Then again, it was spoiled to hell and back for me, and I still enjoyed it.

It's only been like two years and the other day I sat down and decided I needed to play another game. And then I remembered waiting for Portal 2 to take a price drop and it had sometime last year, so I went ahead and got it.

For those of you who remember Cesque's blog about Portal 2, this may sound familiar to you, except I don't share his views in the slightest. Don't get me wrong. I can see where the negative criticism comes from, seeing as I held the same skeptical point of view for a while, but after actually playing it, and stepping back to view it at a distance, I was pretty impressed.

First of all, the story, at first glance, seemed utterly ridiculous, and that was why I chose not to get the game in the first place. Everything from Wheatley to PotatOS to the turret opera just felt out of place for a game that was supposed to follow up on a relatively dark plot. So, when I picked up Portal 2, I didn't expect it to live up to its predecessor's name. I expected it to be an entirely different story altogether, with minorly altered puzzles.

Well, I was right, but the result was pleasantly surprising.

The environment did a superb job of conveying the lonely mood I got from the first Portal game, pushed even further by the underground facility that represents the past incarnations of Aperture Science. I honestly think that in terms of environment, this is the most immersive game I've played next to Skyrim.

In the first game, I had help from family members who had played before, but here, I decided to figure out everything myself. The puzzles were great. Brilliant, actually. And I don't mean brilliant in the design of the puzzles themselves, but in the design of the rooms to direct your vision and thoughts to important obstacles. In this game, the solution to the puzzles isn't always clear, but when there are pipes that travel toward a solution area in an expansive room, I can't help but tip my hat at the brilliance of the level design.

The character dialog felt more natural to me than it did in any other game. Aside from GLaDOS's subtle insults, you'd think there wouldn't be much memorable dialogue. I thought I'd find Wheatley annoying but his voice acting was done amazingly, to the point where I almost enjoyed his presence as much as GLaDOS. And as a villain, I think he fits in his own little area as a quirky, memorable deuteragonist.

And for my favorite part of any game, the story. Most people at first glance suggested the story was forgettable. I myself even stated in Cesque's blog that nobody plays Portal for the story. Well I take that back. I also take back my assumptions that Portal 2 didn't retain the quirky, dark humor of its predecessor. I found it interesting that even though GLaDOS, Cave Johnson, and the rest of Aperture Science seem to share the same twisted moral views, their humor is still quite different.

There's already been constant analysis of this game, the past plot, the characters, and most of all, the ending. After reading up on this stuff myself, I realized just how great the writing actually was, something that a lot of people could easily miss.

For those of you who have seen the ending, it is one of the most rewarding endings I've ever had in a game, explaining the Greek idea of ascension, and as somewhat implied, death. It's this kind of symbolism I strive to improve on. And it's this kind of storytelling that inspires me to be a writer.

So, while I do agree that some of the writing in Portal 2 was ridiculous, I don't share the view that any of it felt out of place. I haven't been so impressed by a game story since Mother 3, despite its apparent simplicity. It's funny to me when puzzle game stories have a greater effect on me than RPG stories.

However, the whole "50,000 years later" deal is still outragerously unnecessary.

Just thought I'd share, since it's been a while since I've talked about any games, or even written a decent blog.