50 Games in 2012 – Introduction and #1 Portal 2 [PS3]

[Introduction] – Playing games has been a hobby of mine ever since I was a little tyke. My first ever console was an N64 that I got for Christmas in '98 a long with Super Mario 64. It was a staple of my childhood to dilligently save up my allowance and ask for games for Christmas. Carefully I'd disect my EGM magazine each month writing notes and folding pages beside games to make sure I picked the best I could. Every year I'd play somewhere around 4-6 games and in recent history that has expanded to a higher number. At the end of 2011 I recalled all the great games I had played through 13 years. Golden Sun, Kingdom Hearts, Legend of Zelda: Windwaker, Red Dead Redemption and Uncharted 2 stood out among others. When compared to a top 100 list of games of all-time my gaming experiences paled in comparison. And almost like that it dawned on me that there really were 100's of amazing games I've never even played. With my own financial backing and the passion to try something adventurous I set the goal of playing 50 games in 2012. 

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To start I pillaged stores on boxing day picking up my first round of titles and I set up a notepad document to keep track of my progress. As I continued playing games I slowly started adding more to each note by leaving an impression of each game and the date played to each entry. More or less it seemed like a novel type of memorabilia to look back at. As writing has been something I've always enjoyed in the past couple of months I've decided to expand furthur and write my way through the year. That's what brings me to bit mob, to share my adventures and experiences I go through good or bad with the 50 games I play in 2012.

(Note for game completion criteria 1 of 3 options must be done. Either games main story must be completed, roughly 15 hours put into a game or 50% trophie completion.)

 

50 Games in 2012 – #1 Portal 2 [PS3] (Completed January 21st)

At the beginning of the 2012 I had a craving for solving puzzles in the Videogame world and Portal 2 fit my needs perfectly. After sinking 40+ hours into Skyrim, experiencing the cinematic blockbuster of Uncharted 3 and racing through levels of Raymans Origins it was definitely time for Portal 2. My previous experience with the series stemmed back to the PC and the original Portal. I did not own the Orange box set but my friend Andrew raved constantly about the title. Taking his word I sat down and played through the experience at his place and quickly dug an interest for the series quirky dialogue and simple but fun level design.

Flash forward to January of this year though and I pushed in my copy of Portal 2 into my PS3. This would be the first game of the year for me and arguably looking back now in May still the best. Right off the bat the controls of the title were great on console a long with the level design. The puzzles were fun to solve but most of all the characters of Wheatley and Glados are what drew me in. Hearing Stephen Merchant ramble throughout the levels was hilarious and the story overall really took shape where the 1st game didn't.

The level design for 6 or so hour experience didn't tire as the game continually switched up it's pawns at play on each level giving you new toys to play with. The reward of finishing each level grew as the games puzzle difficulty grew to the climax of the story. Near the end there were a few frustrating points but that may attest to my brainpower more then anything.

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Overall the game took the best of Portal and added even more to the equation. With a great story, fun online co-op and the potential for future level design on the consoles Portal 2 rounded out to be one of the best games I've ever played.

Game Summary:

Date Finished: 1/21 | Portal 2 (PS3)

Pros: Immersive story and dialogue with fantastic level platforming and fun co-op.

Cons: Small stretches of level frustration.

Conclusion: Portal 2 pushes nearly all the right buttons to make an extremely memorable story driven puzzle game.

[9.5/10]

– Bryden