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All Articles: Portal 2
Portal 2 Review: Buy it. For Science. You Monster.
When Portal 2 was announced, the question wasn’t whether or not it would be good, but whether or not it would be successful. As a sequel to a short game that was added in as an extra on The Orange Box, many people wondered if it could live up to the original and if it was worth making a sequel. But Valve has done it again – they’ve given us a game rich with story and full of new and interesting gameplay. It still remains within the Aperture Science universe, and it still has that same self-contained story, but now it’s been expanded further. Portal 2 is a monumental success, and should be an example for how sequels can succeed under the right guidance and passion. (more…)
Portal 2 has levels with motion control… on the PC?
Even though Valve was adamant in their stance on not making Portal 2 compatible with the Move – let alone the Kinect – it is compatible with new motion-sensing controllers for the PC. The Razer Hydra, by Razer, can be purchased standalone or in a bundle with Portal 2, and there are six special levels created just for the new controllers.
Razer collaborated with Sixsense and Valve to make this power happen. Gabe Newell said that the controller “is a significant step forward for the PC gaming industry because it not only affords an almost-physical experience for gamers, but also presents developers an opportunity to innovate and significantly push the boundaries on new forms of gameplay and entertainment.”
It’s also already compatible with over 125 PC games, including World of Goo and another of Valve’s hits, Left 4 Dead. Sixsense’s CEO, Amir Rubin, feels that this collaboration has “established the PC as the best platform for motion gaming” and that the levels made for Portal 2 “allow gamers to fully experience the possibilities of motion gaming.”
I don’t know if jumping onto the motion controller bandwagon will establish the PC as the best platform. Now that the PC has caved and joined the fray, gamers who desperately hoped that motion gaming was a fad will now have to embrace the grim reality: it’s here to stay, and now it’s even on your computer.
The Razer Hydra will be available in June for a price of $139.99 (and that includes a copy of Portal 2).
New Releases: Portal 2, Mortal Kombat, SOCOM 4, More
It’s finally here. All month long we’ve been building up to one of the biggest release weeks ever and it’s finally here.
Starting things off is Valve’s full-priced sequel to Portal, Portal 2. Coming to the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, the game will include co-op play for the first time and a greatly expanded single-player campaign.
Next up is a franchise that needs no introduction, Mortal Kombat is back. The reboot takes the series back to the birth of the MK saga and gives PS3 and Xbox 360 owners their latest 2D fighter fix. And speaking of long-running franchises, Sony and developer Zipper Interactive are finally bring SOCOM to the PS3 for real with SOCOM 4: US Navy SEALs.
Believe it or not, these three are just the beginning.
Sega is bringing High Voltage’s first person shooter Conduit 2 to the Wii. Square Enix is continuing to plug their huge franchises on the PSP with Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection. And Ubisoft is rewinding the clock to bring Prince of Persia Trilogy to the PS3 in stunning high definition.
Your wallet weeps. Check out the full list of the rest of this week’s new releases after the break. (more…)
Posted in DS, News, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Tagged Mortal Kombat, Portal 2, SOCOM 4: US Navy SEALs
Steam features for Portal 2 on PS3 detailed
We’ve known for some time now that Steam support was coming to the PS3 version of Portal 2. Valve’s VP of Marketing, Doug Lombardi, appeared on the PlayStation.Blog today to talk a little more about how it’ll work:
Portal 2 for PlayStation 3 is the first title to support Steam on a console. Specifically, that means it offers cross-platform matchmaking, gameplay, friends, chat, and achievements, all powered by Steam. Steam on the PS3 also saves co-op game progress and single player saved games to the Steam Cloud, enabling players to pick up where they left off on any PlayStation 3.
That’s pretty cool. Lombardi also revealed that the PS3 game will offer access to a player’s Steam Friends list when they link their PSN and Steam accounts. This link will also make it so that earning a PS3 Trophy in Portal 2 will unlock the same Steam Achievement in your Steam account.
Portal 2’s release (on the PC and Xbox 360 in addition to the PS3) is just a few days away.
The Next Level: The Games of April 2011
April is upon us! The Warp Zoned staff barely made it out of March alive – between PAX East and the release of the 3DS, we’ve had a lot on our collective plates. We’re all looking forward to April, which will give us a chance to catch up on what March unceremoniously dumped on our laps, as well as give our wallets a little break. There are a few huge releases coming out this month, though, and we’re trying not to freak out too much over them. So here’s what we want to play next month. (more…)
Posted in Features, PC, PS3, PSP, Top Story, Xbox 360
Tagged Mortal Kombat, Portal 2, SOCOM 4: US Navy SEALs
Portal 2 Interview: Valve Talks New Characters, 2 Campaigns, and… *Spoiler Deleted*
Valve had another one of their awesome theatre-style booths at this year’s PAX East. Outside, they had demos of Portal 2 running and were giving out t-shirts; inside, they were giving fans insight into two new characters in the single-player part of the game and giving me more spoilers than I wanted to see. But as faithful journalists, News Editor Mike Gutierrez and I were determined to bring the information back home and deliver it to our readers. Afterwards, we were able to interview one of the game’s writers, Erik Wolpaw, who left me wishing April 19th was tomorrow. (more…)
Posted in Features, Interviews, PC, Previews, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged PAX East 2011, Portal 2
Valve details PS3 Portal 2 Steam functionality… and it’s good
When Gabe Newell announced at Sony’s E3 press conference that Portal 2 would be bringing Steam over to the PS3, gamers familiar with the service knew something special was going to happen. We just didn’t know which features were being carried over. Today, Valve released a press release detailing exactly which ones: cross-platform multiplayer among PS3, PC, and Mac users; cross-platform chat and game invites; PS3 saves stored on the Steam cloud server; and linking your PSN and Steam accounts will allow you to play your copy on PC and Mac as well, via Steam Play.
This is a major step forward for cross-platform gaming, the first notable development since Epic Games released Unreal Tournament III on the PS3 and PC with cross-platform multiplayer back in 2007. Personally, I want to see a lot of games in the Steam store available for purchase on PS3. If they allow keyboard & mouse support, I’d be all over playing Counter-Strike source in surround sound on my HDTV.