As first reported by PCGamesN (opens in new tab) , Tag: The Power of Paint is now entirely free to play and keep over on Steam. For those unfamiliar with the game, it blends puzzling and platforming together with the power of paint, as you spray various colors around an environment to proceed through a level.

If you don’t know the extensive history behind Valve’s highly influential Portal games, both the original and the sequel have deep ties to indie games. In the case of Portal 2 though, Valve saw what the student team was up to on Tag: The Power of Paint after it was lauded with a bunch of awards, and actually hired the developers.

From there, the team was tasked with implementing mechanics and concepts from Tag: The Power of Paint into what would become Portal 2. This then ended up becoming the gel system for the brilliant sequel, and an idea that originated from a group of students ended up taking form in Valve’s sequel.

Nowadays, you can actually play Portal 2 on the go, as it was the first game to become “Steam Deck Verified” for Valve’s latest gaming device late last year. Elsewhere, you can check out Portal 2: Desolation, the fan-made sequel to Valve’s sequel that you’ve probably been waiting an incredibly long time for.

Check out our list of the best games like Portal and Portal 2 if you’re looking for some amazingly mind-bending levels to puzzle your way through. 

The post The indie game that contributed to Portal 2 is now on Steam appeared first on Game News.

We came so close to a world without the casually murderous artificial intelligence, and we only found out about it now thanks to an interview with Valve game designer Robin Walker. GR sister site TechRadar (opens in new tab) spoke with Walker in a wide-ranging interview and recently shared his explanation of how GLaDOS narrowly came to be after playtesters kept coming back with the same question.

“GLaDOS didn’t exist then – it was just ‘the game’,” Walker explained. “And I remember we had playtesters come in and they would have a lot of fun and I remember more than one of them would finish and, essentially, in their feedback say, ‘All this training stuff was really fun but, like when’s the game start?’ And we were all like, ‘Man, this is the game!?’ Like, what makes someone go through that experience of those levels and come out and ask where’s the game start? What are the cues they are looking for that make them believe this is the game?”

Before you barely avoid death by incinerator and begin to roam behind the walls of the Aperture Science Enrichment Center, Portal’s stages all feel sterile and disconnected, progressing only in terms of the mechanics you need to use to solve their puzzles. Without GLaDOS’ increasingly transparent distaste for you and everything you represent, it honestly would have some tutorial or “Challenge Pack DLC No. 3” vibes.

“And so GLaDOS came out of that, this sort of set of theories we had – [the players] have to believe that there’s a purpose for all this learning, that there needs to be some kind of antagonist, there needs to be some threat, some force, something that makes it look like it’s going to push back,” Walker said. “That maybe there needs to be some concept of what failure can be for the gamer.”

Valve is working on more games after Half-Life: Alyx, but it isn’t ready to announce them yet. 

The post GlaDOS was added to Portal because playtesters kept asking When does the game start? appeared first on Game News.

“We have a meeting coming up next week with Valve, we’re very active, I’m hoping that there can be a Portal announcement fairly soon,” Abrams said.

A film version of Half-Life was teased back in 2013 as well, but it sounds like that’s less far along. Both series exist in the same fictional universe so some elements of Gordon Freeman’s adventures could appear in the Portal film as well. Here’s hoping Barney Calhoun shows up in the after-credits stinger to recruit the protagonist into the anti-Combine resistance…

Daydreams of a Marvel-style Valve Cinematic Universe aside, it remains to be seen if and how the film adaptations will follow the events of the game. That’s up to the writers, who Abrams said he’s already had a number of “really interesting discussions with”.

“Once you said you’re doing a movie or show about a specific thing that is a known quantity, it’s an amazing thing how you start to find people who are rabid about some of these things,” Abrams said. “As someone who loved playing Half Life, loved playing Portal, [but] what’s the movie of this, it actually is incredible how when you talk to someone who just ‘gets’ it and is a great storyteller. You kind of go ‘oh my god, it really is a seed for this incredible tree that you’re growing’. So I look forward to being to talk about it and announce who’s working on it”.

