Portal 2 free DLC announced

Valve has announced the first DLC pack for Portal 2, which will include new test chambers, leaderboards, and a challenge mode -- all free on all platforms.

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Valve teased some downloadable content for Portal 2 recently, but now the developer has gone and spilled the potatoes on the first bit of planned DLC. It's aiming for release sometime this summer, and best of all: it's free for all platforms (PC, Mac, 360, and PS3).

The first pack will include new test chambers, leaderboards, both a single- and multiplayer challenge mode, and more. The announcement didn't specify if the new test chambers will be single-player, co-op, or both, but we imagine any solo content will be roped off from the main story.

If you haven't picked up Portal 2 yet, what's wrong with you? That is to say, check out our review for Jeff's impressions of Valve's latest brain-tickler.

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  • reply
    April 29, 2011 12:00 PM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Portal 2 free DLC announced.

    Valve has announced the first DLC pack for Portal 2, which will include new test chambers, leaderboards, and a challenge mode -- all free on all platforms.

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      April 29, 2011 12:01 PM

      UNF

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      April 29, 2011 12:02 PM

      <3 gaben

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      April 29, 2011 12:02 PM

      OH YES

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      April 29, 2011 12:03 PM

      OH SHIIIIIIIIIIII

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      April 29, 2011 12:04 PM

      [deleted]

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      April 29, 2011 12:04 PM

      GOD DAMMIT, VALVE IS FUCKING US AGAIN

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      April 29, 2011 12:04 PM

      woooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

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      April 29, 2011 12:05 PM

      Why is free DLC so rare and how is Valve able to buck the trend of releasing paid DLC immediately after the release of their products.

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        April 29, 2011 12:08 PM

        Valve's probably using their now chummy position with Sony to strong-arm Microsoft into letting them release it for free.

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      April 29, 2011 12:05 PM

      Why wasn't this in the game to begin with?

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        April 29, 2011 12:07 PM

        PR stunt.

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        April 29, 2011 12:07 PM

        ITT we complain about free shit

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          April 29, 2011 12:12 PM

          I wanted to say "In Before Someone Bitches" but I was too giddy.

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            April 29, 2011 12:13 PM

            Hell even my post right after this was too late.

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          April 29, 2011 12:14 PM

          FWP's

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          April 29, 2011 12:15 PM

          If he's serious then yeah he's a fool, but we have spent the week bitching about PSN which is free for most of us.

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            April 29, 2011 12:38 PM

            Well, I am kinda disappointed that they weren't included at release (but an ad for some movie was), given that almost everyone expected these would exist at some point. I'm a little more worried that they left the challenge rooms for DLC just so they could go "hey look free content" and then go back to making hats. I'm not worried they are going to start selling map packs or anything, just not make them. I mean, Valve is cool and all, but since the Orange Box (nearly 4 years ago) they have done: TF2 class updates (yay), TF2 store (boo), Left 4 Dead (yay), L4D2 instead of L4D content (boo), Portal 2 (yay) with store (boo).

            • Ebu legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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              April 29, 2011 12:39 PM

              Get the fuck off of the internet.

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                April 29, 2011 2:19 PM

                Yeah you should probably kill yourself.

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              April 29, 2011 12:42 PM

              you are omitting all of the L4D2 and TF2 content

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              April 29, 2011 12:45 PM

              I like how you list "TF2 class updates" like it was a small single patch, and don't mention that each class update contained decent game updates and/or maps too. That "yay" is a big "yay". None of those patches brought in actual revenue directly, aside from maybe new purchases from people continuing to play their (well supported) game.

              Also, Portal 2 compared to Portal 1 to me feels a lot like how L4D2 feels compared to L4D1. It's an extension of the plot, some decent engine/game improvements, and totally new maps (obviously). Yet you list Portal 2 as a yay, and L4D2 as a boo. I liked all 4 games, and can't reasonably say that either "sequel" should have been free DLC. They do seem a bit large to be paid DLC too, so sequel seems to be about the right choice.

              Why do you care if the game has a store? If it helps them monetize, so that they can continue making free *real* content, then what is the problem? If they DO stop making real content, we have reason to complain perhaps, but why nay-say?

              And if you know anything about software dev, you should know that there has to be a code freeze at some point. They make a product they want to ship, and once it's frozen, they can just go work on the first DLC. Depending on how long of a QA/etc cycle they have, they can have that next bit of content done really fast if it's just maps/etc. I really don't see why you are even remotely complaining.

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                April 29, 2011 12:58 PM

                I don't know if you remember but people were pretty upset that instead of getting free L4D content it got rolled into a not-free L4D2.

