[dlgn]

So I played Portal and found it immensely fun, and decided to try some of the other games in the Portal expanded universe. However, there are a LOT of them—the Half-Life Series, the Defense Grid series, and Portal 2. Can anyone recommend an order to play them in?

[Slathalin]

I personally love half-life, the couple of times I played it! so I highly advise it.

[Prodigy9]

Portal 2 is a good game, but be aware that the gameplay is essentially the same as Portal. I'm not saying that's a bad thing at all, but don't expect further improvements on the already fun gameplay of the first game. Also, IMHO the dialogue/jokes are a lot funnier in Portal 2 compared to the original game.

HL2 is also a lot of fun (I hardly remember HL1, so I can't really comment on that). Enjoyable gameplay, but some of the puzzle-type areas can be a bit frustrating if you get stuck (though of course the interwebs can help with that). The plot is also pretty good, and the character development is so great that you'll probably even start to like the villain after a while.

Not familiar with defense grid - I actually hadn't even heard of it until this thread.

[Aelcalan]

Portal 2 is pretty short, so you could probably just get that done, then move on to the Half-Life games. Be warned, they're very different in tone from Portal, being much more serious.
Disclaimer: I've played only a tiny bit of HL, but that's my general understanding.

Defense Grid isn't actually related, GLaDOS just guests stars in an expansion pack.

Team Fortress 2 is also maybe possibly in the same universe. But it's increasingly its own thing, what with Australium, Mann Co., and general wackiness.

[Meowrocket]

I would suggest Portal 2, because some stuff gets pretty amazing all up in there. (Looking at you, Speed, Repulsion and Conversion gels)
It's just freakishly fun, and has many, many great quotes.
Not very long, so easy to knock off quickly.
Just my own opinion.

"I just added that to the list. It's a list I made of all the things you've done. Well, it's a list that I AM making, because you're still doing things right now, even though I'm telling you to stop. Stop, by the way."

My opinion, anyway.

[Bu1ld0g]

If you can, give black mesa a try.
Its a community remake of half life using the hl2 engine and overall a better experience.

That said the half life games seem to be on sale every other week anyways

[Aelcalan]

That said the half life games seem to be on sale every other week anyways

When they aren't outright GIVING you a copy of HL1 for whatever reason, that is.

[alexrybicki]

Since we're posting mods, I'll throw this out there: http://store.steampowered.com/app/224260/

It's a half-life 2 mod. I haven't had time to play around with it, but it looks interesting. If you're running steam (you should be), it's a 1 click download/install.


As for play order, I'd say play in the order they were released. You'll get the subtle nods to previous games, as well as the inside humor. There's a lot of little Easter eggs that you'll miss otherwise. Same goes for the Elder Scrolls series.