New Portal 2 details emerge

By Tom Clark on March 11, 2010

New Portal 2 details emerge  | read this item

Portal 2, the sequel to the galactically popular game Portal is receiving a sequel this year. Finally, some solid details about the release have escaped from legendary developers Valve.

Doug Lombardi the Vice President of Marketing at Valve gives the introduction:

“Portal was so short because it was a trial…” This time round Valve is working to make the sequel a full length, full price release.

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 Science lab where she was held captive, her unconscious body was dragged away by unseen protagonists. Hundreds of years after this incident with Chell mysteriously intact and back in the now decaying wreckage of the Aperture Science facility, Portal 2 begins.

GLaDOS, the harsh artificial intelligence from Aperture Science, returns.

The main character will run into personality cores. These are small artificially intelligent personalities in a box that will guide and accompany players as they face off against GLaDOS once again.

As expected, physics play a major part solving puzzles.

New to the Portal universe are Vital Apparatus Vents that create whirlwinds capable of sucking up objects. 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 colours that imbue a surface with special properties. For example, if a player covers a surface in orange paint it gives them a speed boost when walking over it. A blue coating causes normal surfaces to become bouncy. Other colours and effects are likely but have not been confirmed.

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. The second player chooses one of two robots when 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 voice.

Jonathan Coulton, the man responsible for the tune “Still Alive” has returned to work on the sequel.

Expect an all-new set of mind bending puzzles and a song that you just can’t forget when Portal 2 opens up this fall.

Tags: Aperture Science, GlaDOS, Portal 2, Valve