Portal posts

It's not exactly a shock but Valve's puzzle-shooter sequel Portal 2 finds itself on top of Steam's top 10 best selling PC games list for the past week. A bundle containing both Portal 1 and 2 was in second place this week and the original Portal game reentered the top 10 list in the number eight position.

The full top 10 list is as follows:
1. Portal 2 - Valve
2. Portal Bundle -Valve
3. Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition - Rockstar North/Rockstar Games
4. Metro 2033 - 4A Games/THQ
5. Crysis 2 - Crytek/EA
6. Total War: Shogun 2 - The Creative Assembly/Sega
7. Operation Flashpoint: Red River -Codemasters
8. Portal - Valve
9. Fable III - Lionhead/Microsoft
10. Call of Duty: Black Ops First Strike - Treyarch/Activision

With Portal 2 now out in stores in the US and available on download via Steam, the puzzle-shooter sequel will have issues trying to replicate the sales success of the original. Gamespot reports that the first Portal game, released in 2007 as part of The Orange Box collection, has sold nearly 4 million copies, according to figures provided by its developer Valve.

The game's sales figures do not take into account the number of copies that have been sold via Steam, according to the article, which means that the true number of copies is likely much higher. Indeed, the game was given away for free for two weeks in May of 2010 via Steam as a way to celebrate Portal's Mac release.

This trailer, funnily enough, tells us something we already know. Granted, it does it in a new and funny way, which is fairly standard with the Portal 2 trailers at this point. In this case, it shows how Chell can survive those massive falls in Portal (and presumably Portal 2): the springy-looking boots she wears. It was explained in a snippet in the first game, but hey, if it means we get more slick visuals and dose of humor, we're fine with being told again.

Download the Portal 2 'Boots' trailer
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It's time for more of that humorous writing we have come to expect from the developers at Valve. In this trailer, said writing revolves around the various commercial aspects of turrets. For example, did you know that each turret is literally filled with bullets? Or that instead of firing a bullet, it actually fires the whole cartridge? It's some clever writing to be sure, and a good example of the goofiness to expect from the Portal 2 story. It gave us a chuckle.

Download Portal 2 'Turrets' Trailer
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Portal 2 keeps slathering on the cinematic charm with each released trailer, and this particular trailer is no different. It depicts to characters we are already familiar with: the core and turret robots from the co-op mode for Valve's latest sequel. They engage in various traditional trust exercises with varying hilarious results. While there's nothing of any real substance here - such as game footage or developer commentary - this trailer is enjoyable just by being goofy. It's just not very informative.

Download Portal 2 'Bot Trust' Trailer
Check out all Portal 2 downloads

We were just reporting that Valve had decided to create the ad campaign for Portal 2 themselves and what do you know? It's first TV ad for the puzzle shooter sequel has just arrived. The 30 second spot is a cinematic that shows off Atlas and P-body, the odd couple of the game's two player co-op campaign mode.

The clip is very funny while at the same time showing exactly what the game is all about for those folks who perhaps didn't hear about the first Portal game when it was first released as part of Valve's The Orange Box collection in 2007. Will the second game have as big of an impact. We will soon see on April 18.

Download the Portal 2 TV Commercial video at Big Download

Another busy day today for news, even with some announcement about a second iPad. We are not familiar with it but some kids seem to like the iPad.

• Steam has a new free update for Dungeons that adds a new "Amusement" gameplay mode and three new maps.
• Steam also has a new update for the Steam client and updates for Portal, Half-Life 2 and the two Half-Life 2 episodes.
• The Arcania: Fall of Setarrif web site has gone live.
• Players who still want to see Elite 4 at some point still have some hope.
• Minecraft technically isn't done yet but the team is already saying. "We'll probably do Minecraft 2."

The first day of GDC is usually pretty slow but there were a few bits of cool info today including the Serious Sam 3 reveal. Neat stuff.

• Steam has new automatic updates for Painkiller Redemption, Race 07 and the Steam client.
• Google continues to push high end PC gaming in a browser.
• Watch a non-gamer get frustrated at playing Portal. Cool.
• Read an interview with the makers of a Half-Life 2 mod based around school shootings. Not cool.
• Do Portal 2's achievments give hints about Half-Life 2 Episode 3?
• Devil May Cry's movie rights have been bought by the same studio that does the Resident Evil film series.

Valve knows that Valentine's Day can be a little dangerous. After all, people are allergic to chocolate, flowers have swarms of bees, and almost everybody dies to giant falling diamonds. This cute trailer depicts the recommended way that Aperture Science couples interact for Valentine's Day: by engaging in challenges that will most likely result in their deaths. It's an incredibly adorable trailer for Portal 2, and is animated quite well to boot.

Download Portal 2 Valentine's Day Trailer
Check out all Portal 2 downloads

Portal 2, the highly anticipated puzzle shooter from Valve, is now available for pre-order via Steam. The game has two special deals for pre-order buyers. First gamers get 10 percent off the game's regular $49.99 price. The other pre-order bonus is a free downloadable copy of the original 2007 Portal game. Since the game is coming out for both PC and Mac it qualifies for SteamPlay, meaning people who purchase the PC version get the Mac version for free and vise versa.

There are also pre-order specials for getting Portal 2 at GameStop (special skins for the game's robots in the co-op campaign) and at Amazon.com (a $5 credit toward most Amazon.com purchases)

The Steam pre-order page for Portal 2 also contains the system requirements for both the PC and Mac versions of the game. You can check them out for yourself after the jump: