Left 4 Dead - your online experiences
 

Received the L4D localised version today. The packaging looks pretty cheap in form of big cardboard envelop. The package contains two mouse pads (free if you pre-ordered the game), a small quick installation card, a poster and the L4D DVD.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3…nom/zombie.jpg

The installation, steam update and patch took about an hour (crappy 512kb broadband). Due to time constrain I only played one level of the single player game. The gameplay experience pretty solid.

The fun part is the online versus mode. There is some lag when playing online but nothing serious, sometime if you shoot the zombie the impact of the attack only registered 1-2 seconds later. From the two online sessions i experienced - it's really fun especially if playing as team and helping each other. That is not surprising really as the game was designed for team playing. However there are more choices if you play as a zombie. Below are couple pics from my online session:

Starting out: everyone looks good and ready to kick some ass…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3…20-19-24-3.jpg

Then everyone got their ass kicked….
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3…20-27-39-3.jpg

o, you can play a zombie in the multiplayer?? sounds like a new and innovative approach. Do you like hide in dark places and try to jump people by surprise ?

Yes, and actually as a zombie you're encourage to hid at strategic places to attack the survivors (human), or else you'll quickly get dispatched. In fact the game will lets search for suitable places before spawning.

Well, I bought mine a couple of days ago. I really have mixed feelings about the game. On the one hand it's hard to beat on atmosphere, but on the other it's pretty short, a story is hardly existent and it doesn't have a lot of content in general. I think it's a just a bit too expensive for the things it has to offer.

For being a zombie fanatic, it's strange that up until now Ive had no compulsion to buy this game. Not a big shooter fan anymore, that's prolly most of it there. But the gamespot video review kinda got me stoked. The gameplay looks pretty fun! And kinda scary…

I seriously don't know what to think of the game. When it comes to atmosphere it's 10/10. The problem is really the content. After two levels you've basically seen more or less everything that the game has to offer including enemies and weapons, etc.
I admit that playing it together with a few friends is a lot of fun, but for how long? Again, the atmosphere is awsome - you almost feel like your in a modern survival horror movie. But if you're just interested in the single player mode then I simply cannot recommend the game.

I read somewhere the game had been built as a multiplayer game. It does contain single player but it's not the focus, and some reviewers and player treat that portion as a training session before jump into the online or LAN multiplayer games.

So if you looking for good single player game would mostly likely to be disappointed. It barely has any story.

On one hand, it's a lot of people's horror-film fantasy, thus you'd think it's a no-brainer hit. Who hasnt after watching Dawn/Day/Night O' the Livin Dead and wondered what the hell theyd do in the event of the dead wholesale rising up and rampaging across the earth? What great fun! on paper… but in reality, the truth is that it would really, really suck.

And generally, the gameplay kinda sucks quite soon in zombie games.

The main problem w/ the zombii aggressor, is that theyre totally suicidal. Wait, theyre already dead… um - you get my drift. Theyre generally willing cannon fodder, simply lumbering towards you, and you mowing them down. That would be fun for most people for all of about 20 minutes. For me, I'd probably be amused a while longer than that, after all i liked and still have installed the "Land of the Dead" game on my laptop. But zombies generally are boring enemies.

The only way to try and remedy that is to crank up the suspense by making them speedy track stars and have them rush the hell out of you ("infected") and give them abilities (puking, frog toungues, etx). Still, unfortunately I dont think that's enough. Zombie warfare (being flogged by packs of brain-dead multitudes) is generally boring, and only the dedicated undead devotees such as myself will actually find very much extended joy past the initial wow in wash/rinse/repeat gameplay involving the walking (and running) dead lemmings.

I'll probably end up buying it, maybe we can fire up a game or something

Ahem… what do you mean? The dead rising to eat the living would be no fun? No way!

He he, no seriously… you're pretty much right with all you're saying. I'm a fan of the suvival horror genre (28 days later is one of my favourite movies) and that's probably why I bought the game. What I really like about the game is that it features all the stuff from the movies - weapons, locations, monsters, etc. What I don't like so much is that after you've seen the intro movie you've pretty much seen everything there is to the game. Even with it's multiplayer concept the game could be better if the developers had invested a bit more time/creativity. I mean, the campaigns don't even have a real climax which kinds sucks… that's usually done way better in the movies.
I hope that Valve or the community will come up with some new stuff relatively fast because right now the game uses about 50% of its true potential.

Too bad I've never seen "Typing of the Dead" here. Maybe that was too much innovation for German publishers.

Edit : Now i see why it wasn't widely distributed here : It has no "Jugendfreigabe", that means that USK said this game is only for people 18 and up … Which is like an unspoken ban.

No wonder I've never seen it, since games with *this* rating are *never* sold within shops or department stores …

Ive got typing of the dead, btw in a zip file somewhere if you want it. I think it's missing some of the sounds, but otherwise it's all there.

Pretty cool little game

"Typing of the Dead" was the game i learned how to touch typing three years ago ;) . Spent about 2 months on every alternate evening; never finish the game though but i touch typing pretty well since then.

And some interesting pics of L4D:

Military site warnings. Strangely we have corn field near the military site
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3…-04-58-799.jpg

A Diet dog food
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3…3-59-26-53.jpg

Just played thru the first two campaigns of singleplayer, and had a great time amongst the exploding heads and bile-spewing. I seldom get bored blowing away zombies.

The game is weird - one minute youll handle an onslaught of them perfectly and be feelin all Ash-like, badass and confident, then they totally blindside you and kick your ass to where all you can do is spin around in a circle firing wildly to get them off you. From grace to flounder in the blink of an eye!

Been using Zoey and her dual pistols, and have to say of all the heavy weapons Ive used so far, the M16 is the best. Good for tapping out single headshots as you go, and you can open it up nicely when the time comes and it mows them down pretty good.

Fun game so far!

When it is possible you or your team better move a long wall or obstacles to avoid get surrounded by the horde. I think the sudden zombie rush is deliberately design by Valve to keep the tension high.

The dual pistols and M16 are indeed very useful. Hopeful Valve would release more weapons, maybe flamethrower or something as for now to unlock the achievement of killing 53,595 infecteds kind of difficult to attain.

I heard you could run pass by the witch (quickly) without startled her. When a Hunter pin down your companion - push him away first before shoot him to avoid friendly fire…

My achievement so far.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3…/left4dead.jpg