So I just joined PC gaming a few weeks ago and the moment I gave out my Steam to some friends on Discord, one of them immediately gifted me this game, and he told me:
“If you are going to play PC, this is the first game that you absolutely should start with.”
I’ve never owned any Xbox consoles so I missed out on these games but I’ve heard a lot about them. Fast forward around 3 weeks later, and I think I have an addiction problem, the same kind when I played Killing Floor 2 for the first time.
This is the only game I’ve ever played where I can play as Jill Valentine, go to Disneyland, and shoot down hundreds of zombies with a Vietnam War era M16, but with 50 round magazines. I couldn’t even have dreamed of that shit, let alone make mods like that.
{ Core Gameplay }
Normally when I write reviews I go in-depth about story, gameplay, content, etc. I start off by talking about the story but.. I don’t know much about this game’s narrative at all really. I’ve been playing this game for at least a couple weeks now and I don’t think I’ve paid much attention to the overall narrative or the characters. I literally know nothing about this world. And that might sound unprofessional but for fuck sake, before I even started playing the game I got requested by my friends to download a shit load of mods for the game from the Steam Workshop. Speaking of mods, good fucking god, this game might have the largest selection of mods I’ve ever seen for a game. I have barely even touched the game’s standard maps, I’ve only just been playing on the modded ones because those are the ones that you should pay attention to.
Obviously the first maps I had to play on were the Resident Evil maps. And I mean like, the maps from the first three games on the PS1. What can I say? I fuckin’ love OG Resident Evil.
Does the narrative really matter in a game like this? I doubt it. I literally just did a quick synopsis search on the internet and it’s as basic as plain bread with mayonnaise on it. Do I care? Not really. And that’s because this game is one of the biggest joys to play through. This is one of the most fun games I’ve played in quite a while. It’s a 4 player Co-Op FPS game where you play on a “stage” and you have to get to a safe zone to progress to the next level. The amount of levels can vary depending on the stage. And the characters that you get to play also vary on what stage you’re about to play in. You fight off zombies and other infected monstrosities.
There are 8 different types of infected in this game:
You’ve got your Boomers which as the name implies, explode when shot and they can vomit on you which not only blinds you, but attracts common infected towards you
Your Hunters which disguise as regular infected but can lurk and pounce on you and you need a teammate to free you
Your Smokers which have fucking insane Resident Evil 2 Licker tongues that can grapple you, and again, you need a teammate’s help to get free, and they emit a blinding smoke when killed
Your Chargers which ram into you and other teammates and creates huge knockback and it also hurts
Your Jockeys which are quick little shits that are small and hard to hit, and yet again, you need an ally to free you because they can jump on top of you and your character just goes ape shit. Fuck Jockeys. Seriously, fuck them. I think I have gotten grappled by a Jockey more times than anything else in this game. These things can really be a pain in the ass.
Your Spitters which spit acid in a large area and that shit ultra fuckin hurts when standing in it for even more than a second
Your Tanks which are the strongest and most aggressive of all, being able to deal the most amount of damage and they take the longest to kill, you pretty much need the whole team wailing on them at once
And lastly the Witch. She’s like the Clickers from the Last of Us. Make noise when she is near, and she dashes towards your position and can fucking one hit down you. Hopefully your AI teammates aren’t stupid enough to shoot next ot her or you have teammates who actually know how to stealth past her instead of just blindly shooting.
This game is heavily reliant on teamwork and coordination, because it seems like I get grappled every 30 seconds to 5 minutes and need someone’s aid. Sometimes I’ll get grappled but then after I get freed I immediately get grappled again. One time I got grappled like 3 or 4 times within the span of 20 seconds. This game does not hold your hand at all when you're the last one alive, especially at higher difficulties, it does not pull its punches, which might suck ass from a bendy straw if you’ve got a bad team, or a toxic team that doesn't want to work with you.
It also sucks when you want to just play through the level casually and just take a breath, but your random teammates literally know the levels like their fucking lives depend on it so they speedrun through everything, and then proceed to bitch and whine in the game chat that you’re going too slow.
