b00kworm 
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany 
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/19/2011 11:14)
I bought the first game as part of a compilation (The Orange Box, also including Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2) and the second boxed today (it's the first day the game is out, but the boxed version was slightly less expensive). Both parts have to be activated through Steam (as Steam originally was Valve's online shop) and offer a nice mixture of 3D environment (including 1st person perspective) and puzzles. The cake's a lie!
That's a little spoiler for the first game, actually. You are promised there will be cake after you managed all the testing chambers (levels). As you can read above, no cake for you afterwards ... sorry. You have to get through the levels by using the portal gun. It can shoot two different portals, a blue and an orange one (in the first few levels you can only use the blue gun, the orange portal is static). You can travel between them, so if you put the blue portal somewhere on the other side of a deep ditch (for instance) and the orange one beside you, you can cross the ditch that way. That's an easy one, of course, later on it gets much harder. Speed can change things (by jumping through a portal at great speed, for instance after a long fall, you will come out of the other one faster and can, for instance, cross a wall that way). And the second game? I'm not far, but I have already met Glados again, the artificial intelligence from the first game. She's not in a good mood and can't really stand me (the game me) ... for good reasons. We're no friends. What I've seen so far looks great, the world is much more open and much less clean and clinical. Definitely an interesting game and one that deserves the sequel it has gotten.
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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kac41556
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Rank:"Old-Timer"
Posts:991
From: USA 
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/19/2011 11:53)
I'm glad you're liking it. I preordered it for the XBox and am waiting for it to be delivered by Amazon. I didn't get game day delivery as I figured I had better get the strategy guide as well (I'm nowhere as experienced as you and need all the help I can get!) The trailer looks great and I've played some, but not all, of the first one. Nice to know I'll have someone to ask questions of if I get stuck.
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/19/2011 12:43)
You will then recognize a few of the first levels ... although some things have changed, as Aperture had a few problems, it seems.
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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Purplerabbit
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Posts:2254
From: United Kingdom 
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/19/2011 14:41)
Guess what hubby's playing today!
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Sometimes I just want to put on a bunny outfit and scream
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/20/2011 02:41)
I've started to like GLaDOS' nasty comments by now ... and I'm really glad Wheatley isn't 'dead' (Wheatley is a small robot you encounter in the beginning). The game is a lot longer than the first ... there's 10 chapters, each made up of quite some levels. I just started chapter 3.
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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Purplerabbit
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Posts:2254
From: United Kingdom
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/20/2011 04:28)
Wheatley is voiced by Stephen Merchant, who is quite famous over here. He works with Ricky Gervais on a lot of his projects and tours.
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Sometimes I just want to put on a bunny outfit and scream
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/20/2011 11:29)
After a level that had me banging my head against the wall ... and desk ... and other convenient surfaces ... Wheatley got me out, so I'm on the run right now. The levels are amazing in design and you need brains to move on.
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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kac41556
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Rank:"Old-Timer"
Posts:991
From: USA
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/20/2011 11:40)
I'm so jealous, mine hasn't shipped yet.
Oh well, it is not like I'm lacking for games to play. My goal is to finish Dragon Age this weekend. I'm in the final onslaught and it all depends on how difficult it is to win.
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/20/2011 12:40)
Aaand another twist in the story. I love this game, even though I feel stumped at the moment.
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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kac41556
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Rank:"Old-Timer"
Posts:991
From: USA
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/20/2011 13:31)
There are no "sparklies" in Portal, I'm sure.
How far along are you?
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Purplerabbit
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Posts:2254
From: United Kingdom
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/20/2011 13:47)
Hubby has just picked up potato Glados and he's stuck.
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Sometimes I just want to put on a bunny outfit and scream
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Purplerabbit
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Posts:2254
From: United Kingdom
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/20/2011 16:10)
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Sometimes I just want to put on a bunny outfit and scream
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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Reply To kac41556
(Date Posted:04/21/2011 03:03)
Reply to kac41556 (04/20/2011 14:31)
There are no "sparklies" in Portal, I'm sure.
How far along are you?