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

The post The Portal movies still happening, JJ Abrams says, and hes meeting with Valve next week appeared first on Game News.

I don’t know what to say, other than… My God, it’s full of spaaaaaaaaace!

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

The post This is what happens when youre crushed between two Portals appeared first on Game News.

Portal 2, Bastion, Battlefield 3, and Uncharted 3 were also well represented. See the full list (via Game Informer) below:

Game of the Year: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda)
Best Audio: Portal 2 (Valve)
Best Debut: Supergiant Games (Bastion)
Best Narrative: Portal 2
Best Visual Arts: Uncharted 3 (Naughty Dog)
Best Downloadable Game: Bastion
Best Game Design: Portal 2
Best Technology: Battlefield 3 (EA DICE)
Best Handheld/Mobile Game: Sword & Sworcery (Superbrothers)
Innovation Award: Johann Sebastian Joust
Ambassador Award: Ken Doroshow/Paul M. Smith (the legal council who won the U.S. Supreme Court Case Brown vs. Entertainment Merchants Assn.)
Lifetime Achievement Award: Warren Spector
Pioneer Award: Dave Theurer

The GDC’s main event was preceded by the Independent Game Festival Awards, which honored the movers and shakers of the indie scene. Winners included:

Best Student Game: Way
Technical Excellence: Antichamber (Alexander Bruce)
Excellence In Design: Spelunky (Derek Yu)
Best Mobile Game: Beat Sneak Bandit (Simogo)
Excellence in Visual Art: Dear Esther (thechineseroom)
Excellence in Audio: Botanicula (Amanita Design)
Audience Award: Frozen Synapse (Mode 7 Games)
Nuovo Award: Storyteller (Brainbeanz Ltd.)
Seumus McNally Grand Prize: Fez (Polytron)

Skyrim’s GDC award is the latest feather in Bethesda’s cap. The Elder Scrolls sequel also swept the Interactive Achievement Awards, won Spike’s top honor during the VGAs, and is up for multiple categories in the GAME British Academy Video Game Awards. More importantly, it won GR’s Platinum Chalice Reader’s Choice Award, which is worth more than its weight in fake, made up platinum.

The post The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim takes GDC Awards top prize appeared first on Game News.

2011 was indeed a great year to be a gamer. Heres our buyers guide of the top must-own games from the calendar year. Have you played them all?

Portal 2

Portal 2 review (opens in new tab)
Portal 2 screens (opens in new tab)
Portal 2 videos (opens in new tab)

Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham City review (opens in new tab)
Batman: Arkham City screens (opens in new tab)
Batman: Arkham City videos (opens in new tab)

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim review (opens in new tab)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim screens (opens in new tab)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim videos (opens in new tab)

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword review (opens in new tab)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword screens (opens in new tab)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword videos (opens in new tab)

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings review (opens in new tab)
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings screens (opens in new tab)
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings videos (opens in new tab)

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Deus Ex: Human Revolution review (opens in new tab)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution screens (opens in new tab)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution videos (opens in new tab)

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception review (opens in new tab)
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception screens (opens in new tab)
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception videos (opens in new tab)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 review (opens in new tab)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 screens (opens in new tab)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 videos (opens in new tab)

Super Mario 3D Land

Super Mario 3D Land review (opens in new tab)
Super Mario 3D Land screens (opens in new tab)
Super Mario 3D Land videos (opens in new tab)

Dark Souls

Dark Souls review (opens in new tab)
Dark Souls screens (opens in new tab)
Dark Souls videos (opens in new tab)

The post Best Games of 2011 appeared first on Game News.

