Just in case portal 2 sucks...

[SomeBritishDude]

I think the reason Portal 2 is been advertised so heavily is because Valve is really putting their balls on the table with this one.

Let's look at they're back cataloge for a moment;

-Half-Life: A first person shooter with sci-fi and horror elements
-Counter Strike: A war based FPS
-The Orange Box: 5 games in one. How could anyone turn that down?
-Left 4 Dead: A zombie game. Everyone loves zombies.

Now let's look at Portal 2: A big budget game based around quirky dark humor and puzzles...

Honestly without that 2 in the title and the first one's critical success I'd say Gabe had lost his mind. That's pretty ballsy putting out something as smart, strange and unique as Portal 2, espcially considering how many millions of dollars are sunk into these types of games. Honestly as least as far as premise goes Valve have always played it pretty safe, they're most experimental outings (Portal, Team Fortress 2) where part of a game collection.

To me Portal 2 is an experiment in how experimental AAA titles can be. It's also an experiment in how many games are sold on the basis of "Hey, I've heard really great things about this game and it's predocessor, I'll definitly buy this" and how many are sold because someone saw the cover and thought "Huhu. Guns. Cool."

 

[Gigatoast]

I think all the 'concern' about Portal 2 stems from that most irritating of trends in the PC gaming community that says "SEQUEL! SEQUEL BAD! ME HIT SEQUEL WITH RAGE-STICK! SEQUEL GO AWAY! ME GO BACK AND PLAY OBSCURE RPG FROM MID 90S!" Bladdedy bladdedy blaaa...

 

[SomeBritishDude]

I think all the 'concern' about Portal 2 stems from that most irritating of trends in the PC gaming community that says "SEQUEL! SEQUEL BAD! ME HIT SEQUEL WITH RAGE-STICK! SEQUEL GO AWAY! ME GO BACK AND PLAY OBSCURE RPG FROM MID 90S!" Bladdedy bladdedy blaaa...

Considering Half Life 2 that's dumb as hell.

 

[Gigatoast]

Considering Half Life 2 that's dumb as hell.

Yeh, I know right? But that was exactly the reaction before HL2 came out.

 

[leedwashere]

All I know is I've been intentionally ignoring the hype for Portal 2. Portal was an awesome game, and I want to go into the sequel as fresh and open-minded as possible. I don't want to know what changes they're making ahead of time, except in the vaguest sense... and if Portal 2 is anywhere near as good as the original, then I won't need to. Portal had the most intuitive and fun tutorial I think I've ever played, to the point where I didn't ever realize it was a tutorial. I'm trying not to expect anything, that way if its good I'll be wowed and if its not then I haven't had my hopes crushed

 

[noble cookie]

Well, I'm not excited, I'm just renting it so I can play co-op with my friend.

Jokes on you if it's shit.

 

[Bags159]

Well, I'm not excited, I'm just renting it so I can play co-op with my friend.

Jokes on you if it's shit.

But it won't be, so in that case is the joke on you? Or is it on VALVe? Who can answer this question of the century?

From what I've seen it's mind boggling that so many people think it will be horrible. Best game ever? Maybe not. Awesome game? Most definitely. I've seen nothing to make me think anything to the contrary. It looks just as funny, much longer, and has a lot more mechanics which should lead to increased depth.

 

[Jnat]

Portal with boosting goo and boinging goo? It can't go wrong! Also if there's a level editor that's just great.

 

[Weresquirrel]

I would be more concerned for Portal 2's quality were it coming from someone else. Valve have got a very impressive pedigree and have (if you ask me) never made a bad game. I've not been following the hype trail too closely as this is one game I do want to keep fresh, but all the stuff I have seen leads me to believe it will be just as strong as it's predecessor. It won't be as unique, by definition, but just as good.

 

[noble cookie]

Well, I'm not excited, I'm just renting it so I can play co-op with my friend.

Jokes on you if it's shit.

But it won't be, so in that case is the joke on you? Or is it on VALVe? Who can answer this question of the century?

 

[Xanadu84]

I'm not worried. I'm even going to go so far as to say that generally, sequels have BETTER gameplay then the original. Sequels get discredited because they retread old ground, are an unnecessary continuation of the story, etc, but at its core, most sequels improve the mechanics to some degree, and if they were the first experience with the IP, would have been seen in a more favorable light then even the original. Sequels are usually better, just not better enough. But in Portals case, the story comes mostly from atmosphere and writing, and is in no real danger of being ruined. They have added plenty of new mechanics, and the 2 hours we have already gotten is no where near enough to burn us out on the mechanics. Portal was supposed to be little more then a tech demo, you could perhaps even call it the equivalent of a demo. And now they are releasing the finished project.Even for a sequal, it has every indication of being great.

 

[Biodeamon]

Just in case? There is no just in case. Portal will be awesome, no questions asked.

 

[EHKOS]

The OP seems to be taking the "It's popular, it could very well suck" theory, which I suppose is legitimate. My theory is that I have no reason to be any more hyped about Portal 2 than I do Resident Evil 6 unless I've played both, and Portal 2 turns out to be more fun.

This may be Valve we're talking about, but even they [http://store.steampowered.com/app/500/] make mistakes [http://store.steampowered.com/app/550/].

Really only the second, EXTREMELY UNBALANCED one was a mistake. I have about 400 hours on the first one. Granted most of it was with friends, but I had a ball that year. I met alot of cool people too. Now the second one...well...yeah that was a pretty big mistake. I think I have like...40 hours on that one...

