L4D2- Am I wrong? --Advice wanted--

[Hussmann54]

So I am big on post apocalyptic game (Fallout, for instance, has recently become a big favorite.)
Even though it seems that as this genre gains popularity, it looses quality at an equal rate. This brings me to the problem of L4d2

I never got the first left for dead on the 360, instead a cheap cut down PC version that runs sloppy. It ran well just enough to keep me interested. Despite the bugs my poor little laptop had to get through I found it entertaining. You run around and shoot things and they fall down dead and occasionally get back up, bite your spin and rip it out while you werent looking. Everything that a zombie shooter should be.

But alas poor yorick (Spelling?) my greatest fear may have been realized and that valve may have shut off the creative section of their brains and taken the road of the Halo game. By this I mean:

I got the free demo on xbox live and I played it and the game play was smooth and everything else seemed fine. But I got the feeling that I had seen this all before. despite the new handgun i got to use (with little skill might I add), melee weapons and prospect of new shiny things it all felt the same to me. Is it wrong to judge the book by its cover or have I hit the nail on the head. Preferrably I would like this answered by people who genuinely try to enjoy the game but wont degrade themselves to protect the idiot child of a once beautiful woman turned prostitute by the tides of a dawn since past that I fear L4D2 might be...

This isnt a review by any means. Instead its an invitation for your reviews and (hopefully fair and even ) judgments. I would really like to use my money wisely on this so I am going out on a limb and putting it in your hands.

 

[Death on Trapezoids]

I guess I like it. Like yatzee said, the new stuff at least allowed me to enjoy the gameplay for while again. But you are right, you have the same core gameplay mechanics. However, one comparison is the Half Life series, which uses the same core gameplay mechanics for most of its ga-cough, episodes. Or did I just step onto hallowed ground?

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

Left 4 Dead 2 is a fresh new take on the zombie killing coop gameplay that was introduced in the first game.

I am thoroughly happy with both versions of the game. If you want more zombies and melee weapons, buy it.

 

[Radeonx]

Left 4 Dead 2 fixed the problems in a first one, made new characters that are as identifiable as they can be for the type of game it is, and added in new things with the melee weapons and new zombies.
So, no, you aren't right with it. In my opinion, at least.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

It is like every single sequel ever made and that always will be made it takes the core game mechanics improves on it and adds new things I think you are making a mountain out of a mole hill or expecting a fully redone game.

 

[afaceforradio]

Didn't Valve release Left 4 Dead 2 instead of a Left 4 Dead 1 Expansion Pack? It would explain why there weren't the kind of differences that, for example, Assassin's Creed 2 has to its predecessor.

 

[Hussmann54]

It is like every single sequel ever made and that always will be made it takes the core game mechanics improves on it and adds new things I think you are making a mountain out of a mole hill or expecting a fully redone game.

Well I think part of it is, I just dont wanna spend 60$ American on something that will be over too soon.

 

[Nimbus]

... a cheap cut down PC version that runs sloppy...

Uh, what are you talking about?

 

[Darmort]

I've enjoyed it so far. The problem is the demo by no means lives up to any part of the full game, even less so than other demos do.
I've found Left 4 Dead 2 to be harder than the first, as well as more involving. With six Special Infected running, often two or even three at once, you keep yourself on your toes a bit more.
Weapons and equipment are the second biggest change, and although you get various melee weapons like frying pans and police nightsticks, I felt they were overshadowed by the axe and guitar, which I much prefer. Chainsaw is good, but has a limited amount of fuel. Finally, there's a range of weapons now. There's the hunting rifle, which has been improved sufficiently enough in my opinion, the sniper rifle, a SCAR which has burst-fire, an AK-47 like every other shooter ever made[/sarcasm], a grenade launcher and another kind of shotgun that's between the rapid-firing auto-shotgun and the pump-action. Things like adrenaline are more useful in the full game, boomer bile is like a pipebomb, but doesn't kill anything, ammo kits and defib units are useful as well, although they replace your medkit, so with the ammo kit you might as well use it straight away and the defib unit is best used, in either versus or scavenge mode or if you're doing incredibly badly.
Level design hasn't drastically improved, the markings on the walls are back, and the new characters are likable enough I suppose.
But it's not a full game. It feels like an expansion, like what Winter Assault did to Dawn of War; good and satisfying. I managed to pick it up for £20 from Game (UK, so I'm not sure if you have one wherever you are in the world), and if I could've picked it up for less then I would've. I wouldn't've picked it up for more than £20, as I don't feel that, say, £25 is worth a change of characters, a change of levels, a few more weapons and a new game mode.

I enjoy it, it's a good fun game, although I guess it's all down to personal preference. That's the run down, Hussmann54.

 

[BloodSquirrel]

Interesting.

This post appears to be some form of modern art, possibly commenting on the military-industrial complex. I think the second paragraph represents Jesus.

