Left 4 Dead > Left 4 Dead 2

Not a year after L4D1 was released, Valve announced L4D2. Before it even came out people decided that they would continue playing L4D1 and that L4D2 was going to suck. After it was released many of those people were convinced to abandon L4D1 and move onto L4D2. I however, am one of those who didn’t chose to move on.
Sure, L4D2 is a good game and I do play it from time to time. But L4D1 is still a better game, and here’s why:

L4D1

L4D2

Left 4 Dead is all about zombies. Now tell me; of the 2 screenshots above, which one are you more likely to run away from? The first one? I thought so. L4D1 was much scarier than than L4D2:

- Every campaign was at night, making the zombies even scarier.
- You were confined to small areas including buildings with tight corridors that were easy to get lost in .
- You didn’t have any melee weapons so you had to rely entirely on your gun.

Whereas in L4D2:

- Almost every campaign is set during the day, making the zombies no more than Rabies infected humanoids.
- Really big open areas such as a shopping mall and a theme park (no, not “carnival”. I’m not American) so it’s impossible to get lost.
- You don’t have to worry about being swarmed by common infected because you have melee weapons.

What happened Valve? L4D1 was brilliant game that captured every vital concept of a zombie/survival-horror game and you squandered the lot with L4D2.

Oh, and did I mention the L4D2 survivors? Bloody hell!

L4D1

L4D2

The first game’s survivors were much more profound, more likeable than the second game’s. Bill is your awesome war veteran still alive and kicking, Zoey is the adorable team mascot, Louis is the cocky office worker and Francis is the hotheaded biker who hates everything.

But all that went south when Valve decided to introduce a new set of survivors. So for L4D2 we got Nick the dick-headed hillbilly, Rochelle the immeasurably annoying hillbilly, Coach the badass yet incompetent hillbilly and Ellis the… well, hillbilly. Surely you’re noticing some kind of pattern here.

And to top it off, the gameplay is basically the same in both games. L4D2 tried to make it different by introducing 3 new Special Infected (Charger, Spitter Jockey) but they all just seem to have been used for comical effect. Running into an open area to see one of your teammates rugby tackled by a Charger, gobbed on by a Spitter or face raped by a Jockey never really contributes to the fear factor given to you by L4D1′s Hunters or Boomers. They just make you piss your pants with laughter. Not that that isn’t fun, it’s just missing the point.

One final thing; the Boss Special Infected (Tank & Witch) were absolutely ruined in L4D2. In L4D1 the Tank ran at a suitable speed allowing you to get away if you wanted to. Now, it’s almost impossible to get away because the Tank runs too damn fast. And the Witch, once this mysterious weeping woman whom you were advised to avoid is now this lumbering, easily killed bint who’s in dire need of a hug. If only she wasn’t so violent while doing it.

Dante’s Inferno

Another year, another rip-off. We’ve already had a Devil May Cry rip-off, now it’s time for a God Of War rip-off.

I can safely tell you that this game is a complete copy of God Of War. Not a slight copy, but a complete copy. It is EXACTLY the same. The controls are identical, all the way down to how the buttons are mapped on the controller. You use the same ranged weapon, navigate the same menus, collect the same orbs after killing enemies with the same combos and regain your health using the same green health orbs. Hell, even the bosses and quick time events are taken straight out of GOW. And don’t even get me started on the blatantly stolen animations and the bastardization of the script.
God Of War is a much better game and you’re better off just replaying it until GOW3 comes out and not bother with Dante’s Inferno. It’s a waste of the developer’s time and your money.

How a game like this even made it to store shelves is beyond me. I let Bayonetta slide because it was made by the same director as the original Devil May Cry, whereas Dante’s Inferno is made by entirely different people to God Of War. So that’s simply unacceptable.

I guess it makes a change to all the countless Grand Theft Auto rip-offs out there, even if it is all Driver 2‘s fault. But seriously, what’s the next copy of a game going to be like? Are Ubisoft going to make a new Mirror’s Edge? Perhaps Valve are planning their own version of F.E.A.R.? Who knows?

Left 4 Dead 2 – Aussie version

IGN AU review.

Those poor, poor Australians. They are seriously missing out. Hopefully some of them can get their hands on an unedited version and play the game to it’s full potential.

Video uploaded by yours truly.

Left 4 Dead 2 review – 9.0

Left 4 Dead 2 – PC, Xbox 360

Rating – 17+, M

Just one year after the first Left 4 Dead, what some people class as “too soon”, we have Left 4 Dead 2. The second zombie apocalypse simulator from Valve. You play as one of four resistance fighters who must shoot, slice, decapitate and blast their way to safety.

Here’s a message to all the people who boycotted L4D2 – Stop whining, it’s better than the L4D1 in almost every way. The graphics have been bumped up immensely; giving you elegant and vibrant daytime environments (which were completely absent in L4D1 as the entire game took place at night), there’s a hell of a lot more gore, new special infected and of course melee weapons. Instead of just shooting zombies you can now bludgeon and dismember them with axes, machetes, frying pans, guitars, baseball and cricket bats, crowbars, batons, katanas and… chainsaws. *Insert massive homicidal smiley here*

There are also some new modes called Realism and Scavenge. In Realism mode, the survivors play through the campaign with all the coloured lines that highlight supplies, weapons and other survivors removed and all the infected are harder to kill. As if you thought the Expert difficulty couldn’t get anymore… difficult. Scavenge mode has survivors try to fill up a car or a generator with gas whilst fighting off the infected, and it’s the infected’s job to stop them from doing so. The Survival mode from the first game’s DLC is also in there as part of the full game.

