The "Retro Game Reviews" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
This thread has been linked to the game 'Left 4 Dead'.
Left 4 dead
Have fun together or get bored alone
It’s hard to see how it’s even remotely possible that a zombie apocalypse could ever occur. The walking dead can be considered weak, slow and dimmed witted; hardly what you would call stellar traits in wiping out the human race. But as Max Brook’s book World War Z shows us, through sheer numbers, global travel, over population and most importantly, human incompetence, can it actually happen. Left 4 dead however doesn’t dwell on the reasons or back-story as to how the 28-days-rage-style-infected zombie apocalypse happens, instead opting for the “it just is” excuse for their coop multiplayer game.
Graphically there’s not much to say really. It uses the Half life 2 engine and whilst its not going to give crysis a run for its money in the graphics department, its still of a high standard and looks good even on the lower settings. Perhaps a wise move on Valve’s part, as the engine is flexible in mod making and also allows the game to throw a lot of infected zombies on a screen without straining the pc itself. So for people with aging machines (like yours truly) can run it with a decent frame rate and still look fantastic. Thumbs up in technical department. Audio is kept to a minimum, the witty and interesting banter certainly lightens the atmosphere at times and does a great job of informing people of the current situation, threats and the such. Whilst there is music, it’s typically used as a warning or event cues to users. Handy in a game where its mostly set in the dark and the enemy are numerous and could come from any direction. Whilst at the same time, it serves in building up the tension and excitement.
There are 4 “movies” to choose from, consisting of 5 chapters in length and each one presenting their own interesting locales and challenges. Players maybe forced into claustrophobic close quarter fighting or in open forests where the infected can ambush players from all sides as they lie hidden in the dense bushes and trees. Up to 4 players work together to survive long enough in a given scenario to reach to the end. Emphasis is on teamwork and the game has been designed quite excellently around this aspect. The infected out number the players, all the special infected attacks will disable players unless comrades help and players can heal each other or swap items as and when needed. The layout of the levels is never confusing and will funnel players down linear paths reducing back tracking even in the larger levels. This ensures players are constantly fighting throughout with minimum delays or pauses. Yet at the same time the levels contain numerous small areas off the beaten track encouraging exploration. Many maps even offer 2 paths each with pro and cons. At times players will come up against a few set pieces called crescendo events, which force players to deliberately trigger off a large wave of infected in order to proceed.
The highlight without a doubt of each campaign is the finale and it ends with a bang (literally!) on harder difficulties the tension can be unbearable at times. Picture the scene: the survivors, some bloodied but still defiant from their traumatic journey, have to prepare in making a final stand before rescue arrives. They face off against several massive waves of infected and not everyone will make it. As one drops the situation gets tougher with fewer guns to help. After an epic struggle, escape arrives. But you still have to get onboard to escape. Cue a mad dash to escape, past compatriotism instantly thrown away as everyone looks after his or her own skins. Some get pulled away just tantalising close to the exit ramp and are butchered, others are overwhelmed, the infected literally right behind you. The feeling of being one of the lucky ones to escape is extremely rewarding and also sad especially how those that don’t survive get an obituary before the credit stats roll. Based on the various interesting information sometimes it’s not the best player that survives…
Versus mode essentially allow players to attempt the campaigns competitively seeing who does better then the other. Each side alternates playing as the survivors and infected with one side attempting to stop the team doing better and scoring more points. This brings a fresh new experience to the game as you play as the infected. Again teamwork is crucial, but the experience is more entertaining and hilarious as you can see where the survivors are, lie in ambush, stalk your prey or play as the tank, which can be satisfying with the immense power and health to play with.
The final mode is Survivor mode that is available via DLC. Essentially it sees how long players can last under never-ending waves of enemies and getting the highest score. Great for those looking for a quick and satisfying blast, but otherwise nothing special.
Although the more cynical gamer may feel that just 4 campaigns is incredibly short and repetitive, the AI director comes to play to spice things up. Like a benevolent god, it monitors the survivor’s progress and will adjust the difficulty accordingly ensuring a fair yet challenging environment that’s varied. Although depending on the difficulty, the AI director can be complacent or mercilessly cruel such as throwing in a large tank infected right from the word go.
