Best Storyline: Portal 2 (Developer: Valve; Publisher: Valve Corp)
I’ve always said that for narrative-focused games, a story is the framework that developers mold the rest of the game around. A good story is more than a premise and much more than a checklist of objectives.
The fiction of the Portal 2 universe carries over from the first Portal where protagonist Chell doesn’t want to save the world as most videogame heroes are compelled to do.
How’s this for original? Test subject must escape an amoral science lab with the help of an artificial intelligence while traversing puzzle rooms using a dimension-bending gun. It’s original enough to lend itself to twists and turns that have no predictable template, leaving the player to eagerly ask what good storytellers want people to ask: “What comes next?”
The story further sets itself apart from the rest of the video game crowd with memorable characters and snappy, quotable dialogue. Along the way, the player is treated to a history lesson on the evolution of Aperture Science, told with soundbytes from the highly quotable CEO, Cave Johnson. Even GLaDOS has a back story tied to Cave Johnson as well as personality core, Wheatley.
While several situations seem dire, the game never takes itself too seriously. In this, the game achieves a balance that helps motivate the player from one puzzle to the next and manages to evoke the occasional gasp or chuckle. With Portal 2, Valve has crafted a great story that’s just as unique as its portal gun.
