Game for your Buck: Portal

I've received a number of requests to review this game. I'm not sure why I haven't yet. It's an outstanding game. So what is Portal? To the few of you who don't know, it's a Sci-Fi, FPS, puzzle game. Did your ears perk up? Mine did when I first heard about it. Did I mention you have to escape and outsmart a murderous artificial intelligence?

Now we're talking.

Setting:

You wake up in a strange futuristic looking room, referred to as the "Relaxation Vault". It is hinted that you were either kidnapped, spawned, or had your memory wiped. Soon, you're greeted by a typical female robotic greeting. Then you're let out of your little chamber via portal. When you walk through you see yourself through the portal, hinting at their function.

Characters:

Chell: Who you play as. She's mute, so she hasn't much character. Though it is notable that she isn't over-sexualized. I always feel the need to compliment games for not making female characters ridiculous.
GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System): The female voice that greets you. I find that the less you know about her the more fun you'll have in this game. So I'll hide the spoilers below. If you plan on playing Portal, I would suggest you do not read the following.If you want to read on anyways, highlight away. GLaDOS is a computer voice (Similar to annoying automated phone operators) that slowly gains personality. She starts off by simply helping you understand the functionality of the game while giving you random facts and obviously fake pre-written praise. Then, she slowly starts to become impressed by your progress. She slowly reveals more and more emotion. She begins insulting you. You start besting her puzzles and stop listening orders. You chew a hole through the rat-maze you've been placed in. She hates this. So then she starts trying to kill you... and you must keep her from doing so.

Story and Gameplay (No Spoilers):

The story is simple. Solve the puzzles and test chambers with your portal gun. The easiest way to explain how portals work would be to use doors as an analogy of sorts. Pretend you have two doors, an orange and a blue one, that you can place on any flat surface. When you walk into the blue door you come out of the orange one and vice versa. Sounds simple enough, right? Well it gradually becomes less simple and more fun as they throw more obstacles and complicate the use of your portals. It's all very nicely paced and much more fun than it sounds. In short, the game delightfully mind-bending. The company worked hard to make sure the levels were reasonable and kept them just out of that stupidly-frustrating-puzzle-zone where you don't want to play anymore.

Noteworthy Details:

Portal was released in Valve's Orange Box as a "test game" to see how their audience would react. And boy did they react. Portal has since earned a great amount of awards from reviewers, authors and artists both big and small. A while after the popularity of the game finished plaguing the internet with "The cake is a lie" memes/jokes in 2008 (almost like 2012's "Arrow to the knee") Valve decided they should make a sequel, or at least released the information, around 2010.

Long story short, this game was a huge accidental success and in the hands of the right company. It's worth all 10 of your dollars and more. I would recommend buying this with the Orange Box. That package includes a registered Team Fortress 2, Half-Life 2 and the sequels HL2: Episode 1 and HL2: Episode 2. (Episodes are about 1/3 of the length of HL2 each.)

Game for Your Buck?