Left 4 Dead: Crash Course Review
Left 4 Dead 2 is out in only a few weeks time, and the last DLC for Left 4 Dead, Crash Course, is finally available for download. The new DLC includes a new campaign consisting of two chapters, and what’s best, it’s free. That is, if you’re playing Left 4 Dead on the PC, Xbox 360 owners will have to fork out $7. It’s sad, but Valve wanted for the DLC to be free on console as well, against the wish of Microsoft. Anyways, to the review…
In Left 4 Dead: Crash Course, the story picks up where the No Mercy campaign ended, with the downed helicopter, from where you mist fight you way to a getaway vehicle. The new campaign can be played like previous campaigns, in single player, co-op mode with fellow humans, and versus mode, where one team are the survivors while the other team are the zombies. The gameplay is as crazy and tense as it always was in Left 4 Dead, however this time, the new locations are considerably darker than before, leading to a lot surprises with enemies jumping out of nearly every dark corner — this is especially useful to the ones playing the infected zombies in versus mode.
Arena mode is back with two new survival maps, where you have to survive for a specific amount of time. Both the campaign and survival mode are both a notch more difficult than the original L4d, but not impossible. Because of the increased difficulty, teamwork is more important than ever. You’ll have to work together to survive through the map, watching each others backs, healing and reviving each other as well. And because of the tight areas that you’ll be navigating through the campaign, you’re pretty much hopeless if just one player isn’t paying attention. I had several experiences having our group being obliterated just because someone wasn’t on alert (I’ll admit, sometimes that was me), which really stresses the importance of teamwork. The game is difficult, but it’s the good kind of difficult, and you feel a great sense of reward when you complete it.
Overall, Crash Course is a no-brainer for the PC owners of L4D — just boot up Steam and get the update for free, and get a few hours of extra gameplay before Left 4 Dead 2 comes out. For Xbox 360 owners on the other hand, $7 might be a bit too much to ask, $5 would have been decent, but if you’re still playing L4D, you won’t get disappointed by Crash Course.
The Good:
More hectic than ever
New campaign is tougher
Free (for PC owners)
The Bad:
Some might have an issue with the increased difficulty
Graphic engine is showing its age
$7 (for Xbox 360 owners)
Overall score: 8/10