Picked up Portal 2 with a coupon I had for a free game, never played Portal 1. I have just started playing and have no idea what I’m doing. Are there any non-spoiler tips for a beginner to allow me to max my enjoyment of the game?
Thanks
I highly recommend Portal 1 first. It’s very cheap now ($10 I think?) and it’s short, but honestly it’s amazing and the story in Portal 2 picks up after those events. You do yourself a disservice by not playing Portal 1 first, like picking up a great book and starting at chapter 6.
Also, it will help ease you into this concept a little as well.
You should play Portal 1 first , I have an extra Steam copy I can gift you later tonight, if you want it.
FREE!!!
edit: as mentioned above the first game is very short, I finished it in 4 hours.
The joy of the game is discovering how to do stuff. Anything anyone can tell you will detract from the game experience because the only “game” part of the game is the puzzles. The tutorial does a good job of introducing the concepts so unless you get stuck on a specfific puzzle you can just jump right in.
Also, shame on you for not playing Portal 1. I’m pretty sure it has been free multiple times on steam.
I appreciate it, but I just ordered Portal 1 for the 360 on Amazon. That’s how much I trust the QT3 hivemind. ;)
EDIT: OK, I had actually just STARTED to order Portal 1 on Amazon, but I’m having a hard time finding it…
Not sure Portal 1 was sold separately (it comes as part of the Orange Box) for the 360. You might have to get the whole Orange Box unless you want to buy and play it a la carte on the PC.
You really need to play Portal first. If you have a PC or Mac that can handle it take lordkosc up on his offer. If not, buy the Orange Box for the 360.
You can buy Portal on XBLA marketplace or buy the Orange Box.
If you get it on xbla don’t bother with the bonus, fan-made puzzles. They’re crap.
I can’t believe how hard it is to give away a free copy of Portal 1, lol.
I’ve had it for over a month now, and posted its FREE on 4 different forums.
I guess just about everyone has played it.
I had a much harder time with my copy of Half-Life 2. That thing sat on my account for years before I finally managed to ditch it.
My free copy of Portal 1 lasted about five minutes.
Portal 1 won’t necessarily help you understand the mechanics better. In fact, due to story reasons, Portal 2 has a near-identical tutorial phase as the original game, but actually improved in a number of ways. Instead of looking for hints, I suggest you just pay very close to the environment, look closely at exactly what’s happening, and it should become clear fairly quickly
And for the love of god, play it with a mouse.
You have to play Portal 1 first. So much of the story in Portal 2 depends on it.
A mouse makes exactly 1 puzzle (a little) easier to do in Portal 1. So, yes, for the love of god and all that.
I would say that Portal 1 is worth doing first, but not necessarily that you need to do it. That game was exactly too long for me (in that I could get to the last two or three puzzles in one comfortable sitting, but not finish the game outright, so I either had to have one uncomfortably long gaming session or one uncomfortably short one - I settled on the second option), but doing the puzzles outside of the test chambers will get you prepared for some of the thinking you’ll have to do in various parts of Portal 2.
That said, it’s not the end of the world if you skip it. It just enhances a couple of beats in the second game, unless you’re really invested in the Half-Life mythology and somehow don’t know that this takes place there, in which case I just told you that so that wouldn’t be a benefit. Or something.
I have some vague idea as to which one. Does it involve two doors on timers?
The first Portal is possibly the best 5 hours you could ever spend playing a video game. Buy it on XBLA and you can be playing in just a few minutes.
Five hours? Did I miss a few expansions?
for a first time playthrough, 5 hours sounds about right. i went twice as fast the second time through.