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Welcome to Aperture Laboratories, a fun and exciting place where we work at the cutting edge of science! For your first job, you'll be testing our newest and most dangerous prototype... the portal gun. Now, just strap on this portal gun, get yourself into the first of the test chambers and make your way to the end, there's a good girl...

Portal puts you in the shoes of Chell, as she attempts to make her way through the twenty test chambers in the Aperture Labs. She has their latest invention to help her on the way... the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, a gun capable of creating warps that can transport her directly from one point in a room to another. This is far more remarkable than it sounds... for instance, if she's blocked by an impassable wall, she can create an entrance portal on the ground in front of her and an exit portal somewhere beyond the wall and beyond the obstacle.

As the player you also have assistance from GLaDOS, an advanced AI entity that dishes out useful advice and also some rather pithy barbs. In fact, as you travel further through the test chambers, you'll begin to question whether GLaDOS is friend or foe...

As you move from chamber to chamber, the puzzles become more devious and escape routes less obvious. Even if the path to an exit looks obvious, there's probably a deadly gun turret in the way. Use of brains as well as brawn is essential if Chell is to make it to the end. Should you successfully complete all twenty chambers, you emerge from the other side... well, still alive at least, which is a bonus. At least there'll be tea and cake waiting as a reward. There will be cake... won't there?

I played and completed the original PC version of this, despite myself (I'm not a big fan of puzzle games). I had to use a walkthrough to finish it, but the striking originality and humour made it worth the effort.

When comparing it to other C64 games, this version of Portal still has all of that going for it, but just when you're really getting going, it all comes to an abrupt end. It's a shame, because it's done very well. The mouse mechanics work very well, and Deel Seymour's graphics convey just the kind of sterile atmosphere that's required... but with only twenty single-screen levels to overcome, it feels more like a demo than a finished game.

It's like being given delicious, cake-shaped icing then finding there is no cake itself. The cake is a lie!

It was always going to be a real challenge to distil the humour and puzzles of the classic PC game into 64K, and this succeeds in many ways. The taunting 2D GlaDOS between levels works, the default control method (combining mouse and keys) feels effective and the chamber designs increase in difficulty. Completing the game reveals a beautifully-crafted end sequence, complete with a SID cover of Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive". The drawbacks include too many puzzles that rely on jumping rather than portals, and the slightly quirky animation of Chell not being mirrored when her arm moves. With just 20 levels and a password system to skip levels, this is a small treat rather than a full cake. Adding more levels and access to the level editor could have made this a triumph.

Portal is a superb example of coming up with something that, while looking completely different, is at heart the same as the original; in this case, a deadly puzzler with a novel game mechanic involving the portal gun. It's professionally put together and captures the mood of the original and the madness of GLaDOS. The oppressive soundtrack pounds away nicely and the tiny sprites, while few, are nicely detailed. The portal fun works well, allowing you to pinpoint anywhere on-screen (although a mouse is best).

The appearance of GLaDOS between levels offering words of unsafe wisdom is a nice touch. Portal is a fast-paced puzzler, faithful to its origins, a labour of love whch looks and sounds good and plays well. The only shame is that there aren't a larger number of levels as it won't take long to dodge the turrets, conquer each screen and arrive at the ending - which, like the PC original, is a triumph and well worth a look.

Presentation 84%
Looks great on-screen, with a choice of controls and passwords.

Graphics 84%
Simple in appearance, but plenty of character, especially the GlaDOS intermissions.

Sound 79%
Ominous sounding tune throughout and kudos for the amazing 'Still Alive' end theme.

Hookability 88%
Portal's humour and original gameplay make this fun, initially.

Lastability 63%
Fun while it lasts, a level editor would have been a godsend.

Overall 73%
There is research to be done! More a tantalising glimpse of what could have been than a true classic, Portal is amazing... for about an hour.