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Left 4 Dead 2 - The Passing DLC
Release Date: April 22, 2010
Reviewed On: Xbox 360 (Also available on PC)
Developer: Valve Software
Publisher: Valve Software
I may be a bit biased, but I am of the opinion that when Valve released Left 4 Dead it revolutionized the way we play online games. Here was a game that took a pretty simple premise and made it not only mandatory to team up and play together, but made it incredibly fun at the same time.
Welcome to The Passing
Little did we know that the first L4D was just the cusp of what would be a big franchise. A year later Left 4 Dead 2 was released to cheers and jeers, some fans complaining about the all too short turnaround time for a sequel, and some chomping at the bit for more zombie action. I was in the latter category.
Before you go asking yourselves whether or not you should purchase the L4D2 DLC, you should ask yourself whether or not you truly love L4D2. There's a distinct difference in flavor between Left 4 Dead 1 and 2. Whether it be the inclusion of melee weapons, the fact that most of L4D2's stages are set during the daytime, or the addition of the several new special infected, you need to know first off that The Passing DLC is just more L4D2 and it doesn't make any apologies for being more of the same.
Every good horror game needs an underground section
Then again, if you're playing this on the PC why should you even care? Only Xbox Live customers are going to be paying for this additional content. It is $7 (USD) to be more precise. So what do you get for forking over the money? A decent amount actually. The meat and potatoes of the DLC is an additional campaign called "The Passing." The big selling point of the new campaign is that the L4D2 survivors meet up with the L4D1 survivors. Though the team-up is rather brief I found it to be pretty satisfying, the overall campaign though is more of a greatest hits then a wholly new experience.
The Passing borrows the best aspects of Hard Rain's weather effects, the creepier parts of The Parish, and the same ingenuity found in Dark Carnival's climax events blended together to create a very enjoyable experience. It isn't anything that will blow you away, but after playing through the campaign several times I can easily say it is better than some of the other adventures on the disk. Also, I need to add that Nick and Ellis have some incredibly one-liners in The Passing. Being a big Nick fan, I was happy to replay through the campaign just so I could hear how he interacted with the first game's survivors, namely Zoey.
One wedding you really don't want to crash
The other big draw to The Passing is the inclusion of a new mode called Mutations. I held off writing a full review on The Passing due to the new content Mutations offered. Every Friday a new game type will be released along with a blog post and poll. These games modes are often extreme exaggerations of usual L4D2 play such as Realism Versus or Follow the Liter (where it plays like scavenge mode, with only one gas can spawning at a time). Though some modes are gimmicky (like the less-than-inspiring Bleed Out where health continually deteriorates) they offer a much needed breath of fresh air to the avid L4D2 player.
Mutations mode is just what Left 4 Dead was missing. For a game that evokes a sense of true team companionship, these new games modes let players explore new tactics in exciting ways. Every week my usual team partners and I get together to take on the new mutation and it really adds a better sense of community to log in to read the new blog posts. While nobody can really saw for sure exactly what the poll results are going towards in-house, it is good to know that Valve is listening to the consumer in making their products better.
We only wish Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" was an option on the jukebox
So is it worth $7 for the Xbox Live customer? I would have to say so. After all, The Passing has to be played multiple times in order to get the entire new story and it doesn't hurt that the most popular characters receive hilarious new dialogue. Also worth mentioning is that The Passing is a brilliant map to play Versus mode with. It is one of the more tactical campaigns to play the Infected on and blowing your friends away with the new M60 and golf club is very satisfying.
With Valve opening the doors for more customer feedback and the continuation of new content being provided weekly, I can't recommend The Passing enough. This week's mutation is "Last Gnome on Earth," which requires players to carry the gnome from the beginning of the campaign to the end, all while the infected swarm whoever is carrying the little guy. If anything, you'll want to play The Passing just so you can see who dies from the original stable of characters.
