GDC07: Portal Hands-On
Last night, at the EA hosted party in the San Francisco Clift hotel, the company showcased upcoming games from the EA Partners program. On display were Mercenaries 2, Hellgate: London, Crysis and Portal from the upcoming Half-Life 2 Orange Box.
The Xbox 360 version was available at two demo stations, with Valve employee and Narbacular Drop team member Kim Swift on hand to guide players through the brief demo.
Graphically, the game is on par with what we've seen of the PC version, running at a smooth clip and featuring some lovely texture and lighting effects. Since the demo's rooms were sparse, we shouldn't expect less, but you'll want to take a few moments during each level to appreciate Portal's aesthetics.
My goal was essentially to climb upward through the course, laying down yellow and blue portals (with left and right triggers) and taking advantage of the physics model to propel my character higher and higher. Jump (left shoulder button) into a portal from twenty feet up and your momentum will carry you through the other end. You know the gameplay, right? It's pretty much what you expect, if you've seen the ultra-popular trailer. If not, helpful posters and robotic voiceovers will help you figure it out.
What I didn't expect were the off-limits areas. I was under the impression that portals could be place on almost any flat surface. Nope. And my previous assumption that I was immune to FPS induced motion sickness? Also out the window. The reorienting effect when emerging from a portal off your normal axis is barf-worthy.
Swift confirmed that the Portal team is still plugging away, polishing the game before it ships this fall. I'm stocking up on Dramamine.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment