Hitting it off: Left for Dead 2

Hey readers we have a guest blogger joining 8-Bit, her name is Lauren Doster and she will be part of a new line-up of posts called "Hitting it off". They are going to be a back and forth dialogue between her and I, on a co-op experience we had in a game. Also, she may be coming to you with some "PlayitNOW!" recommendations in the future. And she is my Girlfriend, so everyone play nice! Here is a short bio and our perspective on Left for Dead 2.

L: I grew up playing video games religiously, most of my experience lies within the Genesis, N64, and PS1&2. Favorite games of all time: Super Mario Bros 3, all of the Legend of Zelda series, Starfox, Unreal Tournament, Golden Eye 007, FFVII, FFIX, FFX. Lost some touch in college, mostly due to the indie music scene & awesome keggers. Met Sean in 2008, know I won over his heart talking FFXII over margaritas @ Gloria's. Since then, he has reintroduced me to the video game scene. Previous to meeting him, I stayed within my comfort zone of action adventure, platform, or role playing games. Now I'm branching off into the realm of FPS, Puzzle Games and beyond. We'll see if he ever gets me into sports games.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Left for Dead 2

S: To me, Left for Dead 2 was a return to the same frantic survival experience as it predecessor. Four humans pitted against a limitless horde of zombies, all directed by Valve's artificial intelligence. It has all the elements for an engaging and visceral experience, which the sequel seems to have expanded upon ten fold. Lauren, since you're relatively new to first person shooters on consoles, what were your expectations going into this game? Did anything surprise you after your first play through of a level?

L: While I have enjoyed certain aspects of FPS in the past, oftentimes my favorite video game elements such as strategy and cooperation are lost in the fray of an arsenal of weapons, transport vehicles, and a subpar plot line. Left 4 Dead 2 seems to be much different. Don't get me wrong - I love having bad ass weapons. In this game; however, the weapon offering takes place at the outset of the level, with sporadic weapon/ammo drops throughout the level. Instead of managing a complicated inventory system, I simply choose between a shotgun or a sniper rifle. I'm more of a shotgun type of girl. :) I think the element that surprised me the most was the level of cooperation and intelligence of the AI on your team. Instead of just being dead weight and running in front of you while you're trying to mow down some zombies, these characters are quick to heal or provide you with covering fire. Perhaps I'm out of touch with modern FPS, but it seems like this game got it just right.

S: Good point on the AI direction of the team. We have been playing on easy mode, so some of the complaints online about Team AI tend to be related to the harder difficulties, but in my experience I whole heartily agree. The two AI companions have been more then capable; reviving downed teammates, healing you or I when are health is below the 25% mark and being a crack shot when one of us gets pinned by a special infected. The same cannot be said often times when playing with other people online, as there can be an enormous amount of griefers out there looking to ruin our evening. Now if we only had another couple to hunt zombies with....

In response to the combat system, I definitely see you as more of a shotgun girl, but I myself am more of a rifle guy. The M16 is great, as is the AK-47, but the SCAR is my new favorite gun. Throw a laser sight on there with some incendiary rounds and I am ready to take on the Horde. The addition of melee combat is also very indicative of zombie culture. Many times in film a protagonist will be put in a situation where all they have is a random household appliance or piece of sports equipment in which to bash in the skulls of a few zombies. Valve took note of this and now has a plethora of melee weapons to use against the zombies. My personal favorite is the Samurai Sword, but I cannot deny the joy of running through a crowd of zombies with the chainsaw running hot. Too bad it runs out of gas... What about you? Any new melee weapons strike your fancy or did you prefer the pistols?

L: I think the melee weapons were a great enhancement to the game. My previous mantra was, "why would I use a melee when I have a gun?!". It's a valid question, especially when taking on hoards of zombies. The difference with this game is that the melee weapons are actually decent, and cause more damage to the infected when struck , over a shot from the pistols . It's a great crowd control method, melee weapons allow you to hit multiple zombies with a single attack. I would say this was a great addition to L4D2. You mentioned the incendiary rounds earlier, which I think is great way to mimic the effects of a flamethrower without forcing the player to choose between their M16 and a flamethrower. Each team member can access the rounds when dropped, which allows for additional carnage. I also think the Boomer bile was a great addition. You throw this vile at a zombie and it attracts the hoard to them much like the pipe bomb. I haven't quite grasped how to use this the most effectively. Often times I miss the Tank and end up wasting it on a normal zombie.

S: Hey, you still got the "Septic Tank" achievement, so I know you can hit the tank with a grenade. But, I am a little miffed by the fact that there isn't a flamethrower. The different ammo types are excellent place holders for the fact that the game does not contain many heavy weapons, besides turrets. Although, that new grenade launcher is pretty damn sweet. Every time I lob one into a crowd, I get a warm fuzzy hearing the "Thunk!" as the grenade soars out of the barrel. I guess it sort of fits the atmosphere of being stranded with no military assistance, but I would love to breakout something more "high tech" on the zombies. 

Speaking of effectiveness against the Tank, I am really into the cool factor behind all the new special infected. The Charger with his oversized arm, Spitter with her charming smile and of course the Jockey who looks like Mickey Rooney after a 2 week bender. But I really dig the special infected "light" that are unique to each map. Most especially the clown zombie, whose squeaky shoes attract other zombies in the area. It preys on my childhood fear of clowns and is instantly satisfying to pop one's head of from across the carnival lot. The levels also reflect a unique atmosphere, where Heavy Rain has some interesting weather effects and the Dark Carnival has all the little games you can play as you run through the lot. Do you think there is any infected that stands out as being more dangerous than another? And if so, does the design of a level affect that?

L: You've seen me cringe and geek out whenever I hear the witch crying. I've heard they've been toned down from L4D1, but I'm still scared to death. She also seems to wander in this game, and sometimes seems to follow you. Of course, the areas where witches are located are always dark with several sub-rooms around for her to hide in. I think the most dangerous part of the witch relates to your AI - while I gave them kudos earlier they were responsible for almost every single witch attack while we were playing.

S: Yeah, the witch can be a real pain, especially if our AI controlled buddies want to run up and poke in her the eye. All in all, this is a great game for couples wanting to bond over some co-op. It makes you depend on each other for survival and stick together throughout the short campaigns. Keep it on easy mode to start and the better you get at working together, the more you can ramp up the difficulty. See you readers next time and look for more posts from Lauren in the future.

Note: Played through 3 of 5 campaigns together, on easy, offline, before this post.

Note: All images are the result of a Google image search