The Portal games have been beautiful, haven't they? The first one presented a simple, clean aesthetic that worked as a great backdrop to the clever gameplay and snarky humor of Chell's battle of wits against GLaDOS. Then, last year, Portal 2 took Aperture Science's glistening white test chambers and destroyed them, letting players roam through the innards of Cave Johnson's company. And lo, it was glorious.

Now, everyone can see how Valve executed this big visual shift in Dark Horse's upcoming The Art of Portal 2. Announced tonight at the Emerald City Comic-Con, the 184-page hardcover book will feature concept art and completed vision, along with character sketches and commentary from writers, artists and other developers.

It's out on October 31st and no price has been announced yet. But, based on the scintillating art above—click the Expand button to enlarge—I'm going to say that The Art of Portal 2 will be worth whatever the price tag is. It's got pictures of space. Spaaaace!

Aperture: Lab Ratt is a fan film based on the Portal universe. And, as you'll see five seconds into this trailer, it's looking very professional.

Proper music, proper outfits, an expensive camera, good lighting...yes, it's looking lovely.

If it helps sell you on the quality behind this flick, it's being made by the same crew who put together last year's charming Aperture Science documentary.

This one, though, looks a lot more serious.

Oh, and bonus: the site of the production team also sells Aperture Science ID cards.

British artist Pinali sets our hearts aflutter with this animated take on Portal's Chell (in her Portal 2 outfit).

I keep thinking, if I watch it long enough, the "camera" will pan across and just follow her as she starts shooting the place up.

Portall [Pinalinet]

Limited to just 5000 pieces and priced at $150, most of you will never get your hands on one of NECA's replica Portal guns. Ah well. You may as well do the next best thing and check out this video of one of the beasts in action.

It certainly looks the part, and the flashing lights are great, but those sound effects...I realise the price had to be kept down and you're never going to get the same POP like you do from the actual game, but still. It sounds a little weak.

Fears of that Portal Gun replica gun being on infinite hold are hopefully vanished to infinity! Starting today, collectible toy maker NECA is kicking off pre-orders for its replica Aperture Science Handheld Portable Device.

So far, the following retailers have "approved allotments" that they will receive at the end of next month: Rockin Robot, Think Geek, Corner Store Comics, and Toynk. In the UK, it's available through Play.com.

The 1:1 scale Portal gun is limited to 5,000 pieces and priced at US$139.99.

At the time of writing, pre-orders were already closed at Rockin Robot and Think Geek. Corner Store Comics, Toynk, and Play.com still seemed to have units available for pre-order—though, expect that to change quickly.

According to NECA, a few other sites will carry the gun. Those will be announced within the next week. Moreover, a select number of brick and mortar retailers will carry the replica once it goes on sale.

NECA is asking customers to notify it directly if the Aperture Science Handheld Portable Device is either "scalped" or "bundled" with other items. More in the link below.

Approved Pre-Orders for Portal Replica Device Start Today [NECA]

Artist Jared Sellers has been toiling away on a few sets of custom video game-related sneakers for around a year now. And the centrepiece of the collection are these incredible Portal kicks.

What were once knee-high Converse sneakers are now street-ready Long Fall Boots, complete with Portal Gun colour schemes and strappy straps to simulate the actual boots' design (though obviously streamlined so you can still sit down on the bus).

You can see more of his work at his personal site, linked below.

Jared Sellers [Portfolio]

The first fruits of the threeA x Valve toy partnership we recently told you about have already been revealed. And in true collaborative style it's a proper crossover.

This creature is part-Companion Cube from Portal, part-Square². If you don't know what a Square² is, it's a little guy from Ashley Wood's World War Robot universe. If you don't know what the World War Robot universe is, boy are you missing out.

No word on price or release date yet.

Companion Sqaure [threeA, via Super Punch]

The first fruits of the threeA x Valve toy partnership we recently told you about have already been revealed. And in true collaborative style it's a proper crossover.

This creature is part-Companion Cube from Portal, part-Square². If you don't know what a Square² is, it's a little guy from Ashley Wood's World War Robot universe. If you don't know what the World War Robot universe is, boy are you missing out.

No word on price or release date yet.

Companion Sqaure [threeA, via Super Punch]

Revealed during ThinkGeek's 2012 CES spectacular, the Inflatable Portal 2 Sentry Turret has all the great features of the real thing, except it doesn't talk, light up, sing, or fire off a ridiculous number of bullets. It will, however, float in a swimming pool, so take that, realism!

From the official product description:

Drastic times call for drastic measures, friends of Science. Aperture Science had to make some cutbacks to the production line when OSHA shut down the main plant. Something about air quality or lead paint in the water pipes. Silly, really. That's what waivers are for. Anyhoo, we can't get you any real, bullet-firing turrets, but we did manage to hijack a pool float factory long enough to make a bunch of these inflatable ones

Now how much would you pay? $24.99? I sure hope so, because that's how much it costs. I'm sure ThinkGeek will let you pay more if your heart is set on it.

Portal 2 Life-Size Inflatable Sentry Turret [ThinkGeek]

DeviantArt user batman-n-bananas made a very fetching steampunk Portal gun. But what to wear with such a contraption? Why, mechano-Victorian long fall boots, of course, in which fancy modern tech is swapped out for reliable British steel.

These are wonderful. And while they fit the "Steampunk Portal" brief perfectly, I like to think they'd be just as suitable for a future in which Mary Poppins wanders a post-apocalyptic wasteland, killing mutants with her salvaged umbrella swords.

Steampunk Portal Boots [DeviantArt, via Fashionably Geek]