2019 II: Director's Cut

Title: 2019 II: Director's Cut
Link: http://www.gamemaps.com/details/14342
Author(s): MaddaCheeb101
Survivors: L4D2
Notes: Extended version of 2019 II with unfinished, conceptual aspects.

This is a nine-map extended version of 2019 II that uses some of the same maps and concepts, but also contains a ton of extra, more role-playing aspects that were scrapped for the other project. This almost defies reviewing because it feels like its only purpose in existing was because the map maker just learned how to make cutscenes in GMod and had a huge crush on Nick. The campaign centers on him the entire time and tries to make a compelling story but fails in every regard. To give but one example, the very opening puts all the players in this huge slow-mo section, applies a giant blur effect, has flashes of Nick's face flash across everyone's screen, and then you see a model of Nick just standing by a wall. And that's just how the campaign opens.

The reason 2019 II Director's Cut fails is because the story is so campy and horribly done that it’s impossible to take seriously. As said before, this tries to convey some kind of urgency and impact, but it can't possibly compel when the authors skills are still so lacking. For instance, dialogue is delivered through NPCs ripped straight from Half-Life 2 who don't move their lips or emote anything when they talk.

Some maps are ridiculously short (the map transitions right after you spawn in), others are really cutscene-heavy, and others are just kind of short standard maps, like you go through a hallway, trigger a panic event, wait for a door to open, repeat. There are a lot of custom things in this campaign and new ideas employed but it all comes across as cheesy, overly dramatic, and unintentionally funny.

This campaign includes alternate endings and unused maps that weren’t included in the regular 2019 II. This is a campaign that’s great for a laugh at the creator’s expense. It also has more than a few shares of bugs, for instance, in one map it progresses when everyone dies, and in another, a character falls through the map upon spawn. Note that you’ll crash upon loading if you also have the regular 2019 II enabled. This campaign (and regular 2019 II) needlessly adds an untextured holster for Nick, which applies to the player model on every map, so if you’re seeing that and want it removed, disable this map. There’s really no substance here; we mocked the story, voice-acting, and hilarious looks of the NPCs while talking, and we voice-spammed the characters while the dialogue was going on.

Difficulty: The only difficulty here is in a couple of places where you have to dodge damage or try to not clip through the floor. This wasn't made to challenge players, only to gratify the author's need for a story involving Nick.

Final Verdict: This is an example of a campaign that fails so hard that it becomes funny. Impossible to take seriously, I recommend this only if you don’t mind sparing the huge space for it and want to do a ridiculous one-off with friends only for a laugh.

Rating: 1.33/5.
26.6 NPC models you can clip into out of 100