Left 4 Dead Comments by Kieron Gillen

i want for mt ps3 :(

Excellent game, especially played with friends of variable competency. :)

Some times my friends are like a well drilled military unit, other times they're like, well, they're completely dire and I'm convinced that one or more of them is a special type of boss infected.

My favourite so far was when we were playing the third map in the first campaign (we're masochists who have played years of CS, TF2 and other team games so we're playing on Expert difficulty, now known as "Complete Bastard AI Director" difficulty). We approached a petrol station and heard the tank music, the basic sentiment was "oh shit" and three of us were borderline panicking. "Spread out" we say. And "if he chases you run, everyone else, shoot him until he turns around". Then I heard a single shot ring out and the petrol station goes up in a massive explosion and the music stops. There was silence. I turned around and saw Zoey standing on top of a truck cab sighting down her hunting rifle, silhouetted against the skyline.

Now, I've never actually loved a computer game character before but that? Taking out a tank with a single shot (and, granted, a petrol station)? That was awesome.

Knowing the big bloke who was playing as her (occasionally called "shithouse", as in "built like a brick...") kind of spoiled it though. ;)

Oh, and he's called a smoker because he... oh, never mind. :)



@makeamazing
"I know its more of an online multiplayer experience, but I dont think games companies should totally forget the singleplayer experience."

It's not more of an online multiplayer experience, it is an online multiplayer coop experience, without other people you're missing so much. I'm surprised they even bothered with the single player (there's no single player in TF2 after all, it wouldn't work). When I downloaded the demo I played through the single player and felt the exact same way, then I played with my friends and the game just opened up into an amazing experience.

If you're not playing it online coop then you're missing out on so much. Seriously, go for it. You've nothing to lose, even on random servers with random people you'll sometimes get awesome players and sometimes get complete idiots. But it's worth it.



@UncleLou
"I've got a problably somewhat silly question:

Can you play coop (online) with just one other person, with the AI buddys filling in? And how about versus? 1 vs 1?"

Just to confirm you can play online with just one other person and the AI fills in the gaps, I've played through sections where we were missing one or two people, the AI team mates are a curious mix between idiotic and amazingly competent, for example, they react quickly to boss zombies but have a habit of just standing around in daft places, like a corridor about to be filled by a horde when there's a perfectly good room right next to them. I don't know about versus but I imagine it's the same.

To stress something I said in the review - really, you need to play the Versus mode before you can make a call on how long it'll last you.

KG

GOTY!

Well for me at least!

@stampax ps3lol

can't friggin wait :)

Was there a mention of how only two of the maps work for versus or did I skip that bit?

Awful omission.

Want. So. Hard.

Can't afford it till next friday though :-( and can't afford to upgrade my PC so its going to be a 360 purchase.

Gamertag "Albull 2010z" for anyone wanting a serious player to play with.

This should have been a ten :op

@1Dgaf - there will be more content. For free, if you have it on PC.

@sneetch - When you're playing as a tank, you feel charged with energy - like you're invincible! That magic box appears on the screen, "Norfolk'n'clue will be the tank. Get ready". Excitement rushes through you - and the bar on the right that decreases if you don't attack players forces you into combat (if it reaches zero you lose control of him) - but that rush must be tempered with caution. If you rush the survivors headlong in an open space, and give them a chance to focus fire, you will get cut down. Quickly. He comes into his own in corridors and cramped stairwells. You can see the survivors panicking badly and bouncing around in their desperation to back away but above all keep firing. Then you chuck a lump of rock to reduce the threat. Scratch 1. Then a survivor gets stuck in a corner. Scratch 2. The others back into a room. They are yours. ROOOOAAAAAAAAR!.

This game is a top laugh.

This has sold me. Excellent review.

'It's braining men' and the 'You're mostly able to revive fallen comrades. Mostly.' Aliens reference get kudos points too.

Dr_Spankenstein: but better online connectivity on the 360.

...? Easier than clicking in your steam friends list and choosing "Join game"?

Important question: If you have the PC version can you play with people who own the 360 version?

I'm already bored of it.

I don't get a 9/10 feeling from the demo.

Awesome review. I was enjoying it so much that I had to scroll up to see who wrote it. Not surprised to find Mr Gillen's name on it.

Seldom have I come across a review this shoddily written.

Self-indulgent beyond belief. The composition was so tortured, I had to stop myself punching the screen.

This guy's supposed to be a decent writer, as well. I just hope he was having an off day.

Awesome review, definatly worth a 9.

Also keep an eye out for the 360 version in game, they maybe selling it for 29.99. Good for trade ins. ;-)

Sorry, short on time - does this have genuine co-op in 'story' mode?

"Niiiiiiice... and a PC review of a multiformat game for a change instead of the Xbox 360"

Yes, no mention of the controls on the console version. Some people are not overly impressed with how this controls on console.

