Por Henrique Neto

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Pois é galera.

Finalmente meu camarada Lemos do blog “Play it!” teve tempo de terminar de dar os toques finais aos videos e “upa-los” para iutubiu YouTube.

Então, segue abaixo as partes 2.1, 2.2 e 3 do nosso mega video comentado que a gente sabe que está longo demais, mas não havia como fazer um menor.

Abraços a todos e aproveitem!

Parte 2.1

Parte 2.2

Parte 3

Abraços a todos e não esqueçam de comentar/assinar meu feed RSS.

(Este que vos fala não possui acesso a rede online da Steam, e também não tem interesse em jogar em multiplayer, portanto esse review só irá cobrir a parte Single Player/Multiplayer Cooperativa, ou seja, as campanhas. Para saber os outros modos, veja http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_4_Dead_2)

Ano passado, quando eu ainda estava preso com um computador de 6 anos atrás, eu fiquei feliz quando a Valve (criadora de Half-Life 2, nada menos que meu shooter favorito) anunciou que iria lançar um shooter com zumbis. Afinal, era a Valve, o que significava que seria um shooter com zumbis na Source Engine, uma engine já relativamente antiga (6 anos, oh) e que iria funcionar perfeitamente no meu velho computador. Então, foi anunciado que era um multiplayer shooter. Eu detesto shooters exclusivamente multiplayer (eu normalmente jogo sozinho). De raiva, eu não peguei nenhuma cópia do Left 4 Dead original por um tempão. Mas eventualmente o fato de ser possível jogar as campanhas em Single Player me fizeram ter vontade de jogar.

Porém, em 2009, já havia sido anunciado o Left 4 Dead 2 (o que é realmente estranho, dado que o original foi lançado a menos de um ano… seria L4D tão porcaria que precisavam lançar uma sequência assim tão rápido?). Então decidi esperar pela sequência ao invés de jogar o original, portanto é a minha primeira opinião sobre a série. O problema? Esse é realmente um shooter que é multiplayer.

HISTÓRIA

Porque você está lendo a seção História num shooter multiplayer? Que falta do que fazer! A história é o seguinte: você + arma + zumbis.

Sério, o jogo nem tenta ter uma história. Aconteceu o apocalipse zumbi (não são zumbis estilo clássico de George Romero não, são zumbis do tipo Madrugada dos Mortos, que correm, pulam, dão cambalhota, sobem escada e mascam chiclete ao mesmo tempo… brincadeira) e você e mais 3 sobreviventes tem que ir de um ponto a outro de um mapa matando zumbis. Cada campanha tem algum tipo de explicação bem pequena sobre o porque dos sobreviventes estarem em determinado lugar, mas se limita a isso.

Um pouco mais interessante é o fato de cada campanha ser apresentada como se fosse um filme (talvez a Valve queira poupar o trabalho de gente como Uwe Boll). Quando você inicia uma campanha, o título da campanha é mostrado num cartaz como se fosse de cinema, com uma tagline e os 4 sobreviventes, cada um com o nome de seu respectivo jogador. Ao final da campanha, uma tela de créditos passa com stats sobre o jogo, como quantos zumbis você matou, quantas granadas você usou, sua precisão de tiro e outras coisinhas, bem como o filme é dedicado à memória de qualquer sobrevivente que tenha morrido durante a campanha.

A falta de história não é surpresa, dado que é um shooter multiplayer, e ele tem uma apresentação bem feitinha, então é bem difícil reclamar.

GRÁFICOS

A melhor parte do jogo é que a Valve ainda desenvolve na Source Engine, que ainda é boa pra quem tem computador velho. Todos os efeitos que tinham sido implementados em Half-Life 2: Episode Two estão aqui: HDR, sombras feitas pela sua lanterna, água refletindo tudo, e agora eles também implementaram um efeito de “film grain” (fazer parecer uma película de filme velho). Mas mesmo tendo todos os efeitinhos mais novos, não dá pra esconder que a Source foi uma engine top… há 6 anos atrás. Tá começando a mostrar sua idade. Nem vou comparar com Crysis pois é covardia, mas em comparação a outros shooters modernos como Far Cry 2, F.E.A.R. 2 ou a qualquer jogo na Unreal Engine 3, vê-se claramente que a Source é uma engine antiga.

Os efeitos estão lá, mas a engine é antiga

Mesmo assim, ainda é uma bela engine que renderiza vastos espaços abertos com o mínimo de esforço. E a maior vantagem de L4D2 é o número de zumbis que podem aparecer na tela. Sem brincadeira, eu acho que na última missão da campanha The Parish eu cheguei a ver mais de 300 zumbis na tela ao mesmo tempo. Isso não era possível na época do Half-Life 2, e por isso a Source Engine ainda mostra que tem tempo de serviço a cumprir.

A variedade de cenários é ótima e os modelos de personagem são bem detalhados, como tende a ser na Source Engine, principalmente a sincronia de voz e movimentos faciais. Os locais me confundem, na verdade… não sei se L4D2 quer ser assustador ou engraçado. Ele quer ser engraçado na fase em que você deve ligar os equipamentos de show de uma banda e tocar um rock’n’roll para chamar a atenção do helicóptero de resgate, e quer ser medonho na fase em que você tem que atravessar um milharal repleto de bruxas debaixo de uma tempestade.

