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Friday, March 11, 2011

Music / Games Nerds Embrace Indie Rock, Or Maybe Vice Versa

Posted by The Stranger Testing Department on Fri, Mar 11, 2011 at 3:39 PM

Local games powerhouse Valve just announced that the eagerly awaited puzzle game Portal 2, coming out in mid-April, will feature an original song by The National. The original game, which was just barely more than an afterthought included with the bundled version of crazy-popular shooter Half-Life 2, won a shipping container full of awards in 2007 with its smart, dark writing, challenging puzzles, and provocation of warm, fuzzy feelings for an inert cube of plastic and metal. Its closing song, nerd-rock superstar Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive," was a sweet, scary, rousing fuck-you to the player who had just bested the big-boss GlaDOS computer—maybe? Valve has a way of getting things right despite their past success, so the odds are good that The National's dark, mumbly waves will be put to good use.

This could be your best friend.

If you've never played Portal, it's well worth checking out. Pick it up on Steam for $15 or track down a used copy of The Orange Box (which includes Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress) for about the same price.

The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.

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Comments (12) RSS

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Steam is also offering a free copy of Portal when you pre-order Portal 2.

Posted by w7ngman

on March 11, 2011 at 3:53 PM

@1: Thanks!

Posted by The Stranger Testing Department on March 11, 2011 at 4:17 PM

The most important and most difficult part of enjoying Portal is blocking out all the annoying nerds who won't stop referencing Portal.

Posted by Ben on March 11, 2011 at 4:21 PM

Warning: because of the way the Orange Box installs, there literally are no "used" copies of the Orange Box available, since it's tied to a single account.

Posted by That Wacky Guy on March 11, 2011 at 4:25 PM

@4, I believe if you have a retail copy, you can uninstall and deactivate it and then sell it. But of course you have no idea if that has been done with a particular copy you're looking at.

Steam has some pretty incredible sales from time to time-- I think I picked up basically everything Valve has ever published for less than $20 during the christmas sale.

Posted by Jk on March 11, 2011 at 5:00 PM

I have a retail copy of the Orange Box, but I rarely play any of the games so I have no idea what I can do with it.

Posted by Urgutha Forka on March 11, 2011 at 6:41 PM

1) The Orange Box includes Team Fortress 2, not Team Fortress.

2) Do not buy a used copy of The Orange Box. The code you need to authenticate your copy with Steam will almost certainly already have been used, which means you will not be able to install. Note that this does not apply to the xbox 360 version, though that has a host of other, patch-related problems.

Posted by DeaconBlues

on March 11, 2011 at 7:00 PM

Speaking of which, I just heard a New Pornographers intro on a car commercial.

Gen X follows Baby Boom into the abyss.

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on March 11, 2011 at 7:53 PM

Commenter no3 hit the nail on the head. Portal has achieved Monty Python levels of geek acceptance... aaaaand like Monty Python, even the most forgiving and patient friends will stop returning your calls if you don't stop quoting it at every opportunity.

Yes, even the geek ones.

Because it's old.

Posted by Agent Beryllium

on March 11, 2011 at 8:14 PM

I just have to say, as someone who doesn't game except on his iPhone, I'd easily pay $15 for any game guaranteed to be as enjoyable and intellectually engaging as I found Portal to be. I'm even considering paying the ridiculous price they're charging for Portal 2.

That love cube portion was hilarious. Where can I find a plush one?

Posted by ObeyTheFist on March 11, 2011 at 8:57 PM

valve has been crap since the swat 4 fiasco , haven't looked back since then . they can bite my shiny metal ass !

Posted by whatsbeckgottadowithit on March 14, 2011 at 2:44 AM

Who really asked for your opinion "Agent Beryllium"? The same Agent Beryllium who is a LARPing supervillain? That Agent Beryllium? Chick or dude? Make up your mind.

Posted by Melissa from Beaux Arts on April 8, 2011 at 7:55 AM