THE SACRIFICE, Valve Software’s long awaited DLC for the LEFT 4 DEAD franchise (which released October 5th for XBOX 360 and Windows PC gamers) follows THE PASSING (see FANGORIA's review) as the second piece of story addendum bridging the gap between the two groups of survivors. SACRIFICE tells the story of our original 4-man troop from the first game as they trek further south in search of a boat destined for the Keys (we all have to have dreams to help us through the apocalypse, right?).
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Way back in 2006 at the dawn of the Xbox 360 era, Capcom ushered in the runaway smash hit DEAD RISING. Seeming passable at first glance, with the cover suggesting a potential DAWN OF THE DEAD ripoff, the game became a surprise success.
It has been roughly six weeks since Valve Software released the first DLC for the Xbox 360/Windows PC’s LEFT 4 DEAD 2 (titled THE PASSING), giving players a chance to experience the “Weekly Mutations.” These are a new flavor of on-line game play added every Friday, and only available for a week at a time. The have proven pretty popular at the outset and provided great potential for replay value down the road, so I thought I’d share my thoughts about what has been put on the table to date.
Ever gone to a live event like the circus, a donkey show in Tijuana or Carrot Top? You might walk away a pretty happy customer for the ticket price, possibly recounting the events to your friends—“I can’t believe he was wearing a Hillary Clinton mask while riding that bearded lady!” (applies to all three)—and coercing them to see it in the future. Then down the road, you hit up the same venue hoping to recapture the magic, only to find that it’s still the same show, regardless of what subtle changes were added—“Instead of a Hillary mask, it was an iPod costume…I didn’t get it.” The friend may enjoy, they may not, but you feel cheated, even though the profiteering entertainer never intended to change up their act. Welcome to DEAD TO RIGHTS: RETRIBUTION.
Rockstar Games embodies the industry standard: They set the bar, then they raise it. The GRAND THEFT AUTO franchise laid the foundation for their cash-vacuum production, and yet they continue to improve on the model. RED DEAD REDEMPTION not only continues the time-honored tradition of wreaking havoc in an open-sandbox environment, it redefines it with topnotch story-writing and character depth, positioning itself as a Game of the Year candidate.
Die-hard fans of any multi-installment storyline always want their favorite characters to meet and clash while faced with a transportation problem, new flock of enemies, appropriate barbecue attire…what have you. Just imagine Mace Windu and Lando Calrissian teaming up against the Empire—an unmatched display of smooth-talking, profanity-spewing bad-assery. Such a fate has befallen our favorite four-man teams of zombie hunters, thanks to the fan-friendly folks at Valve Software.
Way back in 2001, the GRAND THEFT AUTO franchise laid the framework for what became an obsession for game developers with sandbox-style open environments. While building upon itself and creating one of the more standout and critically acclaimed franchises, the GTA series spawned a slew of bastard-child knockoffs, making the term “GTA clone” a popular piece in the game-review lexicon—and consequently a major turn-off for gamers, as titles bearing this moniker rarely held up to their progenitors’ quality.