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Report article Left 4 Dead (aka Mouse waving game) is boring and so are you

Posted by freedomorfire on Apr 24th, 2009 digg this super bookmark


Do I even need to say anything about this? I mean, yes its probably one of the better zombie games besides like.. Resident Evil or even Zombie Panic Source mod for HL2.

But really, all you do is move to one area, shoot, move to another, shoot, fight tank, member dies so revive him/her, shoot, move to next area, shoot. repeat.

Now granted, this is how most FPS games are layed out. You know, the ones without eginuity or idea or innovation. Run Shoot Repeat.

Like really, this game might as well be called "Random mouse clicking game" cause what do you do when a horde of zombies are coming at you? Sway the mouse back and forth and click like crazy. (Yes there are 2 types of grenades that ATTEMPT to mix it up, but essentially thats all you do)

Here's a very common situation:

You go into a house or a shed, you see ammo littered around and the game is telling you to hit a switch. Now, take a wild guess what happens when you pull that switch.

"Oh jeeze, um.. a horde zombies WONT come and try to eat our brains?"

WRONG!

The game is sooo freaking predictable, that its stupid. It's the equivalent of going "DON'T GO IN THERE!" at a stupid horror movie.

"Oh hey guise, theres a radio here and I dunno what to dooooo.. durrr maybe I should press it and hope that zombies WONT come this time? WHOOPS Here they come.. sorriess"

It's so repetitive. And theres only 4 maps (at the time I wrote this) to do this all in.

And dont tell me "oh.. but that teamwork really stands out and totally makes the game!" cause it doesn't. It just boils down to whoever has pills or medpacks and giving them to players who need them. 85% of the time, that's it. You might as well be playing with bots.

A good zombie game REQUIRES suspense. You need to feel like you are going to get eaten alive. You have limited ammo and you need to get to a rescue point. You stick together and hope for the best. You know.. like ANY zombie movie or MOST zombie games?

Now look at Mouse Waving Game. You run through maps, there is no suspense or frightening parts if you played through the map already, the game gives you full ammo at times. And worst of all. Zombies KICK you to death.. not eat. KICK you or CLAW at you.

So with only 4 Maps to play on, and the game is around $30-40. You are paying for $5-10 per map.

Imagine this. Imagine if Team Fortress 2 (not that I'm saying it's better) came with 4 maps. Would it get repetitve as hell? Yes. But does teamwork matter in that game? Yes. (Yes i know the SDK is coming or is out.. its the fact that they released the game with 4 levels)



So lets just review what you do is Left 4 Dead.

You pick up guns, move to an area, shower zombies with bullets by waving your mouse randomly. You see a "special" zombie. You kill it. Repeat for an hour or so.

Versus mode does not sell the game. Sure, being a zombie can be fun. But playing it is no different than campaign other than the usual "Oh hey, you are my friend and a zombie, I so pwned you haha you suxorz"

Also, the achievements... are useless. That is all.

I'd love to know how people love this game SO MUCH. It's not the second coming of Jesus, it's NOT the best multiplayer game ever nor is it the best team one. So what is it? What makes this game soooo addictive to play 4 maps over and over again for months on end? This formula has been done WAYYY better before and the only reason I picked this game up is to play with friends.

Please.

Tell me.

I MUST be missing something.

Comments
Bunnyjen
Bunnyjen May 6 2009, 6:22am says:

OK my reply exceeds the limit, so I’ll post it in two separate posts.

Sure, the game is not for everyone. But I don’t see the point in complaining about it so much all the time, just because you don’t like it. If someone enjoys a game then good for them and leave them alone to enjoy themselves.

I don’t think anyone has hailed it ‘the second coming of Jesus’. For me I enjoy the game because of the teamwork. The social side of it and knowing how each team member works is addictive. I find it more addictive than the likes of Counter Strike or Team Fortress because of the small team sizes. You are only ever with 3 other people, which I find a lot more personal and I really enjoy getting to know those people, how they work and coming up with strategies with them.

When you say all you do is point, click and fire I think you’re wrong:

For one if you randomly spray bullets everywhere, you are likely to hit a team member, which on expert mode can knock off a ridiculous amount of health. A few bullets and you have in-capped your team mate, so you have to be careful with where you fire.

Secondly, if you randomly spray your bullets everywhere, you risk running out of amo. If you get caught by a horde, or a tank, or a witch, that can pose serious problems. Clever players will conserve their amo.

Thirdly, the new survival mode demonstrates that its’ the exact opposite of a "Random mouse clicking game". You cannot afford to run out of amo because running to fill up could mean instant death.

Sure, I’ll agree with you that there are only 4 maps and that the scenario is overdone and predictable. But it’s done intentionally. It’s supposed to be cheesy and predictable; the posters on the loading screens make that clear.

+2 votes     reply to comment
Bunnyjen
Bunnyjen May 6 2009, 6:24am replied:

The team work doesn’t just “ boil down to whoever has pills or medpacks and giving them to players who need them.” Half of the addiction for me is getting in with a team, and learning the maps inside out so you know where all the best places to hide are, where the supplies are, where to run if there is a horde and as far as infected is concerned, where all the best attack points are.

The teamwork is not only handing out med packs and pills because you don’t always come across many of them. It’s about co-ordinating your team to attack with maximum impact as the infected. And co –coordinating with your survival team to make sure people don’t run off on their own.

If, for example a boomer can get close enough to vomit on the survivors, this gives the other infected a chance to, in the chaos, divide and overcome the survivors. However if the infected attack separately, the survivors will most likely make it through.

“A good zombie game REQUIRES suspense.” Suspense can come in many forms. Left 4 Dead is paced almost perfectly imo, you're always pushed to the edge, particularly on expert mode. It’s not scary suspense, it’s suspense that you’re on black and white health and 10 metres from a safe room, but in that distance a Smoker can drag you to an alarmed car, a Tank could appear or a Boomer can get you at the last second and the horde in-caps you cm’s from the saferoom. It’s the suspense on VS that if you’re playing against a good team, and you have only3 survivors left, a well co-ordinated attack can get all 3 of you in one go. It can be hilarious hearing teammates or opponents screaming down their mics.

I think if you gave the game a chance and got in with a regular team of players you would enjoy it more. I can see why you wouldn’t like it if you played with random players or on your own all the time. Once you get past that and the communication is good, it starts to get really fun!


+2 votes     reply to comment
Bunnyjen
Bunnyjen May 6 2009, 6:29am replied:

Personally I really enjoy the game. As you can probably tell. That's not to say I think it's the best game ever! It's not my favourtite game in the world and it has flaws, plenty of them, some can be very annoying. If I can laugh and have a good time on a game though, then I'm going to play it, because that's what its all about.

Metacritic.com
;)

+2 votes     reply to comment
The_Revenge1995_Cro
The_Revenge1995_Cro May 6 2009, 6:32am says:

Bunnyjen have maked epic spam!!!

0 votes     reply to comment
Bunnyjen
Bunnyjen May 6 2009, 6:35am replied:

Bunnyjen have maked epic essay lengthed reply which doesn't consist of spam, as far as I can see..... :P

+2 votes     reply to comment
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