Left 4 Dead: Crash Course Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 30 September, 2009

Leave no man behind.

Version tested: Xbox 360

Microsoft loves exclusives, but in Left 4 Dead's case it's really breaking new ground: If you want to play Crash Course on the PC, don't wait for me to convince you, just go ahead - it's free! If you want to play it on Xbox 360, you might want to hang back, because it's 560 Microsoft Points (£4.76 / €6.72). Apparently this is nothing to do with Valve, the people who made the content - it's because Microsoft doesn't want all the other premium DLC getting upset about being shown up. The fact we had to haul that explanation out of Valve suggests even the money men in Redmond find it a bit shameful.

They can at least drown their sorrows in the blood of a thousand zombies, because Crash Course is an intense little campaign that really kicks you around the houses for the half-hour it takes you to stagger through its two chapters. With the original four Left 4 Dead campaigns clocking in at around an hour each for a straight play-through, Versus games were lasting around twice that, so the idea here is to give the competitive side of the game's dedicated fans something that's just as demanding but over a shorter distance.

It also bridges a narrative gap - between climbing into the chopper atop Mercy Hospital in the first campaign and crawling onto a highway at the start of the second, Death Toll. We don't learn much more about what's going on in the world during Crash Course, but we do get some more quips from the crew (Zoey points out that climbing into a helicopter with a zombie pilot is poor survival logic), and judging by the writing scrawled on the wall of the midway safehouse we also discover that Valve thinks someone called Alison is a bit of a numpty.

'Left 4 Dead: Crash Course' Screenshot 1

The new HUD elements are subtle but useful. They're in Left 4 Dead 2, but Valve thought you might like them now.

With carte blanche to fill the intervening period, it's perhaps a little disappointing to start off by running around the same dark alleys and warehouse interiors that we've raced through dozens of times before. Articulated lorries and wire-mesh fences funnel you through buildings and across a few streets before you drop down to a riverside and circle up to a bridge; then following a crescendo moment involving a Howitzer you cross the water, do a safehouse transition and fight your way to a truck depot where you need to power up a generator while fighting off the horde for a finale. (The Howitzer and generator bits form the basis of two new Survival mode sections.)

That initial disappointment seeps away though as you start to appreciate the devilish way Valve leads you into unavoidable traps and how even seemingly incidental touches - like shrubbery covering the approach to a raised highway - are calculated to make you work harder for survival. The area surrounding the Howitzer crescendo is particularly well appointed - having dropped down onto a road by a river, my first group of survivors was quickly assaulted by the horde, and my attempt to avoid them by standing on a car was upset somewhat when a Tank popped up and grabbed the vantage point out from under me. The AI director is on his usual form, too, barely touching us the next time we dropped down - although he did throw in a Witch.

It's a strong finale, too. The generator needs to be started and then restarted mid-siege, but it's on the ground, which is easily assaulted from every direction. The generator powers a lift inside a warehouse that holds your ticket out of Crash Course - a reinforced truck, which it lowers in agonising slow-motion - but even if you spend the bare minimum of time outside and use an internal stairway to reach a low roof, you can rely on infected assaulting you through the double doors behind you and climbing up on three sides as well. Hunters and Smokers can also pick you off quite happily from surrounding rooftops.

There are more weapon and ammo drops in Crash Course than usual, but you can understand why, because it's a proper day out for the special infected, who can spawn delightfully close to the survivors thanks to cover from abandoned cars and lorries, and are rarely more than a few metres from their targets if they want to enter the fray from the safety of a rooftop. The patch that preceded Crash Course also introduced new HUD elements for the special infected - cooldown icons that show you which of your team-mates' abilities are available and which are recharging. Particularly useful if you're, say, a Smoker hoping to grab onto a Boomer's bile-covered victim and want to check whether the big man has a gob ready to go.

There's an Achievement for hauling in a bile-covered survivor, along with another for incapacitating three survivors as a team within five seconds of each other, and some lower-hanging fruit like restarting the generator within 30 seconds of it going off during the finale. You can certainly obtain a good chunk of the extra 250 gamerpoints if you're playing on Xbox 360 without having to grind or pray, but some will evidently take more time and effort - like the one for killing 5359 zombies on Crash Course alone, reminiscent of the ludicrous Zombie Genocidest offering in the main game.

'Left 4 Dead: Crash Course' Screenshot 2

Don't startle the... oh what's the point.

How well Crash Course operates for truly hardcore Versus mode fans is something it would be stretching credibility for me to address: I've played plenty of Versus, but having been in a semi-decent Counter-Strike league a long time ago I know that things are very different when it gets serious, especially this long after release. Still, you sense those people will need no convincing anyway, and many of them will be playing on the free PC version too, where critical commentary would be as meaningless as a mouse without built-in sensitivity adjustments.

