Portal 2: Even better than all the hype.

I'll admit that I wasn't so fond of the ARGs that Valve was using to promote the game- but after playing through it, the whole "potato power" bit makes a lot more sense. The promo videos are 100% more relevant after playthrough, too.

Cave Johnson is/was the magnanimous, somewhat  of Aperture Science, which has suffered significant deprecation over the years. You find out more about the story behind the scenes insofar as the way the entire facility works is concerned. You're introduced to some of the darker parts of Aperture's history, and their affinity with such materials as asbestos, fiberglass, and ground moon rocks.

Without revealing too many spoilers, I thought it'd be worth noting:

Portal 2 is absolutely fantastic.


The story is significantly more fleshed-out than its predecessor's was, the mechanics (and some in-game portal behavior) is improved. The puzzles are (mostly) intuitive once you begin "thinking with portals", and the addition of mechanics like the gels, lasers/lasercubes, and excursion funnels are all excellently integrated within the context of the testing facility.

The co-op campaign is likewise excellently executed- from features like the ping timer to the ability to create two  portals with each character, the puzzles become more complex and more rewarding.

Definitely worth the investment, in my less-than-humble opinion.