Still not convinced it’s better than L4D1? Well like I said earlier, the whole of L4D1 took place at night. But not only that, the environments weren’t all that exciting. You were mainly just running through buildings with the occasional street or rooftop. In L4D2 you get to play through a swamp, an abandoned carnival (complete with a rollercoaster), a parish, a sugar mill (with thunder storms) and a hotel… which is on fire. Each campaign is longer than the ones found in L4D1 as well. Valve really went all out on this one.

The survivors that you help through these environments are also a lot more characterised this time around. I instantly knew that I would like them all when they introduced themselves to each other on the first level. And when I say “all”, I mean ALL. No cocky office workers to be found here.

Shooting zombies is a lot of fun, as you’d expect. And Valve have done a fantastic job of capturing the essence of a zombie apocalypse. If you’ve seen any zombies movies such as Dawn Of The Dead or 28 Days Later, then you’re going to feel right at home. Everything down to how the zombies walk, run, groan and die is absolutely spot on.

I can’t really think of anything bad to say about Left 4 Dead 2 apart from little nitpicks. It’s a sequel that hits all the right notes, bringing a new and exciting experience than the first and is a ton of fun. But if you didn’t like the first game, then I’m afraid you won’t like this one. Seriously though, who didn’t like Left 4 Dead 1?

The Good.
- Tearing up zombies with melee weapons leaving their blood and guts all over the ground is so damn satisfying.
- Better characterised survivors.
- New special infected, new weapons and bigger and longer environments.
- New modes add to replayability.

The Bad.

- The gameplay is almost exactly the same as L4D1.
- I miss Zoey.

My Score.

9.7/10

L4D2 demo

For those of you who didn’t pre-order L4D2 (the idiots that you are), check out

these screenshots that I posted over at TEG.

It’s now obvious as to why it was banned and then dumbed down for the Aussies. L4D2 is a lot more violent and gorey when it comes to killing zombies. Check out the screenshots and see for yourself.

Left 4 Dead 2 PC demo delayed

Yet again, Valve has screwed up. All those who pre-ordered L4D2 and were told they would get early access to the demo on the 27th, were lied to! Unfortunately, I’m one of them.
They say it should be released sometime today, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

EDIT: Now it’s been delayed 2 more hours. Maybe Valve are finally listening to the boycott and deciding not to release L4D2 at all. :p

EDIT2: It’s now live, except my internet connection’s messing me around. Some things work, some things (Steam) don’t.

EDIT3: Alright, decrypting files.

Australian version of Left 4 Dead 2

As some of you may already know, Left 4 Dead 2 was refused clarification in Australia due to it’s graphic and violent nature. Which meant that it would not be sold in that country. Valve have now created an edited version which has been accepted by the Australian Classifications Board. The changes will include reduced blood/gore, dismemberment/decapitation will be removed and bodies will disappear as they hit the ground. To give you a good idea of what this may look like, here’s what the German version of the original Left 4 Dead ended up becoming.

All I can say is, Australia needs to get with the fucking program. This is an adult game, and for a damn good reason. That doesn’t give you the right to ban it so that even adults in your country can’t play it.

And what age do they think we’re living in? The 90′s? Are we 8-years-old? Bodies in video games don’t disappear when they hit the ground anymore! These changes are just gonna make L4D2 look cheap, outdated and extremely cheesy.

I guess it’s better to play an edited version of it than not being able to play it at all though, but it still makes me feel sorry for the Aussies. They get all the decent weather, good food, amazing wildlife, but shite video games. And they’re hundreds if not thousands of miles away from anywhere else, so it’s a bloody chore for them to import games from other countries.

I suggest that we all to to Australia, dress up like zombies and storm the Australian Classifications Board’s headquarters. That’ll teach ‘em to take L4D2 from the Aussies. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what the Aussies are doing right now.

Valve are going to spend $25 million on advertising for Left 4 Dead 2

Here’s a better idea – forget the advertising (everybody’s already pre-purchased it off Steam anyway), use that money to create more content for Left 4 Dead 1! You say that you’ll still support it after the second game is released, but so far all you’ve given us is Crash Course. We want more, damn it!

Left 4 Dead

I should be getting Left 4 Dead for the PC on Wednesday, only a year after the damn thing came out. It sucks not having a decent computer for the past 6 years, I missed out on a lot of games. This of course means I’ll have to get Left 4 Dead 2 for Christmas, but what’s wrong with that?

EDIT: Scratch that first though, L4D’s currently being sold for half-price on Steam to celebrate the new DLC. Guess who just bagged themselves a copy.

Half-Life 2: Episode 3 and L4D2 not on PS3

In an interview with GameTrailers TV, Gabe Newell announced that Valve would not be releasing HL2: EP3 or L4D2 on the PS3. Despite his “reasons” I just think he’s far too lazy to be bothered to try. The Orange Box worked perfectly on the PS3 and even had a quicksave feature that was not on the 360 version – I’ve emailed him about this and I’m currently awaiting a reply from him, the fat fuck.

He even had the nerve to blame EA for them not being able to release updates or DLC for the PS3. Yes, EA did publish the Orange Box for them but even they don’t deserve to be blamed for that. Tons of PS3 games have received updates and plenty of DLC, e.g. Killzone 2, so having another company publish your game shouldn’t make any difference. It’s your game, do what you want with it. To quote The Escapist Magazine, “you’d almost think Gabe Newell has a grudge against the console or something.”