All Star

Gamers

Monthly

Illuminating

Issue #360

May 26, 2010

All Star Gamer’s Monthly

Dear reader,

It had always been a lifelong dream of mine to create a magazine devoted to the popular

pastime of video games. As a gamer myself, I believe that this entertainment medium needs

more acclaim because it is still a developing industry. Many people will look down upon gaming

as just another superficial cult with its fanatical worshippers but it is my firm opinion that video

games are a form of art just like films. Of course, the image that one gets from the word „video

gamer‟ is a loser dropout completely addicted to World of Warcraft who hangs out in internet

forums but this magazine is designed to bring a fresh, new perspective on this medium. All Star

Gamers Monthly allows readers a break from the superficial world of internet forums and pro-

vides a classy, factual spin to gaming news. With articles about the exact people and companies

that have brought you the video games that have entertained you for years, this magazine is es-

sential to any self-respecting gamer.

Sincerely,

Anthony Kang

Note from the Editor

Anthony Kang, age 21, was born in Seoul, South Korea but

received education in the United States. After graduating from

Harvard University with a degree in fine arts and literature, he

decided to start his own gaming magazine because of his own

interests in the field and requests from his friends Gabe Newell,

the creator of the Half-Life series, and Alex Seropian, founder

of Bungie Studios. The biggest shareholder for Microsoft, An-

thony created the All Star Gamers Magazine. As the chief edi-

tor of the magazine All Star Gamers, he occasionally appears

as a guest star on the Tonight Show for the magazine‟s huge

success. Anthony is currently running the magazine from the

comfort of his beachfront property in Miami, Florida.

HALO REACH: UNVIELED Lock and Load because the newest Installment of the Halo Franchise is right

around the corner! Anthony Kang

The cover art for the Halo: Reach CD case

All Star Gamer’s Monthly

Re: “Gamer Score: the Ultimate Standard”

Dear Editor,

I would like to begin by saying that not every gamer focuses on gamer score or even cares for that matter.

In your article, you constantly assert that the only ranking system for gamers is gamer score when in fact,

gamer score only reflects the amount of time one invests in games. Any beginner, given time and a lot of

games, can get a decent gamer score which does not represent his skills in any way.

Now, I‟m not saying that any fool can get all achievements because some are downright impossible to get.

However, just about 80% of the achievements can be unlocked with just two playthroughs of almost any

game.

What I‟m saying is that there are much better methods of measuring a gamer‟s ability other than the arbi-

trary number called gamer score. The number of completed games, for instance, would be a much better

gage for a gamer‟s ability as completing all the achievements of one game is so much harder than getting

all the easy achievements of many games.

Sincerely,

Robert Dalton

The writer is a beta tester for Microsoft Corporations.

With the smash hit Halo 3: ODST

taking the world by storm, it seemed

to be a no-brainer to keep the ball

rolling and Bungie wasted no time in

planning the next installment of the

ever successful Halo series. Just like

its predecessor, Halo: Reach is a spin

-off of the original trilogy as it does

not focus on Master Chief, the main

protagonist and icon for the franchise.

However, this game, unlike ODST,

is a prequel of the original series,

adding one thing that the Halo series

lacked: a solid back-story. The

graphically stunning Halo: Reach

also incorporates new aspects to the

already spectacular gameplay that

the Halo games are known for. By

utilizing the full graphical capacity

of the Xbox 360, Bungie Studios

proudly presents Halo: Reach.

The Making of Halo:Reach

When Halo 3 was released, two

teams were formed, one to work on

Halo 3: ODST and the other to

work on Halo: Reach (Ingham).

And while ODST was a step up

from Halo 3, Halo Reach turned

out to be a complete upgrade.

