Left 4 Dead 2 versus Left 4 Dead?

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shurato

Platinum Member
Sep 24, 2000
2,398
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76
I recently started playing L4D2 again. Forgot how frustrating or fun it can be. Mostly frustrating. Agree with jordanecmusic. L4D1 is a scary thrill ride like a George Romero movie. L4D2 is a goofy gore movie like Zombiefest. Both entertaining in their own respects though.
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
When L4D3 comes out, I'll buy it when it comes cheap. The first two just don't have a ton of replay value even with multiplayer. Too little content to last a long time.
 

Aluvus

Platinum Member
Apr 27, 2006
2,913
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The first two just don't have a ton of replay value even with multiplayer. Too little content to last a long time.

Honestly I would say L4D2 has the best replay value of any game I've bought in years. It helps that I talked several friends into buying it (especially since we have enough to occasionally play Versus). The fact that there are only a few campaigns is mostly a non-issue: every play-through is different. Different people, different weapons, different zombies, different tactics. Team Fortress 2 also only has a limited number of maps, and yet there's plenty of replay value there.

I have both games. I can tell you Left4Dead1 is much better than Left4Dead2. If you want more skilled players to play with, L4D1 is your game. If you want more people to play with, L4D2 is your game. If you want to panic because the zombies got you, play Left4Dead1. If you want to panic because the special infected got you, play Left4Dead2.

I will certainly agree that L4D1 is much grittier and scarier. But I would say that L4D2 is significantly more fun. It's over-the-top and ridiculous at times, but I enjoy that aspect of it.
 

Zenoth

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2005
5,189
184
106
Left4Dead is much more gritty, scary, and dark. The characters respond in a very smart manner when they are either reloading, picking up a weapon, locating something, etc. Levels are very claustrophobic causing you to panic when you are being chased down a dark hallway when a witch on fire is chasing you (or a zombie or twenty). You got your Boomer, Smoker, Tank, Witch, and Hunter. Left4Dead is how a real zombie apocalypse is supposed to play in a video game. This iteration of the game does not have the stutter bug that comes with Left 4 Dead 2.

Left4Dead 2 is comical but more gory. The pink mist you get in L4D1 with the pipebomb. Now you get body parts flying everywhere. The genious of the AI on your team has been significantly reduced. They no longer respond with "pills here" but with "I found a thingy here and i's gonna eat it cause im stoopid". The levels have more open areas which leads to a lesser chance of being cornered and much less scares in the game. You got the same 5 special infected plus the Spitter, Jockey (no reason for this if there's a hunter), and Charger (no reason for this if there's a tank). Witches can now move around now, which makes them much less dangerous. MUCH less dangerous. Left4Dead2 seems to be a satire of the original game. Left 4 Dead 2 also comes with an annoying bug that causes the "Multicore Rendering" feature to stutter and potentially crash your game. Valve really needs to fix this.


I have both games. I can tell you Left4Dead1 is much better than Left4Dead2. If you want more skilled players to play with, L4D1 is your game. If you want more people to play with, L4D2 is your game. If you want to panic because the zombies got you, play Left4Dead1. If you want to panic because the special infected got you, play Left4Dead2.


Sorry for the bump but this explicitly needed to be clarified.

Amen.

Really, L4D1 is better, I agree, for the same reasons.

I do appreciate L4D2, but I admit I never finished the campaign. I lost interest in the middle (of the campaign), and I barely played its multi-player. In the course of the campaign I reached a point where I just asked myself why I just bought it... and I did because it was basically part of a series of impulsive purchases thanks to some of those irresistible Steam sales a few months ago that included L4D2, for around ten bucks I believe.

I got tired of L4D2, but then again I do not play the original either anymore, the main reason being that there's barely anyone playing it since most of its players base moved on to L4D2, really, thanks for that one Valve. In my opinion L4D2 came out way too soon within the original L4D's life span, which indeed lasted just as long until L4D2 came out, it's the only complain I have regarding L4D2's release, but its game-play as well does have flaws.

Anyway, I'll stop right here before I start one of my usual wall of text, suffice it to say, L4D is better, but it has been left for dead by now.
 

PingSpike

Lifer
Feb 25, 2004
21,729
559
126
So I've played L4D2 for awhile now. It's fun but I have to agree with some of the complaints. I'll probably continue to play it but I'm actually not sure its really superior to the original. I actually like the new gore system and feel the shotgun to autos are a bit more balanced. The spitter is a welcome addition for forcing the survivors to move, which was an issue in the first game.

After actually playing though I kind of feel like L4D1 to L4D2 is the same as RtCW to Wolf:ET. A lot of stuff is bolted on that while kind of cool, doesn't really fit with the existing elements. It either isn't compatible with a core gameplay mechanic or is redundant.

The weapons:
I guess it's nice that there are different versions of shotguns and autos, but I would say the differences are minor enough that the weapons don't really add anything. How is the bile bomb really any different than the pipe bomb? If they were going to add another grenade I'd prefer it actually be something other than a crappy version of an existing one.

