$$ in from! |
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i was almost tempted to get this for the new maps, til the review said that they weren't all that. love this game, and would definitely love some new stuff, but at this price point it ain't gonna happen. if the review had said the new maps were as good as the ones in the original i reckon i might have shelled out...
standalone DLC pack of the new maps please! |
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For anyone that hasn't seen it: http://vimeo.com/1612411
Much as I enjoyed Portal first time through, going back for a replay revealed the game to be... a bit dull. The structure and character of Glados make the first playthrough fun but there isn't enough to drag me back for me. |
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@Gnort
I find K&M an imperfect, but precise and intuitive control method for 1st person 3D games. Twin analogues, I can't get used to, and the result is that although I can struggle and fumble through games, I haven't the time or the will to relearn game controls at age 28, and therefore I can't compete online in any console FPS games. I also find games that were fun on the PC (Halflife, etc), are an absolute boring chore on consoles when I'm putting more thought into where my thumbs are than actually playing the game. This is quite a serious issue for many gamers, I believe. I think the problem is that I always use the 'inverted look' on the right-stick, and this feels natural, but to move the target cursor around and aim with down as up, is twice as hard. This doesn't happen with K&M because I'm using my hand, rather than just my thumb to look around, and I just naturally find the target. I'd rather use a right stick just to look, and have an on-screen cursor controlled by a (Wii-esque) pointing device to aim and shoot. Either that or an analogue stick that I can hold in my hand rather than with my thumb... ...or perhaps what I expected from the Wii - that looking could be determined by the pointer's tilt. I thought that the PS3 would have an advantage here also, but I've not seen any games that use this, so I must assume that this just doesn't work well.
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 22/10/08 @ 14:12
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muscleblade
22/10/08 @ 13:25
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@jonsaan
Maybe you are smarter than most then. If you didnt find the advanced puzzles challenging you must be. |
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