Seriously, I’ve had teammates like that. Like motherfucker, can I just get a grasp of the environment and get an understanding of playing on a mouse and keyboard for the first time? I understand you play this game until your body must be in the same shape as Nikocado Avocado’s Type 2 Diabetes, but just let a man who is new to PC learn how to play the damn game.
Some of these levels, despite the fast paced nature of the game, should be explored, because there are so many fucking easter eggs in this game it actually makes my head spin. There are not only countless references to past Valve games and this game’s predecessor, but also many other unrelated games and movies as well.
The good thing however is that if you do decide to play on your own, the AI are actually pretty competent. They can take down enemies efficiently, they never run out of ammo, they revive each other, hell, they even give you first aid kits and painkillers when you’re running low on health. If you go down a certain number of times you are dead until either two things:
Your team reaches a safe zone or they bring you back to life with a defibrillator. These are VERY rare to come across and you can only use it once. But if an AI dies you don’t need one. They’ll just respawn trapped in a room somewhere and you just have to free them. But for real players, you need a defibrillator.
You can’t give items to your teammates but you can use them on your teammates. Your friend needs temporary health? No problem! Just uncap a bottle of painkillers and pour the whole goddamn thing into your friend’s gullet. Risk of overdose don't mean shit in the zombie apocalypse.
Speaking of items, some of these can be a bit rare, so use them only if you really need to. There are health kits, painkillers, bile grenades (which attract the infected to the explosion), molotov cocktails, defibrillators, etc. Health kits are spread very far and inbetween levels. You get health kits at a safe zone, but after that, you’d be lucky to find more in the middle of the level. That’s why you have the ability to use them on your teammates.
Painkillers give you temporary health and they do last quite a while so it's a good substitute for a health hit.
When you finish a stage you and your team are given a score. Scores to things like most infected killed, most damage done to the Tank, most melee kills, etc. None of this really means anything but this is cool for me because I’ve always been competitive when it comes to games. Call me a boomer, but I really like going for those high scores, chasing those big numbers.
This game lacks any sort of progression system. And this is probably the most jarring aspect of this game to me. This point that I’m making can either make or break just how motivated you are to play the game, especially if you’re going through a headache trying to get through a stage on a higher difficulty.
There are no level ups, uprades, skill trees, or anything like that. So you as a player adapts to the game’s difficulty via your own skill and communication with your team rather than making your character stronger with skill trees and all that shit. But perhaps that’s the whole point of the game. It depends on how you look at it.
But, there is another but
There is also a lack of an in-game store to purchase items with an in-game currency by playing the game like you would expect in a typical AAA game. Things like character skins, artwork, gun skins, developer trailers, music from the soundtrack, extra levels, etc.
Sure the mods make up for this, but there isn’t really anything to work for in this game besides achievements and bragging rights. It’s just you and the game. And that’s it. You drop into a stage, you play through it, you get briefed on your performance, and that’s it. After that you move on to another stage. But, this game did come out in 2009 so I guess I’m not surprised.
This game came out during a time where Call of Duty Zombies was in its infancy, damn those were the glory days. Nowadays Zombies is so fucking overcomplicated with its mechanics that you mostly ignore it for the sake of just getting into the game as soon as possible.
But then you get ass fucked because you don’t know what to do. People just want to play the game and not have to resort to going on YouTube and look at 30 minute guide videos to learn how to play on a specific map. Black ops 3 and 4 are the fuckin’ worst when it comes to this.
There is a beauty to simplicity, and Left 4 Dead 2 is as straightforward as the stripper pole I dance on at Femboy Pole Position. But like I said, the lack of things to work for can either annoy you, or you’re fine with that. Personally, I have mixed feelings about it.
A part of me says that I love playing games where all I gotta do is invite my friends to a lobby and we can start playing immediately with no extra bullshit required.
But the other part of me craves something to work for and earn. Playing on the hardest difficulty? Yeah, no. Fuck that. It is not worth it. It isn't worth frustrating yourself and at the same time you're getting screamed at by dickish teammates over simple mistakes.
And that's why whenever the level changes and the difficulty randomly changes to the highest for some reason, everyone just votes for the difficulty to be turned down.
