TR Forums

imtheunknown176 wrote:

Loading screens.
Too many safety rails. I don't remember the previous game having so many. There were a lot of places that looked accessible but weren't. It definitely broke the immersion. Even if it meant plummeting to my death I would rather have the option than not.

These two were annoyances I had. I managed to break a few levels by accident too. Ran into some invisible barriers and such...But given the size and complexity of some areas, I would be surprised if I DIDN'T find some glitch.

Also, I didn't mean to seem 'flamer-ish' just some friendly conversation.

I'm suggesting that the first half life 2 was a good value, and was because of the following:
1. the lengthy single player
2. the cutting edge engine
3. the multiplayer deathmatch
extra: CSS

the first 3 should all be standard for an fps, and have historically been. it also, as an added bonus had CSS, which made it even better deal. what you've got with portal 2, imo, is the following
1. excellent gameplay in the single player mode, but it's quite short @ 6 hours.
2. co-op, which takes about 4 hours.

assuming you LOVED Playing the coop repeatedly, then maybe you'd get more out of it. Personally, i'm not a huge fan or repeating puzzle games, as the big part is solving the puzzle. first portal was a 3 hour play through, repeated when it first came out, and a few weeks ago, totaling probably 5 to 6 hours. Great for an orange box add on.

with p2 i have yet to try the coop, maybe the stupidity of my friends will add something, but idk, that'll likely be a 4 hour additional aspect.

With hl2, you had a roughly 20 hour single player, and literally hundreds of hours of multiplayer, spanning multiple modes. I realize that it's trickier to make a ton of multiplayer with this engine, but if they're able to come up with 80$ of dlc on day one, obviously they had more ideas, and i'm wondering when you compare content to HL2, why the huge difference, for the same price. I'm merely commenting on what i see as the reduction in value of valve's games, not trolling.

That's going on the assumption that there will be no more free additions, or new game modes released for Portal 2. Also, we are talking about degrees of value here. Think of it this way, Orange box was probably one of the best value for the 50 bucks of original purchase. It came with so damned much content it's hard for anything to compare. By your logic because HL2 just had the main game, and the two multiplayer components and has a bit less but still cost 50 bucks it's not a good value.

So at that point the trend was going UP right? Well then L4D comes out and it's a bit shorter, but as more content is released it becomes better value. In the end I would say it's not 'a ripoff product' or 'too short' . Was it as good as Orange Box? Not really. As good as the original HL2 box? I would say no, others may argue. L4D2 is STILL releasing new content from time to time. I would say it about on par with the first instalment for length, and value. Neither are AS good. But that doesn't mean they aren't good at all. Some things you buy are a GREAT value. Others are good. Others aren't worth what you paid. Right now, I don't feel slighted by Portal 2 for the price. Is it GREAT value like Orange Box? No. Still not a terrible buy though. There will undoubtedly be free content to come. I'm hoping for a new game mode. That would rock. Portal DM or something. How cool would that be?

CSS

You know the funny thing is that CS for HL was completely free, among a ton of other great mods. I love how the new content model is how you now pay for things that used to be free. Horse Armor. Wooo.
Unh! Unh! Pound me harder Valve. I'm not buying this game until the price drops. Not worth 60$. Rage is though.

sweatshopking wrote:

but if they're able to come up with 80$ of dlc on day one, obviously they had more ideas,

I'm sorry but this twice you have mentioned this and this will be twice its been asked, WTF are you talking about!?

Co-op of 4-6 hours and a single player campaign of 6-8 hours is pretty reasonable when you consider the co-op is actual independant levels as opposed to "here go through the main campaign again"

ten to twelve hours out of a game is pretty par for the course unless you're playing an RPG.

tanker27 wrote:

I'm sorry but this twice you have mentioned this and this will be twice its been asked, WTF are you talking about!?

If you add up all the fluff that is purchasable for the game, such as hats, gestures for your co-op robot, and other such gimmickry, you can indeed reach the princely sum of $80.

Of course, all such stuff is completely cosmetic. Oh, And you can buy all of it as a package for (I think) $35.

To me, complaining about this is simply ridiculous. Useless trimmings are precisely the kind of DLC that *IS* unobjectionable. If they want a revenue stream based on virtual santa hats, go with god.

Glorious wrote:

tanker27 wrote:

I'm sorry but this twice you have mentioned this and this will be twice its been asked, WTF are you talking about!?

