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A lot has been made of the fact that Portal 2 will be significantly longer than the original. Having watched the latest instructional trailers, we think we've discovered how. While both trailers illustrate puzzle solutions in under two minutes, we're guessing it would have taken our top Joystiq scientists several hours to come up with the same solution. Watch and be amazed.

Valve has sent over a new trailer for Portal 2 (you know how much we love those), this time highlighting the vocal talents of The Office scribe Steven Merchant in the role of Wheatley. Merchant's a wonderful match for the spherical sidekick, who's sure to win you over with his unpoised, upbeat blathering.

Just think of how sad you'll be when you inevitably drop him into a pit of fire.

Valve has sent over a new trailer for Portal 2 (you know how much we love those), this time highlighting the vocal talents of The Office scribe Steven Merchant in the role of Wheatley. Merchant's a wonderful match for the spherical sidekick, who's sure to win you over with his unpoised, upbeat blathering.

Just think of how sad you'll be when you inevitably drop him into a pit of fire.

As if some sort of portal through the internet has opened, a series of new screenshots from Portal 2 just materialized from the game's creator, Valve Software. They're from Gamescom, which obviously means they came all the way from Germany -- but thanks to Aperture technology, arrived instantaneously. Pretty neat, huh?

These latest shots showcase more of the game's new fluid dynamics, drastically improved lighting and, of course, Weighted Companion Cubes. All things that we'll be experiencing in playable form on February 9, 2011.

The hyper-short co-op trailer for Portal 2 posted below paints an idyllic picture of how the game's multiplayer component should function: With two robots working together to solve a common goal. It does not show what will actually happen when we and our poor, unassuming friends get our hands on the game, which is to say, two robots bending the laws of physics and gravity in an attempt to murder each other in the most clever manner imaginable.

So, for a good example of Portal 2 co-op, watch the video below. For a bad example, wait for the game to come out, play it with us, and get gravitymurdered.

#gallery Five more Portal 2 screenshots, from last week's Gamescom, where the February 2011 game was proudly shown by Valve Software. All shots seem to be from single-player, if the "sp" in their filename sis any indication. More »

Wrap your head around this.

#portal Oh man. If you were wondering how co-op would work in Valve's upcoming Portal 2, wonder no more. It works a little something like this. More »

#portal Portal 2 is playable at GamesCom, and while some people are playing it, others are filming it being played, so everyone else can enjoy it! More »

2011 will be a good year.

Sequel hits early next year.

#pc Portal 2, delayed from a 2010 release, won't be out that far into 2011. The game will be out on February 9, according to a Tweet from the always-informed Geoff Keighley. He teases more on the game on Game Trailers TV this Friday. More »

OK, maybe that's not fair, since we don't necessarily know it will triumph when, according to Game Informer, Portal 2 arrives on February 11 next year. But let's say we think there's a strong possibility ... let's say very, very strong. Oh, who are we kidding? We're certain it's wonderful and if you say otherwise, we'll fight you like we're a lonely kid on a Sonic forum defending Amy Rose's honor.

We also learned from GI that Stephen Merchant will play kindly British robot Wheatley, so we're going to have to start viciously defending him as well. Of course, with credits like co-creating The Office and Extras, it shouldn't be that hard.

#portal There are many games on the PS3 lining up to support either PlayStation Move or 3D. Or both! Valve's Portal 2, however, is not one of them. For that, you'll have to wait until Portal 3. More »

#screengrab The Enrichment Center reminds you that the Weighted Companion Quilt will never threaten to stab you and, in fact, cannot speak. As seen and sewn by Kotaku reader Tiffany H. More »

#clips Valve's sequel to first-person puzzler hit Portal has more than just portals, cubes and more portals. In addition to Aerial Faith Plates, Excursion Funnels, Pneumatic Diversity Tubes and Thermal Discouragement Beams, there's... gel. More »

Parts six and seven -- the final two parts, mind you -- of the Portal 2 E3 video demonstration take a look at the mechanics of the game's new gels: Propulsion and Repulsion. As if anything could ever make Portal 2 repulsive! Ahem.