So about the weapons, there isn't much to talk about. Sidearms get infinite ammo but they're not very reliable. The pistol, even if you dual wield them, is pretty weak. And the Desert Eagle only has 8 shots in a mag. But not only does it take a few shots just to kill a single zombie, you're gonna be fighting hordes of them. So again, unreliable.
Melee weapons on the other hand are much better. They're great for crowd control and they don't break. If you see a melee weapon, just pick that up.
The Primary Weapons in this game are divided into Tiers. The higher the Tier, the better the gun.
Your Tier 1 weapons consist of a Pump Action Shotgun, an Uzi, and a Suppressed MAC10. They get the job done but once you encounter those Tier 3 Assault Rifles you will immediately swap out.
The Tier 2 Weapons are two Semi Auto Shotguns, a Hunting Rifle, and a Sniper Rifle. These rifles are very hard to come by, I've only ever gotten these weapons a few times, and even then, I just use the Tier 3 guns because you get them about halfway through a stage.
And then there are the Tier 3 guns.
You get an AK-47, an M16, and a SCAR-H.
They just tear through most infected within just a single mag. The M16 is my favorite weapon in this game. It's a classic choice. It hits hard, it's super accurate, it can hold 50 rounds in a magazine, it can get a laser sight attachment for extra accuracy, it's just an all around awesome gun. And the sound it makes when shooting is just orgasmic.
A full team with M16s can just fucking tear ass.
The AK-47 has more stopping power but has less ammo in a mag and it's less accurate than the M16, hence why I prefer it.
So I mentioned that I am relatively new to PC gaming. I've pretty much spent around the last 20 years of my life playing on console. I've grown up playing shooters competitively on PlayStation. But I decided to make the switch to PC instead of getting a PS5 this generation because it's been a desire for quite a while.
Also fuck Sony nowadays lol.
So playing on a mouse and keyboard for the very first time was insanely alien to me. Seriously, I've never played a game like this before. It took me at least a week and a half to get used to it. First of all, getting used to the sensitivity was a real challenge. Finding a sensitivity that wasn't too slow or fast was actually more difficult than on console.
But I haven't bothered messing around with my DPI as that would make things even more difficult. I mean, isn't that the point of in-game sensitivity options?
For at least the first week or two, it was pretty tough playing games on a mouse and keyboard. Finding the right sensitivity, getting used to the controls, and finding a proper technique for finger placement.
Sure I can connect a controller and play that way, but why do that? I wouldn't adapt that way. I wanna learn how to play games competitively on PC, and the only way to do that is to learn and get better.
So what did I do?
Well for the keyboard:
I have decided to use my middle finger for the W and S keys
My index finger for E, D, R, F, C, V, etc.
My ring finger for A, Q, TAB, and CAPSLK
My pinkie for Shift and CTRT
And my thumb for the Space Bar
If I have to push any of the number keys I will use either my middle finger or my index finger
This is what I have gotten used to. However if I'm able to, I change the Shift Key bind (usually for sprinting) to the thumb button on my mouse. It's easier, and it's something I'm just used to now.
Also I love that you are able to swap weapons with the mouse scroll, and pretty much almost every game has this feature.
The standard controls for this game are pretty ace. E for picking up items, opening doors, and reviving teammates
Right click for using healing items, mouse scroll for swapping weapons and items in your inventory on the right
And Space for jumping and CTRL for crouching.
Pretty standard stuff. I actually changed Crouch to the thumb button on my mouse. It's just easier for me. It's a personal preference. The standard controls for this game for the most part are perfect.
This is the one of the main games that has helped me get better at playing with a mouse and keyboard. The more I play, the more I wanted to improve and develop my own technique. The simplicity of both the controls and the gameplay made it very easy to just pick it up and play. It's a game that is very noob friendly for people who are new to this type of game, unless of course you want to torture yourself with Very Hard.
Because there are no objective markers, waypoints, or a map, you can get lost frequently as a blind player. I know I got lost often playing this game. Thankfully not every random player is a cunt and they can assist you if you do lose your way.