For the rest of you - people who loved Left 4 Dead on either format - Crash Course is another strong, if understated slab of zombie-smashing from the people who wouldn't be told that a four-player FPS that lasts four hours was commercial suicide. In 24 hours I've already gone through it nearly a dozen times in various modes on Xbox 360, and I don't regret parting with five quid for the privilege (in fact, it was mis-priced at 800 MSP when I bought it, and I don't regret that either). Those on an extremely tight budget might want to put those pennies towards the fantastic Left 4 Dead 2 instead, but if you have a hankering now then you'll find Crash Course grows on you. Gob you later.

8 / 10

Left 4 Dead: Crash Course is free on PC and costs 560 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360.

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About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (106) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • matrim83 #1 2 years ago

    Start bitching about the fact that its not free on the Xbox in 3........2.......

  • Darren #2 2 years ago

    Ah so this what Steam was downloading for L4D this morning then... I thought it was taking a long time for a patch!

  • meerkat23 #3 2 years ago

    my annoyance stems from the fact that the first game was a very bare affair. 40 quid for just four campaigns is taking the piss a little. i like value from my games these days.

    while i do value quality over quantity, cant i have both? dont get me wrong i really enjoyed l4d but i felt a little short changed.
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 20:15

  • PrivateFloyd #4 2 years ago

    epic epic game and good dlc too.

    cant wait for the second coming....

  • PrivateFloyd #5 2 years ago

    @meerkat

    i bought this game in january and STILL play minimum 10 hours per week with friends. i think you may be missing the point with regards to how it is played.

    each to their own though i guess.

  • DrDamn #6 2 years ago

    New HUD elements so subtle they aren't even on the screenshot the caption relates to? Or am I missing something.

  • localnotail #7 2 years ago

    Come and play Versus with us Tom :) We'll be gentle. Well, we'll use boomerlube, anyway.

  • GamerG #8 2 years ago

    whilst free is nice you cant really complain at £4.70 on 360 not much more than a Mcdonals meal or a 1.5 pints of beer

  • JonFE #9 2 years ago

    Would Microsoft still charge if it didn't offer any achievements/gamerpoints or are the achievements/gamerpoints present to justify the necessity for a price?
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 14:13

  • kangarootoo #10 2 years ago

    @meerkat23

    I measure value in hours of fun gameplay rather than arbitrary figures.

  • DrRobotnik #11 2 years ago

    Does this mean that the five 'full' chapters in L4D 2 will actually be these 2-levelled mini-chapters that are actually less than half the length of the original's?


    Edit: Yes, that's right - blackball me for asking a fucking question.

    Idiots.

    Edit 2: Thanks :-)
    Edited by 2 at 30/09/09 @ 14:43

  • PrivateFloyd #12 2 years ago

    @ Robotnik

    i doubt it. i the intention was always to provide a small bridge between the two campaigns and to provide a bite size versus playground rather than a 2.5 hour slog.

  • miiiguel #13 2 years ago

    Would Microsoft still charge if it didn't offer any achievements/gamerpoints or are the achievements/gamerpoints present to justify the necessity for a price?

    I don't think that's directly related. Army of Two, for example, brought new Achievements with the DLC and it was/is free.

  • DrRobotnik #14 2 years ago

    But doesn't that leave them with the same problem for L4D2? People complaining that versus matches are 2.5 hrs long again?

    It just makes the whole reasoning for shortening the DLC sound like an excuse...

  • JonFE #15 2 years ago

    "I don't think that's directly related. Army of Two, for example, brought new Achievements with the DLC and it was/is free."

    My bad then; thought that only premium, paid-for DLC could offer achievements.

  • Goodfella #16 2 years ago

    @ meerkat23

    Quality over quantity, in my opinion. What 'value' is bucket loads of content if the game isn't fun or endlessly replayable, as L4D is.

  • DrRobotnik #17 2 years ago

    "I measure value in hours of fun gameplay rather than arbitrary figures."

    How many hours of fun would you have to be provided with for £40, then?
    Is it the same for single and multiplayer games?

    Edit: Again, how is it that I'm getting negative marks for asking a damn question? Is everyone on this forum a trolling smacktard?

    Edit 2: Thanks :-)
    Edited by 2 at 30/09/09 @ 14:44

  • hello_fi #18 2 years ago

    Excellent, this should tide me over til Left 4 Dead 1.01 comes out in November

  • smernicki #19 2 years ago

    i missed on L4D kinda put off because i mostly just play against randoms online, so the COD games suit me better. will hold off til L4D2 i reckon....

  • miiiguel #20 2 years ago

    What's L4D 1.01 ?

