L4D2: The Passing – impressions
After last week’s release of Left 4 Dead 2’s “The Passing”, a couple of us here at rgb have had a chance to run through it and give our impressions. If you haven’t heard of it yet, “The Passing” is a new campaign for L4D2 that not only adds a missing episode between “Dead Center” and “Dark Carnival”. It’s free for PC players and 560 points on Xbox Live.
“The Passing” is a little shorter than most campaigns, with 3 chapters instead of the normal 5, and an average playthrough reflects this, with an approximate running time of 1. 5 hours. One of the nice touches is the zombified wedding party, complete with a Witch in a tattered bride’s gown. There’s also sewer section that requires you to open a gate that summons a horde. Instead of standing your ground, like most alarm based scenarios so far, this is a LONG mad dash through darkened sewers and tunnels. With hordes coming from all directions, it makes keeping formation and working as a team critical, especially on the harder difficulty levels…
The final segment, which is a gas can gatherer, much like the end of “Dark Center”, could be considered derivative, but I really liked the level design this time round over Dark Center’s shopping mall nightmare. It’s also this final segment where you get to meet the crew from the original Left 4 Dead. One of the elements that makes this final level more interesting is that while you’re gathering fuel for the generator, the original crew helps keep the path clear. Knowing that they have your back while in the central location leads to new strategies which makes the gathering somewhat more strategic.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the new weapons and ‘uncommon common’ zombie type. In the way of weapons, the new golf club melee weapon is a decent addition, though it didn’t feel much different than the katana. Proper use of it does unlock the new “Fore” achievement, so it’s worth using at least for that. Personally, I’m more of a double pistol person than melee scrapper so it’s only so-so. The other new weapon is the M-60, which is a whole other story. It’s a non-reloadable powerful machine gun that can chew through masses of the undead, which makes it perfect for horde situations. Much like the chainsaw, it’s not the most practical weapon in all situations, but when you do need it, it’s invaluable.
The new zombie type is the Fallen Survivor, who can be tricky. When killed, he drops items that can come in handy, but he’s also a coward. Instead of running towards the survivors, he runs aways, and if you encounter him in the sewer, he may lead you directly into a witch. Depending on where you run into him, govern yourself accordingly.
As per usual with L4D campaigns, there are a lot of messages written on walls, usually in safe house, from other survivors who’ve passed through before. There’s a few ‘easter egg’ shout outs to other zombie media in “The Passing”, notably, a message written by Frank West, the protagonist of “Dead Rising”, and an impromptu sales pitch from Crazy Dave, your neighbour and supplier in “Plants vs. Zombies”. There’s also character references to Shaun of the Dead, the original Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later. The Zed Word blog has a compilation running.
There will also be new multiplayer ‘mutation’ variations added to the game in upcoming weeks, including a chainsaw with unlimited fuel mode, though we obviously haven’t had a chance to play them. Those who have dug through the code have released a list of what could be on deck…
Chainsaws
First Man Out
Four Swords Men
Hardcore
Head Shots Only
Last Man One Earth
Linear Scavenge
M60s
Max Specials
(unnamed Mutations 1-9)
No Health Versus
Realism Versus
Temporary Health
Ultra Realism
Versus Survival
VIP Target
[via Kotaku]
For the PC version, “The Passing” is an obvious download because it costs nothing. Even though the Xbox version is about $7, I’d say that if you’re an L4D2 fan, it’s worth the price. The one and a half hour time frame is short enough that it can be played through in situations where a ‘full’ campaign might be too long, because of real life considerations.
My only real disappointment with The Passing is that I was hoping for more interaction with the cast of the original. To make up for this, there will be a new add-on for the original Left 4 Dead which will tell the tale of the tragic lead-up to the events depicted in here.