Additional Image Gallery:
~Reviewed by ChristianOfTheWired
Release Date: April 22, 2010
Reviewed On: Xbox 360 (Also available on PC)
Developer: Valve Software
Publisher: Valve Software
I may be a bit biased, but I am of the opinion that when Valve released Left 4 Dead it revolutionized the way we play online games. Here was a game that took a pretty simple premise and made it not only mandatory to team up and play together, but made it incredibly fun at the same time.
Welcome to The Passing
Little did we know that the first L4D was just the cusp of what would be a big franchise. A year later Left 4 Dead 2 was released to cheers and jeers, some fans complaining about the all too short turnaround time for a sequel, and some chomping at the bit for more zombie action. I was in the latter category.
Before you go asking yourselves whether or not you should purchase the L4D2 DLC, you should ask yourself whether or not you truly love L4D2. There's a distinct difference in flavor between Left 4 Dead 1 and 2. Whether it be the inclusion of melee weapons, the fact that most of L4D2's stages are set during the daytime, or the addition of the several new special infected, you need to know first off that The Passing DLC is just more L4D2 and it doesn't make any apologies for being more of the same.
Every good horror game needs an underground section
Then again, if you're playing this on the PC why should you even care? Only Xbox Live customers are going to be paying for this additional content. It is $7 (USD) to be more precise. So what do you get for forking over the money? A decent amount actually. The meat and potatoes of the DLC is an additional campaign called "The Passing." The big selling point of the new campaign is that the L4D2 survivors meet up with the L4D1 survivors. Though the team-up is rather brief I found it to be pretty satisfying, the overall campaign though is more of a greatest hits then a wholly new experience.
The Passing borrows the best aspects of Hard Rain's weather effects, the creepier parts of The Parish, and the same ingenuity found in Dark Carnival's climax events blended together to create a very enjoyable experience. It isn't anything that will blow you away, but after playing through the campaign several times I can easily say it is better than some of the other adventures on the disk. Also, I need to add that Nick and Ellis have some incredibly one-liners in The Passing. Being a big Nick fan, I was happy to replay through the campaign just so I could hear how he interacted with the first game's survivors, namely Zoey.
One wedding you really don't want to crash
The other big draw to The Passing is the inclusion of a new mode called Mutations. I held off writing a full review on The Passing due to the new content Mutations offered. Every Friday a new game type will be released along with a blog post and poll. These games modes are often extreme exaggerations of usual L4D2 play such as Realism Versus or Follow the Liter (where it plays like scavenge mode, with only one gas can spawning at a time). Though some modes are gimmicky (like the less-than-inspiring Bleed Out where health continually deteriorates) they offer a much needed breath of fresh air to the avid L4D2 player.
Mutations mode is just what Left 4 Dead was missing. For a game that evokes a sense of true team companionship, these new games modes let players explore new tactics in exciting ways. Every week my usual team partners and I get together to take on the new mutation and it really adds a better sense of community to log in to read the new blog posts. While nobody can really saw for sure exactly what the poll results are going towards in-house, it is good to know that Valve is listening to the consumer in making their products better.
We only wish Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" was an option on the jukebox
So is it worth $7 for the Xbox Live customer? I would have to say so. After all, The Passing has to be played multiple times in order to get the entire new story and it doesn't hurt that the most popular characters receive hilarious new dialogue. Also worth mentioning is that The Passing is a brilliant map to play Versus mode with. It is one of the more tactical campaigns to play the Infected on and blowing your friends away with the new M60 and golf club is very satisfying.
With Valve opening the doors for more customer feedback and the continuation of new content being provided weekly, I can't recommend The Passing enough. This week's mutation is "Last Gnome on Earth," which requires players to carry the gnome from the beginning of the campaign to the end, all while the infected swarm whoever is carrying the little guy. If anything, you'll want to play The Passing just so you can see who dies from the original stable of characters.
Story: 8/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Multiplayer: 10/10
Total Gaming Network Rating: 9.0
Gameplay: 9/10
Multiplayer: 10/10
Total Gaming Network Rating: 9.0
Additional Image Gallery:
~Reviewed by ChristianOfTheWired