Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
R escue is here—after a long, bloody battle with countless zombies, you and three fellow survivors have made
it to the rooftop of a ravaged hospital, where a helicopter lands to evacuate you to safety. In a blaze of gun-
fire and guts, you and two of your companions fight your way to the helipad and climb aboard the chopper,
but the fourth member of your team is wounded and limping behind you. At the last second, a snake-like
30 ++ PC GAMER MAGAZINE ++ JANUARY 2009 ++ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM/PC ++ ++ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM/PC ++ ++ PC GAMER MAGAZINE ++ JANUARY 2009 31
to its inspirational source material with to regroup between waves. The effect is
movie poster–style loading screens and seamless; while you will often be attacked
end-of-round stats that roll like credits. by zombies coming from an area you’ve
The four campaigns (see Zombie Territory already swept clean, which makes no logi-
boxout on page 33) each average a little cal sense if you stop to think about it, there
over an hour in length; they’re designed is little time for reality checks, and you’ll be /// With a few Molotovs and gas cans, you can
primarily to be played in co-op mode with too busy enjoying blasting zombie heads hold your own undead Burning Man festival. ///
three other players over LAN or Steam’s off to care, anyway.
online matchmaking service, but you can Maybe it’s because there haven’t been
play them all in single-player mode along many good co-op games on the PC up to
with three AI-controlled survivors (see this point, but this is the first time I have
Tasty Artificial Brains boxout on page 34). felt that I truly needed to act as part of the
group in order to succeed. In most other
EACH CAMPAIGN BEGINS team-based games (Counter-Strike being
with the four survivors in a “safe room” a notable exception), a “team” is a loose
stocked with weapons, ammunition, and association of players who can run off and
medical supplies, and equipped with a re- do their own thing if they want, and if they
inforced zombie-proof door (and a barred get killed, they just respawn and repeat.
/// In situations like this, friendly fire incidents
window that a zombie arm can reach In L4D, respawning isn’t a right, it’s a priv- occur roughly every three to five seconds. ///
through, groping around for a victim). ilege—get taken out and your teammates
THE BATTLE
FOR SURVIVAL
IS FAST, ZOMBIE TERRITORY
BLOODY, AND NO MERCY
havoc on the runway. Zombie waves weave
through a runway littered with wreckage, but
TERRIFYING
A gentle, but ultimately punishing intro the lack of a real defensible structure makes
on familiar urban turf; the narrow walls of your last stand feel less tactical. Dead Air’s
a destroyed apartment complex, subway, wide-open spaces mean it’s the scenario
sewer, and construction site train survivors in where the hunting rifle is most valuable.
/// Take a moment to read the notes scrawled room-clearing and cooperation. These spaces
on the safe room walls. Some give hints of back- seem defensible by comparison to the climax:
story, and others are hilarious. ///
a last-stand on a rooftop where you fend off BLOOD HARVEST
waves of infected dressed in hospital gowns, This is easily L4D’s most difficult scenario,
/// Ruined environments and zombies' clothing tell the story of how the outbreak went down. ///
nurse uniforms, and doctors' white coats. with a heavily wooded area that makes it easy
The moment you unlock the door and will have to find another survivor locked up for zombies to approach unseen, a tunnel
section with close-quarters combat, and a
step into zombie-infested territory is a
good time to unlearn everything you
in a closet (you, placed by the Director), or
else you’re stuck in spectator mode until
DEATH TOLL heavy attack in a train yard. The climax is a
Escaping by boat seems like a bright idea. farm-house siege (surrounded by an ambush-
know about playing squad-based shooters, they reach the next safe room. Survivors Death Toll is a more rural scenario, with some friendly corn maze) right out of classic horror
because in L4D, to lose sight of your team- are quite durable, though, and can be light forest in the first stage giving way to films, with zombies charging in through the
mates is to invite doom. helped back up by a teammate even when storm drains and small town areas later on. doors and climbing in through every window.
The battle for survival is fast, their health is knocked down to zero The climactic battle takes place on a dock
house overlooking a hill as zombies run
bloody, and terrifying in a way so few a few times, so you don’t spend too
through the trees and attack from all sides
“horror” games are. Swift-moving 28 much time in the penalty box.
Days Later–style zombies charge at DRM while you wait for your ship to come in.
Beware of Smokers yanking you off the roof!