There seemed to be no aspect of

the gameplay that has not been

updated. Perhaps the most notice-

able improvement is the permanent

special abilities in place of the one-

use-only equipment system of

All Star Gamer’s Monthly

Halo 3. Many fans were confused

how the ODST, who were normal

soldiers, seemed to have much better

technology than the Spartans, the

cream of the crop soldiers literally

engineered to exceed the human

limitations, but now, the high tech

visor pales in comparison to what

seems to be a jetpack, impenetrable

shield, speed booster, and camou-

flage (“Halo:Reach”). The camou-

flage was introduced very early in

the game but was not useable until

Halo 2 and even then, only when the

player is controlling the Covenant,

an alien race in the Halo universe.

However, this time, the character can

use this equipment as a Spartan, the

human super-soldiers. Jetpack was

introduced in Halo 3 when the Brutes,

another race of aliens, could be seen

flying around in jetpacks. The im-

penetrable shield is actually a deriva-

tive of one of the equipment in Halo

3 but this time, the character cannot

move while they are in this invulner-

able status. The speed booster is a

new feature and is most likely hom-

age to the Spartan‟s ability to run

inhumanely fast. These new power-

ups would make for an even more

action packed gameplay.

Loadouts

Another aspect is the “loadout”

menu that appears before games

which is comparable to the Battle-

field series. In this menu, players can

choose predetermined weapons they

start with so that players could slide

into personalized arsenal from the

very beginning (Geddes). These

loadouts eliminate the need for play-

ers to madly scramble for the shot-

gun or the grenade launcher, whose

owners usually dominate the games.

At the start of the games and every

time a player respawns, a player can

choose the loadout they want. For

example, if one picks the assult load-

out, then the player starts playing

with an assult rifle, a magnum, and a

jetpack. These loadouts can not only

balance the weaponry that people

start with, it can allows players to

use the weapons that they are most

effective with. One very major com-

plaint about the previous Halo games

was that weapon choices were very

limited as people‟s starting weapons

were either random or all the same

where the weapon in question would

suit only the host. This system was

probably created ever since gamers

could change the armor that they

wore. If appearance was completely

customizable, why not weapons?

After all, the not every Spartan is

going to have the same weapons.

Storyline

And speaking of Spartans, Halo:

Reach presents the story of Noble

Team, a group of Spartans present

during the Fall of Reach. Carter, Kat,

Jorge, Emile, and Jun, the members

of Noble team, struggle to protect the

human military base at the planet

Reach, a planet very similar to

Earth, from the Covenant hordes

(“Intel”). However, the twist is that

every halo fan knows how this will

end; the humans will eventually

succumb to the alien race and al-

most all of the Spartans will perish

but exactly how these events will

occur is a mystery. The greatest

thing about having multiple

Spartans in a team is having 5

player co-op play. Though it is

never officially announced, the fact

that this time the players are play-

ing specific characters could imply

that each player could have spe-

cific roles to play. At the very least,

there will probably be a lot more

cooperation going on than when

there are simply two Spartans on

the field, blazing through enemies.

With more people to join in on a

campaign game where the players

work together, the halo community

could do more than just “frag”

each other.

Multiplayer Modes

Geddes , Ryan . "Ha lo:Reach Beta Hands -On ." IGN 21 Apr i l 2010: n . pag. Web. 2 May 2010 . <ht tp:/ /xbox360. i gn .com/ar t i c l es /108/1085085p2.h tml>. "Ha lo: Reach ." Wik iped ia . W ik i ped ia , 08 May 2010 . Web. 9 May 2010 . <ht tp:/ /en .wik i ped ia . org/wik i /Ha lo_Reach>. Ingham, T im. "Ha lo Reach Pt .1 ." CVG 23 Feb 2010: n . pag. Web. 1 May 2010 . <ht tp:/ /www.computerandv ideogames.com/ar t i c l e .php? id=236131>. " In te l . " Bung ie .net . Bung ie , 2010 . Web. 9 May 2010 . <ht tp:/ /www.bung ie .net /projec t s / reach/ar t i c l e .aspx?ucc=personne l&c id=24527>.

