Your video, Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) [Mods] Gameplay and Commentary, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

You make some interesting points probie! Half-life is my top game of all time too and I'm a bigtime Valve fanboy of course.

I basically agree with everything you said, the games have become more broad, L4D2 and Portal 2, while both excellent, were a little underwhelming... but I guess comparing them to the greatest game of all time is bound to lead to disappointment too...

For the most part though, I think that Valve's overall approach; releasing software for free, bridging the gap between developers and gamers with Steam, and their system of game development in general, is a great approach and it's one that's given me a lot of joy and fulfilment as a consumer.

I'm using their Source Filmmaker software right now to create a short film and all along the way Valve employee's been answering questions on forums, blogging about their favorite videos so far, releasing new content every week etc...

Sure they're just a company and ultimately they want our money but when I look at Valve compared to most other developers/publishers, it's like night and day. Valve releases DLC all the time, for free. Every time I play TF2 (which is now free too) there's always new maps and new weapons. L4D1 and 2 both got new campaigns, in fact another one JUST came out for L4D2, for free! Compare that with almost every other game company and they're charging you for DLC before the game is even out. Or they split their game into 3 separate games! *cough* Blizzard *cough*

I just think there's something they 'get' about where gaming and software is going in general and I for one hope they continue on this ride!

Yes I know I'm a huge fanboy...

>> ^probie:

Still my #1 game of all time. I've always been a fan of the Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, etc., so the idea of an every man unleashing who-knows-what-upon-the-world was really appealing. Not to mention the variety of guns, the variety and originality of the monsters, the way each section felt like a real place. [spoiler]You race to the surface dependent on being rescued only to be driven back down underground, realizing as you wander through areas of the facility that no one normally goes that you're now entirely self-reliant. Top that off with other little psychological tricks they used: passage of time (when you first run into the military it's sunny, the next time you hit the surface it's night time), mortality (getting caught and thrown to your doom in the trash compactor, knowing you're about to become a footnote, only to escape again). I still get tingles when I remember dropping down off the roof into that pit of water, hoisting myself up into the pipe and starting to scurry down it when, at the other end, I see a soldier pop open the door and throw in a satchel charge. (Read: OH SHIT!!! backpedal backpedal ) Hell, I'm pretty sure I even held my breath in real life when I dropped back into the water; that's how engrossing the experience was. [/spoiler]

Unfortunately, I think Valve took the idea of spit and polish to absurd levels in every game they've made since, with it culminating in Portal 2. I'm not talking about the story; that was great. I'm talking about the "Here, let us spoon feed you each level by pointing out that this is the only wall that you can put a portal on, oh good, you did it, see? Aren't you having fun?"-type gameplay. The only way they could have been more direct is by putting a giant, flashing sign that says "DO THIS NEXT". [spoiler]To be fair, I felt a small tinge of it again in Half-Life 2, when you reach the bridge and have to make your way across the under-belly of it. I think this was do to the fact that there was nothing there (ie. a convenient arrow sign) to indicate that's what you needed to do. I remember looking around, seeing the path leading down behind the house, following it with my eye to the bridge and thinking "Are you serious??" Sure enough, 2 minutes later I'm grasping on the rusted metal and cursing under my breath at the developers. [/spoiler]
Regardless, something has gotten lost in the translation since Half-Life. Gone is the wonder and sense of freedom I felt; now I feel that I'm only playing the game the way they require me to, and not on my own. They may have been directing me where to go in Half-Life, but they did it with such slyness that it never felt forced, or blatant.
Sadly, I think their cabal process has become a double-edged sword, allowing them to create some of the most memorable video games, but tailoring it to the lowest common denominator. (A great read if you have a minute or two.)
And on that note, I'm off to hunt down some really, really good weed that will make me forget about everything I liked about Half-Life 1. Just so I can replay it again.

[redacted]

>> ^JiggaJonson:

>> ^ForgedReality:
When are people going to stop fucking playing fps games on consoles? The movement of those stupid jogsticks makes me sick.
edit -
I take that back... The annoying screechy girly voices are far, FAR more nauseating than the slip-slidey consolecancer movements.

