Portal 2 Is Quality

I am crazy about Portal 2. Well...not drooling crazy, but crazy enough to play the game straight till 6am on a weekend. That's some good score, for a game that practically screams quality from every game moment. Not only is the game full of references to the goings on from the previous game, it manages to proceed with the kinds of twists and humor that are typical of the original.

From the very beginning, it's clear that the level designers paid very close attention to the principles of level design. The composition of scenes is impeccable, and always informs the user as to what she/he is to do next. If anything, the use of framing in the introduction gives users a very clear idea of exactly what portals are and how they operate. I'd say the intro itself did such a brilliant job of being an introduction, without feeling like a tutorial. Even the first parts of the game felt extremely well crafted, with the sort of dramatic tension that you'd find in good movies. The puzzles are also amazingly well crafted, requiring rather unorthodox solutions most of the time.

So...just how did Valve get something so right? =p