I keep being left for dead!

Photo: www.techradar.com

So I have been playing some Left 4 Dead 2 recently. I've got to say it's a really enjoyable game and really cannot believe I sold my first copy. Owing to the fact I have been away from the game for such a long time, I am incredibly rusty - as a result I've brought in some of the guys from work to help show me the ropes once more. Up to now it's been semi successful.

Just from looking at the main menu, it's clear that Left 4 Dead 2 is a fruitful game. There are many different modes to try out, including one that I used to play a lot of on my first copy - survival. 

At the moment, we've been playing versus and versus only. This is the mode where you take it in turns to play as the survivors and the infected. Each round trying to get more points than the other team.

Survivors

Photo: www.kotaku.com

As the survivors, you must make your way through each round in an attempt to reach the safe room at the other end. As you play through the round, there will be certain pickups that will aid your adventure. The things to note are items such as ammo, first aid kits, new weapons, pain pills and molotov cocktails to help disperse tanks quickly. 

Infected

Photo: www.left4dead.wikia.com

As the infected, it's your job to stop the survivors from getting too far. Each special infected have their own unique abilities that can help stop the survivors in their tracks.

Charger: The charger is a lot stronger than the other infected so has more health. The charger's ability is to, as expected, charge into the survivors. It will grab one of the survivors and pummel them until either they die or the other survivors kill off the charger.

Spitter: Quite low health. Special ability is to spit toxic liquid which can completely destroy a survivalist team if used correctly. I find a spitters best use to be spitting on either an already downed player, or a player that is already being restricted by a charger or smoker. This both deals extra damage and prevents the other survivors from helping.

Smoker: A smoker's special ability is to shoot it's tongue at a survivor, grabbing and pulling them towards it so it can claw at them. These are best used from heights, so you can pull the survivor upwards. This leaves them dangling and much harder to save.

Jockey: A jockey will jump onto it's victims head and ride them just like a real life jockey would a horse. The best way to use these is to steer the survivor away from the group, into the horde/regular infected. This isolates them and allows for an easy kill.

Hunter: The hunter leaps onto a survivor and starts to claw at them repeatedly. These are best used if a survivor breaks away from the group or as a surprise attack when survivors come around corners, through doorways etc. It may also be useful to attack with the hunter to stop a survivor helping a team mate in trouble.

Boomer: My least favourite of the infected. They throw up all over the survivors, covering them in boomer bile. This not only blinds the survivors, but also attracts the horde to the covered victim. However, they're incredibly slow and make for quick, easy kills before they even have chance to attack.

Tank: By far the strongest of the infected. Whilst the tank will find it incredibly difficult to catch up to a fully healthy survivor, it can use the environment to it's advantage. If you get the chance to control a tank, don't hang about. Charge straight in and do some damage. Tanks also have a lot of health and the only real, effective strategy of quickly dispersing one, is to use molotov cocktails.

Witch: The witch is a powerful infected that is best undisturbed. Lights off and quiet sneaking past her will avoid conflict. I wouldn't count on the AI shooting a distanced zombie and startling her though... The witch is an unplayable infected - unfortunately.

Back to the game...

I have found I am much better as a survivor than the infected. I don't seem to make full use of the infected at the right moments, so always end up spending more time on the loading screen waiting to spawn, than I do racking up kills and stopping the survivors in their tracks.

I think I definitely need to learn the maps again. I might play through the campaign, either solo or get the guys to go through this with me to take a break from versus. This should help me get to grips with everything a lot quicker and make for some better versus gameplay.

The game is still retailing quite high if you buy it brand new. However, you can pick it up quite cheap second hand. eBay, Blockbuster and Amazon are likely places to find a bargain - Blockbuster moreso due to it's recent announcement of calling in the administrators.

Modern Warfare 3 : Infected Strategies

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These are some tips that I wrote up about 12 months ago when I was massively into the Infected lobbies on Modern Warfare 3. I played a lot of it whilst off work with tonsilitis and noticed a lot of mistakes that people make, and how to learn from them and actually get some decent fun out of it.

These tips are only for those not infected. I did plan on writing up some tips for the infected but it's such an easy, generic task, then I don't really see much point. If there's enough interest in these though, I might consider writing some up.

1. Work as a team

You aren't getting anywhere solo, so don't put your headband and face paint on just yet. Rush, K/D whores are not welcome in the infected lobbies and will not last very long at all so don't attempt it. Stick with your team and help hold a position. Feel free to move around the safe spot to "build up" weaker or failing strongholds.

2. Watch your back

As the game tips suggest, you MUST be aware of what's going on behind you. Leaving your back exposed for too long is risky. Try running backwards when moving into a safe spot, this way you can cover your movements whilst your teammates presence ensures you won't be caught from the rear.

3. Never be the last survivor

You might earn a loss for the privilege, and it isn't fun being chased by 17 people who are all faster than, and throwing knives at, you.

4. Spare your ammo

Try to build up your ammo when there isn't many infected in the game, because you sure as hell won't be able to stock up when there are tonnes of them (not impossible in certain situations, just a lot more difficult)

5. Use your secondary!

If you have one, make use of it. Too many people fail to use them and get caught out reloading their main weapon. If you're completely out, switch to your secondary to quell the assault to give yourself a few seconds to reload your main weapon.

6. Use ALL ammo prior to reload

Another bug bear of mine, people fire a couple of bullets then immediately reload. This is both selfish and incredibly time wasting. Hitting that reload will immediately allow you to pick up a scavenger package even though you may not need one, potentially cutting off another teammates supply. It is also time wasting, that reload may only take a couple of seconds, but that could be the difference of life and death, and could potentially mean your team losing an entire stronghold. Always think before hitting reload. If you have dual wield weapons, fire one at a time, then you can fire the other whilst you reload the empty barrel.

7. WATCH THOSE THROWING KNIVES

I cannot stand the things. In my opinion, without them the infected would not win as many times as they currently do. The way it is at the moment, the infected win 99.9% of all games so this is hugely unbalanced. You can help stop throwing knife attacks on you by finding yourself some decent cover that allows you to see. This won't completely eliminate them, and you will still get the odd, extremely annoying fluke shot but that's life.

8. Be patient

The game will start off very slow, due to the low amount of infected players, but just sit tight, hold your position and wait. Too many people want to rush out there and rack up kills. This game type isn't about the amount of kills, it's about survival and it's popularly used as a win booster (you'll nearly always win and it counts towards your win/loss ratio)

9. Watch for any tactical insertions

It's best to destroy these rather than waiting for the enemy to spawn because it saves time and allows you to return to your journey of entering the safe spot. Destroying them is also better than leaving them for the obvious reason the enemy could spawn behind you.

10. Learn the maps

There comes a time in this game where map knowledge is incredibly helpful. Especially at the beginning of the game, when you will be making your way to one of the popular safe spots on that particular map. It also helps if you need to abandon a particular spot due to infiltration and allows you to make the safest and speediest getaway. Either way, knowing your way around the maps is a helpful tool to possess and the more you play the quicker you'll learn.

Whether you follow these steps or not, as a non-infected your chances of survival are pretty much 0%. Good Luck.

The above steps are simply information you may find helpful. I am not stating that by following it you will become a better player.