Portal 2 ... YAY YAY

[Ingmar]

Yeah the entire point of Portal was that it was a puzzle game, not a real shooter. Adding enemies would probably ruin it.

[Tebonas]

Portal gun to Episode 3, and keeping Portal a puzzle game.

Every other scenario would be disappointing.

[K9]

Portal was also special because of Chet and Erik.

Who?

[JWIV]

Portal was also special because of Chet and Erik.

Who?

They used to do Old Man Murray

[TripleDES]

Hmm, thinking about it, what are the chances that there's going to be a surprise announcement regarding perks tied to the release? Like Portal and TF2 that were tied to the release of episode 2? Would be hilarious shortly before release, "Oh hey, by the way, here's Episode 3, too!"

Or the most hilarious possibility, being a Portal game up to a certain point and then suddenly turning into Episode 3.

[K9]

DON'T RAISE HOPES! 

I would expect that the story of Portal 2 could well set up some of episode three, in the way that the original Portal mirrored a period between HL and HL2 (I guess), and that would be cool. If portal 2 is devoid of references to the rest of the half-life world I will probably worry a bit, but otherwise that is about the limit of what I expect.

[TripleDES]

From a Kotaku article.

So starts the next Portal game, this spring's Portal 2, with dark, dark humor. In the game's single-player campaign, estimated by a representative from the game's development studio Valve to run six or eight hours, you are once again in control of Chell.

Unless Valve became (bigger) money grubbing dicks, there IS going to be bonus stuff.

[Prospero]

HF2 was about 8 hours long. Not seeing the money grubbing dicks here.

[Sky]

6 to 8 hours for $45? Hope it comes with a happy ending.

[Prospero]

What single player FPS, that was really good, cost less and lasted longer? Also the co-op campaign is another 6-8 hours of gameplay supposedly, so that puts you at 12-16 hours for 45. What is the magic dollar to hour ratio?

[TripleDES]

Episode 2 with Portal and TF2 was cheaper than that. I think, anyway.

[Bunk]

Orange Box you mean? $20 at Fry's as of a couple years ago.

[Prospero]

Orange box was released 4 years ago. I'm sure Portal 2 will also cost $20 in 2 years.

[Sheepherder]

Yeah the entire point of Portal was that it was a puzzle game, not a real shooter. Adding enemies would probably ruin it.

The non-combat puzzle game was quirky and fun.  But if you were to say that it never occurred to you how fucking awesome it would be to kill shit with the Portal gun I'd have to call you on it.

[Samwise]

I remember the Orange Box being $40 at release, but that was probably with a preorder discount.

Six to eight hours sounds way the fuck too long IMO.  One of the things I loved most about Portal was that it didn't pad its playtime out with boring shit.  I'm a busy man, god dammit.

Killing shit with the portal gun does not belong in Portal.  It belongs at the end of HL ep 3 as a fun "I win" button, similar to the overcharged gravity gun.

[Ingmar]

Yeah the entire point of Portal was that it was a puzzle game, not a real shooter. Adding enemies would probably ruin it.

The non-combat puzzle game was quirky and fun.  But if you were to say that it never occurred to you how fucking awesome it would be to kill shit with the Portal gun I'd have to call you on it.

I'm a lover, not a fighter.

[Sjofn]

And how. 

[Sheepherder]

Killing shit with the portal gun does not belong in Portal.  It belongs at the end of HL ep 3 as a fun "I win" button, similar to the overcharged gravity gun.

It needs to be somewhere in the compilation of ep3 stuff.  I'm not sure I'd ever tire of having another gruesome industrial accident gun.

I'm hoping I never see those episode 2 mines again.  Or headcrabs, they're just not as good a quality enemy as striders, gunships, and combine soldiers.

[Bzalthek]

I always wanted to use portals in shooters.  Plant a exit behind an unsuspecting guard and snipe him from point blank.  Would be about as fun as planting c4 on the pissing guard in the first metal gear solid.

[Trouble]

Isn't there separate single player and coop campaigns? I would think so. If there's some sort of advertise length I would guess you can roughly cut it in half for each part, if you think that it's too long.

[K9]

I can'r remember, was the existence of Portal known before the release of the Orange Box?

[Ironwood]

Yes.

[K9]

Cheers, figured as such

[Lantyssa]

I'm a lover, not a fighter.

That's why you play a tank!  You're trying to shield mobs from those horrible dps-ers.

[Chimpy]

I remember the Orange Box being $40 at release, but that was probably with a preorder discount.

I paid 50 bucks for it at Best Buy about a month after Sauced showed it to me when I was in Portland, so that must have been a discount.

[Trouble]

Valve releases routinely have a 5-10% preorder discount I've noticed. Just one more way Valve shows it is a superior company to almost all/all other game companies with how it regards its customers.

[Azazel]

Well, Valve are also their own online distribution chain, so they can afford it since they're not paying a publisher, retailers, costs of physical media, transport, etc etc...

[UnSub]

Valve releases routinely have a 5-10% preorder discount I've noticed. Just one more way Valve shows it is a superior company to almost all/all other game companies with how it regards its customers.

Valve control 70% of the PC distribution market and made almost US$1 billion in revenue last year. They can afford to be slightly generous (especially on their own titles). 

[Lantyssa]

I got my Orange Box for $25 at a Black Friday special right near release.  We came back from an all-day Renfest and decided to stop at Best Buy on the way home.  Score!

[Furiously]

I believe that is HUZZAH!

[Hawkbit]

I think I read somewhere that buying the console editions offers a DL code for the game from Steam for free.  If that's confirmed, that's awesome.  I wish more games went cross platform.  Can't say how many times I've bought Oblivion across two different platforms... Fallout 3 is looking to do the same.

[NiX]

I think I read somewhere that buying the console editions offers a DL code for the game from Steam for free.  If that's confirmed, that's awesome.  I wish more games went cross platform.  Can't say how many times I've bought Oblivion across two different platforms... Fallout 3 is looking to do the same.

PS3 version gets the code because it runs on Steamworks. So sorry 360.

[K9]

So, it's about one month to release and nobody is talking about this?

There are a lot of short gameplay videos teasing us:


Watching these the first thing that stands out is how tight everything looks; the graphics, the gameplay elements and the scripting. The other thing is how the dialogue and humour are looking to be top-notch again. I have a good feeling about this

[Yegolev]

I'm in wait mode.  Suspect the waiting will end before the game goes on sale.

[Azazel]

I'm also in wait mode. Since it's a Valve game, you know it'll hit the $5 point during a sale in the next 2 years.

edit - or $2.50