  • geeza2020 #21 2 years ago

    I thought this was well worth the 4 quid or so i paid for it. Im still having fun playing the original maps, and this just adds to the whole experience. Just a thought - will they Valve be filling in all the gaps between campaigns with more DLC? Maybe one to bridge the gaps between each of the campaigns, and another one to link to L4D2? That would be pretty cool. Well as long as you dont mind paying for more levels, which luckily i dont!!

  • GamesConnoisseur #22 2 years ago

    Companies wouldnt bitches if MS made it clear that its up to individual companies if they charges for DLC or make it free, and if Konami get upsets that consumers wouldnt pay their rip off dlcs then its the market that dicates not MS who only hosts the service.

    Instead now MS is active participants who 'enforces' the pricing policy, but that doesnt fits as well as there are many DLCs that add to individuals games that have been FREE on XBL! Army of Two as cited in another post above was free?!

    So what up with the seemly arbitary rule?!

  • giant_frying_pan #23 2 years ago

    I love it. But then, I'm an unashamed, unabashed, undying Left 4 Dead whore.
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 14:43

  • muscleblade #24 2 years ago

    "Does this mean that the five 'full' chapters in L4D 2 will actually be these 2-levelled mini-chapters that are actually less than half the length of the original's?"

    I really hope so as L4D is most fun in shorter bursts. I prefer versus and 2,5+ hours per match is waaaay to long imo.
    I love the fact that L4D lets the AI control your character while you eat, take piss or whatever.

  • mkreku #25 2 years ago

    I never understood Left 4 Dead.. I played it through once with a friend of mine and had a blast. But it ended in like 4-5 hours. What then? Were we supposed to start over again? I tried that online once, but it played out exactly the same, there were no alternate paths, the same weapons.. I just didn't get it. Unless having the zombies attack you differently is all the variation people need from this?

  • Waldo #26 2 years ago

    Thank goodness they filled in that narrative gap!

  • muscleblade #27 2 years ago

    "What's L4D 1.01 ?"

    L4D2. Its like Halo 2,5 is Halo 3 in some peoples mind even thouh thats not true at all.

    I loved this new campaign and i cant wait for L4D2 in a few weeks and L4D3 next year.
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 14:46

  • miiiguel #28 2 years ago

    Yes, Army of Two brought two new campaign levels which moved the story forward (good levels, get them!), and upgraded GS to 1100. For free.
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 14:46

  • DrRobotnik #29 2 years ago

    "I really hope so as L4D is most fun in shorter bursts"

    How would you be happier with less than half the content?

    Edit:

    What is in the water today that's pissing you people off whenever someone asks a question?

    Please, someone explain what's wrong with what I asked?
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 15:00

  • cianchristopher #30 2 years ago

    I really wish they'd called the sequel "Left 2 Die" instead of Left 4 (-) Dead 2.

    Also, does anyone else snigger when they read the word "Steam"? Hahahaha (5 years on I'm *still* thinking of "steamy" sex scenes - but then again I'm only 5 years old).....

    They should have called it "Cream"..... That would have been totally snigger-free.....

  • Synthesis #31 2 years ago

    Isn't the Arkham Asylum DLC currently free? If so then doesn't that rain on Valve's explanation about why L4D stuff is being charged for?

  • miiiguel #32 2 years ago

    @ muscleblade: ah! I thought only Halo and Fable had those. Creativity..., please, guys!

  • muscleblade #33 2 years ago

    @DrRobotnik

    Because i think 5 campaigns of the lenght of Crash Course is more than enough for a game like this. The game isnt meant to be played through once - thats missing the point totally. I really prefer the shorter campaigns because its meant that you finish the campaign in one go. I mostly play the campaigns in versus and dropping out in the middle of a game doesnt feel right.

  • AbracadaverAK #34 2 years ago

    I stopped playing L4D after buying the Xbox version, until a few a days ago anyway.

    I forgot how amazingly addictive and fun it is when you get on a decent team. The AI director really is superb at toying with you just when you think you're getting the better of it.
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 15:03

  • muscleblade #35 2 years ago

    @cianchristopher

    The 4 in L4D stands for 4 players. Why should it suddenly stand for the number in the game series. Doesnt make sense at all.

    L4D2 is of course a much better name unless they changed it to 2 player coop.

  • FogHeart #36 2 years ago

    Now that we can play custom maps, the game is worth it's money whether you think it wasn't before or not. I'm not able to touch L4D until Sunday, and will be interested to see how well the campaign stands up against some of the superb custom maps like Death Aboard and Heaven Can Wait.

    Our big problem is that it's really very hard to make a map - they are big and complex. There are quite a few in beta with two or three chapters complete. We're concerned that by the time the two really professional quality custom maps are released - I Hate Mountains and Dead By Dawn - L4D2 will be released and no one will care.

    It's unfortunate that the nature of the game means versus takes twice as long as co-op, but can't be avoided...the obvious solution is to make life easier for survivors so they are more likely to progress - but from what I read on Valve's forums players always complain that Spec Infected aren't powerful enough.