{ Presentation }
This is a game from the year 2009 and it manages to have more detail in its world than a lot of PS3 and PS4 games. I can literally read all the text on all of the signs, lying newspapers, billboards, hell even text on a wall made out of magic marker.
Again, there is a simplicity to the overall graphics, but the amount of visual clarity in the environment really just demonstrates just how much of a powerhouse the Source Engine is and PC engines in general.
I do get a lot of CSGO vibes from this game but obviously right? This game was made by the same company.
This game is pretty damn gory. It is fucking satisfying. I like how shooting infected in certain areas can tear their limbs off and whatnot. I can just feel the impact of each shot. The standard sound design of the weapons is fucking great. The animations also have that 2008 vibe to them but they're well done.
Overall this is a very pretty game for its time.
{ Final Thoughts }
This game has a very addictive gameplay loop to it. Combine this with the hundreds of mods like character skins, gun skins, enhanced weapon sound effects, custom maps, extra blood and gore mods, soundtrack mods, and combine this again with being able to play with your friends, and this makes for one of the most intoxicating experiences I've had in quite a long time.
I haven't had this much fun with a zombie arcade shooter like this since Killing Floor 2 on the PS4. I can only imagine how good it must be on PC. Can't wait. ❤️
However, be mindful of the amount of mods you download because some mods can clash with each other and prevent you from being able to start up a game. I had an issue where me and my three friends were attempting to play on a custom made Resident Evil map and we got stuck in infinite loading screens all because one of my friends had an extra gore mod enabled. That is literally the only reason why we couldn't start the match.
Sure I do have a couple gripes with a lack of progression, the lack of navigation, some toxicity in the community, and conflicting mods, but that is overshadowed by everything this game gets right. Not to mention, this is the kind of shit you would expect in a modern PC game like this. It's a must play, especially if you are new to FPS games on PC.
If I played this game back when it was new I probably would not have slept for several days.
Now uh, if you'll excuse me, I'm off for another session with some friends. Taking a trip to Devil Mountain as Rebecca Chambers from Resident Evil 0. Oh yeah, I'm making her a badass again.
9/10
“If you are going to play PC, this is the first game that you absolutely should start with.”
I’ve never owned any Xbox consoles so I missed out on these games but I’ve heard a lot about them. Fast forward around 3 weeks later, and I think I have an addiction problem, the same kind when I played Killing Floor 2 for the first time.
This is the only game I’ve ever played where I can play as Jill Valentine, go to Disneyland, and shoot down hundreds of zombies with a Vietnam War era M16, but with 50 round magazines. I couldn’t even have dreamed of that shit, let alone make mods like that.
{ Core Gameplay }
Normally when I write reviews I go in-depth about story, gameplay, content, etc. I start off by talking about the story but.. I don’t know much about this game’s narrative at all really. I’ve been playing this game for at least a couple weeks now and I don’t think I’ve paid much attention to the overall narrative or the characters. I literally know nothing about this world. And that might sound unprofessional but for fuck sake, before I even started playing the game I got requested by my friends to download a shit load of mods for the game from the Steam Workshop. Speaking of mods, good fucking god, this game might have the largest selection of mods I’ve ever seen for a game. I have barely even touched the game’s standard maps, I’ve only just been playing on the modded ones because those are the ones that you should pay attention to.
Obviously the first maps I had to play on were the Resident Evil maps. And I mean like, the maps from the first three games on the PS1. What can I say? I fuckin’ love OG Resident Evil.
Does the narrative really matter in a game like this? I doubt it. I literally just did a quick synopsis search on the internet and it’s as basic as plain bread with mayonnaise on it. Do I care? Not really. And that’s because this game is one of the biggest joys to play through. This is one of the most fun games I’ve played in quite a while. It’s a 4 player Co-Op FPS game where you play on a “stage” and you have to get to a safe zone to progress to the next level. The amount of levels can vary depending on the stage. And the characters that you get to play also vary on what stage you’re about to play in. You fight off zombies and other infected monstrosities.
