A review of only the extra levels of Portal: Still Alive.
However I must confess that very little valuable new content is actually contained in this new release.
The primary single campaign is still intact and wonderful as ever with the superb and versatile Source engine handling your exceptional gameplay, the amazing character of GLADOS, the mind blowing portal mechanics, the surprisingly deep, if very subtly told, back story of the mysterious Aperture Science Center, and the single greatest theme song ever put into a video game are still here.
But that's about it. The 14 new maps that make up all the new content for this 15 dollar expansion back are hardly worth playing.
Nothing is added to the single player story line and the lack of GLADOS in the new levels is jarring. A few new gameplay elements are introduced, such as an electrified floor, but frankly these additions are counter productive, turning the puzzle based Portal into more of platformer in a few levels.
The puzzle design also wasn't up to quality of the original maps. The focus for the new maps seems to be more on precision then logic, with several solutions boiling down to aiming your portal gun through a small hole in the wall in order to make a portal appear on the other side, a gameplay mechanic which is used way to often. You also stay completely inside the sterile confines of the science center with no further look "behind the scenes" as it were, which after the later levels of the original Portal single player campaign seems like kind of a step back.
Another kinda cheap thing is that many people will recognize these "new" maps. All of the new maps are based off of maps from the Portal:Flash 2D fan game.
So no matter how much you love Portal, and believe me I do, the question is would you pay over a buck a piece for 14 new, mostly mediocre maps?
If you don't own Portal, get it now, whether it be this download or on the Orange Box (and to be fair you could probably find the Orange Box used at any major game retailer for only a few bucks more and get the excellent Half Life 2 series and Team Fortress games with it.) But if you already own the Orange Box the new content in Portal: Still Alive if far too weak to warrant purchase.