Outra coisa a se notar é que é um jogo extremamente violento. (E eu que disse que o Dead Space era o mais violento no review passado.) Os zumbis praticamente se desmancham feito manteiga quando você atira ou bate neles com qualquer arma. Interessante também é ver os efeitos de dano em cada parte do corpo dos zumbis. Atire na cabeça, e você verá pedaços do cérebro do bicho voando pra tudo que é lado, atire no peito e você abre um buraco, atire na barriga e o intestino do bicho sai todo pra fora, atire nos membros e eles são decepados graciosamente. Não é a toa que foi censurado na Austrália, fazendo a Valve fazer uma versão sem gore do jogo. É nojento, mas nesse jogo parece mais um efeito de cartoon do que qualquer outra coisa, dado que o jogo não se leva muito a sério. Ainda assim, pra aqueles que são mais fracos quanto à esse tipo de coisa (porque você estaria jogando um jogo feito pra matar zumbis se você não aguenta nojeira?) é bom ficar avisado.

Plosh!

SOM

O som é bem minimalista. Não tem trilha sonora a maior parte do tempo (algo que vem dos tempos do Half-Life original) mas quando tem, é ótima, principalmente quando você perturba bruxas (mais sobre elas na seção Jogabilidade). Os efeitos sonoros são bem feitos, especialmente as armas, cada uma com seu som apropriado e poderoso. Um único problema do som em L4D2 é que ele é muito alto. Quando você liga o jogo, parece que ele aumenta o dobro do som do seu sistema. Isso pode vir a incomodar os outros moradores de sua casa quando você está metralhando grupos de zumbis com uma AK-47. Os monstros únicos (mais sobre isso na seção Jogabilidade) tem seus próprios sons, facilmente identificáveis. A atuação de voz é bem pequena e nada memorável, e felizmente, pois os sobreviventes são todos estereótipos (a mulher negra que chuta bundas, o negão grande e forte que chuta bundas, o cara de terno com falas misteriosas e o caipira que gosta de contar causos de sua vida envolvendo zumbis).

JOGABILIDADE

O jogo possui cinco campanhas que podem ser jogadas sozinho e com 3 companheiros de IA, ou com outros 3 amigos online ou por LAN. Garanto: você vai querer jogar com amigos. A IA dos computadores companheiros é muito boa. E não estou falando sobre Inteligência Artificial, estou falando sobre Idiotice Artificial. Essa é talvez a IA mais estúpida que eu já vi num shooter. Seus parceiros nunca irão pegar e usar granadas, nunca irão usar armas de curto alcance, tendem a entrar na frente dos seus tiros (o que é um problema pois você causa dano neles), tendem a atirar em você, e nunca conseguem sobreviver os eventos crescentes em cada final de campanha. Parece até que a Valve fez os sobreviventes terem IA retardada de propósito, para que o pessoal jogue somente em multiplayer. Que vergonha, Valve, até a IA do Half-Life original era melhor!

Por outro lado, os zumbis são relativamente inteligentes. Eles são espertos o suficiente para virem na sua direção fazendo zig-zag e não em linha reta, o que dificulta a mira, e faz com que eles sejam mais espertos que os sobreviventes.

Eles vêm às centenas!

As cinco campanhas se passam em locais distintos. Dead Center se passa num shopping center (porque George Romero não processa todo mundo por plágio? Ah sim, porque é “homenagem”). Dark Carnival se passa num parque de diversões. Swamp Fever, como o próprio nome já diz, se passa num pântano. Hard Rain se passa numa cidade durante uma tempestade. The Parish se passa em outra cidade, na qual teoricamente o exército estaria resgatando sobreviventes, mas na verdade estão mesmo é bombardeando a cidade.

Cada uma dessas campanhas tem várias fases que seguem mais ou menos a mesma lógica. Começa de leve, com alguns zumbis especiais e hordas de zumbis comuns. Depois, vai aumentando conforme vai passando até que na fase de resgate você sempre tem que defender um objetivo contra hordas e hordas de zumbis e monstros. Perturbar a horda é uma preocupação constante. Os zumbis são atraídos por luz, som e certos objetivos. Por exemplo, atirar num carro que tem alarme vai fazer milhões de zumbis convergirem na sua posição rapidamente.

Em adição aos zumbis comuns, você também irá encontrar vários tipos especiais de zumbi, como o Jockey, Spitter, Charger, Hunter e outros, cujo principal objetivo é separar os membros do grupo. Todos esses tem alguma habilidade chata que faz você perder o controle sobre seu personagem. Também existem alguns monstros que servem como “chefes”, como o Tank, que é um zumbi enorme e musculoso que pode te fazer sair voando com um soco, e a Witch (bruxa) que normalmente fica na dela, mas quando perturbada (seja por tiros, seja pela luz da sua lanterna) vem correndo e pode te matar em uma porrada.