Come on, we all know what your Christmas haul will look like. You’ve asked for Batman: Arkham City on 360 but you’ll get LEGO Batman for Wii. You’ve asked for a Superdry hoodie but you’ll get a jumper from M%26S. You’ve asked for rare Deadpool graphic novels from eBay but you’ll get Where’s Wally/Waldo instead. Which is a shame, clearly. It’s at this point we start to wonder what Christmas would be like if we could give and receive items from the world of videogames… items like these:

Gravity Gun

As seen in: Half-Life 2

Dad will be thrilled when he unwraps this little beauty, which will simultaneously solve his DIY and home defence problems. Just be careful he doesn’t accidentally blast the Christmas turkey through the dining room wall.

Above: Comes in its own carry case too, to keep dust out of its gravity… making… stuff

Power Pill

As seen in: Pac-Man DX

This is a perfect gift for whoever does the weekly trip to the supermarket. Massive queues at the checkout won’t be a problem with these little beauties – just chow down, walk forward and send every single shopper back to the centre isle. By the time they’ve realised they’re looking at creams for bum-related ailments and started back for the till, your shopping will be scanned, paid for and Pac’d.

Power sneakers

As seen in: Sonic Generations

One size fits all! This rather spanking example of ’90s retro footwear can turn any wearer into an Olympic athlete. Just put them on and you’ll get a full 10 seconds of double-speed running ability, which is easily enough to run the 100m sprint. For extra kicks, ‘wrap’ the present by hiding it inside an old computer monitor and tell the recipient they have to open it by jumping on said monitor until it breaks.

Golden shovel

As seen in: Animal Crossing: Wild World

For the gardener in your family, or just the poorest sap you know, why not give the shovel-shaped joy of financial solvency? This golden shovel is worth a pretty penny in its own right. But there’s more! Plant coins in the ground with it and there’s a 1/100 chance that it will blossom and grow into a money tree. Note: This may only count as legal tender if you use bells as currency. For the other 99.99% of economic systems… well, at least it’s shiny.

Above: A golden shovel is actually worth more than its weight in gold, which can’t be insubstantial in itself

A pack of ordinary paintbrushes

As seen in: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

These Oblivion-branded art creation tools will bring out the creative side of anyone, gamer or otherwise. A gift that keeps on giving. But they also have a curious physical property – they ‘re not affected by gravity or indeed any external force once you let go of them. So vertically-challenged family members can use them as portable steps, tenants can put up shelves without annoying their landlords, and incarcerated family members… Well, let’s just say those pesky razor-wire-topped walls aren’t going to be a problem any more.

Above: If we could have any of these gifts for real, this would surely be it

Portal Gun

As seen in: Portal 2

Ever wished you could spend a little more time with your loved ones before they go to school/work/the moon? Well, with this portable portal gun, they can now literally step through the bedroom wall and arrive at their desk. Best place the portal inside a cupboard or something. With a lock. Otherwise the mad janitor from the office can get into your bedroom at any point during the night. Which brings us onto our next gift suggestion…

Broken radio

As seen in: Silent Hill

You might think that a working radio would actually be a better gift, but you’d be wrong. Give this to a suitably vulnerable person who does a lot of walking alone through dark alleyways and you could save their life. The radio will emit static whenever a threatening presence draws near, allowing the recipient ample time to choose an alternative route. Simple, lightweight and practical.

Necklace of water-breathing

As seen in: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

For the lady in your life, why not give her this attractive necklace, charmed with a delicate enchantment of water-breathing, to allow her to breathe underwater indefinitely. Perfect for those moments where she doesn’t want to hear the kids screaming, now she can lie in the bath, completely submerged for hours, forgetting about all her worldly woes. She’ll also thank you if the ice caps melt.

An extra life

As seen in: Pretty much any game pre-1995

Above: Dulu do do do DO!

What gift could be better than the gift of life? Can also be given to an MMO fan to make up for their existing one.

The post 9 video game objects that would make better Christmas presents than the crap youll actually get appeared first on Game News.

