No soap box this time, the reasoning is much simpler than DRM issues or corporate greed.
I downloaded the demo a few nights ago via Steam and was surviving along through the first 15 minutes or so. Just about the time I was ready to exit the starting building and had polished off a crew of 20+ infected, one of my cats deciced it would be a good idea to jump up on my shoulders.
I screamed like a little girl, the cat came about 2 inches from the ceiling and it took a good 2-3 minutes for my heart to stop palpitating wildly.
It was then that I realized that this game, rather than giving me a release of stress, was actually adding to my daily dose of stress.
Now if you’re into the whole Zombie Apocalypse thing (I am) and if you’re like to know a bit about what it may be like to try and survive one – really survive a hoard of bloodthirsty, screaming, running, infected maniacs (I do not) then this game will be perfect for you.
The graphics are good, the intensity is uber-intense and the horror movie simulation level is topped out. In other words, they did a good thing with this, Valve did. It’s just not my cup of tea. So I’ll be sitting down with my Ghouls from Fallout 3 and my starships from Sins of a Solar Empire for a few more months until something a little less heart attack inducing comes my way. For those who want this kind of experience though, you’re going to enjoy the hell out of it.
Technorati Tags: heart attack, screaming undead, zombies, left 4 dead, infected, video games
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November 13th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
All competitive play induces stress.
November 13th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Sure, but there’s good, fun stress like playing a game, strategizing and occasionally getting picked off by a sniper. Then there’s trapped by a zombie hoard intent on ripping your head off stress.
I like the latter. I discovered that even as a fan of the genre in literature and film, the game experience left me un-relaxed and over stressed. In short, it’s not my cup of tea. Although the game itself is beautifully crafted and well made.
November 17th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Oh man, thanks for the laugh. This reminds me of when I first started playing FPS online, I think it was Quake 1. Anyways, I was playing one night and was having a pretty intense one on one game. Anyhow, long story short I was playing and not expecting my opponent to be where he was when I jumped around a corner. I literally scared myself almost to death, I freaked out so bad that I had a muscle spasm. I decided that I shouldn’t get so into the games, it was quite the reality check.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I can well relate with your screaming and palpitating experience. And have never tried any sort of “heart- attack” game after that. This game will surely give addiction to those whoe surely are not like us.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I can well relate with your screaming and palpitating experience. And have never tried any sort of “heart- attack” game after that. This game will surely give addiction to those who surely are not like us.
March 13th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Common guys :D
Relax…i think u dont have to worry about it !
Games r only for fun !
Besides, this game can really relax u ! :)))
Just try to imagine how cool is to blow few zombies hads :D
March 14th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I’ve actually had a change of heart. I took part in the Steam experiment when they sold it for half price. I’ve enjoyed it a fair amount, although I try to play it mostly when I won’t have to go to bed directly afterward.
It’s not nightmare inducing or anything like that, it just gets my adrenaline going and makes it hard to relax immediately afterward.
March 28th, 2009 at 7:30 am
I definitely second the not playing right before bed bit. Personally, I found the game relaxing, but not for the reason you’d think. With the exception of games like Guild Wars or Lord of the Rings Online, I rarely play video games in a multiplayer setting. (And even with those, I don’t do much PvP, if any) The reason for this is simple. Competition breeds nastiness. It breeds ganking, and it breeds punk 12 year old twits with screechy voices ruining the fun for everyone. L4D on the other hand is truly cooperative, forcing the players to work together to survive, which is a very satisfying feeling. Now, obviously, there is a versus mode in the game, but the fact that you still have the three guys watching your back (and more importantly you don’t hear the trash talk of the other guys) alleviates the stress of the competition.