It does all this and more while recycling very few of Portal's greatest comedy hits-there's nary a nod to dishonest cake, and the beloved Weighted Companion Cube makes only a cameo appearance. Through death, resurrection, revenge, and reversal of fortune, their charm makes what would otherwise be an empty and lifeless world feel boisterous and alive-and more than makes up for the player character being a faceless mute. Sure, I saw the plot twists coming, but still looked forward to witnessing exactly how the characters would react. Also in the mix is actor JK Simmons, who lends his fittingly cantankerous voice to the founder of Aperture, Cave Johnson, whose comically sociopathic approach to science is second only to GLaDOS'. Wielding it makes me feel more powerful-and smarter-than nearly any other gun in gaming.ДЇantastically voiced by British actor Stephen Merchant (basically playing the same mind-bogglingly stupid character from the Ricky Gervais comedy Extras), Wheatley's a doofus AI who makes you turn around while he hacks doors (he can't do it while you're watching). It's the ultimate non-weapon weapon, a sort of physics-based Judo-bazooka that redirects the strengths of energy and objects in motion toward its user's goals-including the user herself. Unchanged from the first game (except for some subtle but slick texture work and portals that can be seen through walls, Left 4 Dead-style) the easy-to-use gun reliably casts one orange portal and one blue portal against certain walls, allowing you to magically, instantaneously pass from one to the other, regardless of distance, obstacles, or line of sight, while preserving momentum.

That achievement is made possible by the wondrous Portal Gun, the game's sole piece of equipment. Be aware that reading any review is going to take some of the surprise out of it. Note: while we've made every effort to avoid spoilers in this review, you cannot review a game without discussing what it does well and what it doesn't. One half of Portal 2's brilliance is making me kick myself for not thinking of the impossible the other is making me feel immensely satisfied with myself when I finally do, again and again. Then, through either sudden revelation, divine inspiration, or total accident, it would come to me: use the orange Propulsion Gel to reach the energy bridge, then catapult across the chasm and shift my blue portal to the inclined surface (in mid-air, mind you) to launch me up to the ledge, grab the refraction cube and redirect the laser beam to wipe out the turrets and activate the switch! It's so simple, I can't believe I didn't see it until now.

Portal 2 the escape