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Features Back4Blood Preview: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by bit-tech, 24 Aug 2021.

  1. bit-tech

    bit-tech Supreme Overlord Lover of bit-tech Administrator

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  2. loftie

    loftie Multimodder

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    The survivor cards did feel a bit, I supposed tame would be the best way to describe them. There was an effect, it wasn't massively noticable except when stacking them. Then it did feel slightly noticible. I didn't notice if the ones you find mid game are unique, but I do feel that the ones dotted around the map could be made into stronger unique unstackable cards. Turning them from a, "oh i've got slightly more ammo" to a "oh awesome I can now do x". As an example, Vermintide 2s Chaos Waste expansion does something similar with RNG based perks ranging from "oh **** i didn't want that" to "burning rats makes me heal....BURN EVERYTHING".

    As for L4D, I still prefer WWZ as a L4D3 game. It may not be as close to L4D as B4B, but I enjoyed it more. Overall B4B was, ok I guess. I'm not in a rush to get it, though in it's defence I preferred L4D massively over L4D2 so maybe I'm just getting tired of it. Even with Vermintide 2, the game mode I'm enjoying the most, by far, is doing the Chaos Wastes stuff. The added RNG to the game, though in some cases small, keep the game from feeling the same. If they could introduce more variability to the game, I think that'd keep my interest more and make it more enjoyable in the long run. (This of course is ignoring the PvP side, which I didn't touch)
     
  3. DbD

    DbD Minimodder

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    I thought the decks worked well - gave a little bit of variation and they did make a difference - from the knife that allows you to kill with a melee push to the various "go faster" cards that made you a lot faster (easily the most powerful ones as being able to run faster without running out of stamina makes a huge difference).
    I agree the game lacked L4D's soul and it's general mechanics weren't as rewarding:
    1) All the L4D levels were based around something interesting (hospital, theme park, airport, etc) and that gave them better structure and you a better idea of where you were going. It also gave everything a unique feel (e.g. the theme park was full of undead clowns that squeak as they walk, there was the carousel music as you had to rush around that to escape, or going though the tunnel of love, or running along the roller coaster). At the start you had the poster of your team at the theme park, all very cool. In B4B that was lacking, it was just running through generic countryside or buildings shooting generic zombies.
    2) The special infected are a lot less special in B4B. a) They are less distinctive - in fact I think you have about 3 main special body types each of which are re-used in different ways (so they can have different abilities). They don't have the very distinctive sound effects, or ways of working that L4D did. b) you don't have the same ability to kill them with skill shots, e.g. if you timed it right you could melee the hunter off you and shoot it in mid air. Or you could kill the smoker as it grabs you. In B4B they are all much less satisfying in that they are all basically bullet sponges - there isn't the same skill in killing them, you fire bullets until it's dead, while it does some pretty unavoidable damage to you. That made L4D so much more satisfying - I have survived whole scenes on expert difficulty without taking a single hit all while carrying my team mates who keep dying by playing smart, can't do that in B4B as alone you can't fire enough bullets into the sponges.
    3) The normal zombies are less fun, firstly you don't have all the different types depending on where you are (clowns, hazmats, etc), and secondly the cues they are approaching or eating you aren't as good. In L4D there would always be an audio cue as a zombie comes up behind, in B4B you can be standing in a corner and then notice your health bar is going down. It felt there was no hint some zombie has silently appeared behind you and no hint it is ripping you to shreds unless you actively watch your health bar.
     
  4. lewchenko

    lewchenko Minimodder

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    I’ve enjoyed the beta. Loved the other l4d games and this feels like a good sequel but with the caveats mentioned in this article.

    I didn’t think much of the cards system at all, and at first found it confusing.

    I also agree the special infected aren’t as good as previously. Hoping to see some kind of witch equivalent when I get the game.

    Recently though I tried Call of Duty Black Ops Zombies with friends in co-op which is not like the other zombie games in the series at all. Much more like this type of game with huge specials to kill and large open maps. Was a breath of fresh air compared to previous COD zombie games. Really liked it.
     
  5. €gr€s

    €gr€s What's a Dremel?

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    For me, the spiritual successor of L4D is Deep Rock Galactic. I have played B4B and it left me feeling a profuse "meh".
     
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  6. monty-pup

    monty-pup Minimodder

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    Deep Rock is such a great game
     
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