ALERT
you from everywhere and anywhere, WHO’S THE BOSS
attempting to grab a chunk of meat. SEE VITALS The run-of-the-mill zombies are little
L4D’s “Director” AI is remarkably more than backup dancers to the DEAD AIR
Leave your luggage: get to the tarmac! Envi-
effective at keeping you on your toes by five types of “boss infected” (see Dead and
ronments range from a greenhouse to being
spawning zombies in different, unexpected Loving It boxout on page 36) that stalk you. swarmed by undead flight attendants, and a
spots, giving you only a few moments Even in large numbers, normal zombies memorable standoff on the escalators near
baggage claim stands out against Dead Air’s /// Falling off the building is another danger
GENRE: FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER DEVELOPER: VALVE PUBLISHER: VALVE/EA REQUIRED: P4 3GHZ, 1GB RAM
:: VITALS ::(2GB VISTA), GEFORCE 6600/RADEON 9600 128MB VIDEOCARD, 7.5GB HD SPACE, INTERNET CONNECTION relatively underwhelming end scene, where to watch out for in No Mercy's finale. ///
RECOMMENDED: DUAL-CORE CPU, 2GB RAM, GEFORCE 9800GT/RADEON 4850 VIDEOCARD, BROADBAND INTERNET a spectacular scripted plane crash creates
MAX PLAYERS: 8 ESRB: M DRM:: ONLINE ACTIVATION; MUST INSTALL AND RUN STEAM CLIENT; UNLIMITED INSTALLS
32 ++ PC GAMER MAGAZINE ++ JANUARY 2009 ++ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM/PC ++ ++ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM/PC ++ ++ PC GAMER MAGAZINE ++ JANUARY 2009 33
rarely pose a serious threat to well-coor- but once everyone has learned their very
dinated survivors, but being forced to deal painful lesson and started to function as
with the masses creates a perfect diversion a group and listen to each other, the real
that allows the boss infected to close in game can begin.
for the kill. It’s these super-zombies that Survivors are limited to one primary
truly put your survival in the hands of your weapon—at the start of each campaign
teammates, because they can pin you down you have a choice of an Uzi or a pump-ac- /// Expect to hear your teammates screaming
tion shotgun—in addition to your unlim- “SMOKER! Heeeeelp!” on a regular basis. ///
and render you helpless until a teammate
comes to your rescue. While the existence ited-ammo backup pistol and a single pipe
of “special” zombies is somewhat antitheti- bomb or Molotov cocktail. In the later parts current arsenal is a bit anemic, though,
cal to the entire concept of zombies, the of the campaign you’ll be able to swap and boils down to only three types of
variety and flavor they add to the action is your primary weapon for a more powerful weapon: rapid fire, shotgun, and long-range
undeniable, and they successfully prevent assault rifle, semi-automatic shotgun, or rifle—and the rifle is really only useful in
the inevitable boredom that comes from scoped hunting rifle. This is another means certain wide-open areas where you can use
fighting just one type of enemy. Plus, hear- by which L4D forces cooperation, because the scope to snipe zombies. But, because
ing the disgusting gurgle of a Boomer or one player cannot carry enough weaponry the survivors are always on the move you
the distinctive, haunting wail of a Witch to handle every situation (and zombies will can never hold a sniping position for very
somewhere nearby elevates the tension to not let you call time-out to reload). The long, and the rifle’s low rate-of-fire makes it
a level well above what is safely playable
by gamers with heart conditions.
C
teammates’ outlines through walls is a escape. Just keep in mind that the bots aren’t
an you trust a bot to watch your back? much help when you turn the difficulty up
more useful tool for coordination than any
Well, yes and no. They’ll guard your above normal.
screen-cluttering mini-map, but trying to rear from zombie attacks with preci- However, they do have a handy trick: If
convince everyone to stick close and cover sion aim, come to your aid if you’re ensnared one of the survivors is disconnected or just
each other is tough even when you’re all by a Hunter or a Smoker, and mostly stay with goes to get a snack, their character is tem-
experienced gamers sitting in the same you as you push forward, but you can’t com- porarily taken over by a bot until they return
room in a LAN game—doing it over the municate with them in any meaningful way. or someone else joins the game. It’s not a
The lack of a squad control system makes any perfect solution, since bots cannot pull their
game’s built-in voice chat (or worse, the
kind of real coordination impossible, since weight in an intense game, but it’s a lot bet-
text-based quick-commands) with anony- you can’t set up ambushes, post guards on ter than just vanishing or standing still to be
mous teammates accustomed to playing corners, or even count on them to keep up devoured, leaving your team a man down.
