Game reviews: Portal is one of the best puzzle games out there
TEH. BEST. GAMES. EVAR.
By Andr~Af^A(c) Swartley
Issue #23
Portal
Developer: Valve Software
Publisher: Valve Software
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Rating: T for Teen
As I haven~Ac^a'not^a"ct reviewed any First-Person Shooter games in the entire run of this column, I hope you~Ac^a'not^a"cll forgive me a bit of historical background before I get to Portal. I spent much of my freshman year of high school secretly playing Id Software~Ac^a'not^a"cs classic, Wolfenstein 3D. As a kid who never owned a games console other than his dad~Ac^a'not^a"cs PC, I had mostly played point-and-click adventures and free platformers like Commander Keen. Wolfenstein introduced me and most of the gaming world to the First-Person Shooter (FPS) genre. I had to play it in secret because it was, at the time, terribly violent and my parents would have flipped out if they~Ac^a'not^a"cd seen me playing it.
What made this type of game so revolutionary was not that you could see the game world through your protagonist~Ac^a'not^a"cs eyes. Role playing games like Dragon Quest, Ultima, and Dungeons & Dragons had been employing a static first-person battle perspective for years. Wolfenstein broke important ground by allowing you to MOVE through the world in real time while seeing it through the protagonist~Ac^a'not^a"cs eyes. And also shoot Nazis who shouted things like ~Ac^a'notA"Guten Tag!~Ac^a'not^A
Stories Posted This Week
Friday, May 2, 2025
- BHS seniors exhibit art at Gallery 323 through May 7
- What's in your weekend?
- Pirate softball blanked by Lancers
- Pirate baseball blanked by Lincolnview
- Laman Promoted to VP Retail Credit Manager by CNB
- Local land conservancy hires first Executive Director
- Steiner to present Swiss Family Migration program on May 21
- 850 Days of Caring volunteers will pitch in for Hancock County
Thursday, May 1, 2025
- Angel M. Langhals owned LFE/API Meters
- Allen Co. task force targets target sex and human traffickers
- Blessing of the Bikes, May 4
- Metzger honored at 2025 Black Swamp Council meeting
- Volunteer invitation for Bluffton Pathway Count in May
- Pirate tennis edges Ottawa-Glandorf
- Bluffton EMS station staffing goes 24/7 on May 1
- You are what you eat: Link to immune system
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
- Observation deck added to Motter Park cascading pools project
- Bluffton Women in Business meet May 15
- Four sportsmen stock 200 trout at Buckeye Lake
- Pirate girls, boys 2nd at Minster track quad
- Pirate baseball win vs. Riverdale
- Pirate softball loss vs. Riverdale
- Field reports from NW Ohio wildlife officers