The models are based on the Personality Cores which appear in the latter half of Portal 2 to help players bring down the final baddie [name withheld for the 4% of players who may not have finished it yet]. They include the loopy Space Core, the ever-helpful Fact Core, and Rick the Adventure Core(voiced to perfection by Nolan North).

Myles is a self-professed nerd with uncanny engineering skillz. His previous works include aCompanion Rubik’s Cube (opens in new tab), a full-sizedIron Man Arc Reactor (opens in new tab), a workingAssassin’s Creed Hidden Blade (opens in new tab)(non-lethal), and Mass Effect 2 cos-play costumes which have reportedly drawn crowds at events like PAX. These projects and more can be found on hisYouTube page (opens in new tab).

Sadly, Myles isn’t planning on making doubles of these particular models. Of course, that could change tomorrow if Valve stepped in to pick up production costs. Ahem,I repeat: that could change tomorrow if Valve decided to pick up productions costs…

May 17, 2011

Stephen Merchant surprised by fan response to Portal 2, found voicing Wheatley ‘exhausting’
‘Yes, of course, [videogames] rank alongside movies and whatever else people really take to their hearts,’ says Merchant

Portal 2 walkthrough and video guide
Video solutions to every puzzle in Portal 2’s singleplayer chapters

The post Robotic engineer builds Portal 2 Personality Core replicas appeared first on Game News.

Named Trudi, the prototype toy was created by an amateur engineer named Jonathan M. Guberman with design and sewing assistance from Toronto artist Leigh Nunan (opens in new tab). As demonstrated on Guberman’s blog (opens in new tab), Trudi is equipped with motion, lift and tilt sensors, giving it – sorry, ‘her’ – the ability to react to movements and the presence of others with authentic Portal quotes.

Want one? Tough. Though Guberman is forthcoming with the do-it-yourself assembly instructions, he has no current plans to market Trudi, writing, “As much as we’d love to make you one or sell you a kit, the last time I suggested doing something like that I was very quickly dissuaded. So, if anyone from Valve sees this and wants to talk about giving us permission, or at least turning a blind eye, please get in touch!”

In what will surely end in tragedy and/or blinding awesomeness, Guberman said a fellow engineer with the experimental design group Site 3 (opens in new tab) is working on a fully functional, life-sized Portal turret replica complete with moving parts, real sounds and the ability to fire projectiles. Harmless projectiles, of course. For now.

[Source: Up, Not North (opens in new tab)]

Apr 27, 2011

New Portal 2 trailer introduces Aperture’s consumer grade turrets
They use the whole bullet

Portal 2 Review
GLaDOS is back, and she thinks you look fat

Portal 2 walkthrough and video guide
Video solutions to every puzzle in Portal 2’s singleplayer chapters

The post Portal 2 turret plushie is all heart, zero bullets appeared first on Game News.

Get this straight, readers: Several of us in the office have played through Portal 2 several times already. I personally played through myself and watched others play through the game multiple times. Yet there’s still shit in Portal 2 that confounds me each and every time I encounter it! I guess what I’m saying is: We’re not dummies! Portal just requires a unique line of thinking that sort of defies traditional muscle memory, or whatever, and often feels altogether new each time you approach certain puzzles. Infinitely more so while trying to talk and convey information at the same time, you judgemental jerks.

Above: A highlight in the video above is Evan murdering Anthony with a door for no good reason

Obviously, I’m trying to justify why we’re playing like shit in the video above, but I’m also trying to express that you can rest easy watching us play through the beginning of Portal 2’s co-op since I can almost guarantee it will not taint your personal experience in any way. Can I go now?!

Apr 19, 2011

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Three maps, two modes and one incredibly badass bayonet kill. We give you an early glimpse at Gears of War 3’s multiplayer

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Listen along as we perform every Fatality in the original Mortal Kombat in less than ten minutes!

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Like the first, but better!

The post Portal 2 Co-op appeared first on Game News.