Only the best of the best become Spartans

Still, there is nothing quite like frag-

ging someone with the magnum in

Halo, now is there. In Halo: Reach,

Bungie presents to us with four new

gameplays to further up the death toll.

Headhunter is a multiplayer mode

where a character drops skulls when

he is killed. The victor must then

collect those skulls and deposit them

in special zones for points. And of

course, the one with the greatest

amount of points win. Stockpile is a

similar game but instead of skulls, its

flags, and instead of deposit points,

its capture points. While headhunter

Infinity Ward is a software devel-

opment company that has devel-

oped the Call of Duty series as

well as the recent Modern Warfare

2, the top selling game in the video

game market (“Call of Duty: Mod-

ern Warfare 2”). Activision is the

publisher for the Call of Duty se-

ries and is the largest third party

video game publisher in the world.

Infinity Ward and Activision had

some disagreements in the past but

this is the first time that a lawsuit is

involved.

The suit claims that “Activision en-

gaged in inappropriate course of con-

duct in an attempt to … force them to

complete the development, production

and delivery of Modern Warfare

3” (Reilly). Infinity Ward is pressing

charges for at least $625 million dol-

lars worth of compensation for this

violation of agreements. However,

Activision begs to differ asit states that

“the action is without merit. Activision

retains the discretion to determine the

amount and the schedule of bonus pay-

ments for Modern Warfare 2” (Reilly).

This is quite true as Activision had

acquired Infinity Ward and so would

have control over such payments.

To complicate things, there is a

separate lawsuit as well filed by

Vince Zampella and Jason West who

claim that Activision fired them

wrongfully. Attorney Robert

Schwartz states that Activision, in-

stead of praising or even paying

these individuals, instead hired law-

yers for an investigation that would

lead to Zampella and West‟s termi-

nation (Bailey). The two claim that

they were fired so that Activision

wouldn‟t have to pay them the ex-

pensive bonuses. Activision declared,

however that it will pay the other

staff members but an exact date is

never given.

The fate of the two men are un-

known as of yet. Many other em-

ployees are leaving Infinity Ward

because of Activision‟s actions but

Activision still claims that it has

done nothing wrong.

INFINITY WARD SUES ACTIVISION OVER UNPAID BONUSES The Publisher and the Developer for the World’s Top Selling Game does not get along.

Anthony Kang

A feud between Infinity Ward and Ac-

tivision started when employees from

Infinity Ward is filing a lawsuit against

Activision claiming that the company

in question failed to pay royalties and

bonuses. The whole situation arose

from the development of Modern War-

fare 2 where Activision made a con-

tract with Infinity Ward to pay them

around $50 million during the fourth

quarter of 2009 and about $40 million

during the first quarter of 2010 (Reilly).

The irate employees claim that Activi-

sion paid only $28 million for royalties

to force Infinity Ward into continue

cooperating with Activision for the

development of Modern Warfare 3.

Lawyers are gearing up

for a heated debate

Bai l ey , Kat . "Former In f i n i t y Ward Heads Sue Ac t i v i s i on ." 1up.com, 03 March 2010 . Web. 9 May 2010 . <http:/ /www.1up.c om/do/new sStory?c Id=3178214>.

"Ca l l o f Du ty: Modern War fare 2 ." W i k iped ia , 08 May 2010 . Web. 9 May 2010 . <ht tp:/ /en .wik i ped ia .org/wik i /Ca l l _of_Duty:_Modern _War fare_2>. Re i l l y , J im . " I n f i n i t y W ard G roup Sues A c t i v i s i on Fo r Unpa i d Bonu ses . " P l aySt a t i on 3 News a t IGN . IGN , 27 Ap r i l 2 010 . W eb . 9 May 2010 . <h t t p : / / p s3 . i gn . c om/

a r t i c l e s /108 /1086448p1 .h tm l > .