Nope, no sparklies at all. I have just entered the old testing area, I'm a bit farther than PRs hubby, it seems, as I have gotten to the old elevator, but I have no idea where to go from there. Can't portal inside the elevator shaft (no material where the portal will hold) and can't get past the gate, either. I'll have to take a closer look today.
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/21/2011 12:13)
I thought around the corner (a couple of times as it were) and moved on. Have encountered the repulsion gel. It's blue and makes you all bouncy. I love it already, although it makes the game pretty fast ... boinga ... boinga ... boinga ... ouch...
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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kac41556
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Rank:"Old-Timer"
Posts:991
From: USA
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/21/2011 12:33)
I can't wait. They still haven't shipped mine. Sigh. I did pull out the first Portal and am progressing on that. The room I'm in now I don't have a clue on how to get out, but it was 1:00 am so I'll try it again this weekend.
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/21/2011 13:21)
What I like about Portal 2 is all the different environments. There's the slightly ruined test chambers, the factory underneath and now I'm in the far more ruined original testing chambers that were build a long time before GLaDOS by a guy called Cave Johnson.
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/22/2011 11:44)
Okay, so now I know I was waaaay behind PRs hubby. But I am back to testing now ... only this time it's a little different. I love the gels, by the way. Blue to make you jump, orange do make you fast and white to make new areas where you can put a portal on. Have now started with those flowing tunnels.
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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kac41556
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Rank:"Old-Timer"
Posts:991
From: USA
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/22/2011 14:48)
Finally they are shipping my order. There must have been a delay on the strategy guide. PR, like your husband I tend to CHEAT when I can't figure out the solution. The way I look at it, learning how to do it is part of the challenge of the game.
Next week I also have Elder Scrolls Oblivion coming as well. And I have finished Dragon Age. 67 playing hours! I still have the DLCs and Awakening to go before Dragon Age II. It said I finished 93%, I know there were some quests I could not get done. Even on "casual" the final battles were whipping my butt. I died at least 15 times in one of them. I also admit that there is a whole lot more I could learn in the game than I did. Especially with making potions and traps. I basically played it in more an action style that strategic style.
I am proud of myself for actually finishing it as I tend to be one of those people with a short attention span who flit to the next "newest shiny thing" before finishing a game.
Edited for typo.
(Message edited by kac41556 On 04/22/2011 14:54)
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/23/2011 13:54)
I finished it!
(Had to check a walkthrough video on YouTube for one level, though, simply didn't get one small detail - that was hugely important, of course.) It's a great game with a great ending and you can easily replay it - in the end, you probably will have forgotten quite some stuff in the middle. And the ending sequence is so sweet ... all those turrets and GLaDOS' song. Theoretically, there's half of the game left - the co-op mode. But I'm glad enough I made it through the last two levels of the single player mode and managed to win the boss fight.
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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kac41556
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Rank:"Old-Timer"
Posts:991
From: USA
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/23/2011 15:59)
That was fast, B00. I'm hoping to get mine on Monday, at least with tracking I see it arrived at the Post Office. It will take me a lot longer than you, I'm sure.
I have thought about playing the co-op mode with a friend. We've played Rock Band/Guitar Hero together a couple of times and I think Portal would be fun to play together. That is, if I can resist the urge to kill her off.
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/24/2011 10:57)
There's a nice video about that on YouTube - about how Aperture chose robots, because they worked together for about nine more seconds than humans, before killing each other ... LOL. I definitely wasn't the fastest to complete Portal 2 - someone already did (probably more than once) and posted a complete video walkthrough on YouTube (including all co-op levels). I liked the new stuff they had: 3 types of gels, one to make you bounce (blue), one to speed you up (orange) and one to create new surfaces for portals(white); the light bridges; the hover tunnels and, of course, the potato battery (you'll understand that one once you're far enough in the game). I also love the different environments, not just testing areas (I suspect that's what Gove refers to as 'shoebox'), but also the factory and the old, abandoned labs from the very beginning of Aperture. There's also a little mentioning of the original Half-Life in one of the recordings. This is not a complete review, but still, I award Portal 2 five pints! 