Rambo-style is a recipe for disaster. Your if you make a dash for the safe room. On the
first few attempts are likely to end in tears,
A
s suspenseful as the single-player and boss infected are easily killed and don’t pose into the level, the more points you earn). Think of
co-op gameplay are, nothing puts the much of a threat, working together to distract it like football, except you are the ball, and the
fear in you like an eight-player Versus and divide survivors, they can pull some really defensive line is made up of omniscient zombies.
mode multiplayer game, in which two teams of evil tricks. Some of the most rewarding moments And while playing as the infected you don’t have
four alternate playing as the survivors and the in L4D come while playing as the infected, when to worry about score, so you can concentrate
boss infected through each of the five stages of you seize just the right moment to strike and on the only thing zombies are supposed to care
a campaign. What’s so scary? L4D manages to
once you’ve
pick off a straggling survivor. The infected team about: killing humans.
sides until rescue arrives, at which point Louis, Zoey, and Francis) all look fantastic capture the primal sensation of being hunted. is handicapped, though, by the fact that the play- Perhaps the greatest disappointment of L4D
As the survivors, you know you can never hide; ers are randomly assigned the type of infected is that Valve, like many great entertainers, has left
they must make a desperate run for the in this newest version of the Source engine,
the infected team can see your outline through they spawn as, and when the Tank spawns, a us wanting more. Specifically, at launch only two
evacuation vehicle against a last-minute and sport detailed facial animations, plus
this trick:
The scoring system of Versus mode is a stroke
some incredibly tense moments. my style. Plus, you don’t always get to reach areas the survivors can’t get to, and then of genius: the only way to score points is during with free post-release updates, but out of the
literally get the drop on you. While individual your turn as the survivors (the further you get box, two Versus campaigns is all you’re getting.
The campaign content, which took choose which of the survivors to play as,
our crack squad about six hours to fight and someone’s always going to get stuck
REVIEWS
DAN
STAPLETON
REVIEWS EDITOR
Y
ou’ll see the phrase “quick-time
events,” or QTEs, pop up a lot
in this issue. You probably know Gnome man is an island.
them by another name: “Those really
There was a time when 2
annoying things where the game takes
away your controls and says ‘Push space 1 Michael Jackson wasn’t scary.
bar!’ to make your character dodge the Don’t trust the douchebag.
garbage truck that’s been thrown at him.” 3
QTEs are a huge fad in console games Being Michelle Rodriguez
right now because they let developers 5 won’t save you.
show your character doing something
There are worse things
cinematic that couldn’t be pulled off in
than being dead. 4
regular gameplay without completely 6
removing the player from the equation, 7 There are worse things
and they commonly pop up on the PC than being undead.
in cross-platform games and ports such
as this month’s Spider-Man: Web of
Pools don’t clean themselves.
Shadows, Bully: Scholarship Edition, That’s not acne.
Quantum of Solace, and Tomb Raider:
Underworld. They’re normally mindlessly Open the door. 8
easy inconveniences, and sometimes Don’t open the door.
10
optional, but when something goes 9
wrong—like making a mandatory QTE Your boyfriend is dead.
“challenging” by giving you just a tiny Your girlfriend is dead.
fraction of a second to hit the right key— 11
Your mother is dead. 12
they become the gaming equivalent of
hitting a brick wall.
13 Your wife is dead.
QTEs are the absolute worst when
14
strung together in a long sequence, like 15 The fat chick at the
in Spider-Man, where if you fail the fourth Dairy Queen—dead.
part you’re forced to start again at the
Wait, your wife’s not dead.
beginning, which usually includes some
kind of cut-scene setup. I cannot think of 16 Well, she’s dead now.
a worse use of gamers’ time than making
them sit through the same cut-scene five 17
times in a row, especially when they’re
BUT THE NUMBER ONE
more than two seconds long. At the very Dogs can look up.
LESSON WE’VE LEARNED IS…
least, give us the option to skip the stupid
thing after the third failed attempt. 18
In short: Stop it. Stop it now. Most Can you name the movies these screenshots come from? If you think you can, match up the movie names with the numbered
of us would rather just watch a cut-scene screenshots (except number 6, which depicts Uwe Boll—shudder) and send your list to letters@pcgamer.com with ZombieShuffle
in the subject line. We’ll pick entrants at random, and keep picking ‘em until we’ve got five responses with at least 15 of the 18
and get back to actually playing our game! screenshots correctly identified. If you’re one of the lucky five, we’ll send you a free boxed copy of Left 4 Dead. (Don’t forget to send
us your full name and mailing address in the message body.) Contest ends January 20, 2009. See full contest rules on page 95.
++ PCrecommendation.
GAMER MAGAZINE ++ JANUARY
genre. 2009 options exist. significant flaws. choices. next category. furious furballs.
++ PC GAMER MAGAZINE ++ JANUARY 2009
THIS
JANUARY 2009
ISSUE
PCG 0109
43
P C G 0109
JAN
A THE PLAYLIST 0109
++ PC GAMER MAGAZINE ++ JANUARY 2009
‹ BACK JAN 09
ISSUE NO.183
/// CONTENTS ///
++ WWW.GAMESRADAR.COM/PC ++
NEXT ›