A Zombie Has Eaten Your Brains... Is this Awesome (Y/N)

I'm going to be honest here, I talk about zombies on this blog a lot-maybe a bit too much. So without further adieu, I bring you... another post about zombies! Yay!!!!11111111

In addition to playing Left 4 Dead, I have also been reading Robert Kirkman's fantastic comic book series The Walking Dead and Max Brooks' novel World War Z. I find this type of fiction fascinating because it delves deep into the human psyche and shows how the characters are coping with the trauma that they are facing. Good zombie fiction isn't really about the zombies its about the people. Also, zombie fiction serves as a way of preparing us for the zombie apocalypse that awaits us.

If Left 4 Dead has taught me anything it is that I will probably not do too well when the apocalypse comes (statistics show with a high probability that in the event of zombie apocalypse I will fall off of a ledge and break my legs or get attacked from my back-right side). That being said, the time is now to stock up on essential supplies. The folks at coolmaterials.com have made a list of "Essential Gear to Survive a Zombie Attack"(note: some images may be slightly on the NSFW side). Highlights include a titanium cricket bat, a ballistic groin protector (you can never be too careful), a neck protector, a survival hatchet, and more. I would probably add a thick leather jacket and heavy jeans to the list (guns will probably be available at an abandoned military outpost). Or we could just plant some zombie killing plants in our gardens.

I recently played the demo for PopCap's new tower defense game (or more like flower defense game... am I right?) Plants vs. Zombies (alternate title: Lawn of the Dead) and it is an absolutley wonderful little game. Its available for $10 USD on Steam and is apparently worth every penny. According to gaming jouralist and all around good guy, Tom Francis, the minigame I, Zombie and the survival mode are incredibly addicting. I would highly recommend playing the demo.

In other tower defense game news, the game Defense Grid: The Awakening is 75% off until May 13th ($5 USD). A demo is available on steam. I played it and its pretty cool (though I utterly suck at buiding mazes).

Shalom!

ROCK ON!

Left 4 Videos Volume 2

Here is another batch of Left 4 Dead themed videos.

Our first video is a follow-up to my favorite L4D video (What Happens When Louis Gets His Peels) which begs the ever important question of what happens when Bill gets his pills.



The second video explains why everyone hates Francis (or maybe its because we all wish we loved vests as much as he does?)...On second thought, NO.



The final feature on tonight's schedule is a cartoon inspired by Left 4 Dead. It is fairly vulgar so watch at your own risk, but it is somewhat humorous and accurate in its portrayal of Francis.



For videos featuring players whining or doing dumb things see Unreality magazine's 10 Humorous Left 4 Dead Videos. Warning: This videos may be painful to watch. The Half-Life Jew Inc. and its subsidiaries assume no responsibility for any injuries sustained while viewing them.

If you know of any other good Left 4 Dead videos please mention them in the comments section.

In other news, over at the official Left 4 Dead blog there is a post (from last week) about the process used in designing the box art. The post gave great insight into what is required to make a box that stands out from the crowd-plus there are pictures!

And Yet it Moves

And Yet it Moves is an indie game with a unique art style that requires platforming and the manipulation of your environment in order to solve puzzles. Sound familiar? While the description I provided bears a striking similarity to that of Braid (or a vast number of other indie games for that matter), I assure you that this game is special.

You play as a man who is merely a drawing on a piece of paper, yet you have the remarkable ability to navigate a beautiful world composed entirely of bits of paper. The game gives you 2 sets of controls-one for moving yourself, and a second for rotating the world. This rotation mechanic is required to complete the puzzles. Although this is not very difficult there is loose debris that will also rotate when you rotate the world and will try to crush you, thus making navigation more difficult. Additionally, moving these loose objects is sometimes required in order to remove an obstacle blocking your way.

To sum up physics + puzzles + platforming +paper environments+ monkeys= amazing game (demo). Oh, I forgot to mention there are monkeys sorry about that. I have only played the demo but assume that the full game is even better. The full game will include 16 levels in 3 environments and will be released April 2 on Steam (If you pre-purchase now you can save 10%). I'm not sure that I'll buy this one right away but I think its a great game none the less.

CHOPPED!!!!111111

Don't forget to watch Chopped tonight (Tuesday) at 10 PM Eastern time. Its sure to be intense and exciting. If you are in the US this week you should watch it.

Videos 4 Dead

Because of some strange holiday called "Spring Break" I won't be playing a lot of Left 4 Dead this week. I've been playing a little World of Goo (which is great fun) but doesn't really give me my zombie fix. These two videos should ease some of the pain of Zombie withdrawal.