  • localnotail #37 2 years ago

    @ mkreku - it's all about the online co-op Versus mode. It's a whole new game that way, one that never seems to get boring, for me, anyway. Not with randoms though, unless they are all talking and working as a team (rare). There is a still a large pool of willing regular players in the Left4Dead group on EG, even after almost a year since the original release.

    edits: on 360, anyway. Less so on PC, for some reason.
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 14:56

  • PrivateFloyd #38 2 years ago

    Option A - You like the game you buy the content.

    Option B - You either dont like the game or it doesnt interest you therefore you dont need to buy the content or the game.

    Is there anyone in the above posts who still plays L4D on a regular basis and feels financially raped as a result of buying this glorious dlc. I doubt there is.

    This content is designed as fan service for the guys (and girls) who are still playing the game a year since release. And it really is fantastic. By far my gaming experience of this gen bar none.

    Like i said before each to their own i guess but everyone i play with is lovin' this new content. Well Done Valve......sort out the tankless versus levels on crash course though please!!!
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 14:57

  • muscleblade #39 2 years ago

    @mkreku

    The game never plays out the same. Its meant too be played over and over and over.........................

    The first time through is not the best playthrough. Thats for sure.

  • AbracadaverAK #40 2 years ago

    Incidentally, I think it'll be hard to judge whether the versus game time will be the same in L4D2 as there are more special infected to actually control.

  • Machiavellian #41 2 years ago

    Do MS charge Devs for content downloaded from their servers like Sony does. I always thought that MS demanded a charge to pay the download cost but I am not sure.

  • Murbal #42 2 years ago

    I have the points, I'll have me this :-)

  • ZuluHero #43 2 years ago

    "How many hours of fun would you have to be provided with for £40, then?
    Is it the same for single and multiplayer games?"

    For me personally 8-10. If I get more out of it then its a bonus. Fallout 3 for example was very good value for money. As is L4D and the many hours i've spent playing it :)
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 15:08

  • DrRobotnik #44 2 years ago

    " mostly play the campaigns in versus and dropping out in the middle of a game doesnt feel right. "

    That's all very well, but what about people who prefer playing co-op through the campaigns? We'd prefer the longer levels.

    L4D 1 = 20 maps. L4D 2, potentially, 10 maps (if each has x2 like crash course).

    That doesn't seem right to me.

  • miiiguel #45 2 years ago

    "How many hours of fun would you have to be provided with for £40, then?

    I can't rate a game in "hours". It makes no sense to me. Quickies can be more fun than tantric... It's the quality of the experience not the length. Then again I usually have more games then time to play then, and I like to play them to the full.
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 15:12

  • Lebowski #46 2 years ago

    Agree with the posts about you either buy or you don't buy, no-one's holding a frying pan to your head. That said, 540 points is a tad too harsh for my wallet, especially as our PC brothers get it for 0. :-(

  • skillian #47 2 years ago

    @miiiguel

    Agreed, "hours per dollar" is a crazy way to judge a game's value. If they priced CDs like that Bob Dylan's albums would be thousands of pounds a pop.

  • giant_frying_pan #48 2 years ago

    Robotnik, I'm reasonably sure that they've confirmed L4D 2 as having five campaigns of five chapters each. I think Doug Lombardi or Chet Faliszek mentioned this in an interview.

    A quick search indicates that they all have five *except* Swamp Fever which will have four. The main thing is, it's definitely not just two per campaign.
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 15:20

  • giant_frying_pan #49 2 years ago

    >>>no-one's holding a frying pan to your head.

    I am >:)

  • Dizzy #50 2 years ago

    For me 11/10

    L4D... just awesome. One of the best games this gen and IMHO in the history of gaming.

  • skillian #51 2 years ago

    @svd_grasshopper

    Huh? It's a patch downloaded through Steam if that's what you mean.

  • ObiChrisKenobi #52 2 years ago

    Plenty of glitches in textures and 'solid' states, allowing you to hide inside things that you shouldn't be able to get inside. Expect a patch soon, as people will no doubt exploit them in verses mode.

  • skillian #53 2 years ago

    Yes, you need Steam to play the original game. You need Steam to play all Valve games.

  • BinaryBob101 #54 2 years ago

    Just gotta chime in to echo local and Floyd's thoughts. L4D is not a game to play solo. It's all about the Versus. I've been playing up to three matches a night since March (although I have cut down significantly since then). Every game is new, every game is different and the atmosphere in each game is different too, depending on who you play with.

    With the advent of the release of Crash Course we've been given a short, sharp shock of a campaign - which is very cool, but again the Versus is where the game comes into it's own. Last night I had three Versus matches varying from 45 minutes to 90 minutes, all three were bloody great fun and were worth the 560 points for that night's play alone.

