demo impressions

[B_MAN]

can't wait for NOV 17!!

[Sledgehammer]

The jukebox is amazing.

I agree on the defillibrator seeming more or less useless, but maybe it'll be worth it on the later maps once medkits become more scarce. As it is, even on expert, both maps seem littered by medkits.

The crescendo is easily the one of the best crescendos of the entire series. I'm hoping we get more of this stuff. Although, with a bit of adrenaline, it really isn't that hard, sometimes it's possible to get the alarm turned off without being attacked once.

Am I the only one who finds the tonfa absolutely useless? It's pales in comparison to pretty much all the other melee weapons. The only advantage I can find is that the blood doesn't obscure your view as much. Well, at least it's very widely available (the machete and desert eagle aren't).

I just wish they'd have included a small survival map as well, everybody seems familiar with it now, wouldn't spoil too much.

[jondy]

Cheers Gorgon, looks lovely.

[pilot7893]

It's incredible. It might actually get me back into playing L4D1.

[toaster leigh]

Originally Posted by Sledgehammer

The only advantage I can find is that the blood doesn't obscure your view as much.

I only use melee weapons to have my screen covered in blood

Also I like how all the old special infected are now black except for the dumb white bitch who won't stop crying over the 350 calories she ate in brains, wahhhh my thighs are so fat &c &c

[Frits]

On a side note: I decided to take a look inside the 'sounds' folder, because I'm kinda fascinated with what they did with the theme tune. Any of you guys happen to have done this as well? I found the following interesting stuff:

- we already knew Valve spends a lot of time and energy tuning their games. Well, props for what they've done with the common infected. There's a boatload of sounds in there, and I'm fascinated with the way their sound actors must have had an awful wacky time creating these sounds! Creating this must have cost them several new throats...

- The jockey easy is the wackiest of all. Props to the actor who created these sound effects; he'll probably need brain surgery by now.

- The female boomer effects frankly disappointed me. We all know the Boomer has several sound effects that really make you go 'yuck!'. Apparently for the female Boomer they decided to take some of the old sounds and just pitch them up to match a woman's voice, but that actually makes them sound really weird and robotic. Too bad!

- I find all of the sounds for the new SI to be less original and creepy than those of the first SI. Including the tunes you get to hear when playing SI in Versus (yes, they're included in the demo).

- Apparently, the 'music' when you're being attacked by a horde is randomly generated by mixing any of a number of drum samples under any of a number of trumpet samples. For what it's worth, I think that's cool.

- I think I'll try replacing the current alarm sound with any siren I find online. IIRC, there's a site somewhere featuring a wide range of alarm sounds...

[falconwind]

I think it's great.

The only criticisms that I have is:

1. There seem to be weapons and medkits all over the place! (This may be unique to the demo, as to showcase more stuff in a shorter experience.)
2. The Riot Infected are completely immune to gunfire from the front. (Would rather have them take more shots to kill, and be vulnerable to the Magnum and certain Tier 2 rifles.)
3. On easier difficulties, the defibrillator doesn't get used much at all.
4. The shotguns do not carry enough reserve ammo. (down from 128 to 56).

Other than that, I'm having a blast, and can't wait for the full game!

[Lone Wolf]

lol at wam_music in the sound>music folder, sounds like its out of dark carnival.

edit: I also see you can get 'still alive' on the jukebox.

[Frits]

Originally Posted by Lone Wolf

lol at wam_music in the sound>music folder, sounds like its out of dark carnival.

edit: I also see you can get 'still alive' on the jukebox.

Lol indeed. I thought you meant the Nirvana song though, but it's the Portal tune. Cool surprises abound!

[BHC]

The demo is awesome, maybe too awesome, as I can't warrant paying anything over $30 for the full game. I never play versus or survival, etc in the original game, so for occasional stress relief I'm fine kicking ass in the one level I've been given. Gotta love demos, you guys.