Most importantly however is l4d’s human element that brings it all so wonderfully together. As different people come together the game dynamic changes as does the alternate strategies that get formulated. Combined with the competent AI director, l4d offers a massive amount of variety and lasting appeal to the maps as things play out differently every time. But most importantly it’s the joy that’s had playing with friends or complete strangers alike. Its extremely rewarding, you’ll learn to gel together quickly to take down stronger foes, hold off large assaults, covering each other or someone offering to use their own medikit to reduce their chance of survival to increase yours. You feel you’re part of something worthwhile and being valued and that’s what counts.
L4D is not without faults. As I stated its great playing with friends and strangers, but the same can’t be said when playing in single player. Granted, the bots are competent and can hold their own. But the whole experience falls flat as the AI reacts inhumanly, refusing to pick up molotovs or pipe bombs, let alone use them is a prime example. You can forget completing expert difficulty in single player as its neigh impossible with them. It becomes increasingly apparent when online as they soon become the weak link in any team and on expert this can be crippling. Many a times my team and I use the AI bot as bait and to delay/distract the infected to buy us time to flee.
The situation gets even worse in versus mode. Without the help of human players, games can become unfairly matched especially when decent matching making features barely exist. Whilst survivor bots are available and at least offer an extra gun pointing at the enemy, the same can’t be said for infected side. If there are free slots on the infected team, the AI doesn’t provide bot support, instead opting to reduce waiting times. The problem is that you need more players to get a plan to work. The situation is utterly hopeless with one person as any attack is ineffective. You maybe the hunter, you pounce on a survivor, but you’re quickly overwhelmed within seconds of jumping and it gets generally pointless.
Although earlier I said that playing with strangers could be fun, when playing in a competitive environment like in versus, the game can become deeply frustrating and down right ugly. The biggest problem without a doubt is rage quitting: people who quit when they’re losing. When members of a disorganised team starts to leave, it weakens the team further and the situation doesn’t improve as new members join only to rage quit seconds later. This means games either end in crushing victories or defeats. Even if you were on the winning side, victory is hollow, as the opposition leave before its finished. Other times the match falls into disarray when no one joins a losing survivor side at the start of a level, resulting in the AI standing in the safe room forever forcing everyone to abandon the game anyway. An equally terrible problem is players who refuse to work in a team and only join to cause trouble. It gets deeply annoying when some idiot who gets thrills going against the spirit of the game such as team killers or those who trip every trap on purpose. Although that said, it’s expected from any multiplayer game where teamwork is involved.
But despite all the big nasty issues both offline and online, I like l4d and I would recommend it. I’m having immense fun playing the game despite the limited number of maps that are blatantly being repeated for the various modes. It amazes me that after nearly over a year I’m still playing this game, completing the same 4 campaigns again and again.
9/10
Have fun together or get bored alone
It’s hard to see how it’s even remotely possible that a zombie apocalypse could ever occur. The walking dead can be considered weak, slow and dimmed witted; hardly what you would call stellar traits in wiping out the human race. But as Max Brook’s book World War Z shows us, through sheer numbers, global travel, over population and most importantly, human incompetence, can it actually happen. Left 4 dead however doesn’t dwell on the reasons or back-story as to how the 28-days-rage-style-infected zombie apocalypse happens, instead opting for the “it just is” excuse for their coop multiplayer game.
Graphically there’s not much to say really. It uses the Half life 2 engine and whilst its not going to give crysis a run for its money in the graphics department, its still of a high standard and looks good even on the lower settings. Perhaps a wise move on Valve’s part, as the engine is flexible in mod making and also allows the game to throw a lot of infected zombies on a screen without straining the pc itself. So for people with aging machines (like yours truly) can run it with a decent frame rate and still look fantastic. Thumbs up in technical department. Audio is kept to a minimum, the witty and interesting banter certainly lightens the atmosphere at times and does a great job of informing people of the current situation, threats and the such. Whilst there is music, it’s typically used as a warning or event cues to users. Handy in a game where its mostly set in the dark and the enemy are numerous and could come from any direction. Whilst at the same time, it serves in building up the tension and excitement.
