As your average gamer, I have a shameful backlog of games I need to play.  In a desperate attempt to both polish off some of these games and write reviews, I combine the two and write reviews several months or years after the games come out.  It's intended less as review for the consumer and more for the casual reader.

Today I finish my Orange Box review by reviewing Portal - Valve's brief, atmospheric puzzle game.  If you haven't checked them out, read my Team Fortress 2 and Half Life 2 reviews!

You'd think after 2 years, the gig would be up for Portal.  Stooped beneath solid gameplay mechanics lies a puzzle game that fundamentally holds dear to its quirky, atmospheric kind-of story and its unique premise.

The internet being what it is, a lot of the niche moments in Valve's short, intriguing first-person puzzle game have been let out of the bag.  Before I had stepped foot into Aperture Science, I knew the cake was a lie and I had heard Stay Alive at least 100 times (hell, I even played it in Rock Band).

Portal has been picked apart and become an internet meme in several ways -- but even to the newcomer it retains its identity as a charming, near-perfect puzzle game.

Given the nature of its popularity on the internet, an explanation should hardly be necessary but for those who aren't aware the premise of Portal is this - you're mysteriously awoken in an obstacle course serving as some sort of test for Aperture Science (whose name arises in the Half Life 2 series).

To traverse through levels, you must use a gun that shoots (what else?) portals. You can shoot two portals, and walking in one results in exiting the other.

It's an simple concept that leads to some truly intriguing puzzles.  One fails to consider the possibilities of portals when simple physical concepts such as momentum and gravity are introduced.

It maintains surprisingly refreshing through 3 or 4 hours -- some puzzles can feel a bit redundant but for the most part each one's solution is unique and very satisfying.

Of course, less than 5 hours in length is generally considered devastatingly short.  The brevity, however, I found both welcome and necessary.  Any longer and the minimalistic gameplay would likely wear its welcome out, and the game's concept lends itself to a brief adventure.

Absolutely mind-bending challenges upon completion lengthen the experience for those who seek perfection, but the main gameplay experience is a once-and-done ordeal. Indeed, Portal is better considered a vignette of excellent game design and wonderful atmosphere than a full fledged game.

But really, that is where Portal excels.  The atmosphere in Portal is certainly why it remains so close to many gamers hearts - throughout the game, an almost haunting computer intelligence watches you and comments on your progress.  The intelligence, it becomes increasingly clear, has its own personality.

It is only after picking up hints from the environment, and subtle jabs from your AI friend, that the actual motives of your assignment come into question.

Instead of taking this plot seriously, however, Valve has fun with it.

Every minute of the game simply drips of tongue-in-cheek, hilarious black humor.  In the end, Portal is just a videogame and the developers know it - witty remarks from the AI, silly environment tools (the companion cube is adorably funny), and the general atmosphere of the game are what ultimately drive the "fun" behind this puzzle game.

Even the best of puzzle games typically lack a fun factor -- something that makes the game not only challenging and thought-provoking, but also something that will make you smile.

If nothing else it is a testament to the game that even after 2 years of exposure to what makes the game tick, it's still a memorable experience.

Stay Alive is a better song now that I've beaten the game, and "the cake is a lie" is a meme which I can't help but enjoy a bit more.  Like most memes though, these inside jokes of nerdom have died away almost as quickly as they came.

It's refreshing to see that while they have inexorably faded with time, the greatness behind Portal most certainly has not.