Innovative, immersive... Portal is a great game... that's way too short. Give me more!!!
Again, spoilers.
I loved Portal. Right from the get-go, Valve oh-so cleverly introduces you, one-at-a-time, to portals, how to time them right, and then gives you control over one of them, and then two of them. You're not so sure why you're doing this experiment. Maybe it's the detached, female AI that politely pushes you along, who occasionally (and eventually, often) threatens you. GLaDOS, the disembodied voice brilliantly played by Ellen McLain, reminds me of what SHODAN must have been like to the fortunates who have played System Shock 2. I am not one of them, so my comparison is probably not accurate. GLaDOS moves from instructor, to observer, to intimidation, to outright attacker, and finally to... singer. Yes, singer. The end credits sequence was a marvelous reward.
The last level takes up half the game, easily. I'm not so sure if I can call it one level... you get glimpses of the Enrichment Center's seedy guts and underlevels on a few early stages, preparing you for when you finally dive head-on into them. "The cake is a lie..." Sure...
Also, the connection you find between the Aperture Science Enrichment Center and the Black Mesa Research Facility is a neat cameo for Black Mesa. It looks like both meet a similar end too.
But, sadly, Portal ends. And save for a few ramped-up advanced levels and challenges, there's nothing else to do but play through it again with the developer commentaries activated (again, Ellen McLain is great on these).
I gave Portal a high score because I know Valve will soon release new levels on Steam. Plus, it seems that they'll be letting us create our own levels.
"REALLY?!" YES!
Portal is a bargain if you get it with The Orange Box. Now to play Episode Two and find out what this connection is between the two games.