All Star Gamer’s Monthly

will be a game of constant all-out

assault and retribution, stockpile is a

team fight over flags. Generator de-

fense is a where the Spartans, well,

defend a generator… from Covenant

Elites. This gameplay presents a

rather radical thought in the Halo

universe: defending. Normally, the

players simply rush into action with

guns blazing but this time, one team

attacks while the others have to de-

fend. Finally, the last multiplayer

mode introduced is Invasion, a six on

six battle where new loadouts, new

vehicles, and even new areas to the

map become open as the game pro-

gresses. This seems to be a step-up

from the conventional slayer where

players simply mow each other down.

In this mode, the players still massa-

cre each other but this time, their

environment slowly changes.

Now what?

Halo: Reach beta codes will soon be

released via the Halo: ODST disks

for dedicated players chosen by

Bungie studios. So what are you

waiting for? Reach awaits.

All

E1337 Cookies

You won‟t want to delete these

cookies!

- Chris Redfield

They say that there is no pleasure

like a headshot — until, of course,

they experience a headshot with a

e1337 cookie in hand

- Dan Green

The Futility of Internet Petitions

Charlie Lee

500 people. Pretty formidable, huh? But

what about 500 anonymous internet peo-

ple? The internet petition is a recent so-

cial phenomenon where hundreds and

sometimes even thousands of people

sign a petition saying that they support a

certain cause or movement. Now, those

hundreds or thousands of people, if they

actually followed through with that

movement, that would be an effective

petition but the thing is, those hundreds

or thousands of people actually don‟t

give a hoot about the movement at all.

This type of superficial support can be

seen anywhere. Facebook, perhaps the

number 1 socializing cite on the internet,

has a feature called Facebook groups

which people would join and that is

about as far as people get. Absolutely no

concern whatsoever. Though it‟s not

limited to video games, a recent prob-

lematic internet petition that especially

caught my attention was the Left 4 Dead

2 ban petition.

To give a bit of background

information, Valve had just created the

smash success Left 4 Dead franchise last

year and simply because the sequel is

coming out a mere year later, people are

complaining that the new contents

should be given as a free update instead

of another $50 out of their paychecks.

Now, I find the premise to be very

flawed. Left 4 Dead 2 is said to have

new maps, new characters, new weapons,

and even a new storyline. Which part of

this spells “update” instead of “sequel”?

In fact, the only thing that is taken from

the first game is the premise: a zombie

apocalypse. There is no way that so

much work would be released as free

updates. Now, if they are paid updates,

then the consumer will end up paying a

lot more than simply the $50 that it takes

to simply buy another video game. See

the paradox now?

This argument should have

ended when Valve representatives di-

rectly stated that “with the five cam-

paigns, playable versus, co-op, and sur-

vival mode, there‟s just a ton of content

in there” (Valve Defends Left 4 Dead 2).

Valve was actually planning some up-

dates with Left 4 Dead but the ideas

snowballed into a new game: Left 4

Dead 2. Furthermore, the representatives

said that Valve was actually doing a big

favor for the fans by putting out so much

new content in such a short period of

time. Apparently not. Instead of high

praise and forums about how awesome

Valve is, there is nothing but bitter com-

plains about the gaming “coming out too

early”. Now, to a point, I can concede to

this. A new version of a gamer every

year, which is the EA model, seems like

nothing but a big marketing ploy to get a

huge amount of money. However, this

case is different, if the customer can get

their money‟s worth in a game like Left

4 Dead 2, what‟s all the complaining

about?

My third and final point deals

with the follow through. Left 4 Dead 2

has been recently released and people

are going bonkers over how great a

game it is and how it is so much better

than the original Left 4 Dead, which

was still an awesome game. In the

petition, there are almost three thou-

sand people. Ask yourselves, three

thousand anonymous people, have you

avoided the new game? NO! I guaran-

tee you, those three thousand people

will be out on release date without a

care in the world that they had signed

a petition merely a week ago. There‟s

isn‟t even a shred of reason to believe

that even one sale would be lost be-

cause of these internet petitions so it‟s

no wonder that game developers don‟t

pay close attention to these petitions.