Melee weapons, in addition to being over the top cheeseball seem to cause a lot of friendly fire incidents when you're firing on zombies and your teammate rolls in from off screen in front of your crosshairs to chop up zombies with a chainsaw. Yes, I realize that was a bad play by a teammate and by me but still.

I haven't used the big machine gun or the grenade launcher so I can't comment much there...except that the grenade launcher seems better at doing damage to the survivors than at effectively taking down hordes.

Items:
Adrenaline doesn't seem a ton different from pills. I do use it to escape at the end when my health is low so I guess its useful but it feels a little redundant.

I don't know what I think about the defib. As it stands I always take a health pack unless there isn't one instead. I guess if there weren't survivor closets it would make more sense.

Explosive rounds and fire rounds? In addition to not making a lot of sense I find these kind of clumsy

Special Infected:
As mentioned I like the spitter. I'm not sure the others add anything though. It seems like the charger serves a similar purpose to the smoker and maybe the smoker should have just been buffed instead. The jockey seems like a slightly different hunter.

Maps:
Mixed bag for me. I liked Dead Center but Dark Carnival is just goofy with all the running on tracks and through merry go rounds...as if the survivors couldn't just climb through the fences. I assume Cold Stream is the one with the river...I can't say I really cared for the water pushing me around but I haven't played that one with a good team yet. Swamp Fever is OK, but I didn't like the outdoor map much in the original either. The Hard Rain mechanic of stabbing a fuel tank on your back sort of made me laugh...why can't I do that with regular fuel tanks?

The fuel tank grabbing finale levels are a little odd, they're kind of fun though. I know the game isn't realistic exactly...but I have a hard time getting over that it takes 400 gallons of fuel to START a car or a generator. And why are their fuel cans all over a shopping mall? :p

My main complaint about the maps is they're all kind of bright. I preferred the darker theme of L4D.

Survivors:
Just aren't as charismatic or likable I guess. Not huge. They go with the brighter more over the top theme they were going for so they do fit.
 
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Skott

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2005
5,730
1
76
I find myself playing L4D1 more. I liked the characters and maps in L4D1 better but I liked the weapons in L4D2 more. Basically just put the weapons from L4D2 in L4D1 and you have the perfection of the two in my opinion. Its a shame they don't have more chapters in both games though. Both are too short. I'd buy L4D3 if it came out but considering how short these games are I'd wait for it to go sale before doing so. I'm tired of paying a full price for a game that seems too short.
 

KeithTalent

Elite Member | Administrator | No Lifer
Administrator
Nov 30, 2005
50,235
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The weapons:
I guess it's nice that there are different versions of shotguns and autos, but I would say the differences are minor enough that the weapons don't really add anything. How is the bile bomb really any different than the pipe bomb? If they were going to add another grenade I'd prefer it actually be something other than a crappy version of an existing one.

Items:
Adrenaline doesn't seem a ton different from pills. I do use it to escape at the end when my health is low so I guess its useful but it feels a little redundant.

Special Infected:
As mentioned I like the spitter. I'm not sure the others add anything though. It seems like the charger serves a similar purpose to the smoker and maybe the smoker should have just been buffed instead. The jockey seems like a slightly different hunter.

The Bile Bomb can be thrown on a target, like a Tank for example, and the zombies will attack it. So yes, it draws horde similarly to the Pipe, but the horde actually attack the target of the bomb, rather than just exploding where they stand.

Adrenaline can be huge; it speeds up all of your actions, so if you are low on health and need to use a pack quickly in a busy area, pop your adrenaline and you can use your pack in half the time. Same goes for picking up fallen comrades; shoot your adrenaline and you can pick them up almost instantly. This usage in-particular can be freaking huge!

The Charger is great in certain spots where you can pull off a death charge, so a one shot kill (high rise in Dead Center or No Mercy, or the water in Swamp Fever) is very possible. They also work very well in concert with a Spitter. I'd say they are quite different from the Smoker actually since the smoker usually hangs back to grab stragglers, while Chargers can be great for barrelling through the entire team and causing confusion while the rest of the team attacks.

Dead Center is my least favourite map. I have no idea why people play it so much. The Parish is the best map in the game hands down.

KT
 

M0oG0oGaiPan

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2000
7,858
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digitalgamedeals.com
Charger is good for making teams backtrack to rescue a teammate. Or knocking over an entire team. You come from the front or side and grab a guy and now they have to waste time heading back to pick up a teammate. The smoker is only good if you're attacking from the back or side. Jocky is for picking off stragglers. You can make them fall off buildings too while you're controlling the guy too to split everyone up.

Adrenaline isn't meant to be used like pain pills. It's for using the health/shock paddles/picking up teammates faster. You can also run faster in water after you take it.

Bile bomb works great against the tank.

I definitely recommend the survival map Helms deep reborn. It's awesome.

Defib is awesome for gathering supplies in survival mode lol.