As armas são bem variadas, vão de pistolas, espingardas, sub-metralhadoras e fuzis de assalto, até machetes, machados de incêndio, frigideiras, bastões de baseball, motosserras e até katanas! Porém, temos um problema. Os fuzis de assalto são as armas de fogo que prestam, as outras não tem muito uso. Todas elas conseguem fazer o trabalho, mas uma AK-47 é tão mais efetiva que você irá preferir trocar por uma arma de curto alcance ao invés de pegar uma outra arma quando sua munição acaba. Aliás, na minha opinião, as armas deviam ser abolidas de L4D2. É tão mais gratificante arrancar a cabeça de um zumbi com uma frigideira que não tem graça atirar com uma arma comum.

RE-JOGABILIDADE

Caso você tenha vários amigos para jogar, você irá querer passar pelas campanhas várias vezes apenas pela diversão de jogar com os amigos. Caso contrário você nunca mais irá querer tocar no modo Single Player. A IA absurdamente estúpida garante que nenhum outro aspecto do jogo em Single Player se salve.

PRÓS E CONTRAS

+ Apresentação de filme

- Ausência de história

- Personagens estereótipos

+ Usa Source Engine, portanto roda em computadores mais velhos

+ Bem texturizado, ótimos modelos de armas e personagens e muitos zumbis na tela ao mesmo tempo

- Gráficos mostram a idade, não sendo tão detalhados quanto outros jogos deste ano

+ Trilha sonora ótima, quando existente

+ Bons efeitos sonoros

- Inteligência Artificial terrível

- Armas de fogo inúteis, frigideira mais efetiva que uma sub-metralhadora

- Repetitivo

+ Muito divertido matar hordas de zumbis

CONCLUSÃO

Left 4 Dead 2 é divertido, se você jogar com amigos. Sozinho, ele não se sustenta. Ele tem sérios problemas de Inteligência Artificial, os gráficos não são top como um dia foram, os personagens não são interessantes e quando uma frigideira é melhor do que uma sub-metralhadora, é sinal de que o “shooter” não deu muito certo. Mas zumbis salvam a franquia. É MUITO divertido acabar com milhares de zumbis a cada campanha, e se você jogar com um grupo de amigos, vai ser melhor ainda.

Thanksgiving at the Theisen’s was pretty fun. My only complaint was that they didn’t have a big table so half of us, the kids, had to sit at a different table. That was pretty lame, but we infiltrated later on and chatted together. I love talking with the adults. Whenever I was at my parents parties as a kid I would avoid the kids my age and listen to my parents and their family friends talk about insurance and building and jobs and stuff. It was way more interesting to me and if I had something to say I could speak up, and feel important. I loved listening to their stories, and I’m pretty sure it’s because my parents don’t talk about the past much.

Later that night I came home and laid around downstairs and watched some late night television. Apparently Robin Williams and John Travolta got drunk together like 30 years ago and crashed a black wedding. Robin commented that that would make a hilarious movie in and of itself. Then I got in contact with Shannon after her thanksgiving stuff was over. We planned to meet up and go morning shopping. I picked her up and we got to Old Navy by 3am. We looked around and didn’t find anything we wanted, so we left and decided to go to her house and nap until the Magic Carpet sale, which was the only one I really wanted to go to, at 8am. We got to sleep around 4:30 and I woke up and tried to convince Shan to go shopping, but she just wanted to sleep. We ended up sleeping in and watching tv. It was pretty fun anyways, I suppose.

After “dinner” I went up to the U to meet up with Morgan, Jeremiah, and Carl to go to the game night again and play some Left 4 Dead. Everything was locked up, so we went over to Morgan’s and played video games there. After a bit everyone decided to play magic. Morgan and I refuse to play every time, so we went to go play Left 4 Dead on his computer and switch off. It was pretty awesome. I came home and was going to return my movies, but I guess Mom did it for me. I think we’re cooking our own turkey sometime this weekend. That should be interesting. Time for me to sleep. I have a lot of writing to catch up on tomorrow!

This first round of seminar-style presentations seemed to have gone very well. It’s the final year and it is a relief to see the scattered class bonding together. Like in the words of the Ping – paraphrased – it is a miracle; this seminar-style approach to educating every one works for o’three. Throughout this week, a lot was covered – from Wisdom of the Crowd, Mobile Revolution to Facebook.

Search engines throw out their web spiders to collect information via HTML around the vast internet – as WP presented it. I thought there were only the spiders but turns out not; ants and worms are part of the act too! And the text of mankind – be it font-size 12 or 40; lorem ipsum or twit language – collectively form the Wisdom of the Crowd. No wonder Google struck it rich: they were quick to leverage on this opportunity hence created one of the most widely-used search engine today.

I was singled out in the demonstration of that theory. And it did prove – my level of wisdom, however intelligent I may think of myself to be, could not stand up to the class as a whole. Think about it, in actuality, this is more or less along the lines of logic and common sense – the comments and opinions of others, who have come from different background and possessed different interests, are considered more objective than one soul’s point of view. To add on, you will be spoilt for choice and faced with thick walls of dilemma from having to come to your decision. Always remember, the opinions and/or comments of others are just suggestions – the ultimate decision is yours; just compare, contrast and run it through your heart. In other words, be discerning even when seeking the almighty advice from Wisdom of the Crowd.