  • Xerx3s #55 2 years ago

    "What is in the water today that's pissing you people off whenever someone asks a question? "

    A virus that turns everybody into zombies?

  • sneetch #56 2 years ago

    @svd_grasshopper
    i just got a new pc. do i need to download and install some steam app to get this?

    No of course you don't need to install anything, all you have to do is click your heels together and wish for the game to appear on your PC. The internet fairies will take care of the rest. All you have to do is believe.

    You can buy a disk copy of the game but Steam will have to be installed for the game as the game is associated with a Steam account. Regardless, I don't know how you'd expect the DLC to appear on your PC without downloading it?

    if so not interested.

    You may want to let Valve know that, I'm sure they'd be heartbroken.
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 15:52

  • sneetch #57 2 years ago

    @Xerx3s
    "What is in the water today that's pissing you people off whenever someone asks a question? "

    A virus that turns everybody into zombies?

    Well that explains why I feel like shit today, the lack of a pulse and also why I have this sudden craving for brains.

    Phew.

    I was worried I was pregnant. ;)

  • Dizzy #58 2 years ago

    Svd_grasshopper is a bit of a troll and apparently a PC noob as well. Leave him alone. I am sure it has been quite lonely under that bridge.

  • DrRobotnik #59 2 years ago

    "A quick search indicates that they all have five *except* Swamp Fever which will have four. The main thing is, it's definitely not just two per campaign."

    Excellent news, thank you.

  • kangarootoo #60 2 years ago

    @svd_grasshopper

    So long as you wear a tin foil hat whilst you play, the shitty app won't be able to worm its way into your head (and that is what counts, right?)

    Here is a blueprint for this life saving piece of technology.
    [link url=htt p://www.kid-craft-central.com/origami-hat.html
    ]http://ww w.kid-craft-central.com/origami...[/link]

    P.s. Steam used to be ropey ages ago, but it got better over time. Much like everything, including the motor car and heart bypass operations. If you wish to deprive yourself of fun by maintaining some kind of bizarre "get it right first time, or lose my heart forever" policy then by all means you go to it. The only person you are fooling is yourself.
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 15:59

  • sneetch #61 2 years ago

    @Dizzy

    Ah, yeah, reading his subsequent posts I realised (belatedly) that he was just a troll.

    Shame on me for feeding him.

  • bigshot316 #62 2 years ago

    There's nothing about L4D that I could ever dislike.

    if L4D raped my mum, I'd be handing him a towel afterwards to clean up, all the while telling him how much I loved his hair.

  • Dizzy #63 2 years ago

    >i'll just get the cracked version.

    It is about to get VERY lonely under that bridge now. Banhammer inc.. 3...2....
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 16:07

  • skillian #64 2 years ago

    He won't get banned for that.

    @svd_grasshopper, if you've just bought a new gaming PC but refuse to install Steam, you will miss out on the best thing about PC gaming. I urge you to reconsider.

  • lavalant #65 2 years ago

    I sold my copy of L4D(got a good price for it to) in anticipation of L4D2, I'd be more inclined to have kept it had this game been supported better and content made free. I think the reasoning behind the charging is also suspect, plenty of other free DLC packs out there.

  • Dizzy #66 2 years ago

    >great game but the visuals etc were verydated/ shoddy imo

    The engine is perfect for what it has to do. Not even the mighty (for mass battles) Halo engine can push 100 zombies on screen. You can't have your cake and eat it as well ;)

    This is a perfect case where the time spend has mostly gone to gameplay and innovation. Fine with me because the end result is extremely playable and fun. The AI is also a trailblazer for things to come. Watch that Valve space.

    >ALSO i think the HYPE by valve of the" AI DIRECTOR

    Seriously dude... what are you smoking? The AI director is amazing and yes it is the future of gaming where content will be more and more done by procedural/AI stuff and not scripted. Consoles/PCs are finally fast enough to do stuff like that. Do you even like gaming?

    >most games have a similar ai system

    Err.. NOT! Some of the very good AI games like Halo or HL have indeed an AI system were the different AI actors "know" about each other and "exchange" information. The AI director takes this to an even higher level by changing the flow of the game based on the situation/players. The new AI director will now also change weather patterns and you can bet that in the future the AI director will even change the physical layout of the maps and maybe even the look/abilities of enemies.
    Edited by 4 at 30/09/09 @ 16:33

  • Spekingur #67 2 years ago

    Also, Valve have said that there will be at least one more campaign update to L4D1 - although no mention of when.

  • kangarootoo #68 2 years ago

    @svd_grasshopper

    Christ, what a whining kid. One minute Steam is shit, the next there are no good shooters out there anyway, an hour from now you will be complaining that your keyboard has gotten sweaty from all your angry typing. Have a glass of milk and count to 10.

