OK This game is pretty sweet, the concept of it is awesome and I can't wait for some mods, but quite frankly the game is FAR to short. I beat it in one sitting, at 3AM, only died once. Basically in this game you are just doing a series of a puzzles that this lab set up for you. None of which are challenging for a semi-intelligent person. The only thing this game is good for is messing around, and the mods I hope will come.

This game is AMAZING. It has the single greatest credit sequence of any game of all time. I seriously think I've watched the credit scene about 15 times now and I still laugh when I watch it. The voice acting is great - the actress actually managed to pull off a computer voice that still has emotion.

As for them not being challenging enough, try the bonus maps - #18 will own your face.

While I agree that the single player main mode is short, I've played it 3 times now - 2 regular and 1 with director's commentary (which is also sweet) - and I've had tons of fun every time. I'm going to play it through at least once more to get all the achievements that I missed the first time through.

You also have to remember that the game only costs $10 It is 1/5th of the totally awesome and amazing deal that is Orange Box - I strongly encourage everyone to pick it up. Half-life 2, HL2 Episode 1, and HL2 Episode 2 are all excellent single player games, Portal is unique, fresh, and feels like no other game out there, and Team Fortress 2 is one of the greatest multi player games of all time. For $50 you get 5 excellent games - great deal.

Total agreement. In short, this game is pure ownage. End sequence was amazing, too. I can only hope there will be more sometime (some of the commentary hints that there might be more: "this Portal game"... (the chamber with all the turrets; I forget what number it is.. 16?)

The commentary more blatantly suggests their will be a sequel when they say something about revealing more of the Portal story in later maps/games. Portal 2, anyone?

Something I forgot to mention was that this is a genuinely funny game - GLaD is funny (the AI), the closing credits are funny, even the sentry turrets are funny (saying things like "PUT ME DOWN!" if you pick them up, or "Where are you?" if you hide from them.

EDIT: I think Penny Arcade sums it up perfectly:

I laughed my *** off the whole game, I love the line *The result of you falling in will be unsatisfactory marks, followed by death* or something along those lines.

I actually decided to buy The Orange Box because of what I read here, and the started playing Portal. This game ROCKED, and I am now really glad I spent the extra money on a high end laptop with a graphics card and everything. Btw, I beat the game using the touchpad and not an external mouse, though it did take a bit of time. I will have to take the time and try with a mouse and desk in the near future.

idk, i didnt really like it all that much, sorta off topic: it may be because i at the same time started playing "the witcher" an interesting rpg that i liked alot. in comparison protal was less cool

I still need to try it; it sounds to me like the concept will make a very fun game, but from what I can gather, it's far too short.

The official storyline is very short (the second time I played it, it only took me an hour and a half to finish it), but still fun. But then you have these other games included that can fill in the time, plus if I am not mistaken, you can also create your own maps.

Yes, the SDK has just launched (or is launching this week - don't remember which) - so expect a flood of user created maps! And of course, since this is a Source powered game and the Hammer editor has been out since Half-life 2, even the first wave of maps should prove surprisingly high quality as people are already familiar with the tools....