 

[Hussmann54]

... a cheap cut down PC version that runs sloppy...

Uh, what are you talking about?

It was version my friend had in a transferable format, the graphics were slightly dummed down, and it just ran choppy. This was all more a rant against my laptop than the game itself. lol Maybe the reason I did so well was that with a slow computer it was like slowing down time in the game lol

 

[Banana Phone Man]

It's funnier as shown here:

It also gets rid of most of the problems the first one had. The fist one was great and they just refind it.

 

[geldonyetich]

It's interesting, but often the way you choose to play a game will jade your perspective towards what the game is.

I've seen this before when people try to play City of Heroes like a typical MMORPG, not even bothering to use LOS or cones or fire or pop and drop techniques, and then complain that it's just a typical MMORPG experience in spandex.

Now I'm seeing it again when the original poster says "despite the new handgun i got to use (with little skill might I add), melee weapons and prospect of new shiny things it all felt the same to me." Well, of course, if that's how you look at the game then that's all it will be. If you play Left4Dead like Halo, never bothering to cooperate with other players, running and gunning, you'll wonder what the big deal is.

That said, Left4Dead 2 never said it would be markedly different than Left4Dead. You should assume whenever you see the title, it's just the next iteration of the same gameplay. Complete revamps that ride the coat tails of past success by keeping hte name, like Fallout 3, are rare exceptions at best.

 

[Woodsey]

My friends has got a good eye for games of actual worth, and he's played both (I haven't). He says the demo of the second isn't at all indicative of the rest of the game - so I'll take his word for it.

Also, are you trying to say the PC version is inferior?

... a cheap cut down PC version that runs sloppy...

Uh, what are you talking about?

It was version my friend had in a transferable format, the graphics were slightly dummed down, and it just ran choppy. This was all more a rant against my laptop than the game itself. lol Maybe the reason I did so well was that with a slow computer it was like slowing down time in the game lol

Doesn't sound like a legit copy...

 

[Hussmann54]

I've enjoyed it so far. The problem is the demo by no means lives up to any part of the full game, even less so than other demos do.
I've found Left 4 Dead 2 to be harder than the first, as well as more involving. With six Special Infected running, often two or even three at once, you keep yourself on your toes a bit more.
Weapons and equipment are the second biggest change, and although you get various melee weapons like frying pans and police nightsticks, I felt they were overshadowed by the axe and guitar, which I much prefer. Chainsaw is good, but has a limited amount of fuel. Finally, there's a range of weapons now. There's the hunting rifle, which has been improved sufficiently enough in my opinion, the sniper rifle, a SCAR which has burst-fire, an AK-47 like every other shooter ever made[/sarcasm], a grenade launcher and another kind of shotgun that's between the rapid-firing auto-shotgun and the pump-action. Things like adrenaline are more useful in the full game, boomer bile is like a pipebomb, but doesn't kill anything, ammo kits and defib units are useful as well, although they replace your medkit, so with the ammo kit you might as well use it straight away and the defib unit is best used, in either versus or scavenge mode or if you're doing incredibly badly.
Level design hasn't drastically improved, the markings on the walls are back, and the new characters are likable enough I suppose.
But it's not a full game. It feels like an expansion, like what Winter Assault did to Dawn of War; good and satisfying. I managed to pick it up for £20 from Game (UK, so I'm not sure if you have one wherever you are in the world), and if I could've picked it up for less then I would've. I wouldn't've picked it up for more than £20, as I don't feel that, say, £25 is worth a change of characters, a change of levels, a few more weapons and a new game mode.

I enjoy it, it's a good fun game, although I guess it's all down to personal preference. That's the run down, Hussmann54.

Thanks bro. It might be one of those games that I wait a while for the price to go down. I dont think I have ever bought a game at its release price. The only two I got brand new were a birtday present and a christmas present. Im a college student so money is always an issue.

Interesting.

This post appears to be some form of modern art, possibly commenting on the military-industrial complex. I think the second paragraph represents Jesus.

You are close. It is actually a struggle similar to that of the Old South and Romanticism verses the New Industrial North and the changing times. I of course represent those who want progression but want to respect tradition as well and feel torn between the two lol But you were wrong about the second paragraph. That part just represented how I despise Lady Gaga...

My friends has got a good eye for games of actual worth, and he's played both (I haven't). He says the demo of the second isn't at all indicative of the rest of the game - so I'll take his word for it.

Also, are you trying to say the PC version is inferior?

No, just that my particular copy wasnt all that good, and neither was the computer running it, they both contained bugs...My copy was some weird steam hack I think. The game wasnt changed, it just didnt run well

 

[Amarok]

people who genuinely try to enjoy the game but wont degrade themselves to protect the idiot child of a once beautiful woman turned prostitute by the tides of a dawn since past that I fear L4D2 might be...

