So Valve’s fascinating Aperture Science ARG (Alternate Reality Game) draws to a stumbling close yesterday with an official press release over Steam and via Gameinformer of the impending release of Portal 2, a sequel to the critically acclaimed First-Person Puzzle game Portal. GameInformer promises a 12-page cover story with details on Portal 2’s new gameplay mechanics, storyline, and twists, while Steam promises a “holiday season” ship date and underlines a couple of letters just to feel spooky. Right?

Well, taking the underlined letters out, it spells d-r-a-t-t-m-a-n-h-0-n-e-e. Nonsense letters? Far from it. This is yet another login to the official Aperture Science BBS, locatable only if you have a dial up modem and 56k connection. You have those things? Sweet! Try inputting “Drattman” as your username (Dr Attman) and “h0nee” as your password. Or you could skip it all and just take a look at these pictures.

GameSpot is also getting on the action, promising “two-player co-operative mode” with an “entirely separate campaign with a unique story, test chambers, and two player characters.” The sentence was removed later in the day, but not before a million rabid Portal fans screenshotted it and disseminated it post-haste. Either way, GameInformer is saying it’s a fully fledged sequel, so… yeah, expect to pay $50 or so for it. And expect it be around 5 times longer.

Get geared up, fellas. It’s time to go on a SCIENCE ADVENTURE!