That little Stonehenge, wich you have "Activated" is not a Portal.
It`s a Part of a Quest, wich you need later. Using the three Buttons, can (later in the Quest) make a little Bug.
I wont tell to much, so i think it is the best to start a new Game, and not make an Earthquake. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
In the Options, can you find the posibility to regulate the distanz of showing the Items.
If your Computer is fast enough you can take the highest setting.
There is also the possibility to set the visual range, the Wether and the Details.
I have an Pentium 4 with 2,56 GH, a Radeon 9800 SE All in wonder, and 1 GB Ram.
And i can still get the highest settings without any Problems. Only in the City of Khorinis, there is still a flicker in the Picture.
And yes, the Gameinterface is a little bit easier, i see it allways if i play G1 after i play a while G2.
Only to use the Ctrl Key without the Arrow Key sounds not really easyer, but it is so.