That bit where... Portal 2

CES starts tomorrow, which should be interesting. I may write about some of it if I find anything cool that's worth talking about. That would be going against the idea that whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas though, it must be a nightmare for press every year...

Back to games though, and as nothing is happening still in the industry, I'll continue my 'That bit where...' series where I talk you through some of my favourite moments in games.



SPOILER ALERT

Alright, seriously now, if you intend to play this game, don't read this as it is literally the ending to the game.

And what a splendid game it is, one of the funniest games of the year, and it has the gameplay to back it up. As I've said before, it's a shame that it is the follow up to a near perfect game, and as such loses some of the magic that the original Portal had. Regardless, as it made it on to my Top Ten of 2011 list, it's still a fantastic game that I'd urge anyone to play.

Remember, if you don't want to know the scores, look away now.

Portal 2 - The Moon


This was my favourite ending to a game of last year. It was really disappointing that I had seen the ending already before I got to do it myself. I was watching a friend play, and decided to keep watching even though it was clearly coming to the end. Oh well, it was still cool, and it's still fun to watch other people play the end and look awkwardly around the screen as they try and figure out what they're supposed to do.


As a little back story, one of the new mechanics in the game is that there is this white gel, which you learn is made from moon dust, which makes any surface it touches Portalable (this is now a word). This brought a whole new dimension to a game in which you used to only be able to place portals on specific surfaces. Anyway, back to the ending.

Much like the first Portal, the last section of the game is you against the main robotic antagonist, this time your friendly-robot-turned-evil, Wheatley. You do this by attaching corrupt personality cores to his body in order to initiate a core transfer, putting GLaDOS back in control of the facility (probably not the best idea either). As you think you've done it, it turns out clumsy Wheatley wasn't so clueless after all, as he has booby trapped the process. The facility begins to self destruct and the ceiling falls in around you, revealing a clear night sky, the first time you have seen outside during the game. You are catapulted across the room and roll over onto your back.

Then, you're given back control. You can't move and the sprinkler system has washed away all of the white gel apart from the patch underneath Wheatley where there is one of your portals. There's nothing to do except wait for the facility to explode. Perhaps this is one of those video game moments where you just have to accept your fate (like the nuclear explosion in the first Modern Warfare).

Wait a second... moon dust...

Surely not...

You fire a speculative portal towards the moon, and then a cutscene fires. Suddenly, everything gets sucked out through the portal under Wheatley and out into space, including you! Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all... but then GLaDOS, your mortal enemy throughout the first game and half of this one, reaches through the portal and saves you, closing the portal behind you... and then you black out.

The game ends with you waking up, and GLaDOS letting you leave the facility. She says she's tired of trying to kill you, and that she'd rather never see you again. However, as you take the lift up to the surface, she seems strangely sad to see you go. As you'd imagine, a fantastic song plays over the credits, equal parts touching and hilarious, and lastly, some final thoughts from Wheatley, floating aimlessly through space, with only some of the corrupt personality cores (voiced by the ever-brilliant Nolan North) for company.

What a great ending to a great game.

Thanks for reading.