[Captain M4d]

I like this a lot better than the original. Like other have said, this game feels more polished in overall gameplay aspects. While some people thought the melee weapons were going to be gimicky, I have found a lot of strategy in using them (especially on advanced and expert mode when FF can easily kill).

I also like the new special infected a lot. All three of them add to more interesting scenarios for the survivors.

I'm very thankful for the Spitter. Versus mode is going to be so much better now that the survivors won't be able to corner camp.

I like the abundant arsenal of weapons. It makes the game feel a lot more immersive: instead of having the same, damn weapons in every location, they almost always vary throughout, and I have noticed differences in recoil and firerate between different shotguns, rifles and SMGs.

I think the graphics are better than L4D. There's a lot more color in the locations, and I also like that some of the levels are set during the day. It feels more realistic, because instead of playing levels night-to-night like in L4D, we are actually seeing day-and-night cycles which indicate the progression of a story.

I'm going to write a review of the game for my college newspaper later this month, so I'll have something that is more concise and organized to share then.

[Sledgehammer]

Originally Posted by Captain M4d

I like this a lot better than the original. Like other have said, this game feels more polished in overall gameplay aspects. While some people thought the melee weapons were going to be gimicky, I have found a lot of strategy in using them (especially on advanced and expert mode when FF can easily kill).

I find that the melee weapons are way better than the pistols (at least the standard pistols, maybe not the Desert Eagle). This makes both the pistols and the shotguns almost obsolete. But hey, we get a shower of blood.

I like the abundant arsenal of weapons. It makes the game feel a lot more immersive: instead of having the same, damn weapons in every location, they almost always vary throughout, and I have noticed differences in recoil and firerate between different shotguns, rifles and SMGs.

I feel that the AK47 is just plain superior to every other weapon in the game, since it excels both as a long-range rifle and a tank slayer.

I think the graphics are better than L4D. There's a lot more color in the locations, and I also like that some of the levels are set during the day. It feels more realistic, because instead of playing levels night-to-night like in L4D, we are actually seeing day-and-night cycles which indicate the progression of a story.

I think this is mostly due to the level designers, since especially The Waterfront seems insanely detailed in comparison to most of L4D1. I doubt that the other campaigns will look as great (especially, I think that Hard Rain will look somewhat bland).

[Operational]

Originally Posted by Sledgehammer

I find that the melee weapons are way better than the pistols (at least the standard pistols, maybe not the Desert Eagle). This makes both the pistols and the shotguns almost obsolete. But hey, we get a shower of blood.

Melee weapons mostly suck against Special Infected and in Expert mode (where friendly fire is so potent).
However for Normal/Advanced I agree that melee weapons are very good and unless I find a Deagle I'll choose one over Pistol/Dual-Pistol.

I feel that the AK47 is just plain superior to every other weapon in the game, since it excels both as a long-range rifle and a tank slayer.

I do love the AK, but I'm not sure it's as clear cut at that

I'm interested in seeing how the different Tier 2 weapons are affected by the laser sight.

[Frits]

Originally Posted by Captain M4d

I like this a lot better than the original. Like other have said, this game feels more polished in overall gameplay aspects. While some people thought the melee weapons were going to be gimicky, I have found a lot of strategy in using them (especially on advanced and expert mode when FF can easily kill).

Good thing player experience varies on this subject. I myself haven't found melee weapons very handy at all, not even on Expert. After I found out that I was ff-ing all the same while wielding a melee weapon, I switched back to using my guns. Infected didn't seem to drop down as efficiently using a melee weapon anyway.

Originally Posted by Captain M4d

I'm going to write a review of the game for my college newspaper later this month, so I'll have something that is more concise and organized to share then.

Based on the actual game and not just the demo, right? Anyway, I sure hope you won't end up being all positive, because I find reviews that lack any critique to be very suspicious...

[TollBooth Willie]

Doesn't seem like worth buying after some extensive playtime during last week. Maybe a rental since I won't be running this on a laptop.