The Debaser Special - Left 2 Boycott?

Ahh, the Left 4 Dead rage is on. Valve's E3 announcement that Left 4 Dead 2 would be coming to us shortly gained a lot of mixed reactions - some outright maniacal. Some people are jumping for joy, some are wondering where the hell their promised content went to, and others are refusing to touch the damned thing with an online petition and lots of rage to show that they're serious about how pissed they are. But is this fair or even warranted? Is it wrong for someone to forgo a promise in order to make something better? These are great questions, and, of course, I have opinions.

I'd first like to say that I'm a huge fan of the first Left 4 Dead. I was a little skeptical like many other huge Romero fans because of the glorious running zombie archetype. But I started warming up to the idea a little more when I thought about the pace of the gameplay with the traditional zombie archetype - boring, boring, boring. The faster, screaming zombies that run through fire and turn a controlled environment into pure pandemonium within seconds not only improved the gameplay, but it made for one hell of an experience. Throw in the ever so annoying special zombies and there's a party of non-stop action to be had. People told me that the game apparently wasn't complete, but I was too busy enjoying my never ending wars with the Smokers, the Hunters, the Tanks, the Boomers, and the Witches. I simply didn't give a damn.

However, they still pressed the issue that Left 4 Dead apparently wasn't completed. There was a Survival Mode on the way, and Valve had promised more content shortly after. I still didn't care because I was too busy blasting my way through Versus Mode and gathering up achievements. I was too busy enjoying the simple pleasures of getting to control the Tank and punching crap across parking lots. Not even Survival Mode quieted the complaints, but I was too busy having a great time trying to beat my previous record with friends.

Do you see where I'm going with this? I didn't feel robbed when I bought the game, and I still don't feel robbed.

That tidbit aside, there's an online group that decided to have a complete meltdown when Left 4 Dead 2 was announced at E3. This group consists of members who were hanging onto the idea that the downloadable content was on its way and felt like they had been wronged when they learned that Valve had simply decided to throw the DLC idea out the window and shoot for the easy, breezy sequel that will more than likely net more money in the end. The members are currently demanding that Valve submits to their will and does one of three things: provide a discount(probably like 90%) on Left 4 Dead 2 for Left 4 Dead owners, offer Left 4 Dead 2 for free, or continue to create DLC for the first game even after the second game has launched.

It seems a little silly at first, but I can somewhat understand why these fans are in such a rage. They didn't get their DLC, but the big thing to keep in mind on this topic is Left 4 Dead was released just last year. I'm not going to insinuate that Valve can't make enough new content to warrant an entirely new title within this amount of time, but I will consider other titles that do the same thing - and then I'm going to go cry in a corner. This release schedule is home to such greats as... pretty much any sports video game you can think of - and that certain does include Smackdown vs Raw. The biggest shot in the nuts of all is that Left 4 Dead 2 is slated for release on November 17, 2009. Left 4 Dead was released on November 18, 2008. They won't even be separated by a year!

I've given the issue what few jabs I had, so let's consider a lot of the new stuff that's being put into this game that will make it a solid title rather than the ripoff this group claims it to be. So far it's been confirmed that two new infected will be appearing in the game, but it hasn't been confirmed that they will be playable online. There will also be melee weapons available to fill in when it's inconvenient to reload your pistols - which is usually always. But the coolest feature by far has to be the AI Director that can alter the difficulty of the stage, move things around, and even drop supplies in certain areas as a reward for good player performances. If Valve can pull the Director off correctly, I think the feature will be a very popular discussion among gamers.

These new features are great and all, but every fan wants a few little perks in the game so it feels complete to them. I'm certainly not immune to such feelings, and I have prepared a list.

No More Zombie Flypaper

Yes, I've watched the commentary where the creators go on and on about how they gave the zombies the ability to "freeze" a player in place if the zombies are successfully hitting and doing damage, but it's frustrating and makes no sense at all. I don't buy that a complete freeze was necessary, and if it was necessary to stop the playtesters/expert gamers, then is Valve trying to convince me that over fifty percent of the people buying and playing this game are just as skillful and unstoppable and said experts? I hope not, because then they would be idiots.

