Portal: Still Alive

US, October 16, 2008 - When Valve released Portal as part of The Orange Box in 2007, gamers overwhelmingly embraced it as a breath of fresh air. It was funny, challenging, lovingly crafted and absolutely mind-bending. And although so many things about Portal were new and different, it contained just enough popular gaming conventions to ease the player along on a dark, difficult ride.

Although it was bundled with a collection of first-person shooters (Half-Life 2: Episode 2 and Team Fortress 2) and is played through a similar perspective, Portal isn't really an FPS at all. So it's likely -- and unfortunate -- that gamers who aren't shooter fans opted not to pick up The Orange Box. If that description fits you, then you're in luck, because Valve is releasing a standalone expanded version of Portal on Xbox Live Arcade next week.