There are 4 “movies” to choose from, consisting of 5 chapters in length and each one presenting their own interesting locales and challenges. Players maybe forced into claustrophobic close quarter fighting or in open forests where the infected can ambush players from all sides as they lie hidden in the dense bushes and trees. Up to 4 players work together to survive long enough in a given scenario to reach to the end. Emphasis is on teamwork and the game has been designed quite excellently around this aspect. The infected out number the players, all the special infected attacks will disable players unless comrades help and players can heal each other or swap items as and when needed. The layout of the levels is never confusing and will funnel players down linear paths reducing back tracking even in the larger levels. This ensures players are constantly fighting throughout with minimum delays or pauses. Yet at the same time the levels contain numerous small areas off the beaten track encouraging exploration. Many maps even offer 2 paths each with pro and cons. At times players will come up against a few set pieces called crescendo events, which force players to deliberately trigger off a large wave of infected in order to proceed.
The highlight without a doubt of each campaign is the finale and it ends with a bang (literally!) on harder difficulties the tension can be unbearable at times. Picture the scene: the survivors, some bloodied but still defiant from their traumatic journey, have to prepare in making a final stand before rescue arrives. They face off against several massive waves of infected and not everyone will make it. As one drops the situation gets tougher with fewer guns to help. After an epic struggle, escape arrives. But you still have to get onboard to escape. Cue a mad dash to escape, past compatriotism instantly thrown away as everyone looks after his or her own skins. Some get pulled away just tantalising close to the exit ramp and are butchered, others are overwhelmed, the infected literally right behind you. The feeling of being one of the lucky ones to escape is extremely rewarding and also sad especially how those that don’t survive get an obituary before the credit stats roll. Based on the various interesting information sometimes it’s not the best player that survives…
Versus mode essentially allow players to attempt the campaigns competitively seeing who does better then the other. Each side alternates playing as the survivors and infected with one side attempting to stop the team doing better and scoring more points. This brings a fresh new experience to the game as you play as the infected. Again teamwork is crucial, but the experience is more entertaining and hilarious as you can see where the survivors are, lie in ambush, stalk your prey or play as the tank, which can be satisfying with the immense power and health to play with.
The final mode is Survivor mode that is available via DLC. Essentially it sees how long players can last under never-ending waves of enemies and getting the highest score. Great for those looking for a quick and satisfying blast, but otherwise nothing special.
Although the more cynical gamer may feel that just 4 campaigns is incredibly short and repetitive, the AI director comes to play to spice things up. Like a benevolent god, it monitors the survivor’s progress and will adjust the difficulty accordingly ensuring a fair yet challenging environment that’s varied. Although depending on the difficulty, the AI director can be complacent or mercilessly cruel such as throwing in a large tank infected right from the word go.
Most importantly however is l4d’s human element that brings it all so wonderfully together. As different people come together the game dynamic changes as does the alternate strategies that get formulated. Combined with the competent AI director, l4d offers a massive amount of variety and lasting appeal to the maps as things play out differently every time. But most importantly it’s the joy that’s had playing with friends or complete strangers alike. Its extremely rewarding, you’ll learn to gel together quickly to take down stronger foes, hold off large assaults, covering each other or someone offering to use their own medikit to reduce their chance of survival to increase yours. You feel you’re part of something worthwhile and being valued and that’s what counts.
L4D is not without faults. As I stated its great playing with friends and strangers, but the same can’t be said when playing in single player. Granted, the bots are competent and can hold their own. But the whole experience falls flat as the AI reacts inhumanly, refusing to pick up molotovs or pipe bombs, let alone use them is a prime example. You can forget completing expert difficulty in single player as its neigh impossible with them. It becomes increasingly apparent when online as they soon become the weak link in any team and on expert this can be crippling. Many a times my team and I use the AI bot as bait and to delay/distract the infected to buy us time to flee.
The situation gets even worse in versus mode. Without the help of human players, games can become unfairly matched especially when decent matching making features barely exist. Whilst survivor bots are available and at least offer an extra gun pointing at the enemy, the same can’t be said for infected side. If there are free slots on the infected team, the AI doesn’t provide bot support, instead opting to reduce waiting times. The problem is that you need more players to get a plan to work. The situation is utterly hopeless with one person as any attack is ineffective. You maybe the hunter, you pounce on a survivor, but you’re quickly overwhelmed within seconds of jumping and it gets generally pointless.
