I think this game is as good as a sequel to Portal could be. It never feels like a retread. It doesn't recycle jokes. I didn't catch a single cake reference, but I've been told there is one. The game just keeps chucking new **** at you. New gameplay elements, more complex and involved puzzles, it's all good. The satisfaction of solving puzzles remains strong. The game kind of stutters around the midway point, but it doesn't last long. In addition to the stuttering, the game stops trying to be funny at the midway point. I'd say the first half was funnier than Portal 1, so that was a bit of a let down. However, Valve has a pretty good grasp on how to tell stories in games. The story in Portal 2 is nothing revelatory, but the way it's told is satisfying. I haven't played a great deal of co-op yet, but what I have played is also just as good and fresh as every other element of this franchise has been. I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to play this game.