Portal Runner

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

Portal Runner
Developer(s)The 3DO Company
Publisher(s)The 3DO Company
SeriesArmy Men
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color
ReleasePlayStation 2
  • NA: September 11, 2001
  • EU: October 19, 2001
Game Boy Color
  • NA: September 11, 2001
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

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 the video game Portal Runner, 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.[14]

The PS2 version gained notoriety when it was panned by GamePro, with a rating of 2.3 out of 5.[8] GamePro was the first to review the game, saying that it "looks like a late-generation PlayStation title rather than a second-generation PS2 effort".[8] 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]

References
  1. "3DO Ships Portal Runner". PR Newswire. Cision. September 11, 2001. Archived from the original on November 2, 2001. Retrieved June 20, 2019 – via Yahoo.com.
  2. "Portal Runner for Game Boy Color". GameRankings. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  3. "Portal Runner for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  4. "Portal Runner for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  5. Thompson, Jon. "Portal Runner (PS2) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  6. EGM staff (November 2001). "Portal Runner (PS2)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. p. 210.
  7. Helgeson, Matt (October 2001). "Portal Runner (PS2)". Game Informer. No. 102. Archived from the original on February 11, 2005. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  8. Iron Monkey (2001). "Portal Runner Review for PS2 on GamePro.com [score in this link is given as "2 out of 5"]". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 3, 2005. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  9. Dodson, Joe (October 2001). "Portal Runner Review (PS2)". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  10. Lopez, Miguel (September 12, 2001). "Portal Runner Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  11. Alupului, Andrei (October 19, 2001). "Portal Runner (PS2)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 15, 2004. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  12. Parrotta, Dylan (October 19, 2001). "Portal Runner Review - PlayStation 2". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  13. Zdyrko, David (September 24, 2001). "Portal Runner (PS2)". IGN. Archived from the original on May 6, 2015. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
  14. "Portal Runner". Nintendo Power. Vol. 144. May 2001.
  15. "Portal Runner". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. November 2001. p. 160.
  16. D'Aprile, Jason (October 19, 2001). "'Portal Runner' (PS2) Review". X-Play. Archived from the original on November 5, 2001. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  17. "Dubious Quality: The Shame of Trip Hawkins". Archived from the original on 2018-10-29. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
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