There are 8 different types of infected in this game:
You’ve got your Boomers which as the name implies, explode when shot and they can vomit on you which not only blinds you, but attracts common infected towards you
Your Hunters which disguise as regular infected but can lurk and pounce on you and you need a teammate to free you
Your Smokers which have fucking insane Resident Evil 2 Licker tongues that can grapple you, and again, you need a teammate’s help to get free, and they emit a blinding smoke when killed
Your Chargers which ram into you and other teammates and creates huge knockback and it also hurts
Your Jockeys which are quick little shits that are small and hard to hit, and yet again, you need an ally to free you because they can jump on top of you and your character just goes ape shit. Fuck Jockeys. Seriously, fuck them. I think I have gotten grappled by a Jockey more times than anything else in this game. These things can really be a pain in the ass.
Your Spitters which spit acid in a large area and that shit ultra fuckin hurts when standing in it for even more than a second
Your Tanks which are the strongest and most aggressive of all, being able to deal the most amount of damage and they take the longest to kill, you pretty much need the whole team wailing on them at once
And lastly the Witch. She’s like the Clickers from the Last of Us. Make noise when she is near, and she dashes towards your position and can fucking one hit down you. Hopefully your AI teammates aren’t stupid enough to shoot next ot her or you have teammates who actually know how to stealth past her instead of just blindly shooting.
This game is heavily reliant on teamwork and coordination, because it seems like I get grappled every 30 seconds to 5 minutes and need someone’s aid. Sometimes I’ll get grappled but then after I get freed I immediately get grappled again. One time I got grappled like 3 or 4 times within the span of 20 seconds. This game does not hold your hand at all when you're the last one alive, especially at higher difficulties, it does not pull its punches, which might suck ass from a bendy straw if you’ve got a bad team, or a toxic team that doesn't want to work with you.
It also sucks when you want to just play through the level casually and just take a breath, but your random teammates literally know the levels like their fucking lives depend on it so they speedrun through everything, and then proceed to bitch and whine in the game chat that you’re going too slow.
Seriously, I’ve had teammates like that. Like motherfucker, can I just get a grasp of the environment and get an understanding of playing on a mouse and keyboard for the first time? I understand you play this game until your body must be in the same shape as Nikocado Avocado’s Type 2 Diabetes, but just let a man who is new to PC learn how to play the damn game.
Some of these levels, despite the fast paced nature of the game, should be explored, because there are so many fucking easter eggs in this game it actually makes my head spin. There are not only countless references to past Valve games and this game’s predecessor, but also many other unrelated games and movies as well.
The good thing however is that if you do decide to play on your own, the AI are actually pretty competent. They can take down enemies efficiently, they never run out of ammo, they revive each other, hell, they even give you first aid kits and painkillers when you’re running low on health. If you go down a certain number of times you are dead until either two things:
Your team reaches a safe zone or they bring you back to life with a defibrillator. These are VERY rare to come across and you can only use it once. But if an AI dies you don’t need one. They’ll just respawn trapped in a room somewhere and you just have to free them. But for real players, you need a defibrillator.
You can’t give items to your teammates but you can use them on your teammates. Your friend needs temporary health? No problem! Just uncap a bottle of painkillers and pour the whole goddamn thing into your friend’s gullet. Risk of overdose don't mean shit in the zombie apocalypse.
Speaking of items, some of these can be a bit rare, so use them only if you really need to. There are health kits, painkillers, bile grenades (which attract the infected to the explosion), molotov cocktails, defibrillators, etc. Health kits are spread very far and inbetween levels. You get health kits at a safe zone, but after that, you’d be lucky to find more in the middle of the level. That’s why you have the ability to use them on your teammates.
Painkillers give you temporary health and they do last quite a while so it's a good substitute for a health hit.
When you finish a stage you and your team are given a score. Scores to things like most infected killed, most damage done to the Tank, most melee kills, etc. None of this really means anything but this is cool for me because I’ve always been competitive when it comes to games. Call me a boomer, but I really like going for those high scores, chasing those big numbers.
This game lacks any sort of progression system. And this is probably the most jarring aspect of this game to me. This point that I’m making can either make or break just how motivated you are to play the game, especially if you’re going through a headache trying to get through a stage on a higher difficulty.