If you add up all the fluff that is purchasable for the game, such as hats, gestures for your co-op robot, and other such gimmickry, you can indeed reach the princely sum of $80.

Of course, all such stuff is completely cosmetic. Oh, And you can buy all of it as a package for (I think) $35.

To me, complaining about this is simply ridiculous. Useless trimmings are precisely the kind of DLC that *IS* unobjectionable. If they want a revenue stream based on virtual santa hats, go with god.

Thats not DLC stuff thats Micro-transaction stuff. Sheesh. DLC is just that CONTENT! Content would be defined as Extra Maps in the case of P^2 I was wondering what he was whining about again. "SSK, if you dont want it DONT BUY IT!" Its as simple as that.

Glorious wrote:

If you add up all the fluff that is purchasable for the game, such as hats, gestures for your co-op robot, and other such gimmickry, you can indeed reach the princely sum of $80.

Of course, all such stuff is completely cosmetic. Oh, And you can buy all of it as a package for (I think) $35.

To me, complaining about this is simply ridiculous. Useless trimmings are precisely the kind of DLC that *IS* unobjectionable. If they want a revenue stream based on virtual santa hats, go with god.

Where are these micro-transactions? I was given every hat and gesture I have in the game, by the game.

tanker27 wrote:

Thats not DLC stuff thats Micro-transaction stuff. Sheesh. DLC is just that CONTENT! Content would be defined as Extra Maps in the case of P^2 I was wondering what he was whining about again. "SSK, if you dont want it DONT BUY IT!" Its as simple as that.

You're arguing semantics, and quite badly at that. DLC is paid for by "microtransactions" (a term I personally can't stand, but it is the accepted nomenclature).

Yeah I know but when someone says DLC I automatically expect Game changing stuff not fluff like hats, gestures, in game pets, etc.

Took me 5 hours for the sp. Overall sp is decent, but I think Valve is pushing this more towards a mp series. The levels in co-op are much harder imo as they require a lot of teamwork and timing. But, even without voice its fairly easy to catch on to the other players ideas with the included hint command, and you get to learn each others "body language" over time. I really hope the co-op gets expanded with dlc and user created maps and maybe even new modes (co-op capture the flag anyone?). A+ to Valve for creating a very unique and creative game. Well worth the $40 (Yeah, buy it with a friend. It is co-op.)

tdsevern wrote:

Took me 5 hours for the sp. Overall sp is decent, but I think Valve is pushing this more towards a mp series. The levels in co-op are much harder imo as they require a lot of teamwork and timing. But, even without voice its fairly easy to catch on to the other players ideas with the included hint command, and you get to learn each others "body language" over time. I really hope the co-op gets expanded with dlc and user created maps and maybe even new modes (co-op capture the flag anyone?). A+ to Valve for creating a very unique and creative game. Well worth the $40 (Yeah, buy it with a friend. It is co-op.)

I second this! I am hoping we don't have another Alien Swarm I still don't see where you could even try to purchase things navigating the game menu. The Co-Op maps are a lot harder, but really not impossible. I hope there is Portal 2 Prelude with Co-Op maps

tanker27 wrote:

Yeah I know but when someone says DLC I automatically expect Game changing stuff not fluff like hats, gestures, in game pets, etc.

Yes, but it's Valve, so you should expect the opposite of what you should expect.

I'm only up to Chapter 8 so far, but I really really like it. Portal succeed with a few things where few other games do as much, with as little...

Writing... what can I say, its good writing, great writing even.

Less is more... and that is the looks and mood. For some reason, the mood, even though it uses a "dated" graphics engine is soo good, Its more spooky than doom 3 ever was even though you can actually see.

I'm falling... yeah, vertigo and that sinking feeling in the stomach. I'm not affraid of heigts, and I loved stunt-flying on my NZ trip over christmas, but for some reason, even though I know falls wont kill me, I have a certain respect for edges in Portal 2 and get almost butterflys in the stomach with some of the jumps and fall. Another game that had that, although the repercussions for falling were higher was Mirros' Edge, especially inside the tower with the broken elevators when you jumped from floor to floor.

Not sure if this is the place to post this, but is anyone looking for someone to go through the co-op with? This is one of the few times I feel like I am missing something when I don't play the multi-player.

apkellogg wrote:

Not sure if this is the place to post this, but is anyone looking for someone to go through the co-op with? This is one of the few times I feel like I am missing something when I don't play the multi-player.

Friend me!