  • Kapo! #69 2 years ago

    "I never understood Left 4 Dead.. I played it through once with a friend of mine and had a blast. But it ended in like 4-5 hours. What then? Were we supposed to start over again? I tried that online once, but it played out exactly the same, there were no alternate paths, the same weapons.. I just didn't get it. Unless having the zombies attack you differently is all the variation people need from this?"

    I completely agree. I can only manage 1-2 hours per month playing L4D before I completely succumb to boredom. The general pattern of the game is: Join a random group of players, advance 10 paces, shoot horde of zombies, advance a further 10 paces, kill a Hunter/Smoker and some more zombies, advance a few more paces, kill more zombies, reach Safe House, rinse and repeat on the next map. I'm not condemning anyone who actually thoroughly enjoys the game (good for them, I say), but I just fail to see the attraction. It's just so mind-numbingly repetitive.

  • kangarootoo #70 2 years ago

    @Kapo!

    "The general pattern of the game is: Join a random group of players"

    Hold it right there. That is the problem imho. Joining a random group of players will almost certainly result in a less involving experience, as the banter and strategy between you all just won't be that strong.

    Playing with a group of friends you know and like makes the experience completely different. I've never played L4D with strangers and have no desire to. If none of your mates are into L4D then its fair enough that you play something, but its a shame really as you and your friends are missing out.

    P.s. this complaining about rinse and repeat seems to be quite a modern thing to me. Nobody complained that Pacman was repetetive. Surely if something is fun, doing it often is kind of fine and dandy?
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 17:05

  • Shrike #71 2 years ago

    @Kapo!

    I agree, actually, although I'm only being brave enough to say so because a few people have come out of the woodwork. I appreciate L4D more than I enjoy it. I think it's because I never got sufficiently into the mechanics to enjoy it as a game as much as an experience, if that makes any sense. I've definitely had my moments with it, though.

    I have a friend who isn't a gamer but who comes around to mine occasionally to play co-op of various flavours, usually Halo, L4D or Gears 2. Of those, Gears is the one that gets the most requests - he just doesn't really enjoy L4D however much I explain why he should. I'm not saying that this applies to everyone, but it's an interesting example. He doesn't notice the variation in enemy patterns etc. because he's not been conditioned to learn them by other games. To him it's just a game with a relatively small amount of weapons and enemy types.

    Not wading into this thread to start an argument. Just wanted to offer another side given that everyone who offers a negative opinion of L4D gets instantly marked down.

  • skillian #72 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    I think it's because many people see the game as a single player game with co-op, rather than the multiplayer game with bots that it is. I know I kind of got burned like that.

    People expect to play the same maps in multiplayer over and over again, but the days of single player games with the same map/level repeatedly (like Pacman) are pretty much over now I think.

    @Shrike, Kapo!

    I think a lot of people agree, but because of the whole boycott thing you often get instantly lumped as a whiner with a sense of entitlement, so it's difficult to make that point in a sensible discussion.
    Edited by 2 at 30/09/09 @ 17:23

  • sneetch #73 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo
    Hold it right there. That is the problem imho. Joining a random group of players will almost certainly result in a less involving experience, as the banter and strategy between you all just won't be that strong.

    Aye, I play it with the same guys that I play TF2, CS and DoD with, we have all-talk switched on on the server so that both infected and survivors share the same voice channel during the game, it means you can't discuss strategy so easily but we're willing to sacrifice that for the banter and abuse that's doled out; the ability to hear their sweet, sweet tears falling onto the keyboard as you eat their faces off is well worth it. :D

  • HoriZon #74 2 years ago

    @svd_grasshopper

    Yes its true PC games are on the decline but there is still lots of good games out and coming out.

    Can you blame the PC game makers for losing faith in the market with people like you just getting the "cracked" version, no one else is to blame but yourself.

    We console players welcome the likes of id and Valve and others!

    PC gaming is on its way out and we all know it!

  • giant_frying_pan #75 2 years ago

    >>>some kind of bizarre "get it right first time, or lose my heart forever" policy

    Well to be fair, that isn't so bizarre if you are a heart bypass op early adopter!
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 17:48

  • FogHeart #76 2 years ago

    Sadly my circle of friends are all WOW addicts, so instead of playing with them I end up accepting random friend invitations after L4D games. Then they invite me into versus....always versus...and I didn't buy this game to kill off Zoe, Bill, Louis and Francis. I bought it to see them through to the other side of the apocalypse. Down with versus! I want a steam group that only play co-op.

    Steam is a lot less of a system hog than it used to be, but whenever I pull up task manager Steam has a HUGE number of disk IOs even when my PC hasn't played a game and is idle. I'm tempted to remove it from startup, but I know I will lose the 'X is playing game Y' notifications, which are useful.