Epic Left 4 Dead Action

On Tuesday night my gaming group and I had an epic 6 1/2 hour play through of No Mercy on Expert. Half of this time was spent on the finally alone. That night I went through the full range of emotions- I, laughed, I cried (only a little), I was scared and finally I was relieved to get out of that hell hole and reach safety. Unfortunately, one of my friends had to leave and we were left to complete the finally with two AI characters (Francis and Zoey). Though we thought it was hopeless, decided to try anyway and guess what... it actually worked. I will attempt to explain what happened using the thoughts of the characters (in italics), spoken lines, stage notes/narration (bold) and screenshots taken after the fact. Enjoy the story!

Setting the stage: It is just before dawn on a stormy night and the survivors are tired and a bit shell shocked from a long night of fighting and after Zoey's lobotomy they didn't think there was much hope... still, in these times, a little hope was enough. After all they could give up and die as cowards or fight like hell and die as heroes. They chose the latter. We open this scene in the radio room on the roof top.

Louis: [answers the radio signally the nice man in the news chopper that goes around rescuing people to come and rescue them] "Hello? Nice man in the news chopper that goes around rescuing people? Sup dude, we aren't infected and want you to pick us up"

Nice Man in the news chopper: "Yeah dog I'll be there soon call me back in a minute I'm a little busy makin' some dinner. Oh and by the way when you call back again a whole bunch of zombies will come after you because it makes the your life more intense. K bye"

Louis and Bill: Man I really don't want to die. I hope we don't screw up and die because we've been fighting for a really long time.

Zoey and Francis: Well I really don't know what to do so I'll stand in your line of fire

Zombie 1: ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR [So begins the terror. The survivors decide to hold out in the radio room with automatic shotguns and make it through the first wave of zombies]

Zombie #1 is angry (and hungry for brains)

Louis and Bill: Wow! were really doing it. Die zombie scum. Click Bang! Boom headshot! lets stay alive.

Nice Man in the news chopper: "Hey I'll be there in like 10 min and oh by the way a Tank is coming soon"
Louis and Bill: Tank! Ok we need to run up on the roof of the radio building and then start kiting the Tank around the hospital roof and turn occasionally to shoot it. Hey this is working pretty well. Whoa he almost got me... ok I'm still alive. Hooray its dead run back to the radio room. [The tank dies but Zoey are Francis weren't as lucky as Bill and Louis one can only imagine there dying thoughts.

Zoey: Ooohh, shiny is that a quarter over there. Maybe I'll go and look...UUUGggggghh [Dies]

Francis: Man I wish I had a new vest. I really like vests, you could see I love thee... [Dies]

Louis: "Bill lets get into this closet and melee like there is no tomorrow... because there isn't if we die"

Salvation, in closet form

Bill: "Ok I'm getting in... Ow don't hit me zombie bastard...ok i'm in." [quickly decides to heal without telling anyone but somehow both survivors survive the attack. Even some boomers decide to puke on them but they both live and have ample health]

Nice Man in the news chopper: "Hey I'm almost there but a second tank will spawn before I get there"

Louis and Bill: "Run!" I guess we'll use the same strategy as before, yeah good its working, I think its almost dead.

Louis: "Bill, run and don't look back, he's right behind you. Keep running!" [Bill keeps running but eventually Louis gets knocked down... but have no fear because Bill is very close by.]

Bill: "Get off my friend tank punk!" [Pumps tank full of lead and it dies before killing Louis. He quickly gets his friend up and they get on the helipad running towards where the chopper will land. They can hear it they know it is close]

Awww. They look kind of cute when there not trying to kill you.

Louis: "Throw a pipe bomb" [They both throw pipe bombs at the same time for some reason but as the rescue vehicle opens its doors Louis has a siezure and falls off the helipad]

Bill: I gotta get in there, I gotta get in, ok the doors just opened. JUMP! I made it come on Louis [He didn't notice that Louis had fallen, but luckily Louis wasn't injured and made it on the rescue chopper, they all lived happily ever after the end... until the next time that they have to escape from another zombie infested town.]

A Life Well Wasted

I just finished listening to the second episode of Robert Ashley's A Life Well Wasted podcast (though as he says it is more of an internet radio show). In this episode he discussed the collecting and preservation of video games (and pinball machines). The interviews were insightful and paint a vivid picture of what goes on inside a collector's head. Also, this episode seems to plea that things that are here today are quickly forgotten tomorrow.

This podcast and the first episode (on the Death of EGM) can be found here (also available on iTunes). Download it now! Even if you don't think you'll enjoy it it may surprise you... and tell your friends too.

Shalom