Now, you may be wondering, why am I bringing this up? Simply because I’ve never seen such a group of people like gamers become hooked on BETAs. The anger and maliciousness that I’ve seen when people aren’t chosen for a games beta is downright scary. Erupting arguments against those who oppose them, it really draws a borderline of if they want the BETA for just early game play. They feel so entitled to it and the good question is if this entitlement is justified? I’ve seen so many entitlement arguments ending with the same result: “I’ve been a dedicated fan so I deserve to get in.” Now, the first thing that pops in my head and probably the same with the readers “Just because you’re dedicated doesn’t mean you know what to look for.” Some bugs and glitches stand out, for example Medal of Honors infamous white gun. While others, simply don’t. It’s those glitches you have to watch out for. A person not experienced what to look for in a BETA may simply over look it

Last Year,this argument came up in Activisions and Treyarchs “Call of Duty: BlackOps” BETA. Originally starting off as a closed and in-house BETA, it eventually spread to friends and family. As with anything that is supposed to be kept secret in the video game industry, it eventually leaked out. Fans everywhere were in a huff because they weren’t invited in. They passed off these feelings with “You’d think they’d learn because of MW2.” If you’re wondering what this means, Infinity Ward did not hold an open BETA before releasing MW2 and have a history of not listening to their fans when it came to problems from the game. There were many problems with MW2 in the end, but they were never patched. In the end though, these are two different studios and they do things differently. The fact that Treyarch even opened up the BETA to friends and family shows that they want to make sure they cover all the bases. Sure, it might not of been YOU in the BETA, but they put people in it who actually send feedback and the experience when handling a BETA. In all honesty, I’d rather that than seeing hundreds of BlackOps BETA sniper montages.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that though you may be a dedicated fan doesn’t give you a hold to be given a BETA. I’m sure there are millions of dedicated fans, but it’s not dedication that will get you the BETA. It’s experience, work put forth.

Nikki-Colette M.

Gamer and loving it. Member of the PMS NA MW2 360 division. Disney enthusiast.

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When you first begin to play, you’re given an opening scene of the original Survivors coming in through the train, infected are swarming all around them. You then cut to the original Survivors standing next to a river with very ominous music playing. The first thing that I can say about “The Sacrifice” is that it’s really big. Out of all the outdoor campaigns on both Left 4 Dead games, I have to say “The Sacrifice” is the most open and widest. There seemed to be many places you could go and check. This could be a great case of how curiosity killed the cat. As  I explored every nook and cranny, a warning kept sounding of how a charger or smoker could get me at any moment. But in the end, it could lead to many different ways to get to the saferoom and to attack, never leaving a dull moment in the campaign. This was one worry I had when they decided to introduce the original Survivors to be playable. I’ve noticed that when a studio creates second game in a series and decides to introduce previous characters, they tend to tweak the characters, hoping to give them a new “vibe”. I was worried about that and after 5 minutes of playing, realized VALVe did nothing to change our original Survivors character.  I was very happy of that and allowed me to enjoy the DLC very much. As far as difficulty, compared to the previous DLCs released in this series, The Sacrifice sits right below The Passing, a campaign where I have yet to completely finish by safely making it to each saferoom. Though easy in a campaign, if you can get two good teams who know what they’re doing, this can be a very difficult campaign to make it through in versus.

Along with “The Sacrifice”, VALVe decided to put everyones favorite campaign “No Mercy” into Left 4 Dead 2, allowing you to play as the original Survivors but have the Left 4 Dead 2 special infected and weapons included. I always wished for some of the elements in Left 4 Dead 2 to be put in Left 4 Dead. Now that I’ve gotten my wish, I slightly want to take it back. The minute I grabbed the cricket bat and began to swing away, it felt wrong and it felt dead wrong (no pun intended) when I leveled a Charger. I’m not saying that the campaign itself is a bad thing. Eventually, I did get use to the change, it was fun actually. When in Versus, there are so many attack areas, its unbelievable. It really provides a new perspective of the map allowing you to get the most out of it. With adding the new SI to “No Mercy”, VALVe modified some areas of the map. The most significant change would be where the Survivors hold off until the helicopter arrives. When climbing the ladder to enter the roof of the hospital, you’ll notice a barrier surrounding it, this will prevent from being charged off the edge to an instant death. They also changed the area of where a majority of players hold ground. I haven’t figured out why they did it, but it really doesn’t effect the my usual plan when standing off against the infected.

Now with all the good thing there are some bads. Glitches happen, and I’m hoping that very soon VALVe will send out a patch to fix these. While playing with some friends on “No Mercy”, my friend laid down a box of fire ammunition and poof, someone fell through the elevator and died. We’re not exactly sure if this is the absolute cause, but be cautious when doing anything in the elevator. Also, the latest mutation “TAAANNNKK!” seems to be causing a few headaches for everyone. On multiple campaigns, included the latest additions, Tanks will spawn on the other side of an unclimbable fence. The infected ladders are there, but seem to be broken. On top of that, there are some spawn issues. For example, first infected team Tanks will spawn on top of the survivors, ending the game within seconds. But when the roles are switched, the Tanks will spawn far behind the Survivors and leaves it to a game  of catch up to the Survivors. It’s aggravating of course, but in the end, the mutation is still very fun.

