I was able to sit down Sunday afternoon and play through the Portal portion of the Orange Box. Portal is a puzzle solvers game and makes you think in ways that you normal would not in any other game you ever have. Yes. That was a bold statement, but with the ability to portal yourself around the game play area brings a new twist in things.

The ability to portal does comes with some restrictions. You can’t portal your way through “force fields” nor all surfaces. The primary surface that portals like are the cement in appearance walls, floors and ceilings.

The computer echoes in the halls of the test chamber giving you constant advice at the start and later it taunts you. The major chunk of the game is without any voice at all…that was a plus. The computer “generated” sounding voice I found a touch on the annoying side.

Gameplay: It was fun. The controls were great and true to form like any other Half Life game ever made.

Graphics: Well. Nothing stunning was seen in the game. The graphics were solid but there was nothing awe inspiring about it. Not that I’m complaining. I don’t believe that graphics had to be a big part of this game.

Replay: I might replay the game one more time. Other than that I don’t see it happening. Replay is next to none. Is that a problem. Not if it is part of the Orange Box, because there is so much more to offer in the box. Valve does plan on releasing it later for $20. This would not be a buy. No replay at all.

Final Werd: This could end up being in future valve products and would be very welcome. It was fun to play and gave me something to do on a Sunday afternoon while I was waiting for the snow to melt. It took me about 2 hours to complete the game. It was an enjoyable pace and I never thought at any time that I was too frustrated and wanted to give up. The portal technology got a little getting used to and at time it would give me a touch of vertigo

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