Save Yourselves!: A Left 4 Dead Multiplayer Diary
12/8/2008 6:49 PM | 6 Comments | Page 6 of 10
Poetry may not come out of my mouth, but puke does. I spray three Survivors with bile and whoop loudly. Go ahead and shoot me; you've still gotta deal with dozens of my friends coming to rip y'all to shreds. Now, just two remain; and yes, we end their pitiful red-tinged existences. Quickly.
Jones: One of the things that I've always loved about multiplayer gaming is how it gives rise to its own language. After only a few minutes, we'd developed a shorthand for describing what was happening on-screen. When the Boomer died, for example, someone noted the moment by describing the remains as "half a tomato." And when we came across the Witch, and she started running after humans, someone said, "Here comes my ex-wiiiiiiife."
Our turn as Survivors goes to hell super-quick. We're barely out of the Safe House when it all goes pear-shaped. I die first, and stare at the crotch of a nameless AI zombie as he paws at me. (This whole not-having-a-leader thing ain't working out.) Time for revenge.
Jones: You couldn't see your corpse, Louis/Evan, but zombies were seriously ganged up on your lifeless corpse, and having their way with it. It was kind of hard to watch.
Chapter 4: The Train Station
Fischer: The Director bones us again with Witch placement. She's right in a place that we can't skirt around quietly, even crouching and with lights off. Team Narcisse doesn't help by pounding on us as we try to make it happen. This is where you start to see how the Director is the silent third party in every Versus match, helping or hurting with the placement of Witches, the density and frequency of Horde attacks and so on. Soon, though, he'd be on our side...
As the next chapter loads, I realize a vital but merciless fact: We can't help each other as much as we want to. I blurt it out but don't think anyone hears me. In fact, when I get incapacitated, I yell to my teammates to go on without me. Just go and find me when I re-spawn, I plead.
Jones: I absolutely loved this moment. Evan starts shouting, "JUST GO ON WITHOUT ME! GO! LEAVE ME!" It was awesome; both selfless and humane at once.
An alert, coordinated hustle like this becomes tough to pull off when it's humans controlling the Survivors.
Problem is, everybody else is down and whoever's reviving me ain't trying to do this solo. But, since we're all hurt, we go down fast, like consumer spending in a recession. (Who says this isn't the Crispy Gamer Age of Financial Analysis? Peace to Stan Lee!) I'm not keeping track of score, but I can't help but sense things are grim. During our Infected rounds, I notice that we're all going after the humans at once, which leads to getting killed and having to wait to re-spawn all at the same time. "Pace out our attacks!" I yell. Still, there's no more coordination than that, and we ruefully watch Team Fischer close the Safe House door. I'm pretty sure I heard the orgasmic moan of Kyle Orland healing himself, but that could just be the shell-shock talking.
