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Portal won Game of the Year at GDC 2008 (I was there to see it), so I thought I'd better give it a try.
The game presents a very interesting mechanic where you create two sides of a portal anywhere along certain surfaces. You can then cross between the sides of the portal like a doorway. It gets more interesting than simply a door, though. You can also put one side on the floor of a long drop and the other side on a wall high above you. When you fall into the portal on the floor, you will shoot out of the wall side with the same speed at which you were falling.
While the mechanic is pretty interesting (I have completed 17 rooms so far), it is a one-trick pony. After the initial wow factor, this boils down to a puzzle game with zero replay value.
That said, the game does offer some entertaining and interesting features. If you enter the semi-hidden spaces behind the main rooms, the game alludes to a more sinister and interesting world. I find this part of the game fascinating. The voice that guides you through the tests is quite entertaining and funny as well.
Overall, Portal combines humor and an interesting world with its primary mechanic to make an engaging puzzle game. While it is really good on these points, it is also rather short and provides no replay value, so get it and enjoy it, but do not expect it to keep you occupied for long.
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