Portal: Prelude – will there be cake this time?

October 8, 2008 by Andy Martin

I see you...

Portal has to be one of my all time favorite games. It was such a simple concept, and was so well executed in both gameplay, puzzles, mind-bending interpretations of the laws of physics, and a slowly unfolding backstory revolving around A.I. going mad, it’s hard to imagine any other game being able to hit on all cylinders like that again. Well, it appears that lightning might just be striking twice in the form of a game mod using the Portal engine called “Portal: Prelude”. Teaser trailer and some newly released gameplay video after the break.

Portal: Prelude Mod for Portal Portal: Prelude Official Trailer video – Mod DB

Developed over about 9 months time by Nicolas Grevet, he seems to have captured everything that was so appealing about the original game. The puzzles forcing you to think outside the gravity-box, unseen observers mocking you sarcastically as you make your way through the test chambers, the promise of cake, all in the name of science. It apparently takes place at Aperture Science before GLaDOS, but the two researchers you hear sound very computer-like (mainly because they were voiced by synthesized voices, I think?) rather than human. I thought they were maybe early versions of GLaDOS, but early reviews say they are researchers that you see behind frosted panes of glass during the tests (you catch a glimpse in the teaser trailer above).

Portal: Prelude Mod for Portal Portal Prelude Gameplay video – Mod DB

But the gameplay, as shown above, is where the game really shines. This looks like a great addition to the Portal mythology, and simply said, Valve needs to hire this team pronto before someone else snaps them up. Portal: Prelude is available on October 10th, though it looks like you can get it early through FilePlanet and Planet Half-Life. The only thing better is if they could get Jonathon Coulton to write a new song around this one too.

Full review of the game at ModDB.com.

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