Although earlier I said that playing with strangers could be fun, when playing in a competitive environment like in versus, the game can become deeply frustrating and down right ugly. The biggest problem without a doubt is rage quitting: people who quit when they’re losing. When members of a disorganised team starts to leave, it weakens the team further and the situation doesn’t improve as new members join only to rage quit seconds later. This means games either end in crushing victories or defeats. Even if you were on the winning side, victory is hollow, as the opposition leave before its finished. Other times the match falls into disarray when no one joins a losing survivor side at the start of a level, resulting in the AI standing in the safe room forever forcing everyone to abandon the game anyway. An equally terrible problem is players who refuse to work in a team and only join to cause trouble. It gets deeply annoying when some idiot who gets thrills going against the spirit of the game such as team killers or those who trip every trap on purpose. Although that said, it’s expected from any multiplayer game where teamwork is involved.
But despite all the big nasty issues both offline and online, I like l4d and I would recommend it. I’m having immense fun playing the game despite the limited number of maps that are blatantly being repeated for the various modes. It amazes me that after nearly over a year I’m still playing this game, completing the same 4 campaigns again and again.
9/10
Left 4 dead
Have fun together or get bored alone
It’s hard to see how it’s even remotely possible that a zombie apocalypse could ever occur. The walking dead can be considered weak, slow and dimmed witted; hardly what you would call stellar traits in wiping out the human race. But as Max Brook’s book World War Z shows us, through sheer numbers, global travel, over population and most importantly, human incompetence, can it actually happen. Left 4 dead however doesn’t dwell on the reasons or back-story as to how the 28-days-rage-style-infected zombie apocalypse happens, instead opting for the “it just is” excuse for their coop multiplayer game.
Graphically there’s not much to say really. It uses the Half life 2 engine and whilst its not going to give crysis a run for its money in the graphics department, its still of a high standard and looks good even on the lower settings. Perhaps a wise move on Valve’s part, as the engine is flexible in mod making and also allows the game to throw a lot of infected zombies on a screen without straining the pc itself. So for people with aging machines (like yours truly) can run it with a decent frame rate and still look fantastic. Thumbs up in technical department. Audio is kept to a minimum, the witty and interesting banter certainly lightens the atmosphere at times and does a great job of informing people of the current situation, threats and the such. Whilst there is music, it’s typically used as a warning or event cues to users. Handy in a game where its mostly set in the dark and the enemy are numerous and could come from any direction. Whilst at the same time, it serves in building up the tension and excitement.
There are 4 “movies” to choose from, consisting of 5 chapters in length and each one presenting their own interesting locales and challenges. Players maybe forced into claustrophobic close quarter fighting or in open forests where the infected can ambush players from all sides as they lie hidden in the dense bushes and trees. Up to 4 players work together to survive long enough in a given scenario to reach to the end. Emphasis is on teamwork and the game has been designed quite excellently around this aspect. The infected out number the players, all the special infected attacks will disable players unless comrades help and players can heal each other or swap items as and when needed. The layout of the levels is never confusing and will funnel players down linear paths reducing back tracking even in the larger levels. This ensures players are constantly fighting throughout with minimum delays or pauses. Yet at the same time the levels contain numerous small areas off the beaten track encouraging exploration. Many maps even offer 2 paths each with pro and cons. At times players will come up against a few set pieces called crescendo events, which force players to deliberately trigger off a large wave of infected in order to proceed.
The highlight without a doubt of each campaign is the finale and it ends with a bang (literally!) on harder difficulties the tension can be unbearable at times. Picture the scene: the survivors, some bloodied but still defiant from their traumatic journey, have to prepare in making a final stand before rescue arrives. They face off against several massive waves of infected and not everyone will make it. As one drops the situation gets tougher with fewer guns to help. After an epic struggle, escape arrives. But you still have to get onboard to escape. Cue a mad dash to escape, past compatriotism instantly thrown away as everyone looks after his or her own skins. Some get pulled away just tantalising close to the exit ramp and are butchered, others are overwhelmed, the infected literally right behind you. The feeling of being one of the lucky ones to escape is extremely rewarding and also sad especially how those that don’t survive get an obituary before the credit stats roll. Based on the various interesting information sometimes it’s not the best player that survives…
Versus mode essentially allow players to attempt the campaigns competitively seeing who does better then the other. Each side alternates playing as the survivors and infected with one side attempting to stop the team doing better and scoring more points. This brings a fresh new experience to the game as you play as the infected. Again teamwork is crucial, but the experience is more entertaining and hilarious as you can see where the survivors are, lie in ambush, stalk your prey or play as the tank, which can be satisfying with the immense power and health to play with.
The final mode is Survivor mode that is available via DLC. Essentially it sees how long players can last under never-ending waves of enemies and getting the highest score. Great for those looking for a quick and satisfying blast, but otherwise nothing special.
