And around we go again. It’s only been a year since we were first treated to Portal’s unique blend of puzzling and bleak cynicism, and already we’re seeing the first cashing-in on the brand’s name. Portal: Still Alive, a repackaging of the original game with an additional set of puzzle maps, has just been released on Xbox Live Arcade, and begs the question:
Valve’s re-release of the original Portal, dubbed Portal: Still Alive, was released for Xbox Live Arcade today. It’s Portal, but with 14 smart new levels tacked on, and it’ll set you back 1200 Microsoft Points.
Are you an Xbox 360 owner that didn’t pick up The Orange Box when it was released around this time last year? What is wrong with you? No no, it’s okay. You’ll be able to snag the best of the box next week as Microsoft’s Gamerscore Blog reveals the release date for Portal: Still Alive. On October 22nd at around 2AM Pacific, GLaDOS makes her triumphant return to the 360, bringing with her all of the fun of the original title plus 14 Xbox 360-exclusive challenge maps and six advanced maps for extra added flavour. The only question that remains is will there be cake, and will it be the cake of truth this time?
The XBLA version of Portal – Portal: Still Alive – will be with us soon. In an attempt to drum up support for a game that most of you already own in some form or another, the XBLA version will feature new achievements. Twelve of them (it’s a little unclear whether these are all of them or just some) have been revealed by Microsoft, and they run from the easy (“Dissolve a Turret”) to the not-so-easy (“Complete the game without ever taking a bullet”). If you’re interested in seeing whether these will get you to buy the game again, the full list is after the jump.
Portal’s on its way to Xbox Live Arcade in the form of Portal: Still Alive. Good news for 360 owners, but what if you own a PS3? And don’t own a PC? And are allergic to the core Half-Life 2 storyline and all things orange? Well, you’re shit outta luck, with Valve – responding to recent rumours – telling CVG that, no, the game won’t be making its way to the PSN, and yes, the package is still a 360 exclusive. You could ask yourself why, but then that’d be about the time we remind you of Gabe Newell’s insatiable, white-hot hatred for the PS3, then say “yeah, that’s why”.
Portal: Still Alive was announced during E3 last week. It bundles the original Portal with some “additional content”, and it’s due for release on XBLA. And ever since, PC owners have been complaining, wondering why 360 owners are getting new stuff while they’re not. Well, according to former Shacknews boss Chris Remo, the “additional content” isn’t necessarily “new content”, as he says the bonus maps are those found in Portal: The Flash Version MapPack. Which PC owners can already get. For free.
Portal: Still Alive explained [Remowned]
Speaking with Valve’s Doug Lombardi earlier this week at E3, we got onto the topic of the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade version of Portal. I wanted to know what gamers could expect from the game and why Valve decided to tweak it for the XBLA release.
“It’s about giving gamers more choices, more points of entry to get to the party, open more gates to the theme park as it were”, he said. “It makes a lot of sense for us.
“The main idea is that this is Portal available as a download, and there is additional content as advanced challenges that will be available to you after you finish the critical path of the game”.
But will we be seeing more of GlaDOS this time around, or perhaps an extended storyline?
“No”, he said, breaking hearts everywhere. “That’s for a game to be named later perhaps”.
To check out our full interview with Lombardi and hear him pontificate on everything from Left 4 Dead Machinima to Steam as an archive for games hit up the link below.
Microsoft community manager Chris Paladino does a video walk through of Microsoft’s E3 line-up. Games mentioned in the clip include: Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, Rockband 2, Lips, Uno Rush, Galaga Legions and Portal: Still Alive. Wait, wait, wait. Portal: Still Alive? The game is hitting Xbox LIVE Arcade in 2008. It will feature single player and “a new challenge mode”. Last April, Valve’s Doug Lombardi stated, “You won’t see a new Portal at retail this Christmas because of that. That’s the trade off. People want more, but we don’t want to give them more of the same right away because that would just be boring”.
Thanks Brian for the tip!
