I’ll just start this off by saying, “You can’t get a better deal than Orange Box.” If you didn’t know, the game Portal is part of the five game package that is Orange Box (other games included are Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1 & Episode 2, and also Team Fortress 2). Yeah, a lot of 2’s. Obviously this game audio review would be very extensive and more than likely lose your interest by the time we arrived at game three. So I am going to review the first game I played.

Dialogue:
I’m just going to go ahead and jump right into the most noticeable and entertaining piece of audio in the game, the Voice. In Portal, there is a voice that guides you throughout all of your tests and is constantly reminding you of your achievements and lack thereof. Of course the voice also makes many wisecracks that fall nowhere short of funny throughout the game. The actual voice could be that of a male, but I would lean more towards the opposite gender. The effect sounds like someone went crazy with the pitch-shifting abilities in Auto-Tune, but in this it really pays off. The overall volume of the voice definitely masks all other sounds, but it’s not like you really need to hear the tiny taps of your feet walking across the tile floor on each level for the few seconds the voice talks to you. At certain points throughout the game you have to deal with security censor robot eggs, for lack of a better word. These eggs also talk when they spot you with their laser beams. The voice, which is the same shared by each machine, has also been sent up a few cents with the pitch shift. They spot you and say comments like, “I see you”, and, “Are you still there?” It’s very gentle dialogue right before machine gun rounds are sent your way. It’s great.

Sound Effects:
A unique characteristic of this game is the gun. This isn’t your run of the mill assault rifle, but instead a futuristic space-time continuum altering how you travel throughout your surroundings. So what kind of sound would you expect? The guys at Valve did a good job at fabricating a great beam shot that delivers a delightful thump sound and follows with a digital trickle. It’s good to always get a creative factor rolling for new weapon sounds. The end effect of the beam fired is the actual portal. The creation of the portal is a sound that would be expected of a door opening with a futuristic touch. The afore mentioned gunfire from the eggs is pretty typical with tight, whiz-by effects and body impacts that make for a little startle during gameplay. At some points you’re protected by glass, and the impacts of the bullets lodging into the never clearing, bulletproof transparency is effective. The sound of traveling through the portals is another interesting fabrication that seems to be a fast expansion from a low to high frequency transfer that gets even more entertaining when you create one above and below you, causing you to constantly fall through.

Ambience:
The main focus of atmosphere sound in this game is room tone. Unlike many games, there is no outside atmosphere that really has a chance to be used in Portal. However, the rooms all seem to change sizes and with the addition of moving objects and obstacles to overcome on each of the maps, there is no disappointment in the delivery. The audio imaging is also great with your positioning during your game play. Reflections off of walls as you approach them and ambiance in the background as you turn away from interactions, such as the whirling fans or sliding platforms, is definitely noticeable. The overall atmosphere and sounds throughout Portal sound like they have been ran through a high pass filter. The sounds are very crisp and clean, which matches the style of the maps. The lowest frequencies you experience are when you take the elevator or make your daring escape from the fire if that’s what you really want to do.

Music:
The music changes subtly with each level. The music is composed with synths, most of which are pads. Considering that Portal is a game of strategic tactics and not a typical shoot ‘em up like most FPS’s, the music works out quite well. At some points it builds into a happy medley, at others it sounds like the composer try to mold the styling of Squarepusher (the ambient stuff, not the jazz or the seizure inducing electronica). If you are looking for more excitement musically, connect your portable mp3 device or run your saved playlists.

Final Thoughts:
All in all the audio of this game is pleasing to the ear, unless you hate voices that sound like they’re running through some type of whacked out crazy transmission, which really doesn’t seem like it would be pleasing at all from that statement. With that in mind I will say this, “THE SONG AFTER YOU BEAT THE GAME IS AWESOME!!!” -which is also available for free download for Guitar Hero III ; )

Dialogue: 5/5
SFX: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Music: 3/5
Overall: 4/5

posted by Dillon Knight on 05.05.08 @ 3:57 pm

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