A Lesson from a Coyote and Finnegan

So this is a non-side project related all gaming nerd rant. Be warned!

Over this last week I've been getting back into L4D2, more specifically its Survival Mode feature. The new maps in L4d2 provide some pretty amazing set pieces for fights. The biggest feature to all of these maps is encouraging run'n'gun tactics which in several interviews with the designers for L4D2 seemed to be their goal - they were getting tired of players constantly lining up against a wall and basically clicking 'easy.' That wall of bullet tactics was completely valid in L4D - even if it was incredibly boring. L4D2 has made several changes to counter this. Reload times are longer, zombies are slightly harder to kill, spitters can knock the whole team out if they are jammed in a corner, etc. So if this is the case, why do players online believe that taking all the gas tanks, jamming them into a 2x2 room and holding their ground is a good idea? Does this look like a good idea?



No. Its not a good idea. The moment one of you hesitates, you are screwed. Now let look at some sage wisdom from the solid sea monster movie Deep Rising:

"I once saw a guy put a fish in a bottle. He corked it, sealed it tight, and threw it to a baby octopus. Now the octopus, he felt his way all around that bottle. In less than two minutes, he got the cork off, slid inside, and ate the fish. "

Now let me do a L4D2 re-write:

"I once saw a guy put [Survivors] in a bottle. He corked it, sealed it tight, and threw it to [Tank]. Now the [Tank], he felt his way all around that bottle. In less than two minutes, he got the cork off, slid inside, and ate the [Survivors]. "

Good night and good luck.