With no credibility or driving force

except for crude comments on an

internet forum, it is no wonder that

internet petitions are failing miserably.

The rise of the internet brought the

rise of internet petitions but just like

internet memes, they are simply just a

fad that is best forgotten. Not only is

there a bit of digging their own graves

as the people who sign the petitions

cannot be bothered to do anything of

significance about that issue, but there

is also a blatant ingenuity because

99% if not 100% ignore the petition

and play the game anyway. All in all, I

believe that direct action is better than

any given internet petition.

Charlie Lee

" V a l v e D e f e n d s L e f t 4 D e a d 2 R e l e a s e A m on g 2 0 , 0 0 0 M e m b e r B o yc o t t . " G o s s i p G a m e r s . G G , 0 9 J u n e 2 0 0 9 . W e b . 1 8 M a y 2 0 1 0 . < h t t p : / / w w w. g o s s i p g a m e r s . c om / va l v e - d e f e n d s - l e f t - 4 - d e a d - 2 -

r e l e a s e - a m on g - 2 0 0 0 0 - m e m b e r - b o yc o t t / > .

The signup page of the petition

All Star Gamer’s Monthly

All Star Gamer’s Monthly

The Controversy of Gold Farming

All Star Gamer‟s Monthly Staff

A recent

controversy in video game economy is

gold farming. Gold farming is a process

where people are paid to acquire a mas-

sive amount of in-game money in order

to sell it to gamers who do not have the

time or the patience to obtain it them-

selves (“Wikipedia”). While the thought

of people providing a wanted service, in-

game money, seems to be nothing out of

the ordinary, the fact remains that gold

farming is an exploitation of the video

game. Ultimately, no matter how much

in-game money is a demand, gold farm-

ing is not an acceptable way to obtain it.

First and foremost, the ex-

change of in-game money or in-game

objects to real money or real objects is

against the license agreement in almost

every game. Many argue that gold farm-

ing merely “helps” players with their

overall experience with the game. One

may think that perhaps a simple transac-

tion such as gaining money and giving it

to another player for a small PayPal

compensation may be legitimate, but it

isn‟t. Profiting off of a video game, as

gold farmers do, violates the terms of

agreements that all players must sign in

order to play the game (“Electronic

Arts”). Even aside from the legal prob-

lems, there is no denying that gold farm-

ing operations exist and is not too far

from the stereotypical depictions that the

mass media provides. Although it may

not be the sweatshop labor that is exag-

geratedly thought by the general public

but there is no denying that gold farmers

work ridiculously long hours in order to

fulfill enormous quotas (“Secrets”). Sim-

ply because gold farmers don‟t have the

horrible work conditions, and in fact,

operates more comfortably than most

third world country jobs, does not justify

the job in any way. Gold farming may

seem justifiable, but it is against the de-

veloper‟s intended purpose of the game,

and to any self respectable gamer, the

developer‟s intent is law.

Despite its being a very under-

cover business, steps have been taken in

order to prevent gold farming. Perhaps

the largest example is the Chinese gov-

ernment banning the trade of virtual

goods to real world goods, effectively

outlawing gold farming (Sacco). Just

like with piracy, gold farming is starting

to get more and more government inter-

ference to curb the problem. Many argue

that the gold farmers, especially the ones

in countries like China are people strug-

gling to make a living and the govern-

ment has no right to take away their jobs.

This does not change the fact that golf

farming itself is not a very honest job;

gold farmers usually resort to hacking,

scamming, and/or stealing from other

players in order to complete their quo-

tas. The situation had gotten so big

that Blizzard, the developer of World

of Warcraft, the main game the gold

farmers focus on, had taken measures

to ban gold farmers (Adams). With a

whole government and the developer

of the top MMORPG game opposing

gold farming, that “service” will soon

be nonexistent.

