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About Me
Hi there! I'm Thomas, but you can call me Tom-Tom as well. My Dtoid name works fine too.

I just graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in English and a focus in Creative Writing. So here's hoping that gets me somewhere. I would love to work on writing for games on either the industry side, or for a website.

I play guitar and write a lot of music. So there's that.

I don't always play games, but when I do, I prefer video games. Because VIDEO GAMES. I enjoy most games, but not a fan of simulations or RTS games. I guess I don't have the patience for them. But I'll give most games a shot no matter the genre...as long as I have the cash.

Got into gaming at a very young age. Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. Around 1990 I believe. I then played Mega Man and the rest was then history.

Favorites as of now (no order):
Left 4 Dead 2
Burnout Paradise
Team Fortress 2
Half-Life series
Prototype
Borderlands
Mega Man (most games from the series)
Rock Band 2
Unreal Tournament 3
Psychonauts
Garry's Mod
Fallout 3 and New Vegas
Bioshock
Dead Rising 2
and many others I can't recall.


I'm hoping to get into adding many more blogs, not only to be read but to work on my writing craft. Practice makes perfect, or so I hear.
Anything else you want to know, ask away!
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Gamertag: YinYangRonin
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Left 4 Dead demo impressions and review
RoninZero | 10:00 AM on 11.06.2008 11 comments


Alright, so if you don't know about this game, go to left4dead411.com or any other site for more info. Including this one.

Ok, I'll wait till your done looking.

You've see all there is to see? Great.

I've been excited about this game since I heard about it. Zombie apocalypse? Sweet. Co-op with smart people? That would be great. Re-playable campaign? I plan on going back to the first two stages of the demo now. Basically, so far, this game is great. You really have to focus on team-work, otherwise, like you've seen elsewhere, you are going to be sorry. I attempted to go Rambo a few times...only worked out once (and that was with a machine gun turret set up). Every time I did, the Director would punish me with sending a Hunter or a Smoker my direction. Sweet, isn't it?

The Director is great at keeping the game intense. You'll never play the same game twice, as they have promised. The Director AI is probably one of my favorite technical innovations of the year. Its just sophisticated and great. The only AI I have trouble with are the normal infected...granted, I sped through Normal difficulty just to get a taste because I had to go back to studying. But most normal infected seem oblivious. I'm hoping it was just the difficulty setting. Though, I will mention I was very cautious as I walked through the wasteland that was once a city.

The graphics are pretty great. Nothing that will truly amaze you, but it looks damn good in motion. Plus, zombie decapitations...awesome stuff. There's nothing like turning a corner, having a zombie high-tail it towards you, and then make it barrel roll from a shotgun blast that takes its arm and head. The simple things in life, Valve gets right.

Now, to all loners out there who never want to socialize with people, you are probably wondering how the bots work in single-player. There were a few times it seemed they were clueless, but at all major points of action, they were on their A-game. Seriously, best squad/co-op bots ever. They knew when to heal me, and never let me die from a Hunter or Smoker. In fact, I think the longest it took them to help me from being pinned or constricted was a second and a half or two seconds. They know what they are doing, and will definitely help you out. The command speech wheel works great, that was a bit of learning curve for me (not used to a system like that). So rest assured, your team-mates aren't just meat shields...they're meat shields with brains. They will help you, heal you, cover you, and get pissed if they are in the cone of your shotgun blast. I know I'll enjoy single player.

I haven't gotten to test this game out with other people (hopefully with brains and not "griefers"), because I need to study for a college exam today. Once it is finished, I probably will be hopping on.

So, in short, this demo has shown me this game will be great. Epic great. There were somethings above that I nit-picked. But damn, does the Director know how to make you jump in fright and laugh at the same time. And that, my friends, is all the proof I need that this game is going to be great. Great fun for everyone.

And now, I close with a little signature thing I will be doing with anything I refer to Left 4 Dead or other zombie-related stuff (a mix of team fortress 2 and an anime):

Gentlemen...Its Zombie Time!



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9 comments | showing # 1 to 9
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BlindsideDork's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/06/2008 10:18
BlindsideDork
I am still waiting on my code but I am at work. All I know is it was amazing at PAX.

But with this and Killzone 2 and Resistance 2...I have no time to play anything!
RoninZero's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/06/2008 10:23
RoninZero
That's another thing I should mention:

If you have the PC version and it doesn't appear ready to go, restart Steam (you probably know that, but just want to make sure for some that aren't familiar with it). There's no code, it should be there and ready for you to play.

Console owners, I have no clue, because I downloaded mine via Steam.

I think it'd be great if Valve unlocked the full game early for pre-purchase people. But that's just me...and probably hundreds of people.
boatorious's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/06/2008 11:14
boatorious
I was thinking about pre-ordering this online tonight (and gears 2 at a store so I can get a golden gun at midnight). Hoping there will be some dtoid people online to play with. I'm unfortunately short FPS gaming friends.
Holyetheline's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/06/2008 11:32
Holyetheline
I can't wait to get this game. I am no pre-ordering though so I will have to wait for the demo.
Guagloves's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/06/2008 11:35
Guagloves
I played this earlier, and I cannot wait for this to come out. There is something really exciting about seeing a horde of zombies rush at you. Also the survivor a.i. is really smart which is good since I nearly died twice.
Brando's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/06/2008 12:25
Brando
Played the demo all morning and it's truly awesome. Like you said, the director AI is what makes this game. I was surprised at how go the survivor AI was (almost too good), and hand to crank up the difficulty to expert to keep things fresh. Multiplayer is where it's at though. I can't wait to play as the monsters though!
bbrigg1's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/06/2008 13:13
bbrigg1
The intro to the demo made me happy. The screams are awesome.
boatorious's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/06/2008 19:44
boatorious
I have returned after playing and it was a lot of fun. Can't wait for versus and more levels!
Natali Alinskaya's Avatar - Comment posted on 06/23/2011 03:19
Natali Alinskaya
Hello friends,this is a nice site and I wanted to post a note to let you know, good job! Thanks
Best regards, Natali, CEO of music downloads and
listen to free music
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