I beat the game last week, it was pretty fun. Only did a few coop levels, but it's pretty neat (and more challenging than the single player portion, from what I saw. I didn't like the fact that you were led more to one solution to each puzzle - it seemed like there was more room for interpretation in the prior game. That might simply be a factor of having more tools to work with, ensuring that the levels work properly. The writing was good, the storyline was neat (SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!), and I enjoyed it. It's pretty clear that the $50 value is in both the single player and the coop, though. I think it's a bit of a risk, though a small one - a lot of people just like to play on their own.

I'm not really sure what all of the angst over $80 "DLC" is all about. It's basically TF2 hats (or starponies) for portal. If you want 'em, buy 'em. It's not like they said "hey, spend $15 and get these 5 extra coop puzzles on release day!". I don't really care, so I'm not buying it. I don't think they're nickel-and-diming me, they're catering to people who would be interested in paying for it.

A friend of mine who works for Valve had an interesting point - a lot of those who have complained about the game's length (or lack thereof) tend to be people who play longer single player games like Final Fantasy, where they expect about the same in story but several hours of grinding on top of it. Most of the people who play shorter games (Call of Duty, et al) tended to be OK with the game's length.

I need a co-op partner as well!

If you're like me and haven't bought it yet, go to KMart on Sunday or Gamestop on Saturday.

FWIW If you are looking for a co-op partner join the TR Steam group, you can browse the members and see who is playing P2.

tanker27 wrote:

FWIW If you are looking for a co-op partner join the TR Steam group, you can browse the members and see who is playing P2.

Actually, I am already a member. I guess its just the social anxiety about asking some random person...

apkellogg wrote:

tanker27 wrote:

FWIW If you are looking for a co-op partner join the TR Steam group, you can browse the members and see who is playing P2.

Actually, I am already a member. I guess its just the social anxiety about asking some random person...

What if a random person asked you?

http://steamcommunity.com/id/Al_Gore

I'm needing a co-op partner, too.

FakeAlGore wrote:

What if a random person asked you?

http://steamcommunity.com/id/Al_Gore

I'm needing a co-op partner, too.

I'll friend you as soon as I get home. Scheduling is another issue. That and the lack of microphone once I updated to Win 7.

I'm a little behind the curve, I finally got around to starting the single player on Friday. It's delightful so far, I just quit the game this morning as I entered the chapter entitled The Reunion. The writing is outstanding, the voices are great, and the new mechanics like the blue goo (all I've run into so far) are pretty brilliant. My only complaint is that it's a little bit on the easy side. I've put about 4 hours into it so far, and I can't help but feel I'm getting to the point I'm most of the way through it. Does the challenge pick up any time soon?

I have to agree about the difficulty. I never found it super challenging. The hardest part for me were the Cave Johnson parts where you were in-between chambers and trying to figure out where I had to go. I'm hoping the promised DLC will include some more difficult challenges.

Yeah, and even that wasn't a matter of "solving puzzles", it was a matter of" let's see where I can actually stick a portal and go there" and there was very little challenge. It was more tedium than anything.

To be fair, there have been 3 or 4 points where I've been "stuck" trying to "solve' something, but it was never a puzzle. A puzzle implies you can actually do something. This was "gee I don't see anywhere to put a portal".

Just offed the last of the co-op today with a friend, but I still have a bunch of achievements and easter eggs left, so I'll probably play some more. If anybody needs a co-op parter at some time, PM me or look in the steam thread... region is europe though(nordics to be exact). Although I'm a pretty fast to run through puzzels, only ones that gave me any pause was something like 2 in the single player and the last couple of maps in the co-op.

I finally got around to picking up a copy of Portal 2, and I grabbed it for the PS3 since I could also play it on the PC (yay Valve!). Unfortunately, when I try to activate the code that's in the game's insert, I'm told that the code has already been activated by a Steam account. Seriously...WTF? I already opened a ticket with Steam's support, but as you know, they're are notoriously slow responding to tickets. Has this happened to anybody else recently? Before you ask, yes, it is a new copy of the game. Just in case, I uploaded a picture of my Best Buy receipt and the activation code that's not working to the ticket that I opened.

Dizik wrote:

I finally got around to picking up a copy of Portal 2

me too! got it last week or two (after the tr bbq)... Haven't even tried the multi-player version yet.. Still want to get through the entire single player mode.

Now if I purchased it via steam for my PC and want to install it on my PS3, it's all legit - yes?