Portal 2 becomes a reality, and OSX support is not a lie.

In 2008, on Doug’s suggestion, I picked up a copy of the year-old Orange Box for the 360 on a whim. (Said whim was spurred on by Doug’s claim that if I didn’t buy it, there was something seriously wrong with me.) Turns out, he was right, as Orange Box was my first foray into the world of Valve, and from there, Steam, thanks to the brilliant PC version of Left For Dead. Orange Box spends very little time on my shelf, as I quickly found myself addicted to HL2 (though I never finished it), Team Fortress 2 (though I never earned any trophies), and the unequivocally brilliant Portal. Which I finished. Twice.

Portal immediately earned a spot on my “Best Games Evar” list, and with good reason; as a puzzle-solver it stands alone as a unique challenge and original UI, while from a writing standpoint, it features some of the best dialogue I’ve ever heard in any video game before or since. Throw Johnathan Coulton into the mix and you have a recipe for WIN.

Now, 3 years and 70 industry awards later, Valve has done the inevitable and finally confirmed Portal 2 for the 360 and PC. The story was reported in March 5th’s edition of Game Informer Magazine, which features the familiar Portal hole peering out from what seems to be the Aperture Science labs to a lush, viney world, and what appears to be GlaDOS, your old frenemy from POrtal 1. Flip over the cover and you have the view from outside into the Aperture labs Pretty cool stuff. Details are far from scarce, and certain leaked script samples contain plot spoilers so huge that I won’t transcribe them here. suffice to say, all indications are that a major twist is in store, and that you may get to taste fresh air for the first time. (If you do decide to click on the link, however, be prepared to smile, as the writers have obviously not lost their flair for witty dialogue.)

According to GameStop (via Kotaku), Portal 2 will also introduce a cooperative gameplay mode that will undoubtedly frustrate the hell out of anyone playing with a partner new to the Portal gameplay:

The game’s two-player cooperative mode features its own entirely separate campaign with a unique story, test chambers, and two new player characters. This new mode forces players to reconsider everything they thought they knew about portals. Success will require them to not just act cooperatively, but to think cooperatively.

In addition to this much anticipated sequel, Valve has good news for its contingent of Apple-using fans: Steam is finally coming to the OSX operating system. This is huge news for the admittedly small percentage of desktop players who own a Mac (like me, for instance), as we can finally join the 25 million-strong community of Steam users. Mac support for both Steam and the Source engine is available immediately, though how many 3rd party developers will take advantage of it remains to be seen. Valve’s own line up of Source-engine based games Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series will be available in April. Furthermore, these games will also allow for cross-platform multiplayer. This means Mac users can start enjoying at least a small part of the 1000 plus Steam library without opening up a VM or booting into Windows via Bootcamp (something I haven’t done in so long, it’s entirely possible I’ve forgotten how.)

Steam’s movement to OSX was lead by a teaser print campaign written in the familiar tongue-in-cheek style we’ve come to know and love from Valve, and finally officially announced today. Check ’em out for yourself below; if nothing else, they’re a great pisstake on Apple’s unique style as it’s evolved over the past 26 years.

Portal 2 will be available for the 360, PC and Mac by the 2010 Holiday season.

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