Scans of an upcoming Game Informer feature on Portal 2 have made their way onto the internet for all to see.
We already know some details about Portal 2, like the co-op mode will be separate from the single-player game, and that GLaDOS will make a return, but concrete gameplay details were thin on the ground. But thanks to posters on the forums of Australian gaming website PALGN, we have a plethora of scans from an upcoming Game Informer feature about the game, giving us an insight into what we can expect.
The single player mode of Portal 2 takes place hundreds of years after the first, and it would appear that Aperture Science never came back to reclaim the facility, as it appears overgrown and almost jungle-esque. The personality cores that came online at the end of the first game have had plenty of time to set up their own little domains, allowing there to be a stronger narrative in the game without having to add in more human characters.
On the co-op front, you and a friend will be able to play as one of two robots, one made out of a turret, and one made out of a personality core, both equipped with a portal gun, and able to travel through each others’ portals. Console versions will have a split screen mode, and PC versions will have picture-in-picture to allow for easy communication.
In both modes, physics will play a bigger part, and Valve has added more puzzle elements, like lasers and reflective cubes, as well as paint-like substances that cause some physical reaction, like an orange paint that will propel players upwards, allowing for a greater depth to the puzzles.
Probably most importantly, Portal 2 will be a full length game, rather than another two hour jaunt. According to Valve the first game was a ‘test bed’ and it was amazed that it became so popular. Portal 2 will have the same writers as the first game, and from the snippets of dialogue I’ve read – which I don’t want to spoil for you – I don’t think we have much to worry about.
Source: via VG247
