Post edited 2:32 pm – November 17, 2009 by Maverick Kanissa

One word: Wow.

More to come after I sleep from a lengthy gaming session but do post your thoughts.

-|3

I'll be all over this tonight!!!!!!!

Post edited 9:22 am – November 18, 2009 by Maverick Kanissa

Once again, after nearly a full 24 hrs of play, I speak the word: Wow.

Seems like we had a few midnight releasers but even more pick up the title today. In my games with many different people, I've noticed the game is receiving many mixed reviews by the fans though with the cursor leaning towards the positive.

Personally, I have my qualms as well with the initial launch, particularly with the nerfing of the Hunter. The Hunter doesn't feel as fluid like he did in L4D, almost seeming slower in a way despite his neat little shimmer effect upon pouncing. The use of Melee weapons can be difficult IF you aren't right up an enemy or in the middle of a horde. Also, level layouts can be confusing, disorenting, and lightly frustating until you play through them a few times to get things down. The dynamics of L4D2 have adapted to make players have to really coordinate and be at their best when playing. Even on the lowest difficulty settings, ergo Easy, players can easily be overwhelmed by the infected and the horde if not careful. This of course is not necessarily a bad thing as it will force people to improve and change their own tactics. However, it has the potential to sway away more casual gamers of the community from campaign or even versus mode because of the odds being stacked heavilly against the survivors.

I could go on about some minor annoyances though on the positive side, much to the surprise of many, the challange of the different new campaign boards/maps has been well met by fans of the original game (myself included). The addition of the new infected (Charger, Jockey, and Spitter), the changes in Witch tactics, consistant horde during objective Crescendos, and adaptions to the previous special infected (some bad, some good) brings a whole other element to versus game play which eliminates old abused tactics from L4D. Such tactics as standing in the corner during key events until you eliminate the horde or waiting for tanks in finales was eased by the use of the Spitter's acid.

With the above mentioned, campaign expert mode strikes both fear and excitement in me with how Valve has found a way to make it even more difficult to stay alive. Another plus is weapon and item distribution both at the beginning of and during maps. With the new Director 2.0, no longer do I get the choice to grab my SMG at the beginning of levels or get ammo dumps every couple minutes, I may have to choose a melee weapon or a pistols or grab a weapon im not use to using to fight off the undead.

In the end, despite the issues of difficulty for some, I love L4D2. The new cast is great and the gameplay, while struggling with server issues atm, is solid for the most part though I'll be holding on to my L4D also, you just can't abandon a classic like that. Lookin forward to friday and hope to see many of you there!

Thats my story and i'm stickin to it. Lookin forward to friday and hope to see many of you there!

-|3

P.S: I've completed 4 out of the 5 campaigns, survived two. Favored melee: Chainsaw or Ninja-sword

I absolutely love this game. It was originally going to be my Christmas present, but my husband bought it early as a surprise. Woo! 

I always start off on Easy to get a feel for the level. I was in the very beginning of the first campaign when a friend of mine logged on and she walked me through the other levels. But again, I was amazed how easy wasn't so much easy after all. I also love how the length of most of the campaigns increased. 

I have to say, fav melee weapon is probably the guitar, just because the sound cracks me up. But on an effective level, I say the katana. 

dangermonkey said:

I absolutely love this game. It was originally going to be my Christmas present, but my husband bought it early as a surprise. Woo! 

I always start off on Easy to get a feel for the level. I was in the very beginning of the first campaign when a friend of mine logged on and she walked me through the other levels. But again, I was amazed how easy wasn't so much easy after all. I also love how the length of most of the campaigns increased. 

I have to say, fav melee weapon is probably the guitar, just because the sound cracks me up. But on an effective level, I say the katana. 

Lol paddle bat, against tanks is best xD