Although the more cynical gamer may feel that just 4 campaigns is incredibly short and repetitive, the AI director comes to play to spice things up. Like a benevolent god, it monitors the survivor’s progress and will adjust the difficulty accordingly ensuring a fair yet challenging environment that’s varied. Although depending on the difficulty, the AI director can be complacent or mercilessly cruel such as throwing in a large tank infected right from the word go.
Most importantly however is l4d’s human element that brings it all so wonderfully together. As different people come together the game dynamic changes as does the alternate strategies that get formulated. Combined with the competent AI director, l4d offers a massive amount of variety and lasting appeal to the maps as things play out differently every time. But most importantly it’s the joy that’s had playing with friends or complete strangers alike. Its extremely rewarding, you’ll learn to gel together quickly to take down stronger foes, hold off large assaults, covering each other or someone offering to use their own medikit to reduce their chance of survival to increase yours. You feel you’re part of something worthwhile and being valued and that’s what counts.
L4D is not without faults. As I stated its great playing with friends and strangers, but the same can’t be said when playing in single player. Granted, the bots are competent and can hold their own. But the whole experience falls flat as the AI reacts inhumanly, refusing to pick up molotovs or pipe bombs, let alone use them is a prime example. You can forget completing expert difficulty in single player as its neigh impossible with them. It becomes increasingly apparent when online as they soon become the weak link in any team and on expert this can be crippling. Many a times my team and I use the AI bot as bait and to delay/distract the infected to buy us time to flee.
The situation gets even worse in versus mode. Without the help of human players, games can become unfairly matched especially when decent matching making features barely exist. Whilst survivor bots are available and at least offer an extra gun pointing at the enemy, the same can’t be said for infected side. If there are free slots on the infected team, the AI doesn’t provide bot support, instead opting to reduce waiting times. The problem is that you need more players to get a plan to work. The situation is utterly hopeless with one person as any attack is ineffective. You maybe the hunter, you pounce on a survivor, but you’re quickly overwhelmed within seconds of jumping and it gets generally pointless.
Although earlier I said that playing with strangers could be fun, when playing in a competitive environment like in versus, the game can become deeply frustrating and down right ugly. The biggest problem without a doubt is rage quitting: people who quit when they’re losing. When members of a disorganised team starts to leave, it weakens the team further and the situation doesn’t improve as new members join only to rage quit seconds later. This means games either end in crushing victories or defeats. Even if you were on the winning side, victory is hollow, as the opposition leave before its finished. Other times the match falls into disarray when no one joins a losing survivor side at the start of a level, resulting in the AI standing in the safe room forever forcing everyone to abandon the game anyway. An equally terrible problem is players who refuse to work in a team and only join to cause trouble. It gets deeply annoying when some idiot who gets thrills going against the spirit of the game such as team killers or those who trip every trap on purpose. Although that said, it’s expected from any multiplayer game where teamwork is involved.
But despite all the big nasty issues both offline and online, I like l4d and I would recommend it. I’m having immense fun playing the game despite the limited number of maps that are blatantly being repeated for the various modes. It amazes me that after nearly over a year I’m still playing this game, completing the same 4 campaigns again and again.
9/10
Have fun together or get bored alone
It’s hard to see how it’s even remotely possible that a zombie apocalypse could ever occur. The walking dead can be considered weak, slow and dimmed witted; hardly what you would call stellar traits in wiping out the human race. But as Max Brook’s book World War Z shows us, through sheer numbers, global travel, over population and most importantly, human incompetence, can it actually happen. Left 4 dead however doesn’t dwell on the reasons or back-story as to how the 28-days-rage-style-infected zombie apocalypse happens, instead opting for the “it just is” excuse for their coop multiplayer game.
Graphically there’s not much to say really. It uses the Half life 2 engine and whilst its not going to give crysis a run for its money in the graphics department, its still of a high standard and looks good even on the lower settings. Perhaps a wise move on Valve’s part, as the engine is flexible in mod making and also allows the game to throw a lot of infected zombies on a screen without straining the pc itself. So for people with aging machines (like yours truly) can run it with a decent frame rate and still look fantastic. Thumbs up in technical department. Audio is kept to a minimum, the witty and interesting banter certainly lightens the atmosphere at times and does a great job of informing people of the current situation, threats and the such. Whilst there is music, it’s typically used as a warning or event cues to users. Handy in a game where its mostly set in the dark and the enemy are numerous and could come from any direction. Whilst at the same time, it serves in building up the tension and excitement.
