I didn't see this game in a quick search of the forum, so I hope this isn't doubling up with any other thread. ;)

Anyway, I just started playing Portal last night (only for a short time, so I'm not that far through), and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. The gameplay is fascinating enough - it's a little trippy using the portals for the first time and seeing yourself/the room on the other side. But in particular, I love the deadpan humour:

"Please note that we have added a consequence for failure. Any contact with the chamber floor will result in an "unsatisfactory" mark on your official testing record, followed by death. Good luck!"

"The Enrichment Center promises to always provide a safe testing environment. In dangerous testing environments, the Enrichment Center promises to always provide useful advice. For instance, the floor here will kill you. Try to avoid it."

Very entertaining. :lol:

Yep, it is a duplicate thread, but the last one was many months ago.

Beat the game in 3 hours, loved every minute, recently replayed it, so much fun ^_^

Yeah, there was a thread back when the Orange Box came out I think, but hey. It's a great game, the puzzles are nice but it's the humour that really makes it. It's a great length too - not too long, not too short. Took me four hours to beat it. :)

Yep, it is a duplicate thread, but the last one was many months ago.

Beat the game in 3 hours, loved every minute, recently replayed it, so much fun ^_^

Yeah me too. Only complaint is that it's a little too short, and kind of leaves more questions than answers about the Half-life canon.

Yeah me too. Only complaint is that it's a little too short, and kind of leaves more questions than answers about the Half-life canon.
Only if you read a lot into the (two?) Black Mesa mentions.

Wow excitably making a thread about Portal without even finishing it yet. The rest of the game certainly will not disappoint you.

Only if you read a lot into the (two?) Black Mesa mentions.

But Aperture was also responsible for the Borealis. Which is no doubt gonna be in the next episode (if ever...)

I absolutely love Portal. I think I've played through it four times now.

Portal was great. I played it once. I'm too lazy to go back and get all the difficult achievements and whatever. :/

Portal was great. I played it once. I'm too lazy to go back and get all the difficult achievements and whatever. :/

I managed to get all the advanced map achievements, but the least steps/quickest/fewest portals ones are so difficult that I've yet to finish them.

But Aperture was also responsible for the Borealis. Which is no doubt gonna be in the next episode (if ever...)
Oh, yeah, but that part seemed to be rather elucidating. We now know what the devil 'Aperture Science' was; apparently they were competitors with Black Mesa in portal tech, and they tried to go too fast and ended up teleporting the Borealis off to Canada, northern Scandinavia, Siberia, or some other northern place that's pretty cold. :dunno:

It is one of my most beloved games. The song is my morning alarm :D

It also was the first game I played with the developer commentaries on, which turned out to be just as fascinating as I hoped. I did the same with Left 4 Dead a while back, and really hope more games incorporate it.

I don't think the Borealis was teleported, it's a freaking ship. I suspect it is a research vessel of soem knid, possibly an icebreaker or at least able to withstand neglect and ice. At least until Gordon get's to it, then it will probably fall apart.

It is one of my most beloved games. The song is my morning alarm :D

As cool as that'd be I think I'd start hating it. I HATE alarm sounds and I cannot listen to the radio within 45 minutes of me getting up.

I don't think the Borealis was teleported, it's a freaking ship.
I was mostly going off of assumed parallels with this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Experiment). :p Since part of the drydock went with the Borealis, I'm assuming that it was a teleportation accident.
I suspect it is a research vessel of soem knid, possibly an icebreaker or at least able to withstand neglect and ice.
Possibly, but why would Aperture Science be in the business of making an icebreaker research vessel when they do teleporting? Why would teleportation technology be able to be found on it?
At least until Gordon get's to it, then it will probably fall apart.
That's how it always goes. :p

I tried to play Portal but then gave up on it after I got stuck on a puzzle that needs really quick reflexes.

Just finished it (then replayed with the commentary too). Awesome, awesome game. Only wish there was more. :)

Yeah, some of the puzzles need good reflexes - it takes some familiarity with FPS games I guess. My girlfriend found those "quick-click" puzzles fairly difficult too.

Yeah, I hate those.

I've only been able to play by leeching off friends' computers, so sadly, I have yet to play from beginning to end.

I have not touched the game on a while. I have finished it from start to finish though.

I beat it in one session, actually, the three times Ive played it Ive played it in one session all the way through. Neat little game, had the potential to be so much more.

I don't think the Borealis was teleported, it's a freaking ship. I suspect it is a research vessel of soem knid, possibly an icebreaker or at least able to withstand neglect and ice. At least until Gordon get's to it, then it will probably fall apart.



As cool as that'd be I think I'd start hating it. I HATE alarm sounds and I cannot listen to the radio within 45 minutes of me getting up.

The implication is of course:

Aperture built Borealis.
Borealis lost, then reappears.....in the Artic (WTF????)
Apeture working on alternative gating technology, different from Black Mesa

Summing the equations suggests----Borealis was teleported to the Artic by accident, and holds some evidence to the 'alternative gating technology'.

I hopes it ends up that the Borealis becomes our little gate-drive spaceship.

Pretty much every ship was lost. I assume many sunk due to neglect, xen creatures or combine.

I don't recall any mention in the canon that the Borealis was an ice cutter though. Pretty funky to end up in the artic. But I see you're the skeptical inquirer type.

There's almost no canon on it at all though, it's 90% speculation. We know it's in the arctic, probably north of Russia, we know it's a ship that Aperture was using for experiments, and it's udner attack by the Combine with Dr. Moss and rebels defending it. It must have some ice-resistance or be on land otherwise the ice would have sunk it in the years it was floating around.

There's almost no canon on it at all though, it's 90% speculation. We know it's in the arctic, probably north of Russia, we know it's a ship that Aperture was using for experiments, and it's udner attack by the Combine with Dr. Moss and rebels defending it. It must have some ice-resistance or be on land otherwise the ice would have sunk it in the years it was floating around.
From the concept art, it didn't look like that's the kind of situation the Borealis is in.

From the concept art, it didn't look like that's the kind of situation the Borealis is in.

What concept art?

EDIT: Holy . .. .. .. ..

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/4332/hl2ep3artrm3.jpg

It's still encased by ice though.

What concept art?
That picture, exactly. :)
It's still encased by ice though.
But not in a manner in which the ice is causing it to sink. :dunno:

But before it was uncovered, it was in the ice, and to avoid being crushed, it must be strong. Although that means the portal device or whatever is inside is equally strong - and unstable probably.