Let me sum up Mobile Revolution in a line: The advancement in science is unbeatable, though fairly foreseeable, technology will continue to renew with greater things and maybe even realise the reality of ‘Alien v.s. Predator’ causing chaos like in ‘Left 4 Dead’.  Hence in a way, no biggie, revolutions will eventually become passe over time and more will come.

On the topic of ‘Left 4 Dead’ – here’s an interesting treat (rated NC-16):

Facebook? It’s so popular now that it does not need more text in this post.

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We have upgraded our network infrastructure to better accommodate the huge response to L4D2. 360 players will now have lag-free servers. We’ve also added more dedicated servers.

Lol, I don’t know, I thought they would of been upgraded the servers for Left 4 Dead 2 a while back. You’ll never read anything about Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2 getting dedicated servers but that’s only for PC. Anyway, I doubt the servers would be lag free though, they’ll have less lag but you can’t get rid of all the lag but whatever. At least they’re making progress. No telling when I’ll play the game if I even want to play it now.

Por Henrique Neto
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Fala galerinha chacineira de humanos infectados.

Como já era de se esperar, finalmente o primeiro video comentado sobre Left 4 Dead 2 está pronto.
Na verdade, o video foi gravado pelo meu camarada Lemos do blog Play It (não deixem de acessar e apoiar o garoto ou eu continuarei floodando vocês com Left 4 Dead 2).
Como vocês vão notar, este é nosso primeiro video comentado e é constituido de quatro partes.
Uma para cada mapa da campanha Dead Center. As proximas partes deverão ser postadas nos proximos dias.
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Fico somente no aguardo a postagem da mesma, e ainda temos dúvidas se devemos fazer mais videos comentando as outras campanhas/fases do Left 4 Dead 2, então, fica a cargo de vocês se devemos ou não (deixem comentários com suas opiniões, considerações, reclamações, doações).
Ah! Mais um detalhe… A gente sabe que o microfone do Lemos estava baixo, ou o meu muito alto, sei lá, mas o que importa é que dá pra ouvir legal e que nós resolveremos esse pobrema poblematico problema nos videos futuros.

Enfim pessoal…
Segue abaixo a parte 1 do nosso mega comentadão comentário que é um oferecimento de PC Pwnage e Play It!

Desfrutem e não esqueçam de assistir em rái definixiom HD!

Abraços a todos e não esqueçam de comentar/assinar meu (nosso) feed RSS.

Salve cambada difmadora de corpos zumbiisticos.

Aproveitando o HYPE embalo pelo Left 4 Dead 2, resolvi gravar uns videozinhos demonstrando as fases da primeira campanha intitulada “Dead Center” enquanto o video comentado que gravei ontem com o meu cumpadi camarada do blog “Play it” ainda não está disponível.

Bom… Um resumão da campanha (Dead Center) segue abaixo.

Dead Center - Primeira Campanha.

The Hotel:

Você começa a campanha no telhado de um hotel, momentos após o ultimo helicoptero de resgate decolar e tem que abrir caminho até o andar terreo do mesmo, enfrentando pencas hordas de zumbis e um incêndio que reduz consideravelmente a sua visão. Passando por tudo isso, você alcança a primeira safe-room.

The Streets:

Após conseguir escapar hotel em chamas, você chega as ruas.  Um mapa um pouco maior que o anterior (do hotel) e com mais campos abertos, onde se pode VER a luz do dia. Muitos zumbis, varios carros abandonados e ambientes abertos para o jogador explorar. O ápice da campanha é o “resgate da Coca-Cola, onde o jogador precisa levar ao dono da loja de armas um engradado de Coca-Cola para que o mesmo destrua de forma delicada explosiva o caminhão que bloqueia o avanço dos sobreviventes chegando então a proxima safe-room.

The Mall:

Pois é…
A terceira fase se passa no paraíso feminimo em um shopping center (dai o nome da campanha).
Mapa bem escuro, com varios zumbis espalhados e varios caminhos a serem tomados.
Ápice ocorre quando o alarme é disperado e você deve correr até o andar superior do shopping para desliga-lo e fazer as hordas de zumbis babões de sangue cessarem.

The Atrium:

Finalmente o final da campanha.
Nesta parte, você deve coletar os galinhas galões de gasolina para abastecer o “Stock Car” do então falecido Jimmy Gibbs Jr. Obviamente, essa não é uma tarefa facil porque você deve coletar os galos galões que estão separados pelo mapa enquanto ondas e ondas de zumbi te atacam.
Tempo é importante.
Quanto mais rapido melhor obviamente, sendo possivel evitar até a aparição do segundo Tank.
Ponto alto da fase obviamente é a saida triunfal no possante Stock Car do Jimmy Gibbs atropelando tudo quanto é zumbi que você encontra na frente.

Bom… E é isso ae pessoal.
Espero que vocês gostem.
Abraços  a todos e não esqueçam de comentar/assinar meu feed RSS.