Hmm.

I'm already bored of it.

Only boring people get bored... :P

"Some people are not overly impressed with how this controls on console."

Those people would be called 'PC snobs'.

It controls just fine on the 360. Very sharp and with exactly the right amount of inertia and deadzone.

"If it didn't have Valve on the box it would be getting average reviews. Dated engine, 0 story and reason to play offline. Horrible graphics and hit detection. It's a relic that has no place in 2008

But you all can't help but suck Valves big one no matter what crap they release"

ooooOOO!

But yea I pretty much agree. :p

brillant game, the AI director is really something and the fact it changes all the time is great (although he is a real b*strd - when it is all going wrong he throws in a tank and a hunter just to spice it up, really get the old blood flowing.) And the zombie hord is brillant if someone is stupid enough to set of an alarm they come from everywhere, just nuts only way to describe it.

The pipe bomb and the shower of blood once it takes out a load if zombies is great - in fact i can't think of any downside to this game, but you need to play in the dark with the sound up and some good team players and hours will fly by - i don't understand the people who say they are bored, do you have a pulse?

Also it is great fun watching everyone run away from or screaming down the mic "TANK"! makes we sweat even now.

Ok, I played the demo now. So the entire game is all about shooting endless amounts of respawning grey people while walking from point A to point B? And the full priced game only has four levels that you can complete in 4 hours?

How on earth did this earn a 9? For me it was just running around, holding down the fire button and yelling "Reloading" every five seconds! Doesn't it bother people when you clear out a dead-end room and three seconds later ten grey people comes flooding out of the same empty room?

Has anyone else tried this mod before:

http://www.zombiepanic.org/site/index.php

Couple of friends have recommended it, might give it a go after work tonight.

@NickD09 and mkreku

Buy something else then. To me this is a 10/10 and GOTY. Fable 2 was like a 7/10 to me and i wouldnt even think of putting Fallout 3 into my 360 so its all about taste. This and Gears 2 is the type of games i love. Horde mode is better than the Campaign in Gears 2 imo and this is like a whole game of horde mode. Amazingly good fun and a good challenge.

muscleblade
"Who cares coop is the way to go. You dont play Horde mode in Gears 2 alone either do you? This game will probably end up being my GOTY even though Gears 2 is up there too ( love Horde mode)."

I did! Got to wave 4. And I blew myself up... :(

GOTY for me too.

And as for the length, I've only played the first and half of the second campaign and I've already put 20+ hours into the game.

Can't wait to try out the Versus mode.

Played this with some randoms from teh interweb last night as my pikey friends are waiting for the box copy on Friday. Its srsly top class entertainment.

Three of us made it out of the first 'movie'. One we had to leave behind on the roof of the hospital, he was got by a smoker just as he reached the helicopter, literally a second away from making it out alive. Amazing

@the people who think it's dead short - it's not actually about the finishing of the game just the once. It's about the hours of amusement you get from it while doing the levels more than once. Ah yes - the levels...they are superbly designed.

Acutally, I'm going to stop bumming valve now, people are either going to play it or not. Those that turn their noses up before checking out the multiplayer will be missing out. If you play it and don't like it, fair enough. More server space for us lot :)

I've just finished playing a Versus game for the first time on the 360 (it came out here today). There were two of us on the 'good' side and four on the 'zombie' side. Shortly before reaching the first safe house the other 'good' person got knocked down just as a Boomer exploded over me. I shot as many of the new wave as possible and then risked my life reviving my 'partner' so they wouldn't be on the ground for too long. What did I get as way of thanks? Kicked out of the game. Pfft. Don't know why - maybe because the other person was on the ground for more than 5 seconds? What's the point in a pretty much online only game when you have to put up with crap like that?

@farticusmaximus
""Some people are not overly impressed with how this controls on console."

Those people would be called 'PC snobs'.

It controls just fine on the 360. Very sharp and with exactly the right amount of inertia and deadzone."

Some of them are PC snobs, undoubtedly.

Others are just ham-thumbed oafs who just can't get the hang of the 360 controller (I'd put myself in the latter category :), I'd give anything to use a 'cube controller on my 360, although I'd have to shove a few more buttons on it).

@Norfolk'n'Clue
"@sneetch - When you're playing as a tank, you feel charged with energy - like you're invincible! That magic box appears on the screen, "Norfolk'n'clue will be the tank. Get ready". Excitement rushes through you - and the bar on the right that decreases if you don't attack players forces you into combat (if it reaches zero you lose control of him) - but that rush must be tempered with caution. If you rush the survivors headlong in an open space, and give them a chance to focus fire, you will get cut down. Quickly. He comes into his own in corridors and cramped stairwells. You can see the survivors panicking badly and bouncing around in their desperation to back away but above all keep firing. Then you chuck a lump of rock to reduce the threat. Scratch 1. Then a survivor gets stuck in a corner. Scratch 2. The others back into a room. They are yours. ROOOOAAAAAAAAR!."

Hmmm... your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. Now I really have to give versus a shot. :)

Do they spawn other bosses at the same time as a tank? I'd imagine it'd be a walkover if you had a boomer, hunter or smoker at the same time.

In my group we really need a better tactic for dealing with tanks than our current one which, despite what we say when we hear/see one, would be best put as "ok, everyone run about screaming, firing wildly and for god's sake people, try to get picked off by smokers, hunters or vanilla infected as quickly as possible! Joe, startle that witch ASAP. We're on a clock here people: we want to be back in the respawn area within a minute".

Some people didn't enjoy the demo? Madness! I put more hours (17) into that teeny demo than I've ever put into TF2 - it really is sublime. Scratches my Doom itch nicely. Now to wait for Amazon to mail me the game.... : (

The demo was ace, full of quality and it kind of grew on you the more it played.

Now (also) to wait for Amazon to get it for me.

This would be my GOTY if Persona 3 hadnt also come out this year.

Interesting review.

However, I would have liked to see a little information regarding performance, bugs, etc. Not that I don't appreciate the focus on gameplay, but something about the technical side would have been welcome.

Also, will there be a separate 360 review?

There's (almost) never a separate review for any other multi-platform game, so I doubt it.

@cyber_nicco
"Interesting review.

However, I would have liked to see a little information regarding performance, bugs, etc. Not that I don't appreciate the focus on gameplay, but something about the technical side would have been welcome.

Also, will there be a separate 360 review?"

On PC I've had no problems at all, I played from 6:00 PM yesterday until 1:00 AM this morning. I once got disconnected but that was because my router decided to reset. Managed to get back in in about a minute.

Actually, once my graphics went a bit wonky there was a fluorescent pink overlay on certain textures, I alt-tabbed out and in again and it fixed itself.

@bonker
"Sorry, short on time - does this have genuine co-op in 'story' mode?"

There is no difference between the single player campaign and the co-op campaign. Can't say about the versus mode.

If you're interested in pre-ordering the PC version, it is available for £19.97 right now.

WHY THE HELL DON'T YOU MENTION A WORD ABOUT SPLIT-SCREEN?!

There are still people not sold on the whole online thing, and I'm definetly not going to pay for or sign up for a subscription I can't get out of without making a long-winded phone call. Yes, I'm taking about Live! - easy to sign up for, but hard to get out of - probably helps boost their number. Still, Left 4 Dead might be worth it if it has 4-player split-screen....

WHY THE HELL DON'T YOU MENTION A WORD ABOUT SPLIT-SCREEN?!

Because it's a PC review, and split-screen isn't officially supported.

Two things:

1. I have a strong feeling this will end up being my GOTY.

2. I have a worrying feeling that this might be lost amongst the other 2008 releases, both in terms of sales and (more importantly for a co-op game) on the playlists of my Live friends. I hope this won't be the case, but I fear that people won't see past GeOW2 and CoD5 :/

Couldnt stand the demo.

This to me is just EG giving yet another fps game a high score..


>I hate people and have no friends, so this game does not appeal.

I have friends.. none of them play games though.. :-)

"...4-5 hours of pure-play content (i.e. no significant cut-scenes) is about standard for a modern FPS..."

Eh? What full game FPS worth buying has been under 5 hours long, even if you're not counting cutscenes and mission briefings?

(I'm not talking about L4D, which is absolutely worth buying because it's replayable as hell, but standard linear FPS games.)

TF2 with zombies?

Sounds brill. Is the 360 version much different (in terms of standard gameplay)?

the matchmaking system and crappy servers are completely spoiling my enjoyment of this game.

Okay.. That reads like a 10. :-)

@ NickD09 - gameplay over graphics, it's as easy as that. So in their day neither TFC or Counterstrike or TF2 were worthwile games according to you as they all have 0 SP and are multiplayer only?

Also the fact Source is only DX9 max and adaptable is key for a good MP experience for a wide range of people. My mate, who hasn't upgraded for 3 years and has a single core CPU and X800 GPU can have as good an experience as me with a more up to date computer, which is a good thing for him isn't it? Crysis and Farcry 2 wont work well on his rig, at least Valve aren't forcing him to upgrade yet, and there are many many people worldwide like him.

http://www.snappygamer.com/2008/11/20/le...

@smelly

"This to me is just EG giving yet another fps game a high score.. "

Are you really that stupid, or did you not read the review or ANY of the comments?

I played this last night (demo) with 2 mates & what a good game this is. We are all looking to buy this now.