Portal Runner

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Portal Runner
Portal Runner US Cover.PNG
Developer(s) The 3DO Company (PlayStation 2)
Handheld Games (Game Boy Color)
Publisher(s) The 3DO Company
Series Army Men
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color
Release
  • NA: September 11, 2001 [1]
  • EU: October 19, 2001
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Portal Runner is a 2001 platform game published by The 3DO Company for PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Color. [1]

Contents

Overview

Portal Runner is a spin-off in the Army Men video game series, focusing on a conflict between characters Vikki Grimm and Brigitte Bleu.

Plot summary

In this game, Vikki Grimm embarks on an adventure after receiving a mysterious package. Her quest takes her through various toy worlds, including a prehistoric jungle and a medieval castle. Along the way, she befriends a lion named Leo and rescues a wizard, Merlin. The villain, Brigitte Bleu, manipulates Vikki's boyfriend, Sarge, and plans to marry him using a love gun acquired from Martians in a Space World. Vikki and Leo thwart the wedding, stop an inter-dimensional attack, and return home. Brigitte ends up imprisoned, sharing a cell with General Plastro.

Reception and controversy

The PlayStation 2 version received "mixed" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. [4] The Game Boy Color version gave an earliest review from Nintendo Power , which gave it a score of two-and-a-half stars out of five, just nearly five months before the game was released. [13]

The PS2 version gained notoriety when it was panned by GamePro , which was the first to review the game, saying that it "looks like a late-generation PlayStation title rather than a second-generation PS2 effort." [16] [lower-alpha 2] Trip Hawkins, then-president of 3DO and publisher of Portal Runner, sent an angry email to John Rousseau, who was president of GamePro. The email was published on the internet in its entirety. In the email, Hawkins told Rousseau that his customers were the advertisers, not the readers, and implied that the reviews should be written to keep the advertisers happy. Hawkins wrote: "...there is something wrong with (the reviewer), not with Portal Runner. If you disagree with me, you do so at your own peril.... I should mention in passing that 3DO has been one of your largest advertisers. Effective immediately, we are going to have to cut that back." [17]

Notes

  1. ↑ Three critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the PlayStation 2 version each a score of 3/10, 5/10, and 3.5/10.
  2. ↑ GamePro gave the PlayStation 2 version three 2.5/5 scores for graphics, sound, and control, and 2/5 for fun factor.

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References

  1. 1 2 "3DO Ships Portal Runner™". The 3DO Company . September 11, 2001. Archived from the original on October 14, 2001. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Portal Runner for PlayStation 2". GameRankings . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 26, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Portal Runner for Game Boy Color". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Portal Runner (PS2)". Metacritic . Fandom. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  5. ↑ Thompson, Jon. "Portal Runner (PS2) - Review". AllGame . All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  6. ↑ Boyer, Crispin; Kim, Jeanne; Kujawa, Kraig (November 2001). "Portal Runner (PS2)" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 148. Ziff Davis. p. 210. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  7. ↑ Helgeson, Matt (October 2001). "Portal Runner (PS2)". Game Informer . No. 102. FuncoLand. Archived from the original on February 11, 2005. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  8. ↑ Dodson, Joe (October 2001). "Portal Runner Review (PS2)". GameRevolution . CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  9. ↑ Lopez, Miguel (September 12, 2001). "Portal Runner Review (PS2)". GameSpot . Fandom. Archived from the original on May 26, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  10. ↑ Alupului, Andrei (October 19, 2001). "Portal Runner (PS2)". GameSpy . GameSpy Industries. Archived from the original on December 15, 2004. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  11. ↑ Parrotta, Dylan (October 19, 2001). "Portal Runner Review - PlayStation 2". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  12. ↑ Zdyrko, David (September 24, 2001). "Portal Runner (PS2)". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  13. 1 2 "Portal Runner". Nintendo Power . Vol. 144. Nintendo of America. May 2001.
  14. ↑ Rybicki, Joe (November 2001). "Portal Runner". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine . p. 160. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  15. ↑ D'Aprile, Jason (October 19, 2001). "'Portal Runner' (PS2) Review". Extended Play . TechTV. Archived from the original on November 5, 2001. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  16. ↑ Iron Monkey (November 2001). "Portal Runner (PS2)" (PDF). GamePro . No. 158. IDG. p. 124. Archived from the original on February 3, 2005. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  17. ↑ Harris, Bill (January 13, 2005). "The Shame of Trip Hawkins". Dubious Quality. Blogspot. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
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