Pads & Panels

#5 Portal 2 (PS3, 360, PC, Mac)

Publisher/Developer: Valve

Portal 2 trades the surprise of the first title for anticipation the second time around, but it manages to live up to the hype. While the plot may not be quite as a shocking, it is still funny as hell, with fantastic voice work driving things from start to finish. Portal 2 falters a little in the variety and quality of its single-player puzzles but adds a few new elements to keep things interesting. The real selling point for Portal 2, though, is its new co-op mode. Valve gives us the opportunity to prove that two minds are better than one in a series of much more complex puzzles that involve four portals, rather than two, and seek to drive apart our friendships in the process. (more…)

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Chris Park spent an entire week running around Los Angeles to cover the Electronic Entertainment Expo. One of his stops was Nexon America’s booth to check out the publisher’s latest free-to-play games, including an in-depth look at the upcoming Vindictus. Park reports… (more…)

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Title: “The Passing” Add-On for     Left 4 Dead 2

Platform: 360 (PC)

Publisher: Valve

Developer: Valve

Review by: Dan Braun

“The Passing” brings with it a nice tie to the original Left 4 Dead, along with some new weapons and game variants that will be a warm welcome to Left 4 Dead 2‘s multiplayer fan base. Chronologically, the episode takes place in the middle of L4D2’s campaign, some time after the events depicted in the first game. It opens with the new survivors chatting with the old about a potential escape plan, and progresses though a rather extensive level that ends with both groups participating in a climactic shoot-out/gasoline grab. The new level is well-paced, expansive and highly-detailed. It includes a new golf club and gun, along with the new multiplayer game types via “Mutations.”  Mutations change weekly, and include specialty game types in which items and settings are tweaked, such as unlimited ammo for chainsaws in one game type, or another in which health items do not spawn. These little changes should extend the life of the multiplayer significantly, and certainly seem popular with the online community. (more…)

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#9 – Left 4 Dead 2 (360, PC)

Publisher: Valve – Developer: Valve

Our Review

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Despite weak complaints that the game is only an expansion of last year’s original, Left 4 Dead 2 clearly stands as one of the year’s best games. It significantly expanded upon multiplayer mode, and additional special infected and arsenal upgrades provide for a deeper and more entertaining experience than ever before. Scavenge mode alone will provide gamers with hours of online value without having to dedicate large chunks of time to the single playthroughs of the campaign. On the other side, campaign scoring has been refined, and games are much more intense due to the variables presented by the upgraded AI director and more detailed and expansive levels. Teamwork for the survivors is more important than ever, as the new infected are excruciatingly difficult to handle when wielded by adept teams, and playing as special infected becomes more of a pleasure because of the new additions. Graphically, the game looks great, and frame rates hold up well, even when the hordes get overwhelming. The sound and overall art direction also deserve commendation, as they really complete the game and make it feel as desperate and tense as the zombie apocalypse should be. Although this is the game everybody expected last year, L4D2 is a multiplayer masterpiece, and deserves its spot in our Top 10. –Dan

And the winner for “Best Peripheral” is… (more…)

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Title: Left 4 Dead 2

Platform: 360 (Also PC)

ESRB Rating: M

Publisher: Valve Corporation

Developer: Valve Corporation

Rating:

Review by: Dan Braun

Last year, Valve unleashed its own vision of an undead invasion on the gaming community. The frenetic shooter, Left 4 Dead was welcomed as a bastion of cooperative multiplayer, and received a just amount of praise, despite issues regarding the depth of its campaign and its limited multiplayer maps.

Exactly one year later, its sequel has arrived, and although many gamers anticipated this would only serve as a simple expansion of the original, it is safe to say that Left 4 Dead 2 stands far and away as the superior title, and it is well worth the (full) price of admission to the zombie apocalypse. Undoubtedly, this is the game that should have come out last year, but its release is no less welcome for fans of the original or anyone else looking for an outstanding multiplayer experience. (more…)

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From Comic-Con Part 10 – Microsoft Media Reception

By Bill Jones

Microsoft held a media reception and party July 23, providing Pads & Panels a chance to not only have a few free drinks and finger food, but more importantly get another go with Left 4 Dead 2, this time with a new section of “The Parish,” as well as Halo: ODST and South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! The cast of The Guild was even on hand, treating party-goers to their renditions of the Fab Four’s tunes in Rock Band: Beatles. I even had a chance to play a few minutes of ODST with Vincent Caso, who plays Bladezz on The Guild. He was called away after only a few minutes, but I was totally kicking his ass. (more…)

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From Comic-Con Part 1 – EA Showcase

By Bill Jones

Pads & Panels 2009 Comic-Con coverage started at Twin/Onyx, a San Diego club, with the EA Showcase. We were greeted with G.I. Joe figures, food and drinks. Sarah didn’t have to walk far, immediately finding MySims Agents, a casual/children’s title she’s been anxiously awaiting to play. I immediately headed downstairs, where Brütal Legend, Dead Space: Extraction and Left 4 Dead 2 were all playable. (more…)

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Title: Portal: Still Alive

Platform: XBLA

ESRB Rating: T

Publisher: Valve

Developer: Valve

Review by: Kevin Haverty

After being released as part of Valve’s The Orange Box, Portal has been re-released for Xbox Live Arcade under the moniker Portal: Still Alive. The main campaign is 15 levels of puzzles that are solved using portals created via the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. Additional test-chambers have been added for this release, extending gameplay by a few hours. The humor and mind-bending puzzles are all intact but there isn’t enough to entice gamers who already own The Orange Box to drop $15. This is, however, the perfect chance for the gamers who skipped The Orange Box to get themselves a piece of cake.

For more info, www.valvesoftware.com

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Valve announced a release date today for the “Survival Pack” DLC for Left 4 Dead on both Xbox 360 and PC. It is set to be released tomorrow, April 21, for the best price there is – free!

Valve’s official announcement follows…

The Left 4 Dead Survival Pack will be released via Xbox Live at roughly 2 am PST on April 21. The DLC is free to all owners of Left 4 Dead and introduces a new multiplayer game mode entitled, Survival, plus two complete campaigns for Versus Mode. The PC version of the DLC is targeted for release later in the day. For more information, please visit www.l4d.com

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Title: Left 4 Dead

Platform: 360 (Also on PC)

ESRB Rating: M

Publisher: Valve

Developer: Valve

Rating:

Review by Bill Jones

Left 4 Dead’s successes lie in the incredible refinement of a few core gameplay mechanics, tight presentation and, most importantly, a brilliant co-op experience.

There isn’t much of a story of which to speak. Gamers assume the roles of four stereotypically diverse characters who find themselves smack-dab in the middle of four stand-alone survival scenarios, each of which, ideally, ends with some form of extraction from the infested area. (more…)

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