Who knew Melissa would like it as much as I do

The family video we go to doesn’t have the highest quantity of video game titles.  Unlike the evil Blockbuster, they might have four or five copies in instead of twenty.  But that’s the price I pay for not having to deal with Blockbuster’s attitude and high prices.  Ever since they charged me to clean a dvd that I just rented with god knows what gooey substance that was spattered on it I haven’t been back.  Service should come with a smile and reasonable price not a bitchy look and $9 for a game rental.

The only problem with having fewer copies is that sometimes I have to wait a few weeks to play the new releases.  Which isn’t always a bad thing. Keeps me from being glued to the TV weekend after weekend with that weeks hot new title.  If the game isn’t available I say “Ok, I’ll check back next weekend” but first I’ll have Melissa ask if it’s been returned just not reshelved.   Every times the friendly Family Video worker (and they are friendly) will say “Oh no we don’t” after they check the return bin. 

It’s a long shot but it never hurts to ask.

Yesterday we went there to if the had Left 4 Dead 2 in stock.  We LOVED the first one, which was a shock Melissa enjoyed it, so we were both excited to play the sequel.  I did my “excited but still wanting to act mature” sprint/walk combo back to the video game section.  I found the spot where the game I would be.  Empty, empty, empty, empty, empty…..and empty.  All the copies they had were out.

Time for the Hail Marry attempt of having Melissa ask.  She went up to the check out to take a shot in the dark and see if it was in the return bin.  I did a final once over to see if anything else tickled my fancy.  My fancy wasn’t tickled and it look like we’d be leaving game-less. 

As I walked to join my wife I saw her mouthing “do you by any chance have any copies of Left 4 Dead 2 that have just been returned”.  I knew what happens next.  She’ll look in the bin, say “No, I’m sorry” and then check when copies are out are due to be returned.

I got a little closer and head the worker say “You know what…..”  and then she turned around.

OH MY!  This wasn’t the normal game rental dance I’ve come to know so well.  She turned around rather than walking over to the drop off bin.  Once again I broke into my “excited but still wanting to act mature” sprint/walk to get the latest on this strange turn of events.

I heard her say “Someone called a few hours ago and put it on hold but they haven’t shown up so you can rent it”

The video game Gods hath smiles upon me!

I turned to Melissa in my jubilation and said “HA!  Everytime I ask you to ask you roll your eyes but this time it worked.  IT WORKED.  THE GAME WAS IN STOCK.  SUCK IT!”  I’m not sure which she was more annoyed by.  That I was right about they might have it in stock, I was going to spend the next eight hours shooting zombies, or I was rather loud in my excitement.

Left 4 dead 2 is a fun game but what makes it great is snatching victory from the jaws of defeat to rent it.

Left 4 Dead 2 is out in Australia, but unfortunately to absolutely absurd censorship laws it was refused classification. The version of the game released here is lacking basically all gore, bodies disappear when they hit the ground, and the melee weapons don’t cause any form of dismemberment. If you are like the majority of the Australian Gaming community you are outraged by this and want to get your hands on an uncensored copy of the game. FEAR NOT! Here are two simple ways to do just that!

PC GAMERS
1> Open up your browser and go to the following link http://store.steampowered.com/?cc=uk
2> Purchase the game from the UK STEAM store. Input your credit card details and address, make sure you change your country to Australia in this section.
3> Enjoy your uncensored version of Left 4 Dead 2

For all you Xbox 360 gamers out there, http://www.playasia.com is your friend. The Asia release is region free, and I think the USA version is also.

2008 saw the release of Left 4 Dead, the hectic team based survival horror from Valve, the development team behind the Half-Life series. It had a way to make you rely on your team members for survival like no other game could. A year later the sequel is here, a quick turn around for any sequel in the gaming world, more-so surprising from a developer that is renowned for their lengthy development schedules.

While many fans cried out in a boycott, stating this was more of an expansion back than a full blown sequel, after a few hours with Left 4 Dead 2 it instantly proves itself worthy as a new addition to the franchise as opposed to a glorified expansion pack. Fixing and tweaking many of the first titles downfalls and adding in new components creates a title that is bursting at the seams with rich, zombie slaying gameplay.

For those of you who haven’t had an experience with the first game, Left 4 Dead 2 places you in the middle of a Zombie apocalypse. You fill the role of one of the four survivors who try to blast your way through hordes of “infected” in an attempt to get to the end of the map. This time round the game is set in the southeast regions of America, and the new cast of characters carry humor, charm and wit in spades. Hearing stories about particular Nascar drivers, and stories about hilarious accidents while hundreds of zombies are honing in on your position gives the characters more of the spotlight that the first title was lacking.

The improvements are so rich in-fact you will find going back to the original game is a pure disappointment. L4D2 features five new interesting campaigns, that have you fighting your way through far more invigorating environments than it’s predecessor. The situations you find yourself in simply give you more to do, which keeps things feeling fresh as opposed to run and gun to the safe house feeling the first game tended to have. All five campaigns can also be played in the Versus game mode right off the bat, no waiting around for Valve to release DLC to unlock that ability this time. As a result the game feels like a full package, where the first game tended to feel a little hollow.