There are 4 “movies” to choose from, consisting of 5 chapters in length and each one presenting their own interesting locales and challenges. Players maybe forced into claustrophobic close quarter fighting or in open forests where the infected can ambush players from all sides as they lie hidden in the dense bushes and trees. Up to 4 players work together to survive long enough in a given scenario to reach to the end. Emphasis is on teamwork and the game has been designed quite excellently around this aspect. The infected out number the players, all the special infected attacks will disable players unless comrades help and players can heal each other or swap items as and when needed. The layout of the levels is never confusing and will funnel players down linear paths reducing back tracking even in the larger levels. This ensures players are constantly fighting throughout with minimum delays or pauses. Yet at the same time the levels contain numerous small areas off the beaten track encouraging exploration. Many maps even offer 2 paths each with pro and cons. At times players will come up against a few set pieces called crescendo events, which force players to deliberately trigger off a large wave of infected in order to proceed.
The highlight without a doubt of each campaign is the finale and it ends with a bang (literally!) on harder difficulties the tension can be unbearable at times. Picture the scene: the survivors, some bloodied but still defiant from their traumatic journey, have to prepare in making a final stand before rescue arrives. They face off against several massive waves of infected and not everyone will make it. As one drops the situation gets tougher with fewer guns to help. After an epic struggle, escape arrives. But you still have to get onboard to escape. Cue a mad dash to escape, past compatriotism instantly thrown away as everyone looks after his or her own skins. Some get pulled away just tantalising close to the exit ramp and are butchered, others are overwhelmed, the infected literally right behind you. The feeling of being one of the lucky ones to escape is extremely rewarding and also sad especially how those that don’t survive get an obituary before the credit stats roll. Based on the various interesting information sometimes it’s not the best player that survives…
Versus mode essentially allow players to attempt the campaigns competitively seeing who does better then the other. Each side alternates playing as the survivors and infected with one side attempting to stop the team doing better and scoring more points. This brings a fresh new experience to the game as you play as the infected. Again teamwork is crucial, but the experience is more entertaining and hilarious as you can see where the survivors are, lie in ambush, stalk your prey or play as the tank, which can be satisfying with the immense power and health to play with.
The final mode is Survivor mode that is available via DLC. Essentially it sees how long players can last under never-ending waves of enemies and getting the highest score. Great for those looking for a quick and satisfying blast, but otherwise nothing special.
Although the more cynical gamer may feel that just 4 campaigns is incredibly short and repetitive, the AI director comes to play to spice things up. Like a benevolent god, it monitors the survivor’s progress and will adjust the difficulty accordingly ensuring a fair yet challenging environment that’s varied. Although depending on the difficulty, the AI director can be complacent or mercilessly cruel such as throwing in a large tank infected right from the word go.
Most importantly however is l4d’s human element that brings it all so wonderfully together. As different people come together the game dynamic changes as does the alternate strategies that get formulated. Combined with the competent AI director, l4d offers a massive amount of variety and lasting appeal to the maps as things play out differently every time. But most importantly it’s the joy that’s had playing with friends or complete strangers alike. Its extremely rewarding, you’ll learn to gel together quickly to take down stronger foes, hold off large assaults, covering each other or someone offering to use their own medikit to reduce their chance of survival to increase yours. You feel you’re part of something worthwhile and being valued and that’s what counts.
L4D is not without faults. As I stated its great playing with friends and strangers, but the same can’t be said when playing in single player. Granted, the bots are competent and can hold their own. But the whole experience falls flat as the AI reacts inhumanly, refusing to pick up molotovs or pipe bombs, let alone use them is a prime example. You can forget completing expert difficulty in single player as its neigh impossible with them. It becomes increasingly apparent when online as they soon become the weak link in any team and on expert this can be crippling. Many a times my team and I use the AI bot as bait and to delay/distract the infected to buy us time to flee.
The situation gets even worse in versus mode. Without the help of human players, games can become unfairly matched especially when decent matching making features barely exist. Whilst survivor bots are available and at least offer an extra gun pointing at the enemy, the same can’t be said for infected side. If there are free slots on the infected team, the AI doesn’t provide bot support, instead opting to reduce waiting times. The problem is that you need more players to get a plan to work. The situation is utterly hopeless with one person as any attack is ineffective. You maybe the hunter, you pounce on a survivor, but you’re quickly overwhelmed within seconds of jumping and it gets generally pointless.
