Archive for the ‘Puzzle’ Category

Not sure how many of you heard of Black20, but it’s essentially an entertainment media hub that hosts quite a few decent Web Series and a mess of one-shot parody trailers. Black20’s latest addition definitely categories into the latter segment, taking on everyone’s favorite puzzle game for a Hollywood spin - Tetris. Yes, even I doubt Alexey Pajitnov himself could’ve envisioned a sort of central plot running through his algorithmic-ly, glorious block party of funka-doria. And yet, that didn’t stop Thomas Edward Seymour and Mike O’Gorman from putting together a teaser trailer depicting just that. Tetris, but with a plot. That is, if you can count the uniformly colored blocks representing as flyable objects that can be manned (or womaned!) and used in some form of a vehicle-combat oriented death sport, but without the lasers and stuff. Indeed, just like the Tetris we all know and adore. Ergo, shut up.

It’s simply, dare I say it… puzzling. Ho ho!

So we’re all having truckloads of fun with the Orange Box, but with all the charm and the heartbreak of Episode Two, it looks like Portal is missing out on all the attention. And believe me, this is one game that literally takes the cake, pun very much intended. (In case you don’t get that awesome joke, then you need to get a life and find a way to play Portal.. NOW!)

We’ll have a multi-staff review on the Orange Box games soon enough (we’re still enjoying the games in Commentary mode), but in the meantime, I just had to drop in here to talk about how Valve has managed to create the most lovable, cuter-than-cute AI entity in the form of GLaDOS, the Portal AI that’s a cross between Cortana, 343 Guilty Spark, HAL-9000 and Aileen Wuornos on crack. Tempting you throughout the game with promises of a rich, moist, delicious cake before trying to finally bake you into one, GLaDOS, voiced by singer/actress Ellen McLain, finally gets torn to pieces by the player as she tries to escape the Aperture Science facility. The rub here is that GLaDOS, apparently, isn’t dead, considering her final report, which is delivered in the form of the best damned ending credits song I’ve ever heard in all my years of gaming.

I’d seriously recommend that you do not listen to this song if you haven’t finished Portal yet, simply because you’d ruin its intended effect. For the rest of us, and for the ones who are dead, enjoy your download of this awesome little ditty and sing along with the lyrics, which you can download, print, frame and gaze at for eternity after the jump.

And oh, don’t believe the heretic. Remember: There is a cake!

Download Portal - Ellen McLain - Still Alive (MP3/5.39 MB)

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Armor Games’ Portal: The Flash Game is a free rendition of the recently released Portal (bundled with The Orange Box for PC and Xbox 360 or can be purchased separately through Steam). Much like its inspiration, the objective is to use your portal-gun and shoot at specific walls over conveniently-placed obstacles in order to proceed to the next stage - with the major difference being: you’re playing from a 2D perspective (very reminiscent of Lode Runner).

Portal: The Flash Version includes over 40 challenging, portals thinking levels, which features almost every feature the real game does, in 2d - energy balls, cubes, turrets and even the famous crusher from the trailer. The game also includes a console to mess around with after finishing the game, or just being frustrated by thinking with portals (we will post some commands later on - so unless you’re a good guesser, hang on there!)

Levels gradually get harder as you progress, so it’ll definitely take time before you can finish all 40 of them without your head exploding. Have fun~!

(Source: NeoGAF)