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Portal of Worlds 2
(Daniel Erikkson)
vvvvvvv
"The main entrance to worlds of astonishment"
Somewhere in this
vast chain of worlds, the second Superpowerball of Demror is hidden. It
has become your quest to find this ball of tremendous power. Yet, this
strange but mystical item can be hidden in one of seven fascanating worlds.
How can you possibly travel to regions so far away from your own planet?
Your search for the
Superpowerball is why you must brave the forest and caverns of your own
world to find the legendary Portal of Time, where all of the other worlds
where the Superpowerball is hidden could be accessed. Do you have the sense
of self-discovery that you need to face the various worlds and their elements?
Your control over time will be your only guide.
Graphics (n.)
The use of animation and visual effects to stimulate the senses |
vv
(Average) |
One big improvement that makes Portal
of Worlds 2 better than its respective prequel is the improvement in the
graphics department. People who have played the original Portal of Worlds
will remember the pure black backgrounds with objects joined together like
wireframes in a sixteen-color mode. Portal of Worlds 2 improves upon this
product by keeping the wireframe look that made the first Portal of Worlds
so individual, while filling the polygons into surfaces and moving up to
256-colors. The result is the sense that Portal of Worlds 2 feels like
a true sequel.
While the new surfaced backgrounds are
nicely done, these 3d drawings are pre-loaded, and thus are not animated
to rotate one way or the other. This sort of sedentary behavior among Portal
of Worlds 2 and the original Portal of Worlds brings about a lack of animation.
Hopefully, the imagination you have as a player will compensate since the
text narration and the backgrounds should combine for a vicarious experience. |
Sound/Music (n.)
The smooth blend of atmospheric sounds and original harmonies |
v
(Poor) |
The majority of the game may not have
any sound or music, but a point is deserved by Daniel Erikkson for taking
some original PC speaker music and putting it into Portal of Worlds 2's
title screen. |
Gameplay (n.)The precision of control
and involvement of character within its universe |
v
(Poor) |
The best way to describe the gameplay
in Portal of Worlds 2 is to compare it to a storybook. Basically you start
in the middle of a forest, with options only to move forward or backward.
Occasionally you are given the opportunity to observe some of the objects
you see as you travel through the different areas in Portal of Worlds 2,
where the game will narrate to you a description of the object and the
actions you take towards the object. As for choosing which objects you
carry or what you specifically do when you observe an object, the game
will decide these details for you. In this aspect Portal of Worlds 2 doesn't
give you as much control as other QB puzzle games. For what it is worth
though, the approach taken to the game is unique.
While you do have to be involved and paying
attention to defeat Portal of Worlds 2, the gameplay also scores a little
less because the quest is not very long. This particular weakness in Portal
of Worlds 2 results in quite a few point penalties simply because the game
isn't long enough to develop strengths in certain departments. The gameplay
category is simply one of these departments. |
Story (n.)
The creativity and presentation of the game's critical plot |
vv
(Average) |
Story elements are practically the heart
and soul of this game, and Portal of Worlds 2 adresses this element in
particular with a sort of freedom. If I was a Literature teacher, I would
probably put the story level of Portal of Worlds 2 with the equivalent
of a 5th grader's work. This isn't such a bad thing to say either because
it's around 4th or 5th grade when students really tend to be most creative
and free with their work. Portal of Worlds 2 had a lot of original ideas
and objects within it's universe, and I would much rather play a game with
new concepts than something that has been tried again and has already been
proven true. So in this sense Portal of Worlds 2 has gained my respect.
It's only when I take the role of a Grammar
teacher that I really start to pull my hair at this game. Sure, it's okay
to have some misspelled words every now and then since a programmer's focus
is usually on the code. But Portal of Worlds 2, which is designed like
an adventure game, has way too many spelling errors in it's text narration. |
Replay Value (n.)
The timelessness of the gamer's delight, such that the experience
can be repeated again and again |
(Very
Poor) |
Unfortunately, Portal of Worlds 2 is a
very short game with just too little to forget, since there aren't really
a lot of puzzles to confuse you. So it's pretty easy to just pick up the
game and beat it in three minutes after the time where it took you five
minutes. A longer quest with a gradual increase in challenge as the journey
wears on along with a nifty save feature would be options to look for if
a Portal of Worlds 3 was ever made. |
Challenge (v.)
To strike the mental nerve in such a way as to stimulate human thought
and reflexes |
(Very
Poor) |
This Puzzle/Adventure game really does
put a lot more emphasis on the Adventure than the Puzzle. With only one
real challenge (finding the items that will unlock one of the portals)
in your way, and many hints pointing as to where the items you need are
located, Portal of Worlds 2 should prove to be pretty easy for any QB gamer. |
Fun Factor (n.)
The overall entertainment value as maintained throughout the adventure |
v
(Poor) |
Fun factor in video games tend to be packaged
into little compartments along with all the game's other aspects, which
include everything from the sound to the graphics. This is where Portal
of Worlds 2 suffers in the fun factor department, because the package where
the game is carried (with only 5-10 minutes before the game is solved)
is relatively small. This is a shame too... this sequel to the original
Portal of Worlds does show evidence that a game like this can be a lot
of fun and have the aspects that a Puzzle/Adventure game needs to be solid,
but the lack of rooms and puzzles in Portal of Worlds 2 makes this mental
challenge a warmup at best. |
Players |
1 player |
Genre: Puzzle/Adventure
Game |
Rating |
|
To solve: 5 min Final Rating: 7/35 |
To download this game, click here.
Installation Tips
wThe
files in Portal of Worlds 2 must be unzipped into the directory "C:\DANIEL\POW2"
to work.
wTo
play Portal of Worlds 2, unzip the file into the appropriate directory
and run "POW2.EXE". |
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