LEFT 4 DEAD (Zero Punctuation)

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This week Zero Punctuation dines on the finest brains Valve has to offer in Left 4 Dead.
Fast-talking Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw reviews a new game each week in this animated series that combines informed critique with cutting humor. Watch the next episode of Zero Punctuation a week early, only on The Escapist.
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[@spyrojyro7202]

Ironically. One of Yahtzee suggestions about playing as a Common Infected. You could originally but it was removed because it was hard to compete with the AI infected.

[@Hollowolfjas4014]

"mean spirited traffic barriers" probably could've been an Earthbound enemy.

[@TheSmegPod]

*mother 3 wants to know your location*

[@matthewcarson3736]

"This is probably how cults are started." And thus the Church of GabeN was formed.

[@paladinboyd1228]

Matthew Carson, All praise Gaben, may our frame rate never dipped below 60, may we see good offers at 90% off, amen.

[@RarefoilB]

Paladin Boyd | And may he never fix Steam Greenlight, Early Access, or Steam Customer Service-wait a minute.

[@paladinboyd1228]

RarefoilB, Amen to that fellow acolyte.....Wait a second.........INFIDEL!

[@HaxStudio]

This aged beautifully. 6 years later he’s still the best in the business.

[@Danloadable]

The way he stressed 'evolve' at 2:57 . How fitting, with where the team went after L4D

[@frankydank81g]

right? I was wondering who else caught that

[@DeadsvilleFilms]

"It's also not going to be your kind of thing if you like to see a game *Evolve*" Oh, he said it! Valve, Turtle Rock, Evolve. Yahtzee, review Evolve.

[@Finndl101]

DeadsvilleFilms Yes. I was hoping to find this comment somewhere on here. You did not disappoint, good sir!

[@denisebrathwaite8259]

I thought he already did?

[@thelandlockedkaiju4820]

Denise Brathwaite A couple weeks after that comment. Coincidence? Yeah probably.

[@Krey_]

this comment didn't age well...

[@Jake_Eyes]

4:08 what about "Toad" or "Frog" or "Chameleon"? Those aren't dirty. Those were the first names that came to my mind.

[@pallyboy6005]

I mean, isn't "Smoker" actually appropriate? Because of, you know, the smoke? And the hideous hacking cough? xD But personally, I like *Licker*, yeaahhhh

[@wh0racle3]

"like Gerbils in a speed bag filled with broken glass" LOL man I love this guy's analogies.

[@damobeck1]

"This is probably how cults get started" Lost it.

[@damobeck1]

Nice try.

[@th3r3dr3dkroovy]

CriminalIntent89 your comment is infinitely more amusing than OP's but for all the wrong reasons i'm laughing at you, not with you

[@xXKirkSoloXx]

Matt Lee haha

[@ThierryRocksTV]

CriminalIntent89 That is my reaction to when people make that shitty Baldur's gate joke on his Too Human review.

[@americawashington2700]

"The brakes own of society is attractive only to those with no social skills" is pretty much the plot summary of his novel, Jam

[@Falfuris]

isnt the plot actually just : its a zombie movie... thus the posters on the loading and such...and thus why at the end it says : 120000 zombies were hurt in this game

[@Weldedhodag]

game feel

[@fakename105]

he's talking about the plot of the movie:)

[@petermanfox2535]

Got this one recommended to me after I watched the Back 4 Blood review, not complaining.

[@thelooper2959]

I bought L4D/L4D2 for free as a christmas deal. Praise GabeN

[@WerewolfMinecraft]

I got it free to! BUT do you know how to change the resolution without OPENING the actuall game? because i need it to be 1024 x 768 and opening it i can't see ANYTHING

[@thelooper2959]

Sorry man. I never had a resolution problem. Anyone else?

[@WerewolfMinecraft]

Nope

[@B12-Deficient]

The Traveling Wolv Add "-windowed -noborder -w 1024 -h 768" (no quotes) to the game's launch options, that you'll find under the game's properties.

[@WerewolfMinecraft]

Ok thanks i'll try it

[@ChickenPika]

The best part about the zombie genre is a bunch of overweight people thinking they could survive against hordes of creatures who feel neither pain nor fear, but only a desire to kill and eat them. Sweetie, you cannot run a block. What makes you think you could repeatedly behead multiple slavering monsters with your $40 stainless steel katana without getting tired?

[@vernesdelpeche7240]

ChickenPika your profile picture fits so damn well

[@gokuxsephiroth4505]

I know, right? It's like that fat guy who