mrk, the point I think Jack is making is that many adventure gamers are comfortable with the idea that Portal and Portal 2 are excellent examples of a completely new way to make Adventure Games (i.e. stories that use problem solving to resolve plot conflicts) without resorting to rubber chickens and dialogue trees. I happen to agree with him, and approve AG's rating of Portal 2 wholeheartedly. It's one of the best puzzle games ever made.
The fact that the actual movement in the game doesn't always go at the speed of turtle does not make this an action game. The things that action games do that most adventure gamers object to usually involve combat and really convoluted 'action' sequences. In fact, some classic adventure games have combat and action sequences, but they're still considered adventure games because the mechanics of those sequences was elementary, and it was before the 'hybrid' title started getting bandied about.
The point is, what AGers object to isn't that combat and action exist in a game, but that they require a high proportion of what we refer to as 'twitch gaming' reflexes, rather than stopping to use one's brain to solve the problem.
The thing is, I've played Portal 2 from one end to the other, and I happen to know that the trickiest things the game asks you to do are to time a few runs and jumps (much easier than it sounds), and to turn sideways in mid-air once to place a new hole while falling from the previous one.
There is absolutely no combat on your part. The most aggressive thing you do is open holes and drop stuff onto little robots that are waiting to shoot you if you stand in their line of fire for too long; a fate that can be easily avoided if you pay just a modicum of attention to the little red laser sight beams. The bleeding things chatter almost constantly; It's not like they can surprise you.
The timing of the timed sequences are not hard to achieve. They don't require lightning fast reflexes. I actually found them quite forgiving (despite the fact that one of those sequences involved hydraulic plates that could potentially mash you flat if you hesitated too long before running). I've played proper Adventure Games that were less forgiving.
Portal 2 may not be that you think of as an Adventure Game, but the thing is, lots of folks around here see it differently. To me, Portal 2 is a much-needed breath of fresh air for the AG community. AG had to give Portal 2 a 5-star rating, because it's a 5-star puzzle game, and to treat it otherwise would be to admit to what pundits have been saying for over a decade, about Adventure Games being dead.
Well, they're not dead. Portal 2 proves it. They just traded in their Hush Puppies for
Long Fall Boots.
