Title: 25 To Life
Author(s): Ben Coleman
Survivors: L4D2
Notes: N/A
This is a somewhat short three-map campaign that takes place in a prison at night. It is very well-made has a nice balance of events, very good directionality, unique and memorable setpieces, and a very clear and linear path that keeps propelling the player forward. This is a great example of a campaign that guides the player well through its layout rather than forces him to search for the right way.
One thing I didn't notice my first time playing this, but which I did on my most recent playthrough, is that the lighting is usually fantastic. I love dark settings where a brightly colored light fills the rooms up uniquely or casts dark shadows. I have to hand it to the map creator, this campaign has some really beautiful scenes, considering the way that various lights fill dark spaces. It looks creepy, ominous, and unsettling.
Fortunately, the campaign isn't very difficult. The linear path through industrial and prison locations means you're constantly fighting infected at close and mid-range combat, which is perfect for this game. Weapons and ammo are in large supply throughout the first two maps. Throwables and healing items are also very plentiful. It would actually be a little better balanced with fewer items, since these will ensure you're pretty much always stocked.
Consensus seems to agree that the third map is where things go off the rails. The finale is a gauntlet, my favorite kind of finale, and it's somewhat similar to the finale of Cold Stream. You get hit with infected pretty much right odd the bat and you have to keep pushing if you don't want to get overwhelmed. Once you drop into the sewers, there's a tank to fight, but also an ammo pile. It seems that some players skip this ammo pile because they don't notice it in the dark, so it could have some better attention called to it. Once you get out of the sewers, it becomes kind of a nightmare. There are tons of infected, a tank and specials to fight, and you have to wade through water. The only way I made it through this was by saving a molotov especially for that section, as well as tossing a couple pipe bombs, and leaving the bots as bait.
While the majority of this campaign is good, there are some noticeable things that could be improved. The first is that the notification to activate the generator stays on-screen even long after it has been hit. The last area of the finale, after the water, didn't look that good and there weren't any sound effects to make the player feel a rush to get to the rescue vehicle (such as the pilot saying, "Come on, come on, get on board!"). The end cutscene could have been much better polished. It simply feels like the author lost some motivation at the end since it doesn't feel as high quality as the rest of the campaign.
Even if those issues were fixed, however, this still wouldn't quite break into the highest tier of campaigns. It's simply too short and mostly easy. It can be beaten in 20-22 minutes. It looks good but it's over too soon for it to be a staple, provided the team knows what it's doing. On the other hand, this can be great Expert, Realism, or ER training, and I imagine it would also probably be very fun on a variety of mutations. The campaign propels the player along constantly with forward momentum, so rush mutations like tank attack might be very fun.
Difficulty: The first two maps are easier than average while the finale is significantly harder than average. This is kind of the most obvious problem with the campaign so far. Casual players will be challenged on Normal or Advanced, while Expert players will really be pushed, needing to strategize for the finale early by saving bile jars and adrenaline.
Final Verdict: This campaign hits all the right notes visually and gameplay-wise, but still leaves something to be desired. It could have been a classic if it had been five maps. However, it's still of high quality and deserves to be kept in reserve if a team wishes to play a shorter campaign or wants to try out some mutations on a custom map. Recommended.
Rating: 3.85/5.
77 crazy water gauntlets out of 100.
No comments:
Post a Comment