So I just got done playing a Left 4 Dead match on versus. The map was Blood Harvest and I'll tell you what made it amazing. I was the only one on my team against four people. Now, the first two levels started out with me on a team. However, half way through the second level (when I was survivors) my team quit. Now ordinarily you think I would be f'ed up the a. However, the other team didn't check what was going on and didn't use my shortcomings to their advantage. Where they could of simply defeated my A.I. teammates, they didn't instead, since I then became the automatic leader and my teammates would be to follow me where ever I went. Which actually ended up being the other teams downfall. As I got a 1000 point lead when I made it to the end of the third campaign. When it was my turn, they split up 3 and 1 accidentally and I knocked 3 of them down with my tank. I went after the fourth who was caught in a horde, leaving the other 3 to die. While I'm not going to state why the A.I. helped me so much, I do plan to write a sequel to my TEAMWORK means TEAMWORK posting. With details about Versus mode and how to defeat each type of zombie, whether it is common sense or not.

I thought I would test this Windows Live tool.

EMPTY BLOG POST

So Left 4 Dead has been out for a few weeks and is just so much fun. However, there are many problems that can be had with the community as with dumb players in general to bad teniques. I decided to write a little blurb on how to survive Left 4 Dead's campaign mode.

1. Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork. I can not stress this enough. This means don't wander ahead, don't leave someone behind, and use a microphone if you have one (this makes teamwork even easier, with letting everyone know what you're doing). If you don't have a microphone, just simply turn the volume up on your TV so you can hear what other people are doing. While not playing Left 4 Dead, simply get a job or steal money from your moms purse to purchase the microphone.

2. Closeting. This is a useful technique that seems to becoming more wide spread every time I play a match. The basic idea is to use a closet if necessary. Closets can be found at every player triggered event. They provide enough room for four people with enough safety from behind as well as on the sides. The closet also provides a cushion for the players to be pushed backwards, if need be; however, if you set up a closet correctly you shouldn't have this problem. To set-up a great working closet team, have one to two(depending on people playing or A.I.) people crouched in front that use the melee to push back the oncoming zombies, they also may fire if necessary. The other two people should remain behind the "pushers" and fire. This technique is especially useful on the final levels of a campaign. For tanks, simply move into the area surrounding the closet, providing enough room for people to maneuver around the attacking tank. WARNING: Do not always use a closet. It is quite useful, but other areas have their advantages. Most places have only four-six enterances. Which include windows. Good players can handle their own as long as everyone else pulls their share of the load. Shooting backs facing each other can be a useful technique as well. High up places work nicely as well!



3. Kill the witch as fast as possible. If you're going to take on a witch do it properly. By this, I mean don't throw Molotov cotails at the witch. One person should be enough to kill a witch, however, there should be others there for back-up just in case. To kill the witch efficiently, use a shotgun (preferably the automatic shotgun) and walk up behind her. Then aim just below her head just above the neck; if executed correctly the witches head will explode. If the head doesn't explode don't worry as this is a hard technique and two to three more shots to the same spot should do the trick. If done correctly she will be dead before she can turn around.

4. Friends. This is an extremely important idea that must be done especially in the early months of Left 4 Dead's release. Why, might you ask? Well, until all the Halo players and Call of Duty players return to what they covet most closely, the game will be plagued with players trying to play the game as a run 'n' gun game. With no regard for teammates what so ever. Having a sturdy friend list of good players can make your gaming session that much better. If all else fails, play with the A.I. as it is quite intelligent...most of the time.

5. Melee! Just learning to use this button can save your health meter from plummeting. This technique buys you time and works great when you need to clean up zombie hordes. If your surrounded by zombies, use the quick turn button in conjunction with the melee button to bounce zombies off you faster. A good team will help each other when surrounded by hordes. This technique can help them from hitting you with bullets.

6. Watch that fire! Learning to aim and keeping bullets away from other people can be critical (especially when playing on expert). Sometimes you accidentally fire at one another, but that's half the battle! Keeping your eyes pealed as to what is happening both in the game as to where people are currently and where they are health-wise as well. Yes that's right, some times you have to give up a health pack or some pills.



7. Zero Tolerance. This policy must be put into effect as if someone is being a jackass, then take it out on their gamertag or just return the favor. Feel free to vote them out of the game as well as submit the player review. Did someone leave you to die outside of the safe room? Well then don't ever heal them when they need it. A definite no-no is to start shooting at the other teammates and kill them. Many a time have I been in a game where someone starts shooting frantically and thinking they are funny or talking like they live in the southern U.S. in the 1800's. It might be hilarious offline, but you are ruining other peoples fun.

8. Improve. If you love Left 4 Dead a lot, then there maybe a time when you feel the desire to move to expert. However, the expert difficulty setting is a whole new ball game. Aim and timing have a whole new art of precision. However, I have found that the Uzi works best as a beginner weapon. As for advanced weapons, feel free to experiment. They all have there advantages. However, the machine guns and rifles have a faster reload.

9. Know your weapons. Yes, knowing how each weapon works can be critical (not only in expert) as things to consider are reload times, distance damage, and ammo usage (use automatics with care). Also, do not undermine the power of your pistols. If you don't have enough time to reload that auto-shotty, those double pistols do come in handy.

10. Remember its just a game. If you are having a bad time, take a break or find a new session. Don't be a dick just to be a dick. Have fun.