I thought the same thing but at one point she says "hold down the space bar" and you can hear mad mouse clicks on the cake; but they sure dont seem to move like they are using a mouse and KB. -_- hmm


Oh shit, good call... I heard that but I didn't think about it. Maybe one is on a console and the other is on PC? Or maybe the one recording likes to play with some kind of weird joystick as opposed to a mouse...? It's definitely odd movement.

>> ^ForgedReality:

When are people going to stop fucking playing fps games on consoles? The movement of those stupid jogsticks makes me sick.
edit -
I take that back... The annoying screechy girly voices are far, FAR more nauseating than the slip-slidey consolecancer movements.


I thought the same thing but at one point she says "hold down the space bar" and you can hear mad mouse clicks on the cake; but they sure dont seem to move like they are using a mouse and KB. -_- hmm

>> ^KnivesOut:

I'm conflicted. On one hand, pure valve fan-boy awesome-sauce. On the other hand, incredibly annoying grrl gamers.
Think I'll abstain from voting altogether.


I was totally opposite. The portal stuff was a trip but the girl gamers and their wonder was the video.

>> ^Mcboinkens:

It's fan made content, and this was scripted. Makes it less cool, but I've gotta say whoever made it was pretty damn dedicated and did a good job.


why do you say this is scripted?

Your video, L4D2 - Portal 2 Easter Egg, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

I'm guessing this is why I bounce off of people as a charger in L4D2. Stupid hit detection

They forgot CSS, TF2, L4D, L4D2, and the original Call of Duty, which are all way more popular than half the games on that list were at their peak. I guess the emphasis is on eye candy rather than good design.

Woo, just picked up L4D2, all 5 Tales of Monkey Island and Oddworld series!

That is just deliciously fucking absurd. If ever a video has been ripe for remixing, those auto tune the news guys, FARK, 4chan, this is the one. I might make a L4D2 spray out of the fisting moment.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'left 4 dead, nick, ellis, coach, rochelle' to 'left 4 dead 2, L4D2, nick, ellis, coach, rochelle' - edited by calvados

>> ^HadouKen24:
Left 4 Dead 2 is more of a sequel than Modern Warfare 2 is--and I could probably name any number of other sequels, as well.
Is there a similar feel? Sure. That's why it's Left 4 Dead 2, rather than a completely different game. But there are enough changes--including more campaigns than the original at release--that it more than qualifies as a complete game unto itself. If you don't like sequels, that's fine, and perhaps Yahtzee doesn't. But it's a lot more than an expansion pack.


You know why L4D 2 includes more campaigns than the original at release? Because Valve released L4D1 with pathetically little content. Those 4 campaigns took you ~4-6 hours to get through the first time, depending on the difficulty.

You know why people are upset? Because they bought L4D1 with the idea that Valve was going to support it with frequent releases like TF2. Instead, they just bundle up all the content that could have and should have been released for L4D, added some extra gimmicks, and called it L4D2, not even a year after the first game was finished. So yeah, you can say that L4D2 is very "sequel" like because of the extra content, but that's because it cannibalized content meant for the original. And no, there's no excuse for shoveling out a sequel once a year like EA does with its sports franchises. That's just greed at the expense of your fans, and not something that I'd expect Valve to do.

I don't really have any facts on this, but I wouldn't be surprised if they released it early just because they were excited about it.

I haven't played the first one, but the gore effects are so good that I am ecstatic. I'm a major fan of the Soldier of Fortune franchise and consider myself to be a critic in my own right.

L4D2 meets and/or surpasses SOF2's gore in multiple respects. Any fan of SOF should play L4D2; it's obvious that they were using it as an example.

This may be a minor point, but does anyone remember how nice the real-time character renders were in Resident Evil (remake) on the Gamecube?

I think they've added a similar touch to the playable characters in general texture quality (performance would degrade too much if this detail was present on 200 zombies though).

You won't be disappointed.