So, these gels: They're yet another new tricky (and likely toxic) product of the Aperture labs that just so happen to open up a variety of new platforming puzzles. Go on and watch the clips after the break -- they'll totally bend your mind. (Or maybe that's just the fumes from the gel. Yeah, probably.)

Valve's agonizing piecemeal delivery of footage from the Portal 2 E3 demo continues. These clips introduce Pneumatic Diversity Vents and Thermal Discouragement Beams, because simply creating conduits between two points in space (four in co-op) wasn't complicated enough.

Sure, those are just vacuums and lasers, respectively, but it's still enough to give us a headache in anticipation of future gameplay complexity. Luckily, no space-bending guns are required to see the videos -- simply click past the post break and they'll go directly into your eyes.

#valve Get ready to think harder with portals in Portal 2. Now at your disposal in the first-person puzzler that we can wait to wrap our brains around is the "Thermal Discouragement Beam." It's like a laser, but with more syllables. More »

What were our favorite games of E3 this year? Let's take a look! More »

Valve has rolled out the second and third parts of its seven-part E3 video demonstration of Portal 2. (Did you miss Part One?) Today, we're introduced to the "Excursion Funnel" and "Aerial Faith Plate" (posted after the break).

Remember the first time you figured out how to "fling" yourself in the original Portal? Remember the Keanu Reeves-ian "whoa" it elicited from you brain? Yeah, you're about to experience that all over again. Watch.

#clips See how the bouncy Aerial Faith Plates and astounding Excursion Funnels change up gameplay in Portal 2 in parts three and four of Valve's E3 demo video series. More »

There are more than a few great things in this video (which covers the first part of our E3 single-player demo; six more parts are expected this week). The first is the introduction of a cheeky, British personality orb. He's cheeky, British, and we already love him. And GLaDOS. Oh, GLaDOS, how we have missed you. Anyway, just try to watch this video without smiling (or outright laughing). We dare you. Go ahead. You monsters.

#clips Today Valve releases the first in a series of videos covering the E3 demo for Portal 2. In the first portion we meet Wheatley, the personality sphere that's cuddlier than a companion cube, if that's even possible. More »

Come check out the all you can eat cake buffet.

Chis Grant: So, lucky us, after the first full day of the show, you and I were the only pair to play Portal 2 together, cooperatively, without Valve. Valve writer Erik Wolpaw has been giving the the demo while playing as the second player, but he said he thought we looked like we could handle it on our own. Richard Mitchell: It was surprising to me how quickly we fell into step, actually. If you've played Portal before, it's kind of amazing how soon you start thinking cooperatively -- figuring out how you need two people to solve a given puzzle. It's a different experience, but it's still Portal.

"Oh, it's you. It's been a long time. How have you been? I've been really busy being dead. You know, after you murdered me. Okay, look. We both said a lot of things that you're going to regret. But I think we can put our differences behind us. For science. You monster."

Both Portal and its slightly unhinged antagonist GLaDOS are back in a sequel that hopes to do more than "just extend the original game" according to Valve's Erik Johnson. "If you ask fans what they wanted, they'd say they want more Portal 1," Johnson said. "But we felt like what they're saying is that they want to be surprised again." While the addition of a co-op experience may surprise you, there's a lot of comfort food here. Not only is GLaDOS back, but so is protagonist Chell, the (slightly worse for wear) Aperture Science facility, and the game's now trademark sense of humor.

While laying out the three major focal points for the game - that's story, gameplay, music if you're keeping track at home - Johnson explained, "The story needed to be funny. It needed to have a lot of the same characters. You're playing as Chell in Portal 2. GladOS is back. And there will also be some new characters, one of which you'll see today."

Although Portal was just a simple story of a girl and her cake, it was one of the most memorable gaming experiences of the generation thus far. Its sequel goes into more ambitious territory, and we chatted with writer Erik Wolpaw about the co-op and how Portal 2 ties into the greater Half-Life universe. Finally, find out more about how the newly announced PS3 version benefits from SteamWorks integration.

We spend some time with GLaDOS.

#breaking Valve's Gabe Newell appeared at Sony's E3 press conference to say Steam is coming to the PlayStation Network, and Portal 2 will be available for the PS3 on the same day it releases for Xbox 360 and PC. More »