Wheatley is bringing sexy back.
For a really long time, I had heard about Portal and I was chomping at the bit to play it. Unfortunately, when I'd heard of it, it was in a very difficult to find Orange Box with two games I didn't give a crap about, so I didn't want to justify the cost. Thankfully, my friend Adam ended up sucking it up and getting both games and he let me play it when I visited one weekend.
And holy crap, it's video game crack. I stayed up until at least 3:30AM playing multiple times. I beat Portal I (admittedly short) in the first weekend and I plowed through most of Portal II in another weekend visit. I still haven't finished Portal II, full disclosure1, but it's only because I moved home and can't really justify buying and playing an in-depth video game when I have important stuff to be doing2.
For those who don't know, Portal is basically a trial-and-error game of physics manipulation that's heavy on problem and puzzle solving. You play a test subject (read: guinea pig) who has to go through a series of tests at the behest of unseen scientists. In Portal II, you're escaping from the facility after it's become run-down and unmaintained.
But it's not what I expected really. I though at first it was a very sci-fi-intense game with a fun puzzle aspect, but the sci-fi is just there as the backdrop. Honestly, the plot could be anything:
- Donkey Kong has a banana that makes tubes that can transport things and people back and forth.
- Peyton Manning can throw a spiral that creates a wormhole that can transport things back and forth.
- Barbie's Dreamhouse has flower vacuums that she can move that can transport things back and forth3.
The fact of the matter is you have a gun that lets you put two portals - what goes in one, comes out the other and vice versa. It doesn't matter if you like sci-fi or robots or anything, the gameplay is pure puzzle solving. If you've met anyone who likes any type of puzzle and dislikes Portal (off the top of my head, I can think of 1 person), it's either because they made a snap judgment about the game and never gave it a chance, or it's because their parents were killed by a Companion Cube.
Innocent testing instrument? Or cold-blooded killer?
And in a weird way, that's the exact mentality that goes into people hating Justin Timberlake. It's rare to find someone who actively dislikes Timberlake - most people enthusiastically or at least begrudgingly admit the dude is talented in some way. He's a Grammy and Emmy award winner. He's a chart-topping musician. He can headline a movie. He's been the most consistently good and funny host on SNL in the last 10 years. He's still got his dancing skills from the '90s. He can pull off the dramatic or comedic role. He seems, by all accounts, to be a likable dude. It doesn't really matter what sector of entertainment you tend to gravitate toward, he's probably been there and been successful.
Thanks for the hat, Maria Bello!
But the dude transcends genre in a way Portal can - it doesn't really matter where your interests lie, it can appeal to you in some way. Portal has suspenseful moments, it has comedic writing, it has impressive scenery, it has dramatic reveals. At at the heart of it is problem-solving, the root of any game. The only turn-off might be how difficult it gets, but that's the value of the game - that you can't blow through it in an hour4. Even if you don't like some aspect, it brings something else to the table to make up for it.
And for those that dismiss no matter what, they either haven't given it a chance or they're dismissing on reputation. And that's their prerogative.
So I'll continue to enjoy Timberlake on SNL, even though his music isn't entirely in the genre I enjoy (and I admit he's talented musically). And I'll continue to enjoy Portal for its comedy and its puzzles, even though I'm not a sci-fi nut by any stretch (and I admit the sci-fi is engaging). But even if you dislike either of them, accept their value, because they're both going to be around for a long time.
1 - I think the whole thing is going to turn out to be Bob Hartley's dream. And he is the head of the Dharma Initiative. And the Dharma Initiative killed Bruce Willis, who has been DEAD THE WHOLE TIME!!! Sorry if I just ruined The Whole Nine Yards for anyone.
2 - Like writing blogs about video games? I hate myself.
3 - Patents pending on all these ideas. Especially the football based one, which will be called Aqib PorTalib, since cornerbacks play an integral role in the physics behind this game.
4 - "I bet you want to blow through Justin Timberlake in an hour, don't you?" I beat you to the gay joke, thanks for stopping by.
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