Gold farming is a shortcut, a

cheat, if you will, where some players

benefit from the exploitation of a

game. A person who buys gold from a

gold farmer does not realize that the

acquisition of the money is all part of

the game experience. Those who do

not have the patience to play the game

shouldn‟t play the game and those

who profit from a game should under-

stand that what they are doing is ille-

gal.

"Gold Farming." Wik iped ia . W ik i ped ia the Free Encyc l oped ia , 18 May 2010 . Web. 22 May 2010 . <http:/ /en .wik i ped ia .org /wik i /Gold_ farming>. "ELECTRONIC ARTS LICENSE AGREEMENT." E l ec t ron i c A r t s , 18 Feb 2000 . Web. 25 May 2010 . <http:/ /common.ea -europe.c om/cybercafe /

cyber_cafe_eng l i sh .pdf>. "Secre t s of Mass i ve l y Mu l t i p l ayer Farming." Game Guides On l ine , 2005 . Web. 25 May 2010 . <ht tp:/ /www.gamegu ideson l i ne .com/gu id es/ar t i c l es /

ggoar t i c l eoc tober05_01.asp>. Sacco, Mi chae l . "Ch ina bans go ld farming." Wow.com . AOL games, 29 JUN 2009 . Web. 25 May 2010 . <ht tp:/ /www.wow.com/2009/06/29/ch ina -bans-go ld-

farming/>. Adams, Dav id . "B l i zzard Cracks Down on "Gold Farming" ." Wor ld of Warc ra f t . IGN, 14 March 2005 . Web. 25 May 2010 . <http:/ /pc . i gn .com/

ar t i c l es /595/595918p1.h tml>.

Players farming for gold in a PC bang

The core of gold farming

All Star Gamer’s Monthly

PC Gaming vs Console Gaming with Burnie Burns Interviewer: David Letterman

Q: Tell me about yourself.

A: Well, I‟m Burnie Burns, manager of the company Rooster Teeth. I‟ve

worked in game development and tech support for at least 10 years. I‟m

currently working on the machinima series Red vs Blue.

Q: Could you give me some background information on your life as a

gamer?

A: I‟ve been playing video games ever since I was 7 years old during the

arcade/ SNES and Sega Genesis days. As a middle aged man, I have experi-

enced first-hand the evolution of video games in general from 8-bit proces-

sors to the 128-bit processors of today. I‟m mostly a Xbox 360 and PC

gamer.

Q: Which do you prefer: PC gaming or console gaming and why?

A: Personally, I prefer console gaming because it offers a more streamlined

experience for gamers. Once can sit down and play any game that they buy

without having to worry about processors or video cards that PC gamers

have to constantly upgrade.

Q: What are your thoughts on the fact that a good gaming PC costs thou-

sands of dollars while even the most expensive console costs only a half a

thousand?

A: Well, it all depends on what you define as a good gaming PC. If you

want a PC that can simply play the game, it can have roughly the equal price

of a console such as the Xbox 360 and a TV. However, if you are willing to

pay those thousands of dollars, that PC will provide a much better gaming

experience than any console on the market.

Q: Do you think that systems like Xbox live compares to that of the inter-

net?

A: I think that a special gaming community such as Xbox live is much better

than the internet where anyone can participate in. For one thing, in Xbox live,

you can have a group of people who share the same interest in video games.

In the internet, you could be talking to some random stranger who doesn‟t

know a thing about video games. For a community based pastime such as

video games, the Xbox live community is a lot more ideal.

Q: What do you think of the gaming community for PC and consoles?

A: As I said before, in a console such as Xbox 360 has a relatively homoge-

nous community. Of course, that community isn‟t without fault but is not as

bad as the PC gaming community, many of whom pirate the games they play.

If there exists a group of people who destroys the very thing that they love,

then they have some serious problems. Still, both parties suffer from prob-

lems such as belligerent players and sore losers.

Q: Do you think that piracy is PC exclusive?

