portal 2 is a great game and it really is a portal two another dimension in more ways than one. in the first way, it breathes life into the flaccid genre, and shows game developers what to do, it shows them valve means business, and big business at that. valve make them money like the energizer bunny and few can disagree with those sentiments, especially when yearly and quarterly earnings are taken into account. the second way it's a portal two another dimension is in its emphasis on good gaming, good graphics, and good times for the game player. valve have harnessed the horsepower of the aging 360 console like an expert horsewhisperer, they have reigned in their artists memory hogging tendencies, they have whipped their unruly programmers over the line, and have taken the cup of a game well done with portal two. portal two is fabulous, its a real pleasure to finally play a game where i don't feel the red veil drop over my eyes, i went through the whole gamut of emotions while playing, and emerged like a butterfly from a chrysalis at the other side; a better person, a better outlook on life, and a better smell. who knows what valve will do next? another portal perhaps? will valve buy nintendo and re-release the N64? will valve sell the company and blow all their profits on the craps table? will valve journey to the east and experience the wonders of the orient? will valve construct an elaborate igloo and live out their days feeding on a subsistence of puffin meat and albatross beaks? will valve crumble under the weight of their own hubris? will valve end nuclear proliferation by hurling all nuclear weapons into the sun? nothing is outside of the grasp of the juggernaut and of valve, and i think their next project could be pretty good, probably will be, who knows could be shitty.
