Valve's Portal is one of the most inventive video games ever produced, a fiendishly clever puzzle game in which players must use a special portal gun to generate two portals to allow them to advance through a series of increasingly challenging test levels. Though the plot may have been minimalist (if undeniably charming), the mind-melting brilliance of the game's handle on physics made it an instant hit with players, as they experimented to try and find the most ludicrous ways to use the portal gun. The game boasts a solid if not hair-pulling level of challenge, and as such strikes a great balance of not being too difficult but also making the player feel a sense of accomplishment after thinking things through and beating a level. At 3-4 hours in length (depending on your smarts), Portal isn't long at all, but its impressive invention makes it a game that you want to keep playing right up to that final confrontation with GLaDOS: we had never seen anything quite like it. Which great games kept you playing into the early hours until you reached that precious credits screen? Let us know in the comments!
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
