A Better Mousetrap

Game: Portal
System: Xbox 360
Release date: October 9, 2007
Developed by: Valve Corporation
Published by: Valve Corporation

Valve is responsible for two of the greatest first-person shooters of all time, but the Half-Life games are not for everyone. On the other hand is Portal, a darkly humorous first-person action/puzzle game which is almost impossible to dislike and one which will find an audience among both hardcore and casual gamers.

Bundled with The Orange Box, a five-game compilation released for Xbox 360 and Windows in late 2007, Portal is a unique puzzle game which uses the Source engine made famous in Half-Life 2. Players control a silent female protagonist who acts as a test subject for Aperture Laboratories. She is sent through nineteen scenarios, most of which require the use of the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device or "portal gun."

The portal gun generates interspatial portals through which the heroine can travel, accessing hard-to-reach locations. Each of the nineteen scenarios has several puzzles that must be solved before players can move on; in one scenario, for example, players must redirect a projectile orb through a series of portals to activate a platform.


Throughout the game, the protagonist is monitored by an artificial intelligence who challenges, tricks and taunts her. Much of the dark humor which distinguishes Portal from other games comes from this one-sided conversation.

Although it begins somewhat innocuously, Portal takes on new dimensions and reaches new levels of difficulty as it moves forward. The game is rather short (it should take no more than four hours to complete), but a rewarding experience nonetheless.

Score: 91/100