$15 for Portal?

Loved
Meet the old Portal, same as… - This is Portal. So long as we're talking the main game, it was great in 2007, and it’s still great in 2008. Same puzzles, same GlaDOS, same cake, same lies. Graphics have been trimmed back a pinch to get it in under, XBLA’s, uh, size limits, but aside from that, no changes to last year's game.

Hated
Dry – There are a bunch of new maps/puzzles added to the mix, as bonus, standalone (ie not part of the main story) levels. And while they present an abstract challenge, playing Portal without GlaDOS’ urgings feels a lot like it’s missing the point. It also stings a little that PC owners can get these levels for free, while the inclusion of them in this paid package seems to be the only thing justifying the existence of the entire product.

Portal is great, yada yada yada, we already knew that. Covered it in 2007. But this product? The same game again, for $15, with some bonus maps thrown in that other people can play for free? I'm less inclined to blow sunshine up its ass. If you somehow missed Portal the first time around, and don’t own a PC, and aren’t interested in The Orange Box, you…probably don’t exist as a real person. And won't be needing this. But hey, just in case you did tick all those boxes, Portal’s great, check this out.

Portal: Still Alive was developed by Valve & We Create Stuff, published by Microsoft Game Studios. Released on Oct. 22 for Xbox Live Arcade. Retails for 1200 Microsoft Points (USD$15). Played bonus maps to completion.

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Potentially more interesting than the release of a baker's dozen plus one set of maps, is Portal: Still Alive's size, which is 629 MB, the biggest XBLA game to date and one that certainly won't fit on your memory unit. That's well beyond the 350 MB "limit" introduced earlier this year. This must be what David Edery, portfolio planner for XBLA, means when he says "steady progress."

We warned you: Portal: Still Alive breaks XBLA size record [Destructoid]

GLaDOS is still alive, and coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade this Wednesday. [Gamerscore Blog]

Go for the Gold

15G
Win a gold medal on a challenge map.

Out of the Blue

25G
Once you have control of both portals, only enter the orange portal.

Rat’s Tale

15G
Find all the Rat Man Dens.

Is Anyone There?

20G
Complete the game without ever taking a bullet.

Saw that one coming

5G
Cause a rocket sentry to destroy its own rocket when the rocket has been redirected back towards it.

The Camera Adds 10 Pounds

10G
Knock a turret over with a security camera.

Like a Rat

20G
Trap yourself in a test chamber so that GLaDOS has to help you continue.

Feeling like Floating

5G
Dissolve a turret.

Tests like Chicken

15G
Find the chicken’s test results.

Cupcake

10G
Beat 5 advanced chambers

Fruitcake

25G
Beat 10 advanced chambers.

Vanilla Crazy Cake

35G
Beat all advanced chambers.

Portal: Still Alive - New Achievements [Gamerscore]

No Portal on PSN says Valve [CVG]

Portal: Still Alive explained [Remowned]

"It's about giving gamers more choices, more points of entry to get to the party, open more gates to the theme park as it were," he said. "It makes a lot of sense for us.

"The main idea is that this is Portal available as a download, and there is additional content as advanced challenges that will be available to you after you finish the critical path of the game."

But will we be seeing more of GlaDOS this time around, or perhaps an extended storyline?

"No," he said, breaking hearts everywhere. "That's for a game to be named later perhaps."

To check out our full interview with Lombardi and hear him pontificate on everything from Left 4 Dead Machinima to Steam as an archive for games hit up the link below.

Left 4 Dead May Get Machinima Maker Post Launch [Kotaku]

Thanks Brian for the tip!