Why is it only on this site that such stupid metaphors can be found?

 

[AlphaOmega]

The demo disappointed me a bit as well, the game itself is better on every front; especially now that the original maps have been ported over almost perfectly.

I put about 50hours into part1, and I took a huge break from the game after the first 30.
I have put near 90 hours into 2, and I am far from bored with it, it is competing for my attention with games like Dragon Age.

Oh and before people say it should have been DLC: all the things (weapons, melee, new infected, maps, etc) for 5bucks grouped would end up for much more than l4d2 is priced at.

 

[Internet Kraken]

I feel that the demo was a very poor representation of Left 4 Dead 2. In my opinion, those first 2 levels of The Parish campaign are the worst in the game. They are the shortest and aren't as creative or interesting as, say, the levels in Swamp Fever.


Anyways, I would say you are completly wrong about the game. While Valve has not changed much about the general formula (and why would they?), the game is definitely still a worthy sequel with more than enough new content to justify it's purchase. Valve went out of their way to make new levels, new weapons, new AI capabilities, new survivors etc. If they were just trying to make a quick sequel they would not put in nearly as much effort as they did.

valve may have shut off the creative section of their brains and taken the road of the Halo game.

Hardly. The game has a very unique Southern feel, and had Valve put no creativity into the game they would not have been able to effectively capture the atmosphere of the South.

And I wouldn't call that the Halo route. Even if you hate Bungie you have to admit that they obviously put considerable effort into their games (aside from ODST).

 

[Wicky_42]

I got the free demo on xbox live and I played it and the game play was smooth and everything else seemed fine. But I got the feeling that I had seen this all before. despite the new handgun i got to use (with little skill might I add), melee weapons and prospect of new shiny things it all felt the same to me. Is it wrong to judge the book by its cover or have I hit the nail on the head. Preferrably I would like this answered by people who genuinely try to enjoy the game but wont degrade themselves to protect the idiot child of a once beautiful woman turned prostitute by the tides of a dawn since past that I fear L4D2 might be...

Well, it is a sequel that's only a little more than a glorified expansion, so the bolded part is understandable.

You must bear in mind, however, that the demo is HORRIFICALLY neutered, to the point where I almost cancelled my pre-order. It does not represent the final game at all - L4D2 improves on the previous game in every regard bar one - bot AI has some seriously pant-on-head retarded bugs in it that make single player hugely frustrating on bad day.

If you enjoyed your apparently hacked n buggy version of L4D, then you should get many hours of fun from L4D2 More special infected, the uncommon infected, rolling crescendo events, melee, wandering witches - it all makes for a good time

I would recommend waiting for a steam offer to come up, but it sounds like you're getting it on the 360 - definitely snap it up if you see it on offer anywhere.

 

[Rednog]

Didn't Valve release Left 4 Dead 2 instead of a Left 4 Dead 1 Expansion Pack? It would explain why there weren't the kind of differences that, for example, Assassin's Creed 2 has to its predecessor.

At first I was going to ignore this, and just file it under another person who probably hasn't touched L4D2 and is ridding the broken down wagon of "omg L4D2 should have been an expansion."

But the joys of profiles make being an internet sleuth so much easier.
What's this? She actually played L4D2...by the gods she actually wrote a review of it too!
So why is

"Didn't Valve release Left 4 Dead 2 instead of a Left 4 Dead 1 Expansion Pack?"

in the form of a question? Shouldn't a person who has played through the entire game have a good idea of whether or not the game is different from the original?
Alas maybe she didn't play the first one...oh wait her review states

In conclusion L4D2 brings nothing new to the table that the first one didn?t, but the scenery is changed, the characters are likeable and the zombies are nothing if not downright EVIL.

But upon further exploration of her xboxlive gametag, she didn't even complete a single campaign in L4D1 and she has only completed 3 in L4D2.

So in the end it seems like you barely scratched the surface of the game, but in your world that is enough to throw the game under a bus. I'm sorry but please don't write an ignorant opinion of a game that will influence whether or not someone will buy the game.

For me, the best feature of this was the online play. I?d say the only thing I have a gripe with is the ?vote out? options, whereby players can vote another player out of the game if they don?t live up to standards. That?s where games like this stop being games and become an ego contest. I once got voted out within seconds, and we hadn?t even met a zombie ? when I messaged the individual it seems that my gamerscore wasn?t high enough.

Must mean I?m not a gamer then, evidently.

As much as it pains me to say (considering I think that about half the Xboxlive community is full of twats, I actually agree with that person. And if I was doing anything above normal mode I would also probably kick you to the curb and tell you to go play on easy or normal first. It's a matter of courtesy you don't join a random game and go hey, I really have no experience with this and run around guns blazzing, the game gets significantly hard and having one player not know what they are doing can be a severe crutch.