L4D2 is team based gameplay at it’s finest. It is paramount to communicate and work together as a team to achieve success, more-so than any other game you’re likely to play this generation. You will need to rely on your team mates to keep you informed of where they are, when finding health, ammo or weapons, or when there is a world of hurt about to come raining down, and you will have to return the favour. The catch is that no level will play the same thanks to Valve’s AI which they call “The Director”. The Director changes up the location of enemies, weapons and difficulty each and every time you play. It manages to encourage repeat play as you will never know exactly how it will pan out, and manages to provide a challenge every time, regardless of your experience and skill.

Difficulty will play a big part in your experience with L4D2 which offers some of the most challenging gameplay you’re likely to see. Normal is a good entry point as you grasp the concept and learn what weapons work in what situations, while Expert requires the very best in reaction time, communication and overall skills. To make it even harder L4D2 introduces realism mode, removing hints and glows on items such as health and weapons from the HUD. This means your communication with your team member needs to be top notch, otherwise you are going to find yourself high and dry and left for dead.

If you are anti-social or just don’t feel like playing online there are Bots included who can go through the five campaigns with you. They also jump in on the action if a player drops out, and while they do make accurate shots and do their best to help out, it’s far more entertaining with with human players. The bots are largely unreliable. There were a few situations where I went down and needed to be revived, the bots came and took out the zombies and then ran away again without helping me up, leaving me there to die. It’s functional, but to play L4D2 as intended you really do need to play with fellow gamers.

If the campaigns aren’t challenging enough for you Versus mode is sure to get the blood pumping. Versus pits four players as “survivors” and another four players control special infected enemies such as Tanks, Boomers etc. With the addition of new Special Infected in Spitters, Jockeys and Chargers, the Versus gameplay is now far more interesting and fleshed out. Spitters have the ability to spit out acid, Jockeys ride the survivors controlling their movements and Chargers are like mini tanks, charging at their enemies and pummeling them. It keeps gameplay varied and with the 4v4 action things can become quite tense and unpredictable.

What makes L4D2 so successful is the tension and overall stress it will cause you. It get’s your heart racing, and you will find your attention fixated on the screen at all times, constantly reassessing the situation and making decisions you hope will pay off. Each campaign features pivotal moments that will stand out in your mind well and truly after you complete them, whether it be frantically filling a car full of gas in Dead Centre, or dealing with the storms and winds in Hard Rain. If you are a fan of the first game, you are going to go ga-ga for L4D2.

It’s not just the new characters, the fantastic and varied environments or gameplay situations that make L4D2 a far better package, it’s the little things that make the game so much more entertaining and varied. A bigger range of guns, the inclusion of explosive and incendiary ammo pickups but most importantly, and the most fun, the inclusion of melee weapons.

That’s right ladies and gents, you can now slice and dice, whack and smack and shred your way through each campaign with a delightful assortment of melee weapons. There are the conventional melee weapons for a horror film setting, there’s the machete and the katana and of course a chainsaw, but then there are some unexpected ones such as a cricket bat (paddle bat for the Yanks) electric guitar or a frying pan. In all there are a number to choose from and you will have a blast regardless of your choice. There is nothing quite like the feeling of facing off a bunch of infected and smashing their heads off with a well timed swing from the old cricket bat, you can’t help but have a smile come across you face, disturbing as that thought may be.

Along with new weapons come new perks as well. Along with your pain-pills and your medipacks you know have access to adrenalin shots which give you that little pick me up when the odds are against you, making you faster and stronger for a short period of time. Add this with the new defibrillator pack to bring slain survivors back from the dead, and you have some great new additions to the gameplay.

Now it’s time to address the heavy censorship applied to the Australian release of the game. Due to the fact that in Australia we don’t have an R18+ rating for video-games, the original cut that rest of the world received was refused classification by the OFLC board. While violence doesn’t make a game, in a game like L4D2 it certainly adds to the authenticity of the situation. The lack of blood, bodies on the floor or dismemberment makes the game really seem lacking. I’d highly advise you to get an uncut version of the game, if you want more info on how to do that, check out my article on this website.

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Despite the quick turn around between releases Left 4 Dead 2 is a far more complete, rich and rewarding gameplay experience, improving in almost every aspect it ventures. This is team based gameplay at it’s finest, and the amount of tension and stress this game can cause you is a true testament to Valve. They have created one thrilling and immersive game here. For those who enjoyed the first game then you will fall in love with the sequel, yet if the first Left 4 Dead didn’t rev your engine, chances are this game will do nothing to change that. Overall, one of the most thrilling games this year.

GAMEPLAY: 9.1/10 – Gameplay has been improved in each and every facet over the original.

GRAPHICS: 8.8/10 – The graphics are fairly decent but it isn’t the greatest looking game on the market. Enemies are detailed and animations are fluent. The daylight environments add a little something that the first game was lacking.

AUDIO: 9.0/10 – The weapons sound full and punchy, the voice acting is top notch, campy but it suits, and differentiating groans from different zombies comes together is a great sound package.

VALUE: 9.2/10 – The AI Director makes each campaign play different each time. Add this to the versus mode and the new scavenger mode and you have a pretty decent bang for buck. Hopes for further campaigns via DLC.

