It's been four years since I last bought a PC game on disc. Assuming you're not on dial-up internet, you'll get used to it...
On the plus side, with the Steam copy registered, you'll always have access to your copy of the game. Don't need to worry about scratched or lost discs, and you'll never need a disc in the drive to play the game. Plus automatic patching, friends list, Steam workshop, etc.
Portal 1 was actually purchasable separately via Steam, and I somewhat foolishly did that. I ended up buying all three games separately, at increased cost. Not my finest moment...
But yeah, Portal 2 is the real deal. The puzzles are less challenging, but it's vastly funnier and packed with great world-building. My last playthrough was 6.3 hours, but the first time was a great deal longer - some puzzle solutions rely on spotting obscured elements in distant corners of the map, so I spent ages just trying to figure out the next step the first time around.
Anyway, just been playing Civ 5, with the Communitas overhaul mod and Wars Of Religion, along with my regular tweak suite. Played as Venice, on Prince difficulty.
...Was wiped out by 600 BC. I focused entirely on Wonders, to the exclusion of any military or economy whatsoever (aside from two Workers), and of course technology is always a problem for one-city Venice. Unfortunately hyper-belligerent Japan and neighbour Poland decided they wanted my juicy Stonehenge and Temple of Artemis, and flooded every visible hex with red and white bastards. Got religion at the last minute to give a 40% combat bonus to my sole Warrior and a last-minute Spearman purchase, but I only managed to take out one unit before my virtually effortless annihilation. Sigh.
One thing I do hate about Civ 5's AI is that they ONLY pick fights with weaker neighbours. Once you gain an advantage, nobody will ever try anything with you, but if you're doing badly then you'll quickly get into deep trouble. Back in Civ 3, it was basically open-season on anybody a leader didn't like, and if they were more powerful then they'd team up with other nations to bring them down. Dominant powers would often brook more aggression, and it meant the balance of power was always shifting. In Civ 5, once someone starts running away with the lead, they'll inevitably win unless a human player intercedes.
