Zero Punctuation: Left 4 Dead 2 & New Super Mario Bros Wii

[SilverUchiha]

To answer your question at the end of the credts: "Bowser vs. Tank: Who Would win"

It's a tough choice. Bowser has fire which would kill the Tank at some point without question. But the Tank is probably faster and stronger and would probably infect Bowser turning him into an infected as well. Tough call... but I'm going with Bowser if he's using the magic he has in some games and I'm going with Tank if Bowser is not using any magic from whatever games he does have magic.

 

[Solodin]

I loved the new names for L4D; nearly wet myself when I heard "Left 4 Dead Springfield 30 ought 6." Great episode, reviewing two games in a single go is a nice change. Can't always happen, obviously, but it's a nice way to tack off two games that weren't large enough for their own review. Bravo, Yahtzee.

 

[Quantupus]

Great review. Got a chuckle out of the end credits as well.

 

[ben---neb]

Interesting...Yahzee hates multiplayer (Modern Warefare 2) but will happily sit down and play Left 4 Dead 2. Ah well, I liked it but then I never played the first game.

 

[Gutterpunk]

L4D2 look like an add-on?

Where is HL3?

SMB Wii is the same old game?

Whats this? The audio version of Reddit? Bravo Yatzee, not only do you not review games anymore, but you do it in pairs now.

 

[funguy2121]

I don't get all the New SMB bitching. Galaxy 2's on the way, as is a second Zelda and a second Metroid. That's quite a bit more than a nintendo system's seen in the last 2 generations. The 2 Toads corner-cutting was of course cheap, but I've spent about a half an hour with the game and I've walked away with 2 things: it's awesome and it's *****-ass hard.

As for the Left 4 Dead sequel, I couldn't tell ya. It's been a while since I was interested in a 4-level video game. Like 24 years.

 

[cordeos]

I'm assuming you have actually played L4D2, correct? Because over 20 maps, melee weapons that are anything but useless, a completely new setting, a new game mode and an improved AI director would tell me that you probably played for 5 minutes before realising that either A: You aren't very good at it, B: You don't have any friends to play with, or C: You aren't very good and don't have any friends to play with.

Also, how can a Mario game possibly rip off another Mario game? It makes no sense. It's called a sequel, they sometimes do them to extend a series. It's a very complex idea that I'm not sure you completely understand.

good to know that 5=20, each section of a map is not a map. 20 weapons, a few new enemies and some minor AI and graphics improvements and one new game mode. I dont see how this justifies a $50 game.

 

[Sonicron]

As unfocussed as his rants often turn out to become as of late, I have to agree with his opinion on the Mario game. "This shit will not fly!" is about as perfect as it gets regarding a summary of a game from a company that's deleted the words 'innovation' and 'creativity' from its vocabulary.

 

[Gutterpunk]

I don't get all the New SMB bitching. Galaxy 2's on the way, as is a second Zelda and a second Metroid. That's quite a bit more than a nintendo system's seen in the last 2 generations. The 2 Toads corner-cutting was of course cheap, but I've spent about a half an hour with the game and I've walked away with 2 things: it's awesome and it's *****-ass hard.

As for the Left 4 Dead sequel, I couldn't tell ya. It's been a while since I was interested in a 4-level video game. Like 24 years.

"The 2 Toads corner-cutting was of course cheap,"? Why? The princess has been kidnapped, who did you expect Nintendo to use? Create new characters? Use Luigi's elusive girlfriend?

 

[DaxStrife]

He didn't really complain about L4D2, so doesn't that mean he liked it?
I'm glad he tossed in that bit about Episode 3, though. I've been saying that for the last 9 months: where the hell is it? At least Episode 2 had a trailer a year after Episode 1; now it's been two years and we can't get even a measly screenshot?

 

[Gutterpunk]

As unfocussed as his rants often turn out to become as of late, I have to agree with his opinion on the Mario game. "This shit will not fly!" is about as perfect as it gets regarding a summary of a game from a company that's deleted the words 'innovation' and 'creativity' from its vocabulary.

If you want a different game than Mario, well then... play a different game than Mario.

 

[Dan Shive]

I like the new Mario Bros Wii better than the old Nintendo games for a few reasons, the biggest of which being better control. I have no trouble getting Mario to do what I want him to (other than throw stuff upwards *sniff*), and the ability to recover via wall jumps is excellent. I don't like that I have to waggle the Wiimote to do certain things, but beyond that, I have no complaints regarding control.

It's mostly more of the same, but it's a sameness that is welcome and has been improved upon. Level design is excellent and the boss battles are some of the most fun I've had in a game in years. They easily put previous Mario boss fights to shame.

I have not tried the multiplayer yet, and don't really feel compelled to do so. It's a nifty feature that might be interesting, but Mario seems like it should be single player given its format. It feels like they'd just get in each others way, and reviews of the game seem to support this.

 

[Bogulmon]

good to know that 5=20, each section of a map is not a map. 20 weapons, a few new enemies and some minor AI and graphics improvements and one new game mode. I dont see how this justifies a $50 game.

In any other game, each map would count as a map. Just because they run into each other, doesn't make them one map.

 

[funguy2121]

Why was it cheap to use 2 pallet-swap characters for players 3 and 4? The same reason it was cheap to use pallet-swap characters in the Mortal Kombat games and give all the characters the exact same fighting moves except for specials and finishers.

Relax, take a deep breath, and realize that I was actually defending the game.

 

[QUINTIX]

As for lag; I'm sure the Yahtzee's computer, being a big black monolith built by dwarfs from middle earth, has enough mushroom and star power to actually be a dedicated server while gaming on it. I'm also sure that there are options to filter people out by ping and location.

 

[Retardinator]

I don't get all the New SMB bitching. Galaxy 2's on the way, as is a second Zelda and a second Metroid. That's quite a bit more than a nintendo system's seen in the last 2 generations.

The problem is that it's been seen already. Your post is suicidal.
As in, it kills it's own point by containing the words "second" and the number 2 in it.

Imagine Valve or someone working like this. Now imagine 20 Left 4 Dead titles that have minor improvements like L4D2. Maybe even less so.

How long could it go on before someone finally bitchslaps them? And someone should slap Nintendo, while I'm at it. Maybe even find a hobo who has the balls to be creative and insert a cheeseburger-spider into a game.

 

[GoBologna]

Good review, Yahtzee. I really like New Super Mario Bros Wii, but you made some excellent points. The character selection could have been much better. Then again, since I'm almost always player 1, I'm usually stuck playing as Mario instead of Luigi. Also, the game does take most of its content from previous Mario titles. Also, the co-op makes the game a lot harder. Players can sabotage each other without even trying. As a matter of fact, I think the single player mode was too easy. Super Mario World was much harder. However, the game is not bad. I guess some people like things that are familiar, though.

 

[shawnmcgee]

L4D2 should have warranted its own review. There is much to the game besides melee weapons. This review honestly sounded like you wrote it 3 months ago. I think Yahtzee is losing his touch. Too bad, really.

 

[Dan Shive]

Remember, they would have used the princess if not for her skirt! ...According to Miyamoto, anyway. I'm not sure what the plot would've been, then.

"Mama Mia! Bowser's a-kidnapped Santa Claus! Come along! We've got to-a save Christmas!"