Portal

This fan film is called Aperture: Lab Ratt and made by Synthetic PictureHaus. It is based on the Valve comic called Lab Rat. Lab Rat told the story of an Aperture scientist named Doug Rattman, who apparently was one of the only survivors after GLaDOS's take over. Rattman was responsible for placing Chell (heroine of Portal) at the top of the list of test subject candidates that GLaDOS was to use and he also provided clues and warnings "behind the walls" of the Test Chambers for Chell to follow. Truly an important man whose story had to be told.

Ok, so it doesn't actually work—it only lights up—and it will be expensive even at the expected $120 price point. But, we all know that something like will only improve a bedroom or gameroom full of helmets from Halo 3 Legendary Edition and night-vision goggles from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition.

There Better be Some Cheese at the End of this Maze

HIGH Sabotaging a turret assembly line for hilarious results.

LOW A series of giant test rooms where the challenge stems from spotting the portal-able wall.

WTF How do you "freshen up" carbon dioxide, GLaDOS?

The world of Portal seems to be as compelling a place for movie makers to lose themselves in as it is for gamers. This is the second Portal short film I've seen this year that could only be described as a jaw-dropping accomplishment. The other seems a bit more light-hearted, but both capture Portal superbly. This particular short film is even more extraordinary when you consider how it was made.

Was the ending to Portal not very satisfying? Did it leave more questions than it answered? Need to see more of Chell? If you answered yes to these questioned, then maybe you will enjoy this short film by Eeisen Feuer and starring Nicole Leigh as Chell.

Who are we kidding? Even if you answered no to these questions, this is such a well-made short film that anyone, Portal fan or not, should give a look-see.

The Return of the Orange and Blue

HIGH Wheatley's voiceovers.

LOW The frustration from a particular puzzle at the end of the underground area.

WTF Who knew the turrets had such heavenly singing voices?

She has a Medical Degree. In fashion. From France.

HIGH My co-op partner's reaction to me falling onto a springboard and being flung to my death.

LOW If I think of one I'll you'll be the first to know.

WTF Has anyone ever seen Chell and Zoey from Left 4 Dead in the same room at the same time?

Good thing Mario (and most video game characters/mascots) never got a portal gun. He (they) would get far too lazy and ruin his (their) games.

While I still have it fresh in my mind I want to put down my thoughts about the single-player campaign in Portal 2. I haven't played any of the co-op, primarily because of the mysterious, ongoing problem with the PSN. However, I completed the solo campaign, and while I agree with many of the criticisms Michael Barnes made in his review at No High Scores, I greatly enjoyed Portal 2. I don't think it's a 10/10 masterpiece, but it is a very good game.

I polished off Portal 2's single-player mode earlier. The campaign started losing its luster for me somewhere in the neighborhood of Chapter 6 or 7, and after that point I found that I needed to break up my play sessions into no more than three or four puzzles at a time to avoid burnout/boredom. Consequently, it took me a lot longer than I had originally anticipated, but it's done now.