The best E3 trailers: The Old Republic

Holy shit! A Star Wars MMO that doesn't look like it sucks. This game makes me want to try and upgrade my computer. I might have to break my self imposed ban on MMOs on myself. Hope it turns out ok. Check it out.


J.

Left 4 Dead Multiplayer Impressions

With Left 4 Dead hitting stores today, I figured I better get my multiplayer impressions up ASAP. Of course, if you’ve been reading lately, you probably already know that this game is the shit and you should be getting it if you have an Xbox 360 or a PC. I’m really glad J got to play a little, as they’re not making a PS3 version and he needs more reasons to get a 360.Since trying out the demo solo, I’ve gotten a chance to play with my brother in a two player match, and other friends in a few three player matches.

Let me just say the obvious: the game is more fun with friends. The not so obvious? It is scarier too. Not only are you watching your own back, you need to help your team out too, which becomes a lot more urgent when it’s a real person playing (who can scream in terror for help over Xbox Live) over a computer player. I’m not surprised to read in J’s impressions that even when playing with random people, other players don’t act like selfish funhats. It’s most likely tied to the need for mutual survival; the more of the team that stays alive, the more likely you’ll stay alive. Not to mention, the more human players there are, the more threats there are too; more hunters, smokers (tongue guys), boomers (fat exploding guys)—so it’s best if every one works together.

The other interesting thing I noticed while playing is that things so INTENSE that occasionally other players may be so wrapped up in the grim situation that they won’t respond right away because they may not hear you; a few times both playing with my brother and in three player matches, things needed to be repeated. This is no fault of the online chat servers; instead it’s because of the amount of fear that overwhelms you.

Team tactics work a lot better in a group too. Plans can be made up and executed, and sometimes, more ground can be covered as the team can split up. However, I learned very quickly that you should never leave the group to go somewhere alone. There will be undead threats to face anywhere and everywhere you go, and if you don’t have at least one other team member with you, there won’t be anyone to save you once things go bad. But sticking in a tight knit group while patrolling the area, there are few challenges you won’t be able to fend off successfully.

With real players, you’re able to plan as a team, verbally call out for rescue, and hear other people in the group freak the fuck out. It also makes the sense of accomplishment much greater when everyone makes it out of a level alive. With the demo being only two levels, I’m sure things get even more intense and the need for cooperation increases. And in the final version, there’s also multiplayer matches where you can play as zombies hunting humans.

Multiplayer puts an already great game over the top. Don’t miss out on Left 4 Dead; again, it’s out today.

Max

DEMO-LITION: Left 4 dead edition

you may have heard about a game called Left 4 Dead. catchy little title. i first heard about this at E3. in between fallout 3 and gears of war 2, was a game i'd never heard of called Left 4 Dead. being a valve game, i didn't pay it much mind since my laptop isn't as awesome as it should be to run a valve game and head honcho Gabe Newell doesn't think that certain gaming systems are worth the headache of programing for.

i didn't pay much attention to the title since there wasn't much chance that i was going to play it. months go by. fallout 3 comes out and is awesome and huge. then i start hearing about this game, left 4 dead again. i see videos. it looks cool. a new take on survival horror and co-op. whatever. "i'm not going to play it." i said.

so, i opened up my steam account because i like to justify still having it on my laptop since no games i like to play will run on it, and i found that i had 23 hours to play the demo for L4D. hmmm. so i go to canyourunit.com and found that i could run it, on very low settings. so i DL'ed it to see what the fuss was about.

first off, the game is FUCKING SCARY!!! i jumped out of my chair more than a few times. and playing it in the dark isn't the move. the whole point of the game was the feeling of being alone with three other people and the fact that at any moment, you could possibly get ripped to shreds by half dead freaks. it was insane! playing with other people was very interesting. the people i played with weren't the normal, out for self, ass clowns that don't help when you're getting pinned down by gunfire. they healed me when i was down, shot boomers and smokers when i was about to get wasted while my back was turned and they yelled for me to hurry up when i was getting to far away from the group. the sparse music only added to the fright. string stabs and general droning ambiance mixed with the silence made hearing the oncoming footsteps that much more dreadful. you know they are coming. you don't know how many there are, but you know there's going to be alot of them. i quickly got sucked into to game. something i wasn't planning on.

i now see what Max was going on about. it's shaping up to being a really good time and with the possibility of a 360 showing up in my house this x-mas, i could be jumping out of my skin more often than playing the last level of manhunt.

Left 4 Dead is out tomorrow. demo is available now. and the original manhunt is really good. not like that other manhunt.......


J.