Poll: Portal 1 or 2? Which did you prefer?

[Hungry Donner]

I liked the Portal had the bonus maps, especially the more difficult ones, and I was disappointed that Portal 2 didn't have something similar. There were three or four maps that stumped me in Portal 2 and given it's length I would have preferred more.

However Portal 2 maintain an excellent storyline and pacing across far more game and that's a very impressive feat. I also enjoyed the new characters and the new mechanics. Overall I probably edge more towards Portal 2.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Portal has better polish, but P2 has a better story, I'd want them to be mixed in a single blob of awesome.

 

[Meggiepants]

Portal 2, on just about every level. Co-op was truly a wise investment for a game like Portal. I wish they'd make a "fun room" with all the different doodads, like repulsion gel and stuff, where you can just play around or launch your partner into stuff. Or like, Portal Bowling. My friend and I had so much fun finding creative ways to launch ourselves into each other, didn't even need some of the puzzles.

And I am so glad they didn't revive the cake shit. I could go ten lifetimes without ever hearing that joke again and it still wouldn't be long enough.

 

[Buizel91]

Portal is a rarity, as in, not many games are better or as good as the original, but i greatly prefer Portal 2 to the first, i ain't saying the first is bad, hell no, but if i had to pick between them, it's Portal 2 all the way...

SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE xD

 

[loc978]

I can't decide. I like them for different reasons. It's kind of funny to say comparing an original with a sequel is a little like apples and oranges, but it is in this case. Portal 1 had much, much more difficult performance challenges, where you had to get the portal in just the right spot, at a distance, while flying through the air on a course that travels parallel to your target. Portal 2 had exactly zero of those challenges.
However, Portal 2 did have a wider range of puzzles, more creativity in both dialog and puzzles... and a more complete narrative.
But I did miss the performance challenges. I was never required to twitch in Portal 2.

 

[scorptatious]

Definitely Portal 2. It basically set out to do what a sequel is supposed to do, take what you have from the first game and improve upon it. And Portal 2 did just that.

 

[Zenn3k]

Portal 2 is a superior game in terms of quality. But I enjoyed playing Portal 1 a bit more.

Problems with Portal 2:
-Too easy
-GLaDOS suddenly becomes human (even near the start). Her voice has all these emotional inflections. In the first Portal, she sounded like a Computer. In Portal 2, she suddenly has way more personality, just seemed a bit weird.
- Puzzles were incredibly linear in their design. One look, 1 wall I can shoot a portal on...gee, I guess I have to go that way...yawn.
- Lack of challenge chambers ruins replay value. I've gotten ALL the single player achievements, no reason to play it anymore. I hope to get into co-op soon, waiting on a friend of mine to play that with, hopefully we don't burn through that too fast.
- This is just a nit-pick, but the ending song, "Want you gone" is pretty forgettable, not nearly on par with "Still Alive". My favorite part of the ending is the Turret Opera.

 

[kodra]

I feel like people who are claiming Portal 2 is far too easy compared to the monstrous nightmare of Portal 1 have huge cases of selective memory. That or they only are remembering the Challenge Puzzles and not the main campaign.

Portal 2's puzzles are far more complicated and involved than any of the campaign puzzles provided to you in the original portal, and while the original Portal was very tight on it's messaging (reading cues provided by designers could always lead to victory) Portal 2 actually had enough red herrings to let a player get confused about a solution.

 

[distortedreality]

Portal 2 has the better writing, Portal 1 has the better gameplay, IMO.

 

[DirtyMagic]

What Portal did was a huge thing for such a small game.
Then again, Portal 2 optimalized it and made it grander in every aspect.
Sure, Portal 2 had a bit more puzzle to it than Portal 2, but we all like a bit of platforming don't you think?

I'm different...

 

[Lordmarkus]

Portal 2 wasn't only sterile testchambers. Therefore it wins by default.

 

[z3rostr1fe]

Portal 2 > Portal 1, but in a minuscule margin. Not looking forward for a Portal 3. Maybe another universe needs to finish up with a number "3" at the end of it.

 

[black_knight1337]

Portal 2, it just felt alot better and there are way more mechanics to play with and there is Co-op. as for portal 3 i would like to see it as a prequel, something sort of like portal prelude or at the old aperture science or even what valve was originally designing for portal 2.

 

[Drop_D-Bombshell]

Portal 2 did everything portal perfected and pushed it further. The story elements and gameplay was widely improved and the new equipment and test objects made it much more challenging. And wheatley was in it.

 

[Woodsey]

Portal.

Portal 2 is a brilliant sequel and is in with a good shot at being my pick for GOTY 2011.

It's not better than Portal though, and is just a bit too easy.

You found Portal harder?

OT: Portal 2. No need for Portal 3 though.

 

[Goody]

The second one is an overall better game (longer, more content, more character's and character development, co-op mode), but it doesn't have the wow factor for innovation that the first one had. Still voted 2 though.

 

[CGAdam]

Portal 2. Longer, decent puzzles, better story, co-op mode, future DLC... and, of course, Chell got a makeover. She was pretty disheveled in P1. Guess Xhundred years of cryo sleep does wonders for your personal appearance.

 

[Lord Doomhammer]

I played portal one when it came out, and portal 2 when it came out, and for all the magic of portal one I never felt the sense of awe that I felt in portal 2.

 

[Sixcess]

You found Portal harder?

A bit harder, yes.

I suppose part of that is down to Portal introducing a lot of new concepts I had to get my head around, whereas coming to Portal 2 I was already familiar with how it worked. But really, I'd say it's more to do with the design of Portal 2. That there were so many less portalable walls really signposted where you were supposed to go in a lot of cases - especially in the between test chamber segments, which were extremely linear, even by Valve's standards.

One of the rooms I found most challenging was one of the first with the white gel, where you have to

Spoiler

...paint back and forth up the pillars to proceed

I painted that entire room and experimented a lot before I worked out what I was actually supposed to do. It was one of the few occassions when I didn't feel the game was pointing me in the direction of the solution.

In general I had the feeling throughout a lot of Portal 2 that the story came first, and that the designers were reluctant to let me spoil the pacing by getting lost or wasting too much time in between the dialogue segments (which were admittedly great, but still...)