A: Though I‟m not sure, I have heard stories of people cracking and burning

Xbox and Playstation games and playing them so piracy is not necessarily

exclusive to PC but there is no denying that it is much easier to pirate a PC

game as there are dedicated websites for that job. Simply because of the

freedom that people have with their games on the computer, cheating, hack-

ing, and piracy is a lot more rampant in PC gaming.

Q: What other problems do you find in the online communities?

A: I think that it is often heard that 13 year old kids are the band of the inter-

net and they are right. There is nothing worse than some kid who doesn‟t

know what he‟s talking about scream at you while you are trying to play a

nice game of Halo. Still, it‟s not just limited to kids; there are certain people

out there who will try and give people a hard time while they are trying to

enjoy themselves in a friendly game. You will find that console gaming will

suffer more from this than does PC gaming.

Q: Why do you think that the console community suffers

from a larger percentage of „people with no sportsmanship‟?

A: For the most part, console gaming is a much tighter com-

munity and the games tend to have a lot more communica-

tion going on with the voice chat that was implemented in

all the recently released consoles.

Q: What other problems do you find in console gaming?

A: For the most part, I think that console gaming is a bit too

inflexible. You cannot use a custom made controller or even

use a standard USB for most consoles unless it is sold di-

rectly from that company. One of the biggest problems I

have with the Xbox is the terrible quality of the voice mes-

sages. I can‟t tell you how much I would like a headset with

high quality speakers and microphone.

Q: What problems do you find in PC gaming?

A: PC gaming has the opposite problem than console in that

it is too dynamic. Every few months, there is a better graph-

ics card that must be used in order to play the newest games

but graphics cards are extremely expensive not to mention

that they are not the only things that you need to buy. Also,

there is the problem with piracy and if it wasn‟t for distribut-

ers like Blizzard or Steam, PC gaming would be gone be-

cause their system forces the customers to verify their game

and confirm that it has, in fact, been purchased.

Burnie Burns, manager of

Rooster Teeth

All Star Gamer’s Monthly

Across

1. ____ Life 2

3. World of ________

6. ___________ 3D

7. Guitar ____

8. Halo _____

10. Grand Theft ____

12. Star Wars _______

of the Old Republic

Down

2. ____ 4 Dead

4. _______ Strike

5. Team ________

9. Sudden ______

11. Dark ____

NAME that GAME

All Star Gamer’s Monthly

Video Game Review: Left 4 Dead

We‟ve heard it all: a zombie apocalypse wipes out most of humanity and the ones who are

left must fend for themselves against the hordes of brainless, cannibal zombies. You‟d think

that people would have run out of ideas by now, but Valve worked its magic in the video

game industry and gave us the thrilling Left 4 Dead series which quickly became a smash

hit with its own hordes of fans. The premise of the game is quite simple, actually: “run your

butt off and if you see a zombie, pump it full of lead”. See the appeal now? However, Left 4

Dead is definitely not your average shoot-em-up. You cannot blaze through hordes because

supplies and health is very limited. In most games, the player has a plethora of equipment

and supplies ready to be used at will. There is no such leisure during a zombie apocalypse.

Guns and ammo is rare and teamwork is essential to survival. After all, its four survivors

against millions of zombies.

Perhaps the best thing about this game is the balance of traditional zombie survival ele-

ments and never-before-seen elements. The most noticeable “new element” is the presence

of unique zombies. Ones that can constrict the survivor with its tongue, leap at the survivor

and pin him down, maul the survivor with brute strength, and (my personal favorite) dice

up the survivor with the use of extremely long talons. Still, no matter what kind of zombies

there are, a zombie apocalypse never gets better than “a rescue‟s coming, but in order to get

to point B from point A, we gotta shoot through numerous hordes of zombies”. Left 4 Dead

2 only served to step up the thrilling madness as new weapons, including melee weapons,

provide a grim efficiency in mowing down crowds of zombies after your brain. So, how

„bout it? Get outta that safe room and start your blood-stained trek!

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