                "If it helps them monetize, so that they can continue making free *real* content, then what is the problem? If they DO stop making real content, we have reason to complain perhaps, but why nay-say?"

                The problem is, TF2 is the only game where they have continued making the "real" content, and even a lot of that recently has been hats and community maps.

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                  April 29, 2011 1:07 PM

                  it's not free though, TF2 is monetized by increased steam user patronage, and things like data collection on sales behaviors (e.g., cross game incentives). TF2 basically is used as a market differentiator against similar online game store services.

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                  April 29, 2011 1:21 PM

                  I don't know what your definition of "real" content is, but just taking L4D as an example, they released all of the following FOR FREE:

                  2 more campaigns to versus mode
                  a new game mode (survival)
                  a new campaign in co-op, versus, and survival (Crash Course)
                  another new campaign (The Passing)

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                    April 29, 2011 1:25 PM

                    How soon we forget!

                    Btw, The Passing is L4D2 only, The Sacrifice was the other campaign added to L4D and L4D2.

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                      April 29, 2011 1:38 PM

                      Ahh yes, was thinking Sacrifice and wrote Passing, thanks.

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              April 29, 2011 12:46 PM

              You are presented with the following choice:
              1) Portal 2 release in April and then a subsequent FREE release of challenge maps a couple months later
              or
              2) Portal 2 + challenga maps all delayed until June/July.

              Are you seriously telling me you'd have preferred option 2 over option 1?

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                April 29, 2011 1:12 PM

                Well, as long as they didn't announce April then push back to June/July somewhat close to April, I doubt I would've cared. But, I mean, given the choice, I'd probably pick an April release + DLC.

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              April 29, 2011 12:52 PM

              L4D1 got two DLC campaigns for free, bub. I bet you never even played them.

              With TF2 updates alone (see: http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Patches ), I believe Valve has shown more post release support than any other PC multiplayer shooter out there, and for free.

              And it's nice not to blow your whole wad at once. They spent the majority of their time creating and polishing the stuff that really mattered for Portal 2 at launch, their single player story campaign and the coop. Give people time to play the content in the box, continue to create additional content for later, release when people are done with initial content and really want more. It's not some devious scheme.

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              April 29, 2011 12:53 PM

              FUCK YEAH DISAPPOINTED !!!!!!!!!!!!!! internet air guitar

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              April 29, 2011 12:58 PM

              thumbs down

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              April 29, 2011 1:10 PM

              booo to you sir, boo to you. In all seriousness, what makes you believe it was ready at release? The game was finished mid feb. so they've likely been working on it sense. valve isn't exactly known for being expedient

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                April 29, 2011 1:23 PM

                The idea wouldn't be to hold back on releasing the content, but to hold back creating it in the first place, since you plan on releasing it later anyway.

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                  April 29, 2011 1:33 PM

                  what the hell are you smoking

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                  April 29, 2011 1:47 PM

                  So met me see if I have this straight - it's not that the DLC exists or comes out, it's the intent in their hearts when they conceive of it? As in, if they started working on it after the game was finished but before it shipped that's bad, and if they started working on it as soon as the game shipped that's bad, but if they waited briktal's appropriate amount of time and then released it, they'd be in the clear?

                  This is like arguing with Pat Robertson about abortion.

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                    April 29, 2011 2:01 PM

                    No. I was saying that if you decide early on you want to release something later as DLC instead of at release, you just wouldn't bother working on it until you get the game done first instead of finishing them at the same time and then just sitting on the DLC.

                    This is more of a "I hope they don't use this as an excuse to not make more content" than some kind of evil conspiracy theory.

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                      April 29, 2011 2:08 PM

                      but, but, but thats what they fucking did. the dlc won't be out till this summer, what are you talking about?

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                        April 29, 2011 2:31 PM

                        He's saying that they made the game and the DLC at the same time and then decided to stagger their releases.

                        a) That's probably not what happened because like most people are speculating here they probably made the DLC between the time the game went gold and now. And knowing Valve the DLC isn't quite done yet.

                        b) Even if that is what happened, so what? They're not charging for it. I can see getting mad over a portion of a game being cut out at the last minute to sell as more content later but he's just grasping at straws here.

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                          April 29, 2011 2:55 PM

                          No I'm saying they didn't do that, that it is a dumb idea, but it doesn't mean they didn't decide a long time ago they wanted to make the DLC. A completely harmless scenario (and pretty likely): "Challenge maps, people liked those in Portal." "Let's focus on getting the game done and polished before we worry about those" "Ok". The most extreme scenario: "Challenge maps, people liked those in Portal." "Let's hold off on those, they can be our free content." "Ok, hand me another kitten burger."

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              April 30, 2011 8:34 PM

              more content pushes back release dates you tool, you think valve were sitting on the retail release till they got the extra dlc finished?

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            April 30, 2011 4:48 AM

            lmfao

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        April 29, 2011 12:08 PM

        Because it would probably help extend the games life and help bring in more sales with free content.

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          April 29, 2011 12:31 PM

          Lots of free updates seems to have worked for TF2. that game is still selling and is uh..."still alive", so i guess they're paying attention to their own success... unlike the rest of the industry.

          Lokatana

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            April 29, 2011 12:33 PM

            It's not like I'm surprised by it. But I was perplexed that some people around here thought they would be charging for it. Since they have never done that unless you discount the L4D Passing debacle which MS forced their had cause they were being dicks about free content being put on XBL.

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        April 29, 2011 12:10 PM

        Maybe because they created it after the game went gold?

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          April 29, 2011 1:25 PM

          Pretty sure this is the correct answer.

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            April 29, 2011 2:05 PM

            Well, technically I guess but I suppose I was wondering more why they didn't start before the game went gold. Maybe I shouldn't have thought of such a cynical answer so quickly though.

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              April 29, 2011 2:40 PM

              Let's put it this way - if they had to put everything into the game that they want to before they release it then they'd never put it out. Seriously. This is why TF2 took nine years. This is why EP3 hasn't even been announced.

              You think there'e only been one version of DNF over the years? Shit no, they kept cramming and cramming and then the tech is out of date and they need to start over and then thirteen years later it's still not done.

              Valve did the right thing here.

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                April 29, 2011 2:43 PM

                (actually it's inaccurate to say EP3 hasn't been announced. It has. It's just that they haven't said anything about it in years)

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              April 29, 2011 2:47 PM

              now I'm sure that you're trolling. You can't even keep your story straight between subthreads

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                April 29, 2011 7:02 PM

                I came out too hard with my initial comments so the rest were mostly trying to get people to understand my underlying point but I they're getting too caught up in "person complaining about free Portal 2 DLC" and it's not getting through.

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                  April 30, 2011 2:55 AM

                  i'm pretty sure you made a giant pile of shitty posts in attempt to express your ridiculous thoughts on the portal 2 dlc release and now you're getting reamed for it

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        April 29, 2011 12:13 PM

        well done, thanks for your comment

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        April 29, 2011 12:17 PM

        Here come the test results: You are a horrible person. That's what it says! We weren't even testing for that!

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        April 29, 2011 12:19 PM

        [deleted]

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        April 29, 2011 12:19 PM

        [deleted]

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        April 29, 2011 12:37 PM

        It's free, feel free to stop posting your opinion at any time.

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        April 29, 2011 12:38 PM

        Perhaps because it's not done yet?

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        April 29, 2011 1:17 PM

        briktal is adopted

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        April 29, 2011 3:19 PM

        TROLL DETECTED}r

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      April 29, 2011 12:06 PM

      FU Valve, this should have all been in the game. I want my money back!

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      April 29, 2011 12:07 PM

      Awesome. I

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      April 29, 2011 12:09 PM

      The day Valve starts charging for DLC will be just another day they get money from me. Until then, I'll keep taking the free stuff!

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        April 29, 2011 1:32 PM

        Signed. My monies to Valve if they charge, my appreciation if they don't.

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        April 29, 2011 6:56 PM

        Yeah pretty much. I'll probably buy a silly hat to show my

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          April 29, 2011 6:58 PM

          love. I DON'T CARE WHAT PEOPLE SAY I'M IN LOVE

          Shack ate my less than sign :(

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      April 29, 2011 12:10 PM

      I'm surprised it's free on the 360. PC, sure, Valve controls the platform. PS3 makes sense as it was probably part of their contract with them. But I figured Microsoft would stick to their guns.

      Maybe they got so much shit over the L4D DLC not being free, plus the PS3 is a more direct competitor that now has it free, too.

      I bet it's late on the 360 though - Valve can just push it through Steam when they want for the other two platforms (no idea if that's true - it could be that they still have a certification process awaiting them on PS3)

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        April 29, 2011 5:34 PM

        Valve really wanted the L4D DLC to be free. http://www.shacknews.com/article/60365/microsoft-forces-valve-to-price

        "On the consoles, they want us to charge money for [DLC], because that's in their model, and our model is very much more to grow the community by giving out free updates," said Valve president Gabe Newell last year. "That's harder for us."

        It was speculated that the Sony deal for the PSN / Steam coupling was going to be played as a trump card against Microsoft trying to force Valve to charge for "substantially sized downloadable content". I imagine a scenario where Valve basically told Microsoft "Free, or you're not getting any."

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      April 29, 2011 12:11 PM

      Wow! Free on 360 too. I wonder if they'll need some sort of ad support.

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      April 29, 2011 12:17 PM

      Where's the QQing now, asshats. This is how Valve does things, but people have incredibly short memories I guess.

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        April 29, 2011 12:32 PM

        Anyone who complains about this is either

        a) Trolling/Joking
        b) Stupid

        Ignore both

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        April 29, 2011 12:37 PM

        OH GOD NOT ENOUGH HARD CHAMBERS KILL M---

        Whoa, new hats for TF2!

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      April 29, 2011 12:17 PM

      just a blatant money grab by valve

      oh it's free?

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      April 29, 2011 12:42 PM

      No hats?

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      April 29, 2011 12:45 PM

      ILVC

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      April 29, 2011 12:47 PM

      How dare they!

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      April 29, 2011 1:00 PM

      Neat. This is all stuff I was pleading for in the email I sent to Valve soon after finishing the game. I'm sure I wasn't alone either and they likely had plans for this content for a while before release.

      I do hope the friends leaderboards support custom maps when they release the SDK though. Otherwise, >:(

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        April 29, 2011 1:00 PM

        No >:('s here

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          April 29, 2011 1:08 PM

          Serious question here, what good are leaderboards if they only work with a handful of a official maps? You'll play them for a week or two, tops. Once the best scores are posted and the individual players have plateaued, that's it. Until Valve decides to throw a few more maps our way.

          Need to take advantage of all forms of replayability that are possible with this one!
          I know a few indie games have managed to work leaderboards into custom, user-created content, I assume Valve will be able to do the same!

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        April 29, 2011 1:03 PM

        They had no plans. This all you buddy. Kick ass job with that email you sent to g a b e n!

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      April 29, 2011 1:05 PM

      [deleted]

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      April 29, 2011 1:12 PM

      I WOULD LIKE TO SUCK VALVE'S DICK.

      Seriously, you fuckers come to Edmonton, and I will buy you beers 'n shit.

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      April 29, 2011 1:18 PM

      Don't forget Kmart is going to have the game on sale for $34.99 starting 5/1!

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      April 29, 2011 1:22 PM

      I really wish this was the standard. Paying for DLC sucks, especially when the DLC does not include enough to warrant the price tag. Call of Duty and Halo map packs I'm looking at you with your ass rape pricing.

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        April 29, 2011 1:28 PM

        Some people find the price right, because they sell tons of them.

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      April 29, 2011 1:35 PM

      [deleted]

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      April 29, 2011 1:38 PM

      Will the DLC be integrated into the main game?

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      April 29, 2011 2:34 PM

      hey im willing to pay for portal dlc! hell ill pay a montly fee if i have to , just give me a bunch of updates

      in fact ill pay anyone willing to make maps, GIME MOAR!!!

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      April 29, 2011 2:45 PM

      http://dumb.ca/us.jpg

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      April 29, 2011 2:56 PM

      I want to see some of the death-defying maps they had in their e3 demos. Kind of disappointed that some of the crazier maps from e3 (with the crushers and stuff) weren't included.

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        April 29, 2011 3:32 PM

        Yeah, the one with the Propulsion Gel to get through the row of cyclic horizontal spiked crusher plates looked awesome.

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      April 29, 2011 3:01 PM

      ♥♥♥

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      April 29, 2011 3:26 PM

      [deleted]

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      April 29, 2011 3:34 PM

      For the record i would have gladly paid for this DLC!!

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        April 29, 2011 7:11 PM

        Totally. I'm absolutely hardcore-against DLC (the Devil's addon, I tell you!) - but this is Portal we're talking about. I'd drop a good $10 at least for a couple more hours of portal action.

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        May 1, 2011 4:58 PM

        Before you even know what it is...?

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      April 29, 2011 7:15 PM

      [deleted]

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      April 30, 2011 4:06 AM

      At this point I consider Valve a developer whom can publish anything they want and I will buy it. Carefully designed and made quality games that work out of the box and then top it off with free stuff in the right places. Orange box is of legendary value and a short game like Portal 2 had a hard time competing with that, so this is exactly what I expected of Valve and once again they deliver. Awesome.

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      May 1, 2011 6:53 PM

      AMAZING! Just bought the game from Bestbuy today for $40. Great game, Great value, and it's only getting better with this DLC!

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