Zero Punctuation: Left 4 Dead

Ragnarok the Red

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Dec 10, 2008
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Yahtzee I've been reading your reviews since you started last year and usually I just read the forums but your feelings about this game made me feel the need to register and comment.

I agree with a lot of what you said: the annoying amount of friendly fire in the game because the Survivors are dressed similarly and look a lot a like the generic zombie hordes at first glance. And I'm sure it won't be long before the same 4 maps get old. And playing as a zombie sucks since you die almost instantly and can very rarely actually get ahold of one of the Survivors long enough to actually do real damage to one of them before BOOM headshot you're dead.

But while I agree the campaign's difficulties remain uniform throughout the chapters, I'm disappointed you failed to mention the end of campaign, zombie zerg-rush finales which are intense and incredibly challenging on Advanced and Expert.

Sure some are easier than others: the Farmhouse finale is a joke everyone just needs to go to the barn loft and can defend every point of entry in there easily. But other level finales, like the Boat House, are sadistically intense as you're assaulted from every direction. And while there is no Megazord boss zombie at the end of campaigns like you wanted, when the director gets sadisitc enough to throw TWO tanks at you, I think that should technically qualify as one :p

I also commend Valve for making this the first true FAST-PACED FPS game that requires and encourages good teamwork. Prior to this there really was only Counter-Strike and Battlefield, where half your team played it like a Quake or UT fragfest, or Rainbow Six, which some missions slowed down to turn-based strategy game speed. Kudos to them for finding a good middleground compromise like this that is both mindless fragfest and squad-based teamwork shooter.

I hope Valve continues to support this and offer more downloadable campaigns and new weapons and zombie types down the road. I'd hate for the game to die (lol pun) prematurely because of it's lack of variety when it's design and pacing is so excellent.
 

ramflax

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Dec 10, 2008
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i did not think i would like left fordead so i got it through gamefly or what ever there called great game :D and great review. and ya i also hate the 20 sec wait expesialy when ur a boomer
 

Russian Redneck

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Apr 21, 2008
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FFFF-- BA HA HA HA! So many bannings within the first two minutes of the video's release. That said, it was rock solid as always but I have a question about the Co-op mention in L4D: Is the campaign strictly multiplayer or is it possible to go commando on those undead bastards?
 

sequio

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Dec 15, 2007
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I would never have put Long Tongue Zombie + Hot College Girl because i'm not a necrophile. Thank you for opening that door.

I think the difficulty curve description was a bit off, since the easiest and the hardest difficulties are a chasm of difference.
 

Spacelord

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May 7, 2008
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Now that Yahtzee had a go at this game and didn't completely trash it, I'm even more intrigued with this game. Especially since this game is somehow capable of making the average mouthbreathing Xbox 360 owners work together... Argh, should I or should I not buy an Xbox after all?! It's killing me, it is!
 

Thristle

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Sep 12, 2008
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bout the difficulty curve-
it might be a solid line throughout the game but if you play on the hardest settings that line if pretty *F*ing high
 
Jul 14, 2008
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Very fair, very articulate, and as always nail-on-the-head accurate.

I find the closing 45 seconds of the review particularly apt as I played this with three others, side by side in the same room and discovered very quickly exactly "who among my circle of friends is most likely to spaz out under pressure."

I was hoping you'd mention the witch or the tank in relation to the way they dramatically alter the pacing, but I suppose they're not as integral to the game as the versus mode itself. Very glad you liked it.

Russian Redneck said:
I have a question about the Co-op mention in L4D: Is the campaign strictly multiplayer or is it possible to go commando on those undead bastards?
If you play through a campaign on your own, your three companions are AI controlled.
 

GCM

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Sep 2, 2008
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Same idea here; I have Left 4 Dead, but it's no match with Team Fortress 2 for me. And after 300 hours, it's still my favorite multiplayer game. Qualifier: That I own/have played. Since I still don't have a PS3.

Regardless, was it $50 for Yahtzee? How was that, through Steam? Also, does not the Escapist still pay for his reviewed games? :O
 

Jenx

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Dec 5, 2007
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How exactly is it a problem that you need other people in a co-op game? (this is a reference to some poster half a dozen posts above this one or so)
 

nww02

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May 22, 2008
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Some of my colleagues and I have just got L4D. Last night one of them found a new tactic: When you're running to escape one of the missions, an airlift I believe, he turned and shot his teammate in the leg deliberately so that he'd fall under the Zombies and slow their advance. Now THAT's a game which promotes evil genius.

I'm kinda glad you seemed to like this game. I have this scary feeling that we like the same things, and I'd have been a little hurt if you hadn't liked it. Does that make me sad? yes, intensely. But I cradle my Firefly DVDs and copy of the DM's guide (AD&D version 2.0 of course), for comfort.
 

DuncanRR

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Nov 30, 2008
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I still wasn't entirely clear on Yahtzee's opinion of the game. Did he like it or not?

An amusing review nonetheless.
 

ssgt splatter

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Oct 8, 2008
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Left 4 Dead review was as funny as hell. He actually liked this game more or less, and im sure the fact it was made by the same people who made portal had nothing to do with it, made a good point about the AI Director being "bored" and sending the Horde after you all the time, and the fact you get to play as the zombies is a very gleeful addition indeed. Good job Yahtzee, your reviews are like the weekly shot of dope in my viens.
 

geldonyetich

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Aug 2, 2006
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This was a good review, I suppose, but there was something off-putting about it. I think it's because it didn't say enough to me.

0:00 - 1:00: You like zombies? You must be a nerd.
1:01 - 1:23: Okay, so here's how Valve did Zombies well
1:24 - 2:00: This is a coop game.
2:00 - 2:20: Versus mode is a bit more interesting.
2:21 - 2:30: First significant point made - why make us sit there and wait when respawning in versus mode?
2:31 - End: Here's where the meaty good points are.

So I guess what bothered me is the first 2 minutes, 20 seconds were spent saying things I already knew. So over half the review I'm like, "Heh. Yeah, I guess you're right." I mean, I enjoy 'teh funney' as much as anyone, but I found myself looking back at the end of this one and struggling to figure out why the contents of my brain had failed to shift meaningfully.
 

Worm4Life

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May 30, 2008
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Yeah doling out 100 bucks on Mirror's Edge either means you've got it to burn, don't pay for the games(probably), or are retarded. Glad to see you own up.