portal posts

Fans of the original Portal know that Valve's 2007 released puzzle shooter had a ... unique ... credit sequence. Now comes word that the upcoming sequel Portal 2 will be doing something different. According to Videogamer.com the game will have two different end credit sequences, one for the game's single player mode and another for the game's two player co-op campaign.

Valve's Chet Faliszek said there will be a surprise in each credit sequence but naturally wouldn't say what those surprises will be like. He also said that Valve has tried to make Portal 2 more complex than the original but not difficult enough for players not to go all the way to the end to see the credits. He states, "We'd hate to think that people would only watch the endings on YouTube. It's scary actually, the ending to Portal has over 5 million hits on YouTube."

[Via VG247.com]

Developer Valve announced earlier this morning that Portal 2, its puzzle-shooter sequel that's due out this April, will feature cross-platform multiplayer support for its co-op campaign between the PC, Mac and PS3 versions of the game. This feature is due in part to the fact that the PS3 version of the game will be the first to support Steamworks features, as previously revealed at E3 last June.

In addition to the cross-platform multiplayer support the PS3 version will also support cross-platform chat allowing its players to talk to PC and Mac users. Finally any PS3 Portal 2 game purchase will be able to download and play the PC and Mac versions of the game at no additional cost via SteamPlay via a link between their PSN and Steam accounts.

[Via email press release]

The too short original puzzle shooter Portal from developer Valve had a lot of stuff packed into it; cool level design, humor, innovative gameplay and cake that was a lie. One of the big highlights was the song Still Alive from geek culture-based song writer Jonathan Coulton. Today Coulton confirmed that he is indeed doing similar duties for the game's sequel Portal 2.

He revealed his participation in, naturally, a post on his Twitter page while he was apparently about to go on a trip: "Closing the doors. If this plane goes down, the Portal 2 song goes with it. It is in my pocket..." He later "tweeted", "Good news, I did not crash. Christmas is saved." Indeed it is.

Just before Christmas Electronic Arts announced that it had indeed secured the publishing rights to Valve's puzzle-shooter sequel Portal 2. Today the publisher sent out the official box cover artwork for the UK version of the game showing the two robots that two players will control in the co-op campaign portion of Portal 2.

As you can see, the game's labeling shows that both the PC and Mac versions of Portal 2 will be sold in the same box. This is consistent with Valve's philosophy that on its Steam download site, buying the PC version of the game will get you the Mac port for free and vise versa. The game itself will be released on April 21.

With five days to go before the BIG DAY, the Steam PC game download holiday sales event has now gone live. This is the third annual event and it's usually the biggest sale of the year for Valve's download service as nearly all the game in its library have at least some kind of price cut from now until January 2. In addition there are publisher game bundles and indie game packs that save you even more money. Mac gamers are not excluded; over 125 Mac titles are on sale as well.

There are simply too many deals to go over in this one news post but we will mention the price cuts that are in place from now until 1 pm Eastern time on Tuesday. That includes the launch of the promised Oddboxx bundle of the four Oddworld games, including two that are new to the PC platform.

F1 2010 - $19.99
Super Meat Boy - $3.75
Titan Quest Gold Edition - $4.99
Battlefield Bad Company 2 - $6.79
The Oddboxx - $12.49
Deus Ex/Deus Ex Invisible War - $2.49
Peggle/Peggle Nights - $6.99
Lego Batman - $4.99
F.E.A.R/F.E.A.R. 2 - $9.99
Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition - $20.09
All Prince of Persia games - 75 percent off
Portal - $3.74 or $2.25 if you own Half-Life 2

Portal 2 is still being salivated over by virtually ever PC gamer out there, so to whet their appetites, Valve has released another cinematic trailer. Much like all their cinematics, Valve manages to imbue the characters within with a life of their own, making personalities come alive. In this case, the characters are obvious: the android created from a turret is friendly and helpful, while the personality core android is defiant and irritable. In a way, they reflect their origins, as the turrets do profess to love their targets and GLaDOS is not exactly known for being of sweet temperament.

Download HD Portal 2 Co-op Trailer #2
Check out all Portal 2 downloads

When we were younger we admired the folks who posted up the Quake Done Quick videos, showing players speed running through the single player portion of id Software's Quake games. This week something similar popped up on YouTube as a player named "DemonStrate" showed how someone could play through Valve's puzzle shooter Portal in under 10 minutes (9 minutes 25 second in fact)

Of course this speed run wasn't done in just one take; it took "DemonStrate" nearly two years to assemble the footage in the final video which you can check out after the jump. Much of the footage uses various glitches in the game itself to the speed runner's advantage. It's not exactly orthodox but the final video is certainly fun to watch.

Valve isn't just cutting prices at its Steam PC game download site. It's mail order online merchandise store is getting into the holiday spirit with a selection of items (t-shirts. mouse pads, coffee mugs, etc) on sale for between 10 percent and 80 percent.

There's also a handful of new items on sale in the online store including a Portal 2 co-op poster. Plus sometime in December Valve plans to add the two above plush toys showing the Hunter and the Tank from the Left 4 Dead series. Valve already released a Boomer plush toy from the game; it's the perfect holiday gift for those folks who think stuffed animals are for kids or for girls.

Portal 2 is getting a couple of extra months of development. It's maker Valve just sent over word that the long awaited sequel to the acclaimed puzzle-shooter will be delayed once again. First announced in 2009 for a fall 2009 release and then pushed back to early February, Valve says the game will now be releassed the week of April 18, 2011

Valve makes light of the new delay, saying in its email press release, "This two month slip not only marks the shortest delay in Valve's proud tradition of delays, it represents the approaching convergence of Valve Time and Real Time. Though this convergence spells doom for humanity, it will not affect the new Portal 2 release date." Valve also has another game, DOTA 2, planned for release sometime in 2011.

Update: Shacknews reports that Portal 2 will be out on April 20 in the US and Australia and on April 22 for Europe

The weekend is here but our plans for playing lots of Black Ops may have to be curtailed due to (shudder) chores that have to be done at home. Our review of the PC version should be up early next week.

• Steam has bug updates for Star Ruler, Portal, Alien Breed Impact and Alien Breed 2 Assault.
• Left 4 Dead 2's weekly mutation mode is a repeat of Taaannnkk!!!
• GoG.com's new addition this week is Space Rangers.
• League of Legends has added a new Champion: Irelia, the Will of the Blades.
• Could a Saints Row movie be in the works?