Comparison between Portal and World in Conflict.
Players
Portal can be played exclusively by a single player. World in Conflict has an intense single-player campaign, but this game also offers a rich multi-player experience that can be played over LAN or the internet.
Objectives
The objective of Portal is to reach the exit location in each level. In World in Conflict, there may be multiple objectives in each scenario and each objective is far more elaborate than the straightforward one in Portal. Objectives are presented to the player through a briefing at the beginning of each stage and new objectives may be given as the player plays through a scenario. Unlike Portal, In World in Conflict objectives are also dynamic and they may change depending on how a player plays through a level. Lastly, the objectives in World in Conflict change depending on whether the player is playing the single-player campaign or a multiplayer match.
Procedures
In Portal the procedures of the game are very simple. The player can move through the level, shoot portals, and teleport from one portal to the other. In World in Conflict the procedures are more complex and they consists of a large number of actions and orders that the player can give to its troops on the battlefield. One important difference between the two games is that in Portal the player controls the in-game character directly, while in World in Conflict the player can only give orders and in-game characters act in a somewhat independent manner.
Rules
The rules in portal are simple; they consist of the rules of physics (or a close simulation of them), the fact that the player can shoot two portals with the portal gun, and the special rules of teleportation from one portal to the other. In World in Conflict, there are very complex rules that define how troops interact with each other, which kind of reinforcements can be called, and what action should the player perform to not fail a level.
Resources
In Portal the main resources are the Portal gun and the surfaces of the level on which a portal can be created. Portal also many mechanism that player can use to reach certain areas of a level. In World in Conflict the main resources are a variety of troops and military vehicles that the player can control. Another resource is the map itself that can offer shortcuts, protected areas, hiding places, and fixed defensive weapons. Lastly, in World in Conflict the player can also call in several types of aerial attacks, which are a valuable resource for beating most levels.
Conflict
In Portal the conflict is represented by the inability of the player to reach high or remote places that would be inaccessible without using the portal gun and some mechanisms in some levels. Portal also has several hostile objects, such as turrets and big-evil-robots that contribute to the conflict. In World in Conflict, the conflict is represented by enemy troops that try to stop the player from reaching his/her objective.
Boundaries
In Portal there are no clear boundaries to the gameplay that differ substantially from the rules of the game — which are enforced. In World in Conflict, one boundary is represented by secondary objectives that the player is not required to accomplish, but he / she should complete to better enjoy the game. In World on Conflict another important boundary occurs in multiplayer matches. There are in fact many behaviors that are allowable within the rules of the game, but they are considered unpleasant. For instance, since each match may take a long time, it is not nice to leave a multiplayer game in the middle.
Outcome
An important part of Portal is to experiment with the portal gun. In many cases, the outcome of an action is not obvious. For instance the player may think that by placing the portals in a certain way, he may be able to jump over an obstacle, but this outcome is not always known. In World in Conflict the player has the freedom to use a variety of troops, vehicles, and aerial attacks, but whether the outcome of a particular strategy would be successful is unknown a priori.