Left for Dead: Crash Course DLC Review
In response to numerous complaints about Left for Dead’s lack of story, Valve released Crash Course. This was a short, two mission campaign that seems to bridge the gap between getting rescued at the end of No Mercy, and ending up in the forest at the beginning of Death Toll. Crash Course was made available as DLC on both Steam (for free) and the Xbox Live Network (for $7.00) but on launch day it was experiencing rendering issues (parts of the map were not showing up), clipping issues (players were able to pass through objects that were supposed to be solid) and dynamic weapon spawns were broken. Weapons were spawning at every opportunity making each play through less unique. In result, Valve had to disable achievements causing massive confusion and griefing.
Because of the clipping issues players were phasing through objects that would normally be boundaries and obstacles. This obviously reduced what is for the most part a linear path to a somewhat less entertaining linear path. Watching a player go through a solid shipping container makes the game less immersive because it is not supposed to occur in the world of Left for Dead.
Apart from the bugs, Valve did a nice job incorporating viewer feedback. Releasing smaller segments of their games instead of a whole game allows them to receive viewer feedback and the chance to see what people build; resulting in a symbiotic relationship that incorporates fresh ideas into their games. I think I’m seeing that in this map in the form of more interesting weapon spawns. Players can also expect a fresh batch of dialog that breaks up the monotony of listening to the old dialog. Another great feature is the new HUD (heads up display) for the infected team that helps you keep better track of the state of your allies. Now you can see not just their health but what percentage of vomit is available for the Boomer.
By now gamers shouldn’t be afraid to download Crash Course because all of the bugs have been patched and fans of the game that don’t have this yet should get it now. I’ll give Crash Course four out of five fingers.
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