  • StooMonster #77 2 years ago

    PC gaming is on its way out and we all know it!

    People have been saying this for 15-years or more, PC gaming is alive and well and getting better with the likes of Steam.

    Sadly there are freetard pirating scum doing their best to ruin the platform, but then they're everywhere in life these days.

  • FogHeart #78 2 years ago

    >>>some kind of bizarre "get it right first time, or lose my heart forever" attitude

    Sounds like most women I've slept with...

    Edit: Alright. Both women...
    Edited by 1 at 30/09/09 @ 17:52

  • organica #79 2 years ago

    Have to confess to being a little disappointed that there isn't a bit more variety in the landscape with Crash Course. Apart from the bridge and to a certain extent the auto-yard, it feels more than a little like No Mercy.

    Still, a bit more spice in advance of the sequel - and it provides a nice tight campaign playthrough since my compatriots and myself are at best lukewarm Versus players.

  • XdarXideX #80 2 years ago

    I bought it, fully enjoying it, will play for hours and be satisfied with the 560msp I spent on it.

    I wasn't aware that the content was coming with new achievements, so before yesterday I thought that was the reason for the bitching about it being Premium DLC. It's quite commonplace that Xbox360 games these days have this thing called DLC that you have to pay for, and it often comes with added achievements. Where have you guys been all these bloody years?

  • Bazfrag #81 2 years ago

    Thread is going places.... What a clusterfuck. Just like the Uncharted 2 one.

    Gonna try the update in a minute. Steam was on life support last night, so i didn't get the chance yesterday. :*(

  • George-Roper #82 2 years ago

    Fuckin' A! Yet more top, FREE PC DLC for one of the best games of the last 5 years.

    Everyone banging on about how few campaigns there are and how it can be completed in 4-5 hours are completely and utterly missing the point.

    L4D is about refinement. It's the Ridge Racing 'best lap' of the FPS world. There's nothing finer than getting a good group of players together, who all know what they're doing and tackling the game with precision and an eye on the clock.

    Utterly fantastic game and I don't care what people say about the Source engine, it looks fucking stunning in context, with all the video settings ramped to the max.

  • Spekingur #83 2 years ago

    PC gaming is on it's way out? Have you seen the amount of peripherals you can get with a console? And everything you can add and/or upgrade? Looks to me that consoles are starting to be more and more of a PC than a console.

    And pirating? It's just technology advancement - one that publishers don't have any real control over but they wish they had. The way we play and pay for our videogames will change in the near future.

    As for Crash Course, I can see many a great Versus game going on in it - especially with all the changes to location of weapons, ammo and the extra special infected. Also, during a run-through in it for the first time I saw a normal zombie running at me on all fours. Good stuff.

  • Chufty #84 2 years ago

    I'm loving this, some really fiendish places for the infected to ambush. More than enough to bide the time until L4D2.

  • Wolverfrog #85 2 years ago

    I missed out on the first L4D, not much point getting it now though is there? I'll just get the sequel.

  • kangarootoo #86 2 years ago

    "Sounds like most women I've slept with...

    Edit: Alright. Both women..."

    Hehehehe. Good work.

  • darkmorgado #87 2 years ago

    so svd_grasshopper is as big a troll on here as he is over on CVG. Big surprise.
    Ignore him. If it comes out of Sony, it's the second coming. He seems to think playstation invented gaming.
    Oh, and he has a hardon for a chav car and bangs on about it endlessly. What is it they say about penis extensions...?

  • TheTingler #88 2 years ago

    While I agree with RobtheHood that Death Aboard, and also Heaven Can Wait, are better, more imaginative user campaigns than Crash Course, I think saying that Eurogamer's review was 'pointless' is a little silly. It's a new official campaign, however brief and long overdue, for a major brilliant game. Worth a review.

    As for paying for it though... it depends how committed you are to L4D1.

  • Ryuken #89 2 years ago

    CC is a copy-paste job, at least the Survival pack offered something really new. I'd preferred some engine and AI fixes as well to be honest.

    Really wonderful would have been some solution to closet camping but according to Valve we'll need to pay for those game design fixes with L4D2. Still buying the latter of course but I got the impression we're not gonna see the fixes the original game so firmly needs (and deserves) any time soon.

  • brod #90 2 years ago

    Yet another reason to play multiplatform FPS on PC.

  • Nephirion #91 2 years ago

    Nice pings on l4d since crash course making it really fun to play versus with 500+ pings :o

  • psychokitten #92 2 years ago

    I always welcome more L4D content, user or Valve created, but I only got to play this for a bit yesterday and it was awfully glitchy. Achievements didn't work, lots of clipping problems, running through scenery :o

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #93 2 years ago

    I didn't like Heaven Can Wait much. It abandons Valve's item placement strategy, for a much meaner distribution of ammo and , particularly, health and our team got lost when we reached the roof of a city block, and there arreapred to be nowhere else to go.

