Last week I went
over the games that managed to claw their way to the top 5-3 places on our Sci-Fi Game of the Year 2011 list. Today it’s time to
finally reveal which game ends up snatching the title of the greatest
science fiction themed video game of 2011 and which game made has to
make do with the not quite so glorious title of runner up.
So without anymore further introduction let's dive right in.
Runner up: Portal 2
When the first
Portal game came out with the “Orange Box” in 2007 I was pretty
blown away by the game.
Initially by the
really cool gameplay mechanics of the portal gun, which allows you
place a two way portal on most surfaces of the game and allows for
some truly mind bending puzzles that make you feel insanely clever
when you finally figure them out.
But as I got deeper into the game, the quirky humor became a great part of the experience, and I found
myself actually laughing out loud several times during Chell’s
daring attempt to escape the Aperture Science facility.
My favorite Portal 1 comedy moment was probably this gem
that GLaDOS, the AI antagonist of the game, delivers to you as you
are getting quite close to escaping:
“We
are pleased that you made it through the final challenge where we
pretended we were going to murder you. We are very very happy for
your success. We are throwing a party in honor of your tremendous
success. Place the device on the ground, then lie on your stomach
with your arms at your sides. A party associate will arrive shortly
to collect you for your party. Make no further attempt to leave the
testing area. Assume the Party Escort Submission Position, or you
will miss the party”.
(By the way, you
can find a comprehensive list of GLaDOS quotes here,
there’s some top notch quality comedy in there)
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| GLaDOS is still around in Portal 2, even if she's looking a little worse for wear |
The first Portal
game was a pretty short affair, so when Portal 2 was announced and it
was revealed that it would be a full 6-7 hour gaming experience I was
happier than a test subject who just found out he was in the placebo
sample group.
