Nice subtle additional to the Left 4 Dead environment

This is one of those mods that simply make the gaming experience of Left 4 Dead a little better.  Can sewage be aesthetic?  I guess the answer is "Yes".  It is a well done mod.

"Disappointment Village" is right. Also "Frustration City" and "Let Down Town"....A lot left to be desired

I hate giving any sort of bad review since so much work goes into constructing these maps, but I was so unhappy with this map that I deleted it off my Left 4 Dead, which is something I rarely do when I have downloaded a custom map.

PROS;

-It is a completed map

CONS:

- The environment is way too dark, almost to the point of being unplayable
- There are way too many empty rooms, so much so that I stopped checking the rooms during the second chapter of the map
- The bots would not pick up their health kits in the first chapter, no matter how long I waited
- The bots would not pick up the 1st tier weapons in the first chapter, no matter how long I stood around and waited
- The bots would not fire their 1st or 2nd tier weapons during any of the chapters, using only their handguns throughout the entire chapters
- Oversimplified map (i.e. long hallways with empty rooms, long paths with the same concept, lack of choices on which way to go)
- Extremely lacking in additional ammo dumps, as well as almost no molotovs or pipe bombs

If this was a first draft, beta testing map, I would just submit my comments as to what I thought needed fixing.  But I don't think that this is a first draft.  It is just a poorly made map.  Nonetheless, as I said earlier, I hate giving poor reviews since I know the creator(s) worked hard at this. I think the creator(s) should take this map as a learning experience and move forward and create another map (perhaps with only 3 chapters in it, and more attention to details).

Better luck next time.

A Very Cool Mod

The original film posters of the Left 4 Dead games (1 and 2) are classic, and obviously fit the theme of the actual games (a cinema experience).  Nevertheless, after all this time that has passed, the original loading screens became mundane.

These new, alternative loading screens are a great addition to the Left 4 Dead gamer community, and should be downloaded by anyone who enjoys the game.  Every single loading screen fits the theme of each campaign, and their overall mood is creepy and intense.  The creator could have easily went in a anime, comical, or cartoonish route, but instead kept with a more serious cinematic tone, and that is what makes this small (but important) mod work.

I hope these alternative loading screens will inspire others to create other loading screens.

Great job on the creator's part.  Well done.

Pros:

Decent overall gameplay

Soundtrack

Finale countdown can actually feel intense while playing the last chapter

Overall aesthetics give the full Resident Evil atmosphere within the Left 4 Dead environment

Cons:

The laser hallway scenario & the bot survivors are hopeless

The finale can leave the bot survivors completely confused, and you are usually on your own

Some major lag in parts of the map

Conclusion:

Overall, this is a good map.  It is an interesting take on mixing one apocalyptic zombie game with another one.  The soundtrack give the feel of the Resident Evil gameplay.

Whether the author(s) intend to fix the laser hallway scenario is really up to them.  Perhaps there is no way to fix it?  I don't know.  Yet, it is kind of screwy to go about the map, playing well, everyone up on their health, and then you get to the laser room, and because the bots are confused, you end up have three dead bots at your feet.  That can deflate you excitement a little bit.

Pros:

Some new twists on the maps (lasers, rocks from nowhere, landmines).

Surprised moments of floors collapsing.

Going to various areas to advance to another part of the map.

Cons:

Overall redundant.

Seems to have a Half-Life influence to it (not that Half-Life is bad, but it doesn't really work for Left 4 Dead).

Landscapes were unappealing for most of the map.

The airline crash always works in the Left 4 Dead environment, but being able to walk through the wreckage as though it isn't there kind of ruins it.

Conclusion:

You created a Left 4 Dead map, and not many people can (if more people dead, there would be a ton more maps to download from this site).  Therefore, you deserve credit for that.

The map is playable, and for that, it deserves to be looked at and tried.  Yet, after finishing the map (and maybe even before finishing the map), the Left 4 Dead player will most likely delete this map.

This map isn't horrible.  It just doesn't do much.  It is like the author(s) of this map were going for quantity instead of quality.  For me, I would rather have a 2 or 3 chapter map with great visuals and action than a 5 chapter map that has moments, but is mostly mundane.

Pros:

Well, its a map, so the work behind it should be acknowledged.

Cons:

Extremely poor voice acting.

Buggy gameplay to the point of being unplayable.

Way too many gameplay crashes and restarts.

Conclusion:

This particular map had many issues.  It is as though the author(s) finished making the map (the first draft) and put it out there to be downloaded, all without fine tuning the map.

The truck driver's voice is annoying and serves no purpose other than to be annoying.  The bots were constantly "freezing" in mid-air (reasoning unknown), especially during the truck driving scene.  Finally, when the survivors were suppose to be getting off the truck, the survivors couldn't get off the truck, which meant quitting the game and restarting everything.

Additionally, I rarely have to adjust any of my game settings, but the music eventually had me turning the volume down.  Quite frankly, I just had enough of it.

Lastly, this map crashed on me many times.  I would be kicked back to the opening menu of L4D, or survivor characters would freeze during gameplay (During the 'Truck Driving' part, the survivor Bill would float outside of the truck in a frozen state, doing nothing, and this happened more than once).  I finally gave up on the entire campaign and deleted it from my L4D addon menu.

Sadly, I cannot recommend this campaign.  It is poorly executed, and definitely has way too many bugs and glitches to even remotely be considered a finished product.  I can appreciate the fact the map making is difficult, so it does bother me when I have to be critical about a campaign map, but this is one of those cases where the map is so bad you have to say something about it.

Others have given this campaign a better rating.  I cannot not.

Pros:

Good map overall, using both a tanker and oil rig for the environments.

Not swamped with supplies, but enough to get you through if you wisely use your ammo and health.