    Now Coal'd Blood - that's a campaign! Interesting, unique scenery in Left 4 Dead seems to be something in very short supply (including in Crash Course by the sound of it) and Coal'd Blood has that in spades. Plus a funky Halo-esque industrial lift sequence.

  • XdarXideX #94 2 years ago

    I hate playing this with yanks... every game I've played with a US host, I've been kicked out for NOT glitching the artillery bit in Chapter 1. If you're going to buy content, play it how it's meant to be played for fuck's sake!

  • AliRay #95 2 years ago

    So apologies for the silly question:

    Will this DLC work with L4D2 as well, or not?

  • XdarXideX #96 2 years ago

    I don't see why it would, considering it's based on the story of the 4 survivors from L4D and not L4D2.

  • Pacman8MyGhostkart #97 2 years ago

    DrRobotnik's fortunes on the front page make me lol.

    Will hopefully getting a good gaming rig at the end of the month, time to finally check out the L4D series :) top review.

  • AliRay #98 2 years ago

    Cheers XdarXideX. That seems to make sense. Told you it was a silly question!

    Waits for L4D2 instead...

  • Mr_Brown #99 2 years ago

    No comments on how glitchy this is on the 360? I'm surprised it scored do high. There are certain rooms you walk in and the whole level disspears (not rendered) outside the door. Then there is the container Walls you can walk through, along with vans also. It's a good capaign but it looks painfully rushed out.

  • XdarXideX #100 2 years ago

    @Mr_Brown

    I've noticed the disappearing walls a couple times... not sure if this is a disc reading issue brought up by the DLC (85mb of DLC surely doesnt include extra textures) so maybe installing the game will stop this. To be honest though my enjoyment of the DLC has not diminished because of it.

  • Gecks #101 2 years ago

    anyone else think that extra campaigns for L4D are about as worthwhile as extra backdrops for beat 'em ups?

    i say that as a big L4D fan; i just love the game, and never saw the amount of static 'content' as some sort of weakness.

  • XdarXideX #102 2 years ago

    @Gecks

    That all depends on how much variety you can get out of playing the same scenario over and over. For me, the variation of the level layout and item placement really does add to the experience.

  • localnotail #103 2 years ago

    re: glitchiness - apparently (according to Slint1000 in the XBOX forum) it was due to a server issue that was fixed in the early of hours of this morning. It was all working fine on the day of release, but the dedicated servers went down so L4D was running on P2P hence the problems yesterday.

  • sneetch #104 2 years ago

    Anyone else notice that there seems to be a whole lot more weapons and stuff in this one? On my first couple of play-throughs I was practically falling over weapons all the time.

    @Ryuken

    The crashed chopper is the news helicopter that rescued you from the roof of Mercy Hospital at the end of the first campaign so from the look of things CC was a bridge between the first and second campaigns that got cut out when they decided to split it up more into the self-contained "movies" format they released it in (according to the dev commentary they were originally all connected).

  • TheTingler #105 2 years ago

    @ Mentalist(air) I think I know where you mean, that's a bit of a maze that bit. It's a really tough campaign, but I think it's good to get challenged once and a while! :) Will definitely try Coal'd Blood. Night Terrors is a very imaginative, well made one too. Five maps based on various things (first mansion from 28 Days Later, then perfect recreations of the Haunted Mansion in Disneyworld and Moria - right down to sound effects and ghosts - a Mayan temple from Tintin, and a really messed up finale where you finally work out what the hell's going on), the second map alone is worth the download.

    I think L4D's still worth getting even with the sequel round the corner, as I think you can get it pretty cheaply now. The original four campaigns are superbly designed, and the simplicity of design makes it easy to get into - something I'm worried L4D2 will disrupt with its incendiary ammo and guitars.

  • PlugMonkey #106 2 years ago

    something I'm worried L4D2 will disrupt with its incendiary ammo and guitars.

    Yeah, I have the same concerns, but I have a reasonable amount of faith that Valve won't go jumping the shark.

    And I'd echo what Robthehood said. The days of you needing to spend thousands on a gaming PC are long gone. I confidently predict that something like this:

    [link url=http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Gaming+Range/Trident/G ladiator+Trident+%22GA%22+Gaming+System+-+Base+Unit+?product Id=38034
    ]http://ww w.aria.co.uk/Systems/Gaming+Ran...[/link]

    would run most new games at a canter, for the same price as a PS3. And that's prebuilt, retail and new. Build your own, or pick one up 2nd hand, and it'd be even cheaper. And it'll plug into your HDTV. And the games are cheaper. And it'll be a better media server. And you can run whatever software you like on it, not just what MS or Sony sanction months after everyone else has been using it forever.