March 9, 2010 - Recently
we learned that the massively popular game Portal would be receiving a sequel this year. Now, in the latest issue of Game Informer magazine we've been given some solid details about the release.
Doug Lombardi the Vice President of Marketing at
Valve says of the first game: "Portal was so short because it was a trial…" Now they are working on the sequel which is reported to be a full length, full price release that will be available this fall.
A recent update to the first game made a subtle change to the ending that leads into the sequel. After the main character Chell was ejected from the Aperture lab where she was held captive, her unconscious body was dragged away by unseen antagonists.
Portal 2 takes place hundreds of years after this incident, with Chell mysteriously intact.
Along with the return of her nemesis, the artificial intelligence named GLaDOS the main character will run into other personality cores throughout the decaying wreckage of the Aperture Science facility. These are small AI personalities in a box that will guide and accompany players as they face off against GLaDOS once again.
According to Game Informer, physics will play heavily into the new puzzles. There are Vital Apparatus Vents that create whirlwinds that can suck up objects and there are tractor beams that can transport objects through the air. Other new elements include lasers, catapults, and pneumatic tubes. There is also a way for players to coat surfaces with colors that imbue a surface with special properties. For example, if players cover a surface in orange paint it will give anyone who walks over it a speed boost. A blue coating causes normal surfaces to become bouncy. Other colors and effects are likely.
The sequel will also feature a full-length co-op campaign. It is part of the main game's narrative but don't expect to see another human join Chell. There are two new bots featured in Portal 2 that a second player can choose from as they join the game using either a split-screen display or an online match. The co-op is made to be more challenging and both players will have to work together to solve the puzzles. Valve, is reported to be working on a way for players to tag their environment with visual cues so that they can help guide their co-op partners actions with something more than their voice.
Finally, Valve has confirmed that Jonathan Coulton, the man responsible for the tune "Still Alive" has returned to work on the sequel. So not only will we have a new set of mind bending puzzles, but it's likely that we'll have a new song stuck in our heads as well.
