Going Portal
Big news for the budget-conscious gamer out there; Portal, one of the greatest games of the new millennium—if not all time—is now free until May 24th. So if you have a halfway-decent computer, download Steam and get it.
Portal was originally one of the components of the legendary Orange Box collection that included such stand out hits as Team Fortress 2 as well as Half-Life 2 and its associated episodes. Despite sharing such august company, Portal managed to stand on its own, and no wonder. The quick game (it only has a length of a few hours, depending on your problem-solving skills), simultaneously managed to redefine the first-person shooter, puzzle, and platforming genres all by its lonesome. Combine this with an engaging and original story, and it’s not for no reason the game won over 70 “Game of the Year” awards.
Surpassing even the level of legendary video game, Portal is notable for including the original song “Still Alive” by uber-geek songwriter Jonathan Coulton over the end credits. It was later released as a free song for Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and (after some confusion) Rock Band Unplugged. It continues to be a perennial favorite at Coulton’s concerts, and has been covered by numerous other artists. The song is also cheekily featured in other Valve titles such as Left 4 Dead 2.
If you’ve ever wondered what the “the cake is a lie!” comments were referring to on your favorite baking blog, well, look no further. The game began one of the most persistent memes floating around the internet today, regarding the existence (or not) of an ever-promised ‘cake’ as a reward for the player successfully completing the tasks put before them. I don’t want to ruin it for those eight of you who have not yet played the game, but suffice to say that this delicious confectionery forms a pivotal and, at times, uncomfortable role in the plot of the game.
The move is most likely a component of the run-up to the release of Portal 2, officially announced on March 5th and expected to be available during this year’s holiday season. So if you want to be up-to-date prior to it’s release, best pick up the original for free!
On top of all that, Valve has now released Steam for Mac, so if you’re a Macophile such as myself, you have no excuse but to go and pick this up. After all, there’s no better price than free!
In: News, Video Games · Tagged with: free, game of the year, portal, steam, the cake is a lie, valve, Video Games
on 2010-05-14 at 13:34
Permalink
Portal for free on my Mac? Awesome!