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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kac41556
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Rank:"Old-Timer"
Posts:991
From: USA
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/25/2011 11:57)
I just received the Portal 2 game today. I checked out the Strategy Guide and it totally loses me. It has schematics, etc. and reminds me of an engineering manual. One section has screen shots and another has word descriptions of what you need to do. Also half of it is the co-op play. I will use it for instructions on how to play the game, but I want to skip the walkthrough until I get really stuck. Everyone learns differently and I need the written words to understand how to play instead of just the screen shots. I want to learn how to play the game, not be told what to do.
Gamezebo had an outstanding review of this game today.
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/25/2011 12:06)
I have played through the single player twice by now (it is indeed faster the second time around), so if you really get lost in one level, just contact me, okay? I'll then try to describe to you what to do.
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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Purplerabbit
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Posts:2254
From: United Kingdom
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/25/2011 12:42)
Meant to reply that hubby finished 2 days ago, then he finished Assassins Creed 2. He's playing Overlord 2 now. He was going to play 1, but it wouldn't load, but it loads on my computer.
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Sometimes I just want to put on a bunny outfit and scream
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kac41556
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Rank:"Old-Timer"
Posts:991
From: USA
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/25/2011 12:48)
I bought Overload cheap from one of the Steam sales, didn't download it and forgot all about it. I was looking at my list and saw it and thought, what is that game! If I recall correctly, don't you try to be really evil in that game?
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/25/2011 12:53)
Well, what would be the point in commanding evil goblins otherwise? I have the game as well, but have yet to finish it (computer gives me trouble with it ... grrrrr).
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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Purplerabbit
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Posts:2254
From: United Kingdom
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/25/2011 15:08)
Yeah, you're an evil boy (16). He got interested as my sister bought it for the Wii and decided to play it with us at Christmas. She couldn't play as it gave her motion sickness (on the Wii), so he took over and enjoyed it.
He says "bunny" to me when one is on screen, and I say "Yeah, but you're about to kill it for life force!"
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Sometimes I just want to put on a bunny outfit and scream
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kac41556
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Rank:"Old-Timer"
Posts:991
From: USA
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/25/2011 23:28)
I did start Portal 2 tonight and I can tell I'm going to like it. The character who plays Wheatley is really good and I like the humor in it. I couldn't play too long, as I had to work late tonight, so I'm on the 5th room of the 1st Chapter. I know I'm going to be a lot slower than B00 and PR's DH, especially since I want to get the DLC for Dragon Age finished.
The Strategy Guide is published by FuturePress. I'm impressed with them as it seems like a very good guide. First of all, you can feel their love for the game. The walkthough is broken into three parts. The first part is textual hints to set out the goals for the room. Then if you can't figure it out, you go to the next section where they have screen shots. If it hasn't sunk in with that, you then have step by step directions with those schematics I mentioned before. Finally, if you are totally lost, they are putting up movie shots on their websites so you can see a video of what to do. The book has a registration number, so you need to register it on site to access the movies. The way it is laid out, you can't accidentally see a spoiler when you are just looking for a hint.
The book also has a big section on the co-op play, achievements, the history and secrets of Portal, conceptual art and an in-depth interview with the designers of the game. It is 363 pages. I haven't needed it yet, but t was $13.54 or so at Amazon, so not a bad price for a security blanket.
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b00kworm
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Rank:Posting Wizard
Status:
Developing Pub RPG
Posts:3733
From: Germany
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:04/26/2011 03:03)
There is a complete video walkthrough for free on YouTube (also including the co-op levels), so I guess you can have it much cheaper, too.
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Man who make mistake in elevator wrong on many levels.
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Kaliarii
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Rank:Gold Member
Posts:450
From: USA
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RE:Portal Series
(Date Posted:05/04/2011 17:58)
Favorite quote from the second one... "You're not just any regular moron. You were DESIGNED to be a moron." This will make far more sense to those who've gotten about halfway through. I love the Portal series, the first was one of my absolute favorite games, and the second just gets better. I've just recently started the co-op side, after playing through the story twice, and if each of the courses are par with the full game, there's at least 40-80 new levels in the co-op area. Now to find someone to schedule a co-op time with on Live to play through the course and see how we do.  On a sidenote... Lots of new smilies to play with since last I curled up in the Pub. Yay! 
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