Innovative gameplay dynamics make this game an unforgettable experience.
I honestly didn't expect much from Portal on the onset. I was skeptic. My friends were telling me it was an awesome game and I was like, "Ok, I'll give it a shot." So there I was, playing this FPS with a slightly different twist. Of course the first few minutes of playing are always the make-it-or-break-it instances; in the case of Portal, I couldn't decide.
Let me explain:
1. The graphics seemed a little bland for my taste. But I guess I could let that slip by granted the game's actually pretty dated already and I just started playing.
2. The characters (GLaDOS and the player, Chell, which I didn't know the name of until I visited the wiki) were slightly detached and YET interesting.
3. I was given the impression that I would be able to create two portals, but in the first few levels, you're limited to the blue one. I admit this became annoying at first, and was seriously forcing myself not to drop the game at this point. It's a good thing I decided to play on…
I've had my fair share of first-person shooters and there are times when the shooting gets old. If you go through level after level of just shooting the brains out of your opponents, your interest level will only shoot up again once you get a bigger gun. Portal has ONE gun. And it can't even kill anything (well not by itself at least).
This is what I always say about games: "If you can't make it look pretty, at least make the story unforgettable and experience immersive enough that I won't be able to put it down even if I wanted to."
This game leeched on to me and it stuck. The "wow" factor that it brought me, from the first moment I jumped off a cliff only to be sent hurtling off across a chasm up to the last epic boss fight (which honestly took me by surprise) was incredible.
Portal may not be the prettiest game. It may not appeal to everyone. But if you're going to try it out and let it play, you'll get sucked in so deep you'd want to play Portal 2 immediately. Portal is an experience that you have to let simmer before you can really bite off a significant chunk. When you do, however, you'll see that this game will be one of the best experiences you'll have.