Although earlier I said that playing with strangers could be fun, when playing in a competitive environment like in versus, the game can become deeply frustrating and down right ugly. The biggest problem without a doubt is rage quitting: people who quit when they’re losing. When members of a disorganised team starts to leave, it weakens the team further and the situation doesn’t improve as new members join only to rage quit seconds later. This means games either end in crushing victories or defeats. Even if you were on the winning side, victory is hollow, as the opposition leave before its finished. Other times the match falls into disarray when no one joins a losing survivor side at the start of a level, resulting in the AI standing in the safe room forever forcing everyone to abandon the game anyway. An equally terrible problem is players who refuse to work in a team and only join to cause trouble. It gets deeply annoying when some idiot who gets thrills going against the spirit of the game such as team killers or those who trip every trap on purpose. Although that said, it’s expected from any multiplayer game where teamwork is involved.
But despite all the big nasty issues both offline and online, I like l4d and I would recommend it. I’m having immense fun playing the game despite the limited number of maps that are blatantly being repeated for the various modes. It amazes me that after nearly over a year I’m still playing this game, completing the same 4 campaigns again and again.
9/10
Nice review spoonbeast,
This is one of a few games which I would have thought I'd have picked up at release, but still haven't got around to playing yet. Think I might have to get hold of this one soon.
This is one of a few games which I would have thought I'd have picked up at release, but still haven't got around to playing yet. Think I might have to get hold of this one soon.
Now that you mention it, there has been recent concerns about the game. I didn't mention it before as i was generally rating it purely on how good it is, but l4d2 is coming out and the situation has torn the community apart. I'm sure you're aware of it.
No one seems to have a idea as to what to expect in the future. Some say valve will only concentrate on l4d2 (despite promises that valve won't abandon l4d) and all the content promised never arrives. Everyone will go and play l4d2 rather then l4d and you're left with a rather hollow experience.
But that said, i feel that l4d2 might actually be a sort of add on for the pc version intergrating both games if needed rather then being a TRUE sequel (like how its being marketed) and its going to have a hell of a lot of improvements apparently. A slightly smarter AI director that even modifies the levels as well as infected deployment and theres a few more weapons.
Frying pan my ass. Give me kitana or fire axe any day. Did any of these guys read max brook's zombie survival guide or world war z?
Oh that could be another review i could work on. But i want to review some anime... or retro games.
No one seems to have a idea as to what to expect in the future. Some say valve will only concentrate on l4d2 (despite promises that valve won't abandon l4d) and all the content promised never arrives. Everyone will go and play l4d2 rather then l4d and you're left with a rather hollow experience.
But that said, i feel that l4d2 might actually be a sort of add on for the pc version intergrating both games if needed rather then being a TRUE sequel (like how its being marketed) and its going to have a hell of a lot of improvements apparently. A slightly smarter AI director that even modifies the levels as well as infected deployment and theres a few more weapons.
Frying pan my ass. Give me kitana or fire axe any day. Did any of these guys read max brook's zombie survival guide or world war z?
Oh that could be another review i could work on. But i want to review some anime... or retro games.
Good review Spoonbeast, i had this on Xbox and loved it, i completed most aspects but none of my friends had the game so there was not as much replay value as there should have been.
I enjoyed the tension like you were saying and sometimes it really did build up well, you would be desperatley trying to get through the final few minutes because you had come so far.
Have to agree wit the score aswell - really cant wait for L4D2, the trailer looks great and using chainsaws will be so much fun
I enjoyed the tension like you were saying and sometimes it really did build up well, you would be desperatley trying to get through the final few minutes because you had come so far.
Have to agree wit the score aswell - really cant wait for L4D2, the trailer looks great and using chainsaws will be so much fun
Nice review.
I'm still waiting for this to go down in price for 360 so I can play the full game. Really enjoyed the demo, even with strangers.
As you say, though, it makes a big difference who you're playing with and whether they're in it for themselves or are interested in teamwork.
I'm still waiting for this to go down in price for 360 so I can play the full game. Really enjoyed the demo, even with strangers.
As you say, though, it makes a big difference who you're playing with and whether they're in it for themselves or are interested in teamwork.