In 2007, a game was released for computer systems. Based on a unique idea -- yet somewhat expected, considering the developer -- Valve created an experience that will likely go down in gaming history among games that changed how they are played. This game I'm analyzing, "Portal," has won numerous awards for it's ingenuity, including Game of the Year.  What made this game so amazing? A storyline of being a portal-gun tester sounds as though it can be quite boring, since all you do is shot portals all around a room, and can walk freely among them. What's so fun about that? They effectively combated this problem, ending up with a game that created a whole new genre -- First Person Puzzle.

    To start off with, lets look at game mechanics. Going against the normal tendencies of newer games, Portal keeps a simple approach to the game. Very basic controls, a portal-gun as your only weapon, and hints all the way through keep a new gamer into the game long enough that they can appreciate it. The tutorial takes over half of the game, bringing one concept of the game at a time. I found the tutorial to be slow, and overly basic at first. However, I have plenty of gaming experience; I was ready for something challenging. The level designs were interesting, as all the rooms are clean and bright. Most first-person games are generally dark, random objects littered throughout levels, trying to simulate a real feel. Being in a laboratory, it feels as though you're stuck alone in the facility. As the game progresses, the story line deepens, allowing you to understand why this place is here.

    Shortly after starting, you are greeted by a computerized voice, GlaDOS. She tells you everything you need to know to survive in this laboratory with reminders of lab safety procedures.  While being serious in her job of keeping track of your progress, she pushes you onward with promises of cake at the end of the experiment. Even thoughGlaDOS is mildly creepy, she does prove to be a help at first while explaining how to open doors, how to push buttons, and other tasks that you have to successfully complete for the experiment of the usage of the portal gun. As you progress,GlaDOS seems to have a sense of twisted dark humor, yet stays completely serious about her mission of getting you to the end. In the context of what she says, many people have found her sayings to be hilarious. She pulls up random statistics, notes, and eventually, she starts getting angry with you as you complete the tutorial.

    Along with GlaDOS's talk, along the walls there is graffiti from someone who must have passed through the laboratory before you. The majority of the scribbles say, "The cake is a lie," which has inspired an Internet meme. There's a few poems scribbled on the walls as well. Most of them are about one of the non-animate characters in the game, the companion cube. While the only thing special about this cube -- other than being named -- is a heart painted on all the sides, there's an emotional attachment to the box. At the end of the puzzle, you're forced to incinerate the companion cube.GlaDOS tries to assure you that it's okay, and that you can't progress with the cube in tow. As you but the box into the fire, you can't help but feel a friend has been lost, and must be avenged. The person who wrote the graffiti about the companion cube must have never left the room, but you never come across this person.

    Perhaps one of the most interesting things that Valve had done with their main game series, Half-Life, is also in Portal. You have the ability to modify how the game runs. Using a scripting language, the game can be completely modified, allowing for different possibilities, making the game easier or harder with a few key strokes. I find this to be the most fun thing to play with, finding ways to add new objects, or changing how the walls and items look.
   
    Nearly everyone that has played Portal through to the end agree on two things -- It's short. It's easy to play from the beginning to the end in less than three hours. However, the ending is one of the best in a long time.GlaDOS sings a song through the credits, giving an excellent and hilarious report on how the experiment is a success. The credits complete the report, being treated as ifGlaDOS is typing out forms on the after-thoughts of the experiment. A most satisfying ending, I can't think of any other game that gave such a great way to end it. Most games today neglect the ending, which is sad. Endings to games should be like endings in books -- Good, complete, and leaving few loose ends.