Along with this anticipated DLC came updates for the game in general. When it comes to Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, I’m sure many people have experienced the following scenario. You just entered a lobby and it’s full ready to go. Everyone is talking smack but then…oh wait…. you realize the lobby leader is no where to be found to start it and you’re left disperse and hopefully find a new game. That has changed now. When in a lobby leaderless room, you can vote to force a start of the game.This represented by a little box on the left side of your gametag. If you choose to force start the game without the lobby leader, it’ll fill with a green check mark. If you gain a majority of the lobbies vote to start the game, it’ll begin with or without the lobby leader at their controller. Another game changing update would be the “Change talk” vote. This can be accessed in-game by pressing start and going to “Call Vote.” This really comes in handy when you have friends on the opposing team and want to party up, but no ones connection seems to hold the party together. You can just vote to be able to hear and  talk to the opposing while in the game. Both of these updates may not bring players back to the game, but can definitely satisfy the core players.

Overall judgement:

Bravo VALVe! This DLC is highly enjoyable. With the combination of the latest DLCs and comics, you’ve put together a very nice combo to look into the lives of our favorite Survivors and look into the strange case of the zombie making infection. I’d be very satisfied if no other DLC came out as this is a great way to end the series…unless of course, a Left 4 Dead 3 is in the making.

This latest Left 4 Dead  and Left 4 Dead 2 DLC was developed by Turtle Rock and VALVe. The price of the DLC is free for PC and MAC users but 560 MSP each for 360 users. A code for the DLC was provided by the publishers for review purposes.

Nikki-Colette M.

Gamer and loving it. Member of the PMS NA MW2 360 division. Disney enthusiast.

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Zombie enthusiasts, throw all of your notions of zombies away. You’re about to be rocked!

Have you ever needed a game to give you a break between the hardcore titles? Help you lighten the mood from a bad loss but still keep you thinking? Well the new XBLA arcade  game “Plants vs Zombies” from Pop Cap Games does just that.

Plants vs Zombies has been out since 2009 for the PC and Mac but was just recently introduced to the consoles and other Apple products. It was mega hit when it came out and it was just a matter of time before they came out with a console version.

The basis and story of the game is that you’re a homeowner trying to defend against waves of zombies. Your only arsenal is plants, fungi, and the occasional help from your friendly neighbor, Crazy Dave.  As you progress through the levels, you are generally rewarded with new plants so you can adapt your defenses to the new zombies. There are 50 levels to play through and they give you a variety of scenarios to complete them on. Some levels take place during the day and some at night.  This really affects your game plan as to what plants or fungi to use and how much sunlight you can collect, which is how you buy your plants.

There are also times Crazy Dave will come in and have you play some mini-games such as whack-a-zombie or bowling. Other times you are given pre-chosen plants on a conveyor belt and have to work with what you get in order to defend yourself. Something new that PC and Apple product players haven’t been introduced to yet is the competitive and co-op multiplayer modes. The highlight would be the versus mode letting one player take control of the zombie horde and the other in control of the plants. Though great fun, the multiplayer modes are only available locally.

With the combination of the graphics and sounds, it creates a cutesy but eerie environment. The soundtrack, reminiscent of No Doubts “Hella Good”, goes great with the surroundings and causes no big annoyance being looped. The biggest focal point of the whole game are the type of zombies the developers designed. There are many types (26 in all) of zombies you’re put up against and most definitely not your average run of the mill ones. Normal zombies, business zombies, pole vaulting and dolphin carrying zombies, there is an endless combination of zombie armies that will come and attack you. It’s trying at times, but it really only adds to the amusement and charm of the game. Rest assured though it is a zombie horde, there is no gore except for the heads that pop off when a zombie has been defeated. As for the controls, it handles well. A little touchy at first with the on-screen cursor but you’ll become accustomed to it.  As for the in-game controls, they are very easy and not complicated.

Even though I wasn’t able to unlock all the modes and test them out (believe me I tried, but after seven hours of game play, I needed a break) Plants vs Zombies will definitely be a hit on XBLA, just as it was for the PC and Apple products. This is one zombie game the whole family can sit down and enjoy. It has everything needed to keep a casual gamer satisfied or a hardcore player amused. In Crazy Dave’s words, this game is A-O-Good!

Overall Judgment:

Gameplay: 10/10

Graphics: 9/10

Sound: 9/10

Handling: 9/10

Replay Ability: 9/10

Overall Rating: 9/10

N.C. Manzie

Nikki-Colette M.

Gamer and loving it. Member of the PMS NA MW2 360 division. Disney enthusiast.

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