The long-awaited Portal 2 was demoed at this year’s E3 and the included gameplay footage aside, the following facts were garnered during the presentation:

- The new title is wrapped around story, gameplay (fans wanted to be surprised again) and music (the Jonathan Coulton track “Still Alive” took off and became a calling card with fans were demanding music have practically a starring role in the title).

- A lot of time has passed within the story between Portal 1 and 2 and the GLaDOS test computer is putting the labs back together, as it only knows how to have a relationship through testing, which was the premise of the original title).

- Throughout the demo, there’s an amazing combination of imagery with the charred/destroyed labs repairing themselves. A mix of wreckage, clean room/tech lab and jungle footage environments mix together to create a surreal but effective new world to play in.

- New character: A small personality sphere named Wheatley (complete with a British accent) surfaces as a guide/counterpart within the game. This character has been trapped in the Aperture labs for a long time and looks to escape along with you.

- The GLaDOS computer returns, embodying an enraged, insane and passive/aggressive cleverness in its interactions with your character.

- Throughout the demonstration, the game retains its dark but irreverent sense of humor.

- Certain environments are now destructible, which adds a new dimension to the gameplay.

- Repulsion Gel: Pour it on a surface and you can sort of use it as a trampoline (blue).

- Propulsion Gel: Allows for a “fling” effect. (orange)

- The developers commented that they’re looking to work off the same skill set as Portal 1 without forcing the players to relearn too many basics.

- Portal 2 itself is that much bigger and more involved than the original (no final level count has been released).

- Portal 2 can be worked through via a two-player co-op mode, this mode offering a different set of levels.

- The title will ship next year on Mac OS X, Windows, PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

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Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.