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Throughout the history of our industry very few games have ever received as much universal praise as Portal has. It turned the puzzle genre inside out with its teleportation and momentum gameplay which only became possible with the revolution of the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. The sequel has now blessed the world with it's presence and how much it has advanced from its roots is truly staggering.

Following the conclusion of Chell's escape from the homicidal artificial intelligence GLaDOS, the story resumes with her strangely back within the confines of the Aperture Science compound. There is a comic which details what transpired contained within the game's extras, but you're mostly going to be concerned with a new robotic partner named Wheatly and his plan for a grand escape.

You'll encounter posters and recordings that all have a comedic twists to them; even after the unfortunate but predictable mishap that reawakens GLaDOS. Aperture's culture towards disregarding occupational health and safety is thoroughly amusing not only for its humour, but as a method by which the puzzles, setting and even characters can all be justified. Portal 2's story is one that should not be spoiled in a review, although it's safe to say its a great companion while you make your way through the real stars of the game, the puzzles.

The portal gun is capable of spawning two simultaneous wormholes that instantly transport objects through one portal and out the other. This basic premise permits some devilishly complex gameplay as you begin to use gravity, momentum and orientation while juggling portal locations. Players are met with a brief reintroduction to these elements in the sequel before the dilapidated state of the testing environments forcibly eject them out into the bowels of the Aperture facility.

On your excursion throughout their compound you'll discover test chambers for other products of Aperture Science: lasers, energy bridges, zero-gravity tunnels, consumer grade turrets and vast volumes of propulsion and repulsion gel. Portals are your primary means to manipulate these elements, be that transporting gel via gravity tunnels or reflecting bridges to provide cover from sentry turrets. The diversity of the gameplay is an order of magnitude above the original and there is ample opportunity to explore it in the eight hour single player mode and roughly four hour cooperative multiplayer.

I've never enjoyed being so convincingly stuck as I have in Portal 2's co-operative mode. The combination of complex puzzles and having a partner to share their mysteries is a match made in heaven. Problems are never yours alone and the creativity required to solve them bounces from one player to the other until the solution finally reveals itself. You're free to chat, point, gesture and of course, screw everything up. Interaction with a human keeps the experience unpredictable and amusing even when the pair of you manage to become utterly perplexed.

Valve have seen fit to include an in-game store where you can spend real cash on clothing and animations for the co-operative avatars going by the names of Atlas and P-body. It serves no genuine purpose other than to inject money directly into Valve's veins but can quite thankfully be ignored. It's strange, as if Valve deliberately needed to do something wrong within one of the most impressive games of the generation.

There are some impressive features to take advantage of for Playstation Network users. By linking Steam with a PSN account owners of the PS3 version literally get a copy to download on Steam for free. Icing on the cake is that PS3 and Steam gamers may play co-operative mode together. The Xbox 360 version can't truly be ruled out as a candidate either though, as the online population of a two player experience is practically irrelevant. You'll want to pick it up for the same machine your friends own, and then get them to play with you.

Audio that accompanies you for most of your endeavour primarily comprises of pre-recorded messages and cynical commentary from GLaDOS, each one voiced perfectly. Sarcasm is quite common, greeting you with almost every exchange of dialogue. When the portal hallmark of placing a safety cube onto a pressure switch is completed for the first time utilising a sphere instead, GLaDOS gives you some pretty high praise for that initiative and in figuring out that the "edgeless safety cube" can be used for the same purpose.

The music will ramp up during moments of drama or excitement to remind you that this casual attitude towards imminent death is not natural, changing the atmosphere to something more appropriate. As you steadily solve problems, be that hitting your mark with a laser or something similarly minor you can hear subtle escalations in the music. This technique radically enhances anticipation and that feeling of satisfaction that should be familiar to anyone who's solved a portal puzzle before.

At a glance Portal 2 looks an awful lot like it's older brother. The clinical white science lab focus has not been changed but instead substantially developed. Attention to detail and production values are volumes more impressive, with the invasion of time and Mother Nature the chambers disintegrate by themselves or are reassembled by GLaDOS literally as you move about them. The environments are very dynamic and maintain their quality through to the very end.

Portal 2 is funnier, longer and more formidable than it's predecessor, surpassing it in every way imaginable. Each of the new additions to the portal formula deliver an enormous amount of fresh challenges and propel the title to new heights of originality. The inclusion of co-operative multiplayer was a fantastic decision and like the solo campaign, an absolute must play for all self respecting gamers. When it comes to video games few can come as widely recommended.

Platform reviewed: PC

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