There are no level ups, uprades, skill trees, or anything like that. So you as a player adapts to the game’s difficulty via your own skill and communication with your team rather than making your character stronger with skill trees and all that shit. But perhaps that’s the whole point of the game. It depends on how you look at it.
But, there is another but
There is also a lack of an in-game store to purchase items with an in-game currency by playing the game like you would expect in a typical AAA game. Things like character skins, artwork, gun skins, developer trailers, music from the soundtrack, extra levels, etc.
Sure the mods make up for this, but there isn’t really anything to work for in this game besides achievements and bragging rights. It’s just you and the game. And that’s it. You drop into a stage, you play through it, you get briefed on your performance, and that’s it. After that you move on to another stage. But, this game did come out in 2009 so I guess I’m not surprised.
This game came out during a time where Call of Duty Zombies was in its infancy, damn those were the glory days. Nowadays Zombies is so fucking overcomplicated with its mechanics that you mostly ignore it for the sake of just getting into the game as soon as possible.
But then you get ass fucked because you don’t know what to do. People just want to play the game and not have to resort to going on YouTube and look at 30 minute guide videos to learn how to play on a specific map. Black ops 3 and 4 are the fuckin’ worst when it comes to this.
There is a beauty to simplicity, and Left 4 Dead 2 is as straightforward as the stripper pole I dance on at Femboy Pole Position. But like I said, the lack of things to work for can either annoy you, or you’re fine with that. Personally, I have mixed feelings about it.
A part of me says that I love playing games where all I gotta do is invite my friends to a lobby and we can start playing immediately with no extra bullshit required.
But the other part of me craves something to work for and earn. Playing on the hardest difficulty? Yeah, no. Fuck that. It is not worth it. It isn't worth frustrating yourself and at the same time you're getting screamed at by dickish teammates over simple mistakes.
And that's why whenever the level changes and the difficulty randomly changes to the highest for some reason, everyone just votes for the difficulty to be turned down.
So about the weapons, there isn't much to talk about. Sidearms get infinite ammo but they're not very reliable. The pistol, even if you dual wield them, is pretty weak. And the Desert Eagle only has 8 shots in a mag. But not only does it take a few shots just to kill a single zombie, you're gonna be fighting hordes of them. So again, unreliable.
Melee weapons on the other hand are much better. They're great for crowd control and they don't break. If you see a melee weapon, just pick that up.
The Primary Weapons in this game are divided into Tiers. The higher the Tier, the better the gun.
Your Tier 1 weapons consist of a Pump Action Shotgun, an Uzi, and a Suppressed MAC10. They get the job done but once you encounter those Tier 3 Assault Rifles you will immediately swap out.
The Tier 2 Weapons are two Semi Auto Shotguns, a Hunting Rifle, and a Sniper Rifle. These rifles are very hard to come by, I've only ever gotten these weapons a few times, and even then, I just use the Tier 3 guns because you get them about halfway through a stage.
And then there are the Tier 3 guns.
You get an AK-47, an M16, and a SCAR-H.
They just tear through most infected within just a single mag. The M16 is my favorite weapon in this game. It's a classic choice. It hits hard, it's super accurate, it can hold 50 rounds in a magazine, it can get a laser sight attachment for extra accuracy, it's just an all around awesome gun. And the sound it makes when shooting is just orgasmic.
A full team with M16s can just fucking tear ass.
The AK-47 has more stopping power but has less ammo in a mag and it's less accurate than the M16, hence why I prefer it.
So I mentioned that I am relatively new to PC gaming. I've pretty much spent around the last 20 years of my life playing on console. I've grown up playing shooters competitively on PlayStation. But I decided to make the switch to PC instead of getting a PS5 this generation because it's been a desire for quite a while.
Also fuck Sony nowadays lol.
So playing on a mouse and keyboard for the very first time was insanely alien to me. Seriously, I've never played a game like this before. It took me at least a week and a half to get used to it. First of all, getting used to the sensitivity was a real challenge. Finding a sensitivity that wasn't too slow or fast was actually more difficult than on console.