I really am getting a better hold on what the new Banjo-Kazooie game has to offer. While at first I was mad that the new game would rely on vehicle creation, I have come to embrace it as a great idea. The game will appear to garner to hardcore fans as well as gather a new audience for the franchise. My final decisions on whether to buy the game really do depend on what reviews say overall. However, I don't exactly need a block buster to sell me either. That being said, here are the things I liked about the demo.

After booting the game up, it was nice to see the menu was first on the list of classic Banjo-Kazooie references. After I entered single player mode and a quite boring and annoying tutorial that I didn't bother to read, I found that the demo was really geared towards older fans to come and except the franchise. The only playable level is Banjo Land. While nice, I did want to see a "newer" level. The four jiggies were fun, however I hope there are more in the full game as the four challenges were rather easy to get a trophy thomas.

The next step was to jump into the vehicle creation. Rare hasn't been lying about this as the vehicles are easy to build but there is a lot of depth as well. What did become a problem was driving on a wheeled vehicle. What I found was the best way to drive was to hold the right trigger half-way down. This technique gave me a bit more control. Soon though I ditched the wheels and found wings and built a flying machine that used springs to launch me in the air. It floated as well.

However, there are a few things that have been bugging me. These annoyances are based on the fact that I'm a hardcore fan. I loved Banjo-Kazooie and had kids with Banjo-Tooie. So here is what is hard to watch:

1. Banjo-Kazooie was about platforming. The new game seems to have expanded that idea. I would still like some platforming moves to unlock and more platforming sections to find hidden items and unlockables (read: one trick pony).

2. Banjo-Tooie sported the idea that I was entering a different place in the hub world. Showdown Town is nice except that it seems incredibly disconnected from all the other worlds.

3. It is extremely hard to watch as game characters go from being playable (Mumbo) and transforming Banjo (Humba and Mumbo) enter as just side characters. Mumbo just opens boxes and Humba is a whore who sells you blue prints.

4. I imagine that the worlds will be big and marvelous, but half the fun of Banjo-Kazooie series was finding the nooks and crannies and hidden areas so you could help other characters and find the hidden jiggies. It's hard to do that with the huge open areas. Everything is seen.

Considering these problems I do have to say this in my defense. I am not usually one to hang on nostalgia. I really do like video games to move forward and improve upon concepts. Basic concepts can even still remain. There is no use trying to say "hey we are re-inventing platforming" and discarding the original feel. I am aware that platforming is still there, but the new concept tries to cover up what the franchise used to be. Which puts even more proof, in my mind, that Banjo-Kazooie was stuck on top of an original IP as more of coating of paint rather than a sequel. Don't get me wrong though, its still going to be a great game. Perhaps Rare will rethink a bit. Perhaps my fears are still a bit in the wrong direction. Perhaps that's why its called Nuts and Bolts and not Banjo-Kazooie 3.......nah!

Now if you excuse me, I am going to open the flood gates of hate.

EDIT:
I actually played the game again. I used the floating glitch to get some places that I couldn't reach before to get more parts and notes. As for the steering, I said in my review that if you hold the trigger half way down, it works as expected. You wouldn't hit the gas down all the way if you were driving around would you? I am actually looking forward to the game a lot now.

Today out of boredom, I have decided to review gaming websites. While most of these websites do stand to provide the basic function of news+community=legitamate. There are few that stand out against the bunch. While the others do stand out but really shouldn't for any particular reason. Today I will discussing IGN, 1-UP, Giantbomb and Destructoid.

IGN, or the Imagination Games Network, is a perfect example of what can be a great idea that turns to shit. IGN was once a place I would go for news and updates on anything I would want to know about any game. The website soon expanded to news about all media. Which is great until it became more of a strict company with and less focus on news updates. This became even more of a problem with the recent website update. I remember when IGN had its channels with featured articles and other news articles that were plainly seen. However, with the site redesign I find it hard to find the other news. As they seem to be cast aside and cluttered in text links. The community aspect has grown juvenile and childish. Not the fun kind of childish either. As for news and reviews, they tend to appear later in the day and sometimes reviews of bigger games that should be out before or on day one never show up till a week later. There seem to be more "top ten" articles than remotely interesting editorials or game previews any more. The only part of the staff that seems remotely in tune with what is going on is the Nintendo staff which always has had that laid back gaming news attitude that attracted me in the first place. Sorry to say, but IGN scores two out of five apples.

1UP is quicker with its news updates and certainly does have a better direction than IGN. 1UP sports a network purely set towards gaming. 1UP contains better editorials and news articles and reviews. The website is a little iffy on the navigation front but is usually on top of things. Plus, if you don't have time to surf the web daily, 1UP also sports the magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly or EGM. 1UP scores four out of five pomme.

Finally saving the best two for last. Giantbomb, takes a different aspect towards gaming websites. It seems to flowing towards the wiki aspect and takes professionalism to a whole new level by delivering on a platter of honest truth. They only report news that is substantially important to the gaming world and cater to the community by allowing members to build on the wiki pages of the website and develop any sort of guide you would like for video games. The site seems to on the track for delivering even more community features along the way. However, it would be nice with a couple more editorials and better news updates. Overall Giantbomb scores four out of five manzana.

Finally, Destructoid. Do I have to describe? With oustanding community support, users can have their blogs promoted directly to the front page if so chosen by gods of Destructoid. The forums are a bit clunky but don't weigh the website down as they aren't used much. The news is updated every twenty minutes or less. Contests are held by members and the website owners as well. Anyone can win or be apart of this cummunity and can customize it to their liking. Destructoid lands a five out of five apfel.