Quite frankly, it is really the only time I can see the oil/gas barrels having a purpose....there are quite a number of them around, but it is totally acceptable because of the environment.

The aesthetics of the entire game are very good.  Being near the edge on the floors while on the oil rig gave me vertigo.

Cons:

The bots, or the bot navigation.  Each time I had to jump over the edge of the ship to get to the oil rig, the bots constantly got hung up, and usually ended up dying.  This happened a few times throughout the map, always leading to the death of one or more bots (the final can be the death of all three bots).  Extremely frustrating.

No ocean sounds (seagulls, water breaking, etc.).  The environment would have been better if the sounds had been there.

There is really no damage anywhere on the tanker ship or oil rig.  A minor detail for sure, but something that one would expect in an apocalyptic game.

Conclusion:

A very good map that uses its limited space extremely well.  The whole story takes place on a tanker ship and oil rig, but it seems very large, which is good.

The only thing that is really keeping this map from being a classic is the navigation of the bots.  I know I've said it before, but it is worth repeating.  Nevertheless, it is an exciting map, and it is one that you should have in your Left 4 Dead collection

Pros:

It is an extremely realistic layout of the Disneyland theme park.

Recreation of rooms such as Tiki Room, or the entrance of the Haunted Mansion, and other areas, make this campaign stand out from so many others.

Finally, someone was not afraid to use a bright and sunny day (ala the Disneyland fantasy) for a skybox, and it works.

Obviously, the black and white vintage cartoons playing, as well as the penny arcade machine working, helps with this campaign.

Good challenge and gameplay throughout each level, which also makes this campaign re-playable many times over.

The concept of the Left 4 Dead world being brought to the "Happiest Place on Earth" is in itself outstanding, and should be applauded for that merit alone.

There are no "lost bots" or stupid bot moves.

Cons:

I guess I will be like everyone else and say I was hoping for a little more interaction with the rides and the enchanted castle in the middle of the park.

The final isn't bad, but it isn't great either (probably because all the other levels were really strong....maybe my expectations were too high).

I don't know if it was possible to do, but I would have like to seen a little more vandalism to the theme park....somewhat like the employees rampaged before leaving the park, or possible looting.

Conclusion:

Plain and simple, this map is excellent, and it is a must-have for any Left 4 Dead player.  A lot of maps are fun to play, but only a few of them can be considered classic.  This map can be considered classic.  The creators of this map should write a how-to guide on building campaigns for the Left 4 Dead world.  I say this because these map-makers are good at what they are doing, and that Left 4 Dead (1 and 2) still have a lot of life left in them (and Left 4 Dead 3 should be coming out one of these days).

And please don't think that this review has been tainted by the fact that I like Disneyland, because I do not.  I was there as a child, and have gone when someone else has paid for it, but that was in the 1980s.  I have never really enjoyed Disneyland, and you can believe me on that.  For years now, I have been allowed to go to Disneyland free of charge and with no line waiting (yes, it is true), but I still do not go.  I have been in both the front and back areas of the theme park, which is why I say that this map is very detailed.

Download this map immediately and play the campaign.  You will not be disappointed.

Bravo on a job well done....now write a step-by-step, how-to book on Left 4 Dead map making so schlubs like me can do it as well.

Thank you in advance.

Pros:

If you like the film "The Exorcist" and enjoy the music score "Tubular Bells", then you MAY (and I mean may) like this sound mod.

Cons:

Does not fit at all with the Tank attack, or anything else.  The mod itself isn't really done that well at all.

Conclusion:

I have always been a fan of "The Exorcist".  I saw it in theaters back in 1972 (yes, my parents actually took me to see it).

Now, as I said, I am a fan of the film "The Exorcist".  I saw this sound mod and downloaded and added it to my Left 4 Dead game.  After one level, I quit the game, went to the add-on file, and deleted the sound mod immediately.

What does that tell you....

Pros:

Some good new ideas for map making (the 28 Weeks Later toxic gas idea work with the Left 4 Dead theme).

Overall design of the map, as well as believable voice actors.  Cutscenes are fun to watch as well.

Cons:

Well, the bots can be stupid at times, but it isn't enough to make the map a total fail.

The toxic gas is a great idea (hope that Left 4 Dead 3 doesn't steal your idea),  I would have like to see a little more saturation in its color, though.  And definitely would like to hear/see more about how the toxic gas was more of a fail in killing zombies, and more of a win in killing humans (perhaps that's what the government wanted).

Your Overkill loading screen does not work at all being so blinding white.  Perhaps you were trying to convey a sterilized environment (bio warfare sort of thing), but it doesn't work.  It is a minor flaw, but worth mentioning since it is annoying.

Conclusion:

It is an enjoyable map, with new and refreshing idea to set it apart from other map.  You can't go wrong having this map as part of your Left 4 Dead collection.

Pros:

Good overall ambiance with the rural landscape.  Well place supplies without over doing it, allowing for a challenge.

Cons:

Final is a bit too easy, but not enough to say it fails.  I would have preferred a helicopter extraction instead since that would have been more realistic in my opinion (but what the hell do I know).

Conclusion:

Good campaign, and definitely a map to have with your Left 4 Dead game.

Pros:

Overall cool map.  Great to see renditions of the Titanic, such as the Grand Staircase and more.  It was tight and constricting as you went about the ship, but it works since cruise ships are pretty much like that in real life.  Also, once outside the ship, the expanding horizon is extremely cool looking, with the ocean and evening sky.

Cons:

Getting to the lifeboat during the final can be frustrating, but that is only a small downside to this full map.

Conclusion:

Any fan of the Left 4 Dead game should have this map as part of their game.  This was one of the more creative ventures of the Left 4 Dead map making.