 

[Nico III]

Exactly why I've been ignoring everything to do with the game.
I knew I was definitely getting it when it launched, so I preordered and just ignored it. That way there's very little hype for it to live up to.

 

[Caligulove]

I think it depends on the means for hyping up something as much as the hype itself. A lot of the hype for Portal 2 (and Valve games in general) is mostly through their reputation, fans and showing off the product itself. Valve doesn't really put a lot into tons of advertising campaigns, only recently did they sort of start that with Cave Johnson's Investment Opportunities series of trailers- which are hilarious, combined with the always-brilliant JK Simmons.

Still though, if I were to disregard all the ads and trailers Valve has put out for Portal 2 and just focused on the pieces of gameplay that they have released and shown throughout the last year- I would still be very confident in the quality of this game. Adds great mechanics without changing what essentially made Portal great- and kept the strange, enigmatic story going along. I do have a feeling that the co-op mode is going to get some more playtime overall game length than the single player, though.

 

[Jamboxdotcom]

I'm still not sure why everyone is so inclined to hate PORTAL 2 before it's even released. Can we wait until it's released before we start hating on it because it's popular?

also, i don't hate the game. in fact, i'm sure i'll love it. it just pisses me off when people say such obviously bogus things about their products. e.g. if my favorite musician came out with a new album and claimed that buying it would cause my dick to grow 10 inches, i'd be a little pissed at their lies. i'd still enjoy the album, but i would resent having PR stooges insult my intelligence.
really, this whole thing probably shouldn't tick me off so much. the guy who said it was their "most innovative game ever" probably wasn't trying to lie. he was probably just too f***ing stupid to realize how idiotic it sounds to call a sequel superlatively innovative.

 

[z3rostr1fe]

Actually, for me, Portal 2 is the MOST advertised game of Valve. I mean, sure TF2 had the "Meet the Team" videos, but it came after the release(if I am correct).

But then again, Valve are big geeks(think "Newell Big"), as well as having good writers on board with them. Mash it up, we get the Valve ARG's(which, if I am correct, started before the official announcement of Portal 2, with one about some strange update entailing regulations stuff, which I got weirded out at first), and Video Commercials which GREATLY fit the setting of the advertised game.

If a normal person would observe the logs on the Valve ARG's, they will GREATLY be surprised on how immensely dedicated geeks Valve's fans are, solving clues and looking for potato sacks somewhere in the United States. So I guess the ARG's are more of a tribute to the Fans of Valve.

Now, the Video Commercials are, in my perspective, also hints on some elements to the HL/AS universe. For example, the "Investment Opportunity" videos may be some regular advert which sells some gameplay mechanics of Portal 2. But going back to the story of AS, they are doing this to entice consumers/investors for their product, as AS will go belly up soon if they won't be able to sell their latest products, as presented by one of the first Valve ARG's. And they will eventually fail to sell those products and instead used in the test chambers for Science.

Now where was I... Oh right. Most of the Adverts and Hype are more of a Fan Service than a Marketing Ploy IMHO. But if that's not the case, then one would think that the Game sucks because of it being Overhyped(think "Molyneux Overhyped").

 

[Bags159]

I'm still not sure why everyone is so inclined to hate PORTAL 2 before it's even released. Can we wait until it's released before we start hating on it because it's popular?

also, i don't hate the game. in fact, i'm sure i'll love it. it just pisses me off when people say such obviously bogus things about their products. e.g. if my favorite musician came out with a new album and claimed that buying it would cause my dick to grow 10 inches, i'd be a little pissed at their lies. i'd still enjoy the album, but i would resent having PR stooges insult my intelligence.
really, this whole thing probably shouldn't tick me off so much. the guy who said it was their "most innovative game ever" probably wasn't trying to lie. he was probably just too f***ing stupid to realize how idiotic it sounds to call a sequel superlatively innovative.

What bogus claims is VALVe making? I haven't heard of any. If you look at Portal 1 as a demo for Portal 2(which it really is as it was so short) then it technically is their most innovative game ever.

 

[William MacKay]

the problem is the hype. too much hype hurts a game. someone told me about bulletstorm and described the ad as 'orgasmically epic'. i just got it (because i got Crysis 2 first) and personally thought it was just about getting more skillshots and replaying levels just to get more points.
and skyrim has also got quite a lot to live up to. and in the long months until release, people will be replaying old Elder Scrolls games and making better and better opinions. there's too much to live up to with Skyrim and Portal 2 because the previous games are, in the eyes of most, epic.

 

[Bags159]

the problem is the hype. too much hype hurts a game. someone told me about bulletstorm and described the ad as 'orgasmically epic'. i just got it (because i got Crysis 2 first) and personally thought it was just about getting more skillshots and replaying levels just to get more points.
and skyrim has also got quite a lot to live up to. and in the long months until release, people will be replaying old Elder Scrolls games and making better and better opinions. there's too much to live up to with Skyrim and Portal 2 because the previous games are, in the eyes of most, epic.

Too much hype only hurts a game if it can't live up to it. Honestly, the only place I see hype for Portal 2 is on the escapist... I haven't seen much else where. (I asked in a game of LoL who was stoked for April 19 and no one knew what I was talking about, for example) From what we've seen so far it appears Portal 2 will be living up to its hype, but we won't know for sure until next Tuesday.

I never heard any hype for Bullet Storm, just for Brink.