But I haven't bothered messing around with my DPI as that would make things even more difficult. I mean, isn't that the point of in-game sensitivity options?
For at least the first week or two, it was pretty tough playing games on a mouse and keyboard. Finding the right sensitivity, getting used to the controls, and finding a proper technique for finger placement.
Sure I can connect a controller and play that way, but why do that? I wouldn't adapt that way. I wanna learn how to play games competitively on PC, and the only way to do that is to learn and get better.
So what did I do?
Well for the keyboard:
I have decided to use my middle finger for the W and S keys
My index finger for E, D, R, F, C, V, etc.
My ring finger for A, Q, TAB, and CAPSLK
My pinkie for Shift and CTRT
And my thumb for the Space Bar
If I have to push any of the number keys I will use either my middle finger or my index finger
This is what I have gotten used to. However if I'm able to, I change the Shift Key bind (usually for sprinting) to the thumb button on my mouse. It's easier, and it's something I'm just used to now.
Also I love that you are able to swap weapons with the mouse scroll, and pretty much almost every game has this feature.
The standard controls for this game are pretty ace. E for picking up items, opening doors, and reviving teammates
Right click for using healing items, mouse scroll for swapping weapons and items in your inventory on the right
And Space for jumping and CTRL for crouching.
Pretty standard stuff. I actually changed Crouch to the thumb button on my mouse. It's just easier for me. It's a personal preference. The standard controls for this game for the most part are perfect.
This is the one of the main games that has helped me get better at playing with a mouse and keyboard. The more I play, the more I wanted to improve and develop my own technique. The simplicity of both the controls and the gameplay made it very easy to just pick it up and play. It's a game that is very noob friendly for people who are new to this type of game, unless of course you want to torture yourself with Very Hard.
Because there are no objective markers, waypoints, or a map, you can get lost frequently as a blind player. I know I got lost often playing this game. Thankfully not every random player is a cunt and they can assist you if you do lose your way.
{ Presentation }
This is a game from the year 2009 and it manages to have more detail in its world than a lot of PS3 and PS4 games. I can literally read all the text on all of the signs, lying newspapers, billboards, hell even text on a wall made out of magic marker.
Again, there is a simplicity to the overall graphics, but the amount of visual clarity in the environment really just demonstrates just how much of a powerhouse the Source Engine is and PC engines in general.
I do get a lot of CSGO vibes from this game but obviously right? This game was made by the same company.
This game is pretty damn gory. It is fucking satisfying. I like how shooting infected in certain areas can tear their limbs off and whatnot. I can just feel the impact of each shot. The standard sound design of the weapons is fucking great. The animations also have that 2008 vibe to them but they're well done.
Overall this is a very pretty game for its time.
{ Final Thoughts }
This game has a very addictive gameplay loop to it. Combine this with the hundreds of mods like character skins, gun skins, enhanced weapon sound effects, custom maps, extra blood and gore mods, soundtrack mods, and combine this again with being able to play with your friends, and this makes for one of the most intoxicating experiences I've had in quite a long time.
I haven't had this much fun with a zombie arcade shooter like this since Killing Floor 2 on the PS4. I can only imagine how good it must be on PC. Can't wait. ❤️
However, be mindful of the amount of mods you download because some mods can clash with each other and prevent you from being able to start up a game. I had an issue where me and my three friends were attempting to play on a custom made Resident Evil map and we got stuck in infinite loading screens all because one of my friends had an extra gore mod enabled. That is literally the only reason why we couldn't start the match.
Sure I do have a couple gripes with a lack of progression, the lack of navigation, some toxicity in the community, and conflicting mods, but that is overshadowed by everything this game gets right. Not to mention, this is the kind of shit you would expect in a modern PC game like this. It's a must play, especially if you are new to FPS games on PC.
If I played this game back when it was new I probably would not have slept for several days.
Now uh, if you'll excuse me, I'm off for another session with some friends. Taking a trip to Devil Mountain as Rebecca Chambers from Resident Evil 0. Oh yeah, I'm making her a badass again.
9/10