“Portal 2” is the game of 2011 so far. Go play “Portal 2” as soon as possible. Oh. My editor just informed me that although the above review is completely true and sums the game up nicely, it is still about 600 words short. Please allow me to expand.   “Portal” 2 is the follow-up to Valve Corporation’s cult favorite (wait for it), “Portal.” It’s a first-person puzzle game where the main objective is to get from point A to point B. I suppose that can be said for 98 percent of all puzzle games, but what sets the “Portal” series apart is the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device (a.k.a. the Portal Gun). When equipped with the gun, your character may shoot portal holes of two different colors, blue and orange, on any applicable surface. From that point walking into the blue portal will have you exiting from the orange one, and vice versa.  A very, very cool concept from a game that basically began as a B-side to the hit single “Half Life on the Orange Box” (which, by the way, if you can find used, buy it. Still the best deal on any of this generation’s consoles. Five games for $30? That’s a no-brainer. But I digress.)   Many people were worried about expanding “Portal 2” to a full-sized disc game from the original downloadable game, but Valve handled the transition exceptionally well by introducing a few new elements to keep gameplay crisp. The addition of Repulsion Gel (a gel that turns any surface into a trampoline), Propulsion gel (picture the Non-Nutrient Cereal Varnish Clark sprays on his sled in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”) and a white gel (as far as I can tell, it’s actually called White Gel, and allows you to place portals on any surface it covers) can really ratchet up the difficulty. Combined with these are Excursion Funnels (tractor beams) and the glass cubes that redirect the thermal discouragement beams (lasers) to really add variety to the already very diverse tests.   The learning curve basically boils down to how well your prefrontal cortex is working that day. With the controls being about as basic as any game from this generation can be, along with the tight Valve gameplay, the only thing holding you back is your own noggin. I love that. And the difficulty level in this game is perfect. I wish I had a better description than that, but it’s simply perfect. Ranging progressively from pretty simple to Nigel Tufnel’s amp, this game will keep you saying “Just one more.” I can personally guarantee there will be some tests that will have you staring blankly at your screen for 15 minutes, and loving every second.   Oh, and here’s something else — the co-op campaign. You’re pumped, and you’re right to be. This option consists of an entire campaign of you and a friend (if you have any) making your way through brand-new tests.  Two test subjects means four portals at once, making some of these levels harder than the newest High on Fire album. Personally, I think the co-op campaign is even more fun than the single player campaign.   Finally, the incredibly well-written script makes “Portal 2” easily the funniest game I’ve ever played. GLaDOS (voiced by Ellen McLain), Wheatley (voiced by a very funny Stephen Merchant, who co-wrote the British version of “The Office”) and the hilarious CEO of Aperture Science, Cave Johnson (voiced by J.K. Simmons, who played J. Jonah Jameson in the “Spiderman” movies), were all excellently written and expertly voiced. I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot more from Cave Johnson in the future, thanks to the characters’ hugely impressive critical reception.   So, ahem, as I was saying…   “Portal 2” is the game of 2011 so far. Go play “Portal 2” as soon as possible.