User Reviews (1 - 11 of 16)

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I HATE STEAM

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

YOU CAN'T INSTALL PORTAL UNLESS YOU INSTALL STEAM. UNLESS YOU WANT TO SPEND 3 HOURS WITH STEAM SUPPORT YOU BETTER HAVE AN INTERNET CONNECTION AND REMEMBER YOUR PASSWORD AND BE WILLING TO SUBMIT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO YOU CAN START GETTING ALL OF THEIR JUNK MAIL. DON'T BUY THIS PRODUCT. LOST $20.

A good game overall...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

...The antagonist is funny, the protagonist is quiet, and it's filled with puzzles that confuse the mind and infiltrate the body. Overall, as I said, it's a good game.

Make sure you're connected to the web

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game to spend my offtime enjoying. Unfortunately, where I am currently situated has no internet and I haven't yet been able to play. Looks like I'll have to wait until I get back home to give it a shot. Didn't rate good or bad, due to inability to play, but I have been told it's very fun and look forward to finding that out for myself.

Not worth 20 bucks, get the Orange box instead.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I got this game for 20 bucks thinking it was cheap. I finished it within two or three sessions of gaming.

I didn't get my fill. This is the equivalent to a free game Demo.

I feel ripped off. Hey Valve, i'm done with this game, Can i trade it back for episode two instead?

Oh wait, you don't sell it on the store shelves do you? I have to download it through Steam? Valve forces you to join their lame Steam cult. Installing Portal though Steam takes a hell alot longer than actually finishing it.

Ohhh okay, you guys are smart, really know how to rip someone off! I feel like cattled sheep here. I should have gotten the Orange Box instead. I'd waste my money either way. But at least i'd feel a little less stupid.

Don't get me wrong, i found the game quite innovative and it was fun while it lasted, hence the 4 stars fun factor. Valve wants your money. The moment this game got bloated with Hype, they sell it as a standalone game on store shelves, but they don't do the same to Episode Two?

B*stards.

Good game, horrendous package.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Portal is a good puzzle game. I like the concept of the wormhole. It is fun. It took me a couple of days to complete it, and then I did the whole thing in two hours non-stop.

I hated Steam. Before installing Portal, you have to install Steam, then download Portal and then install it, and then activate. It took me close to two hours to get it running.

I loved the game, hated the way it gets installed.

Surprisingly Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

By the time you read this review, you will have already learned that Portal is a very short game. However, I can tell you that you should invest the modest price for the game and play it. It's a very fun and fresh concept. The game is entertaining; both in terms of actual gameplay and the undercurrent of humor. I haven't had this much fun with the non-play portion of the game since the No One Lives Forever franchise.

As for the shortness of the game. I actually found this to be fine. Had I paid $50 for Portal, I would have been disappointed... but of course, I did not. Had the game been priced higher with 3x the amount of game play, it would have become tiresome, but as it was, I was left wanting more at the end. In comparison, another game I liked a lot was the massive Oblivion (a game which also featured portals, but of a different variety). However, that game was so big, that I actually was getting tired of the game before I completed it. It has had no replay value and I've avoided the add-on/expansion packs. Portal, by comparison, never grew old at all, was fun and challenging throughout and had a fun and tidy conclusion. In many ways, this game left me wanting more games that are equally short and cheap.

Now, about the gameplay. This game is a FPPS (First Person Puzzle Solver). I must admit that that concept wouldn't be my type of thing normally. For me, when I'm engaged in a fun FPS game and then come to an obviously contrived puzzle that I must solve, I find it a frustrating and annoying divergence from the purpose of the game. However, in Portal, I never had that feeling. I embraced it whole-heartedly and enjoyed the experience. Although I'm not a great puzzle solver, I found nothing here to be so hard as to force me to look to external resources for solutions. I feel smarter having played the game, yet never felt like I was solving arbitrary meaningless puzzles. In other words, Portal is a game of puzzles, but it doesn't play or feel that way. For me, this is the great strength of the effort.

The bottom line for me is that I found Portal to be a very pleasant surprise and would recommend it to FPS players looking for a fun diversion.

Portal

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Awesome puzzle game using the H-L2 engine. It involves creating an "open" portal with one button, and an "exit" portal with another - use it to figure out you way around obstacles and enemies.

Sounds very simple; in reality, it's an intricately desiged, incredibly-challenging game that fails only because it's too short. There is a very loose story and a boss battle of sorts at the end that really pushes this game from four stars to five. Awesome ending credits, with brilliant music throughout. Definately not one to miss.

Mountain out of a Molehill

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: May 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

First, let me say that I don't appreciate not being informed by the product that it was an online game. I do not buy online-only games. And though this game can be played off-line, the player is forced to go to an online site to obtain the full program.

Then there is that online site's program that is now resident on my computer, taking up memory and really serving no function except to act as an intermediate between me and the product which I payed good money for. Found out about this condition when trying to initially install the program and was informed that I had a 'steam.dll error'. It took a little web surfing to discover that I needed to be online while installing.

Next is the size of the program. From the look and mechanics within the game, there is no apparent reason for the program to be in the multi-Gigabytes! And that wait while the online site downloads their program is no picnic either.

Then there is the play itself. After having the program crash several times around the 10th level, I finally was able to fix it by running the game in a window instead of fullscreen. Obviously there is some form of rendering problem, which is not the fault of the computer but the program.

So when I took a break from chasing this problem which there was apparently no advise available anywhere, and came back to play. The program informed me that I need to once again go to the on-line site. I could not figure why this was necessary. Thought it might have been because I did not fill out their survey, so I did that. And once again, tried to play the game.

Okay, I'm done. The game was rather short. And I know that there are additional levels which can be downloaded from the online site. But that means just more inconvenience. So I removed it and the online site's program from my 'puter. And will probably never load them up again.

Let me add, the game is rather beautiful and the potential play could be great. But not near what most of the rave reviews have given it. Could this all be just product hype by the industry to get us to accept this form of gaming? Not actually owning a game, but renting it piecemeal (remember that it costs most people to have an ISP).

Finally, I am not angry with the developers of this game, just disappointed. They have a great idea, it seems that they let someone talk them into this convoluted method of distribution. Probably driven by the fear of software piracy.

If this ever becomes a stand-alone game, I will probably revisited it. Until then, I have no further interest.

Awesome!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is so creative and fun! The gameplay is fresh and will get you thinking but not looking at gamefaqs. It is just a trainride of fun from start to finish. The dark humor is hilarious and the game is very memorable. downloadable levels extend the life. Even though it is not too long it just helps to get you to the awesome ending. Then see if you can beat the extras!

Very Challenging But Crashes

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: May 17, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I ordered the Portal DVD expecting a stand-alone game for the PC. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I had to sign on for Steam in order to play it. Although I have a strong video card and processor, the game crashed frequently or stuttered both in video and sound. I spent several weeks changing around start-up applications and game options until the crashes stopped (at least most of the time). Good game, but a pain to get running smoothly.

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