A much more desirable and, in my humble opinion, acceptable effect would be a hefty slowdown of the player's movement when a zombie attacks. It's more manageable from a player's standpoint, and it gives that the zombies are swinging and clawing wildly at the character's clothing, weapon, or any other item they could get their rotting hands on. So what exactly is going on when the player is frozen in place from a zombie attack? They certainly aren't being held in place because the zombies are punching and kicking away. Have the zombies suddenly become paladins who spam the aura of immobility all damned day? It makes no sense, Valve, and the hardcore zombie fans that this game draws in are going to notice.

Give Penalties along with Rewards

How many of you have went into versus mode, found a game that was full, and prepared to rock that map as the Infected when...you're stricken down by a team of safe room campers? It's hard as all hell to get in there and kill them, and chances are you'll be demolished after you get a whoppin' two punches in. You are now officially at the mercy of these jerkoffs; it's take this and like it or try to find another game. But why not pass out penalties to the team killers, the safe room campers, the saboteurs, and the general crowd of jerks who are there to mess the game up instead of playing? There are some Counter-Strike servers that will strike a player dead if they camp for too long, and that's a Valve game as well. Okay, I know that feature isn't official, but I'm sure someone has to understand me when I say, "Why not?"

More Playable Infected

I know that two new ones are on the way, but there's been no confirmation that they will be playable in something similar to Versus Mode from the first L4D. Online play desperately needs more units for the Infected side of this is to be taken seriously. I'm not saying that there's no strategy in the first game, but I am implying that the strategy becomes stale very fast. Most of the maps quickly become a matter of lather, rinse, repeat when playing a certain Infected, and that hurts the replay value of the game. You've given the Survivors new tools, Valve, now give the Infected new units to command.

But my suggestions - because they are suggestions rather than demands - pale in comparison to the sea of demands that Left 4 Dead owners are tossing out. At first I read the three simple things that the community as a whole asked for. They want the promised DLC, which is understandable, but then they begin to dictate what the DLC should be. They call the game an unfinished sham, suggest that it is nothing more than a quick dollar so Valve can churn out Left 4 Dead 2, yet the majority of members still say that they enjoy the game. I'm sorry, but if you're calling the game an unfinished sham and are willing to keep the same opinion of said game until DLC changes arrive, then you don't like the game.

There are pages upon pages of members claiming that Valve has betrayed them, they no longer trust Valve, and yet they are still fans of the company. It equally makes my head swim when the same group also somehow bridges Blizzard into the verbal barrage, claiming that Blizzard also ignores the pleas of its most hardcore fans to make a buck and move on. I'd like to suggest that World of Warcraft is just a slightly different animal that is always changing and updating unlike a straight-forward FPS like Left 4 Dead, but they seem to have their hate goggles on too tightly. These hardcore activists should be out liberating America from the tyranny of the Skull and Bones Society while battling cancer in the arena rather than squaring off with Valve.

The real point is being lost in a sea of opinions that all seem to speak the same language of "give me something for nothing." Have you ever gone to a video game store and saw a game that you wanted but didn't agree with the price? Did you buy it anyway and later declare that you have been wronged? Did you ever buy a game that you thoroughly enjoyed only to later claim it was the bane of you very existence because it never released any DLC or simply didn't release it for free? The simple point in this madness is that they enjoyed the game! These people will claim that the game they received was overall good to great yet they've been wronged by Valve. I'd try to evaluate this a little more, but I'm very busy being an overtly zealous cynic and writing nasty letters to Ed Boon while writing hate posts to id Software.

One last thing before we all go skipping off into the void. If you're a big Left 4 Dead fan like I am, then I suggest you go to fyicomic.com. It's a webcomic titled FYI: You Suck at Left 4 Dead created by g1 OD. He hasn't done any new comics as of late, but it's still a good time going through the archives and having a few good laughs. Check it out!

Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott page