cine + octo = boo

Those of you who 1) are into gaming, and 2) know me well enough to have discussed said love of gaming, know that I despise Gamestop. That said, the fact that this post exists tells you a few things about how I feel about Left 4 Dead. Chiefly, there has been a considerable amount of stigma brewing around the sequel, so my interest has been justly piqued since the game was announced.

I’ve been a fan of Valve for some time now, and have honestly been happy with every game I’ve played from their catalog. I love that they have a thriving community, and that they support and play to their community whenever possible. I like that they continue to support a game well after release, and when Left 4 Dead was first released, I too fell in love with the idea of future expansions via DLC and patch releases. So when a boycott cropped up for the sequel, there was a part of me that understood. I didn’t agree, but I understood.

So the question remains, is Left 4 Dead 2 enough of an upgrade to justify a full point release? Well, ordinarily I steer clear of such places, but the lure of a $5 deposit giving me early access to the demo was just too much to resist. So here I am, guilty of giving Gamestop some money, and drunk off of the L4D2 demo. What are my thoughts?

I’ve had some time to dig into the Left 4 Dead 2 demo, and I’m happy to report that there is plenty to love here. The addition of melee weapons adds a layer to gameplay that I didn’t think possible. Pans, crowbars, and nightsticks all make sense given the contextual surroundings. I’m not sure I quite understand the choice of guitar, but this may only be due to a couple odd placements. Occasionally you find a Gibson SG lying in the streets, and this seems plausible. Other times you happen upon a weapons cache and find the SG laid neatly as a selection, as if to say “here are the weapons to choose from, and a guitar.” Maybe I think of these melee weapons in the limited view of being “weapons of haste” and not “weapons of choice,” but whichever the case may be the guitar does do a decent amount of damage, so who am I to complain?

The decision to make this a point release makes sense. Everything looks polished, and the gameplay is excellent. The addition of smaller items makes inventory a little more complex, “Do I keep the pills, or should I pick up the shot?” The correct answer is down the pills and snag the shot for later. But it’s not just the weapons that feel upgraded, the zombies too feel like they’ve grown a little — a feat far more difficult for the undead. The “Special Infected” seem to blend in a bit more here, making them more cunning, and also less “event-like.” The Tank still disrupts the flow with a crescendo of music and tremors underfoot, but other newcomers like the Jockey, the Charger, and the Spitter all blend into the crowd. This is a good thing, it makes their presence all the more surprising. Even the Witch gets an upgrade, she now wanders around in her despair, making her an even bigger pain to manage.

So with regards to these two takeaways, both feel like Left 4 Dead, but waaaaaay more. There are more choices, more enemies, more snap decisions to be made. And the part that has me thrown for a loop has yet to be seen at this point — what is Valve not showing us exactly? The characters feel pretty rich, but the demo doesn’t give too much away. I get the feeling that we’ll learn much more about these folks than we did about the older crew, and I’m not sure why. And then, there’s the curious decision to show us the first two chapters of the final campaign, The Parish. Why not show us the intro? Or why not toss us in the middle and let us sort it out?

There has to be a reason. My best guess is that the story is going to somehow pull together in a similar way that the first game’s did, but perhaps with a bit more to it. The opening of the demo is a full fledge recap of events leading up to the Parish, and characters like Coach and Nick constantly reference “how much they went through to get there.” Yes, but what? Find out when the game is released, I suppose.

Aside from this, I’m growing more curious about the Realism and Scavenge modes, both seem compelling but were locked up tightly for the demo. This early access is pretty limiting — two chapters with the option to play multiplayer or fly solo. Who knows if more will unlock when the public demo is released. Until then, each new play through yields something new. Just earlier I was killed by a zombie horde while armed only with a frying pan. I sat and watched as my teammates battled through the horde and passed my body. One of them stopped, their character seemed distraught by my death. The thing is, she was actually reviving me from the dead. I’ve heard rumors of a melee/rescue item, some speculate that it’s a defibrillator. I didn’t get a good look, but it would seem to be the case — after all, I was completely dead.

So there you have it. Left 4 Dead 2 appears to be well worth the point release in my opinion. Everything has been improved, and the questions that remain only serve to spark more intrigue at this point.