OVERALL: 9.2/10

by – ‘Tiger’ Oliver

Seeing as National Turkey Genocide Day is in just a few short days, I’ve been thinking of things that I’m thankful for.

And, seeing as I’m an O’Colly Gamer, video games topped the list; edging out my closest friend, family, good drinks and the feeling you get when you tear a piece of paper out of a notebook perfectly along the perforated line. Oh, and when you eat at a Chinese buffet after not eating in 16 hours.

Anywho, I think it’s time to take a look at a few of among tens-to-hundreds of games I’m thankful for playing this year:

Conker: Live & Reloaded (XBox – Rated Mature)

By far the best looking Nintendo 64 game revamped for the original XBox. Trust me, the graphics are so amazing that you’ll think it’s an XBox 360 game, even given the fact that it only plays in 4:3 aspect ratio. A remastered game track, reconstructed multiplayer and the classic Bad Fur Day relatively untouched makes this game a definite play for platformer fans. Just don’t let the kiddies play this game, it ain’t rated M for nothing.

Saw (XBox 360, PlayStation 3 & Windows – Rated Mature)

I’m thankful for this game because it reminds me of how such a promising game can be so damn disappointing.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Saw as much as the next guy, but this game is horrible. It plays horrible, the graphics are horrible, the music’s horrible for the fact that it gets annoying as all get out after you listen to it for so long. It’s kind of like the movie, the storyline is the only thing that saves the game for me. But not enough to make me play it again.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Super Nintendo, Wii Virtual Console & Game Boy Advance)

After not having played this game for over eight years on a Super Nintendo, I’m reminded of the timelessness of such game series like the Zelda franchise. Very few games these days have that timelessness, and even fewer capitalize on it through a sequel.

Guitar Hero/Rock Band (Multiple Platforms)

Because, SRSLY, where else will you be able to fulfill your rock star fantasy without the risk of drug addiction and STD’s?

Trog! (NES & Arcade)

What can I say, it makes me nostalgic.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (All major consoles, handhelds, mobile phones, Mac OS & PC)

When a franchise releases one of the best games of that year and, quite possibly, of this generation, it’s no small matter. When that franchise is Star Wars, you know it’s a hell of a game.

Left 4 Dead (PC, XBox 360)

Hundreds upon thousands of zombies coming at you, a seemingly endless supply of ammunition, a gun toting maniac and a hot chick who knows how to multitask with annihilating the undead horde whilst looking innocently sexy – if Left 4 Dead 2 is any better than this, then I’ll have no problem selling off all my Rock Band controllers just to get my hand on it.

And last, but certainly not least:

Tetris (You name it, it probably has a port of it)

You can have all the legions of enemies breathing down your neck, the high-definition graphics, orchestrated soundtrack by the biggest names in music and awesome state-of-the-art technology made exclusively for your game. Tetris will still pwn you and have enough in its tank for another million rounds. The best thing to come out of Russia since vodka still has what it takes to this day.

Besides, who doesn’t remember how they felt the first time they cleared four lines at the same time?

What are some of the things your thankful for? Better yet, some of the games you’re thankful for playing, good or bad?

Por Henrique Neto.
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Hááá!! Pegadinha do Jimmy Gibbs! (not)

Pois é galera carniceira.
Fuçando pelos limbos da internetz sites de Left 4 Dead, acabei encontrando um zumbi “comum incomum” que não aparece normalmente.
Quem já jogou o jogo completo, mais precisamente a fase “Atrium” da primeira campanha (Dead Center), com certeza sabe quem é Jimmy Gibbs Jr, o então “famoso” piloto de Stock Car (americana, OBVIO). Quem não sabe, é cego, louco, avoado ou simplesmente não jogou Left 4 Dead 2…

Jimmy Gibbs Jr - Piloto de Stock Car, para os que não conhecem.

Pois bem…
Antes de mais nada, devo ressaltar que não é possivel dar spawn nesse zumbi no modo multiplayer devivo ao fato de a Valve ter bloqueado o comando “sv_cheats”.

Vamos aos passos:

1) – Entre no jogo e abra o console.

2) – Digite “map c1m4_atrium“.

3) – Digite “sv_cheats 1“.

4) – Digite “z_forcezombiemodelname common_male_jimmy“.

5) -Digite “z_forcezombiemodel 1“.

6) – Digite “z_spawn“.

7) – Utilize todos os comando sem as apas e divirta-se.

Clones?! Oo

Seguindo esses passos, um Jimmy Gibbs Jr. deverá brotar aparecer um pouco a frente do seu personagem.
Vale lembrar que ele tem mais vida (algo em torno de 1000), não pode ser multilado, quando te atinge, causa o mesmo efeito de “lama” na tela e por fim, faz com que o personagem que você está usando diga uma frase que ele não utiliza no jogo, como por exemplo o Ellis que grita um “NOOOOOO!” no melhor estilo Darth Vader épico.

Segue abaixo um tutorial feito por mim, porém em inglês demonstrando como dar spawn nos Jimmy Gibbs e como eles se parecem/comportam ingame.

Tutorial em inglês mabe by eu.

Abraços a todos e não esqueçam de comentar/assinar meu feed RSS.

In the first part of this three part review i shall be reviewing the first three of the 5 new campaigns of Left 4 Dead 2. In the second half I will talk about the last two campaigns and realism mode, and in the last part I will cover the different game modes, and any last thoughts I have about L4D2.

Left 4 Dead returns exactly one year later with all the zombie killing fun of the first game, plus a bit more. When jumping into L4D2’s first campaign, Dead Center you can tell right of the bat it is a new game, partly because there is a baseball bat sitting there right in front of you. The addition of melee weapons is one of the many obvious additions to the game, along with new weapons, adrenalin, and new ammo types, but these things alone do not merit a new game. The five new campaigns do though and prove them selfs as a new experience with different game play options and great level design. The inclusion of a storyline that followed the four characters was great as it was nice to see how all the chapters fit together was nice.

Dead Center Prices Aren’t the Only Thing Getting Slashed

Not even housekeepers are safe from the zombies

Coach, Rochelle, Nick and Ellis seem to have just met while running for an evacuation helicopter on the top of a hotel. This is one of the few points in the game where there are no primary weapons present and you must fight your way through the hotel with pistols and melee weapons. The first chapter of this campaign i feel is the high point of Dead Center. The building is on fire cutting of hallways and forcing you to run along the balcony’s of the hotel. Once you fight your way to the elevator the 4 characters take the time to introduce them selfs to each other. At the bottom floor once the doors open you engulfed with smoke as the floor is almost completely ablaze. Burning zombies are running at you from every direction falling over dead before they reach you.

Once you leave the building the campaign turn and start your way towards a mall. The scenery on the way is alright but not great and the middle chapters all blend together. The gun shop is quite fun as it lets you pick your second level gun out of pretty much every gun in the game, and then lets you stick a laser site on it. The survivors then run a quest for the gun shop owner, he asks you to grab some Cola from the store across the street. Once you run into the store grab his coke he fires a rocket of some kind and blow up the trunks blocking your way and the survivors are free to continue on there way.

Left 4 Dead, the platformer

The rest of the Campaign up to the finally is rather unmemorable but still fun. The finally is one of the new game types, where instead of radioing in and then holding out for 10 minutes or so you have to find gas cans and fill up Jimmy Gibbs race car so you can escape from the mall.

Dead Center, fun as it was is not the best campaign in L4D2 but by no means bad.

Dark Carnival You must me this tall… TO DIE

Jimmy Gibbs car seem to have run out gas and for the first chapter the survivors fight there way down the highway. After making your way to a motel you fight your way down a hill to a river and then back up to the other side where you get your first glimpse of the Carnival. The next chapter is where Dark Carnival really shins with its vast open theme park and games, and a few of the games are even playable by the Survivors. The carousel is the first crescendo and it is one of the new crescendo types in L4D2 where instead of activating it and holing up the Survivors have to make a run to shut of the crescendo or the waves of zombies will never end.

It was indeed a good concert

The next crescendo is the Roller Coaster which I think is one of the craziest crescendo’s in the game. The Survivors active the coaster and then jump on the tracks and make a run for the end of the Coaster where the safe room is located. While on campaign mode it is not that hard in versus its near impossible but I will talk about that in Part 2. After the Roller Coaster there is one more chapter before the finally with the Midnight Riders.

The Dark Carnival finale is one of my favorites of the new finales. It is very much like a L4D1 finale in the sense that you call a rescue vehicle and wait it out. Although it mixes it up by playing a rock concert for you while you fight complete with fireworks and music. A Helicopter comes and

saves you at the last moment and then setting you up for Swamp Fever.

This is one of the songs played by the fictional yet bad ass band

Swamp Fever The only cure is dying

This campaign takes a little more looking to find out how it ties into the rest. While listening to the survivors it sounds like Nick shot the pilot after he turned into a zombie. For some reason after the crash the four survivors made there way to a train car, with a little looking around the players can find the crashed chopper on the other side of the train. Making your way through the chapter is fun but the middle chapters all blend together because each one is in the swamp. This does not subtract from the fun at all and it does feel much different from the other campaigns. And the creepiness of the level is pulled off vary well and finding a paratrooper dead stuck in a tree is a strange find but it’s nice when you get a auto shotgun of his hanging corpse.

Making an example? I don't think zombies feel fear.

The Finale for Swamp Fever is rather fun with the addition of a huge machine gun and a massive plantation house to run around it. Having my team cover the three ways to the gun and the fourth man on the gun proved to be an excellent way to kill hordes of zombies and take down chunks of the tanks life while he was in front of the gun. We were blazing through the campaign up until the second tank where instead of one tank two came running at us. Our first play through it was a team wipe and we had to start over. But on our second play through we were organized enough to take down both tanks without any of us dying.

After the second group of tanks a huge gate blows up and opens your path to the boat. The survivors make a run for it and get on Virgil’s boat for the first time. Thus setting you up for the next campaign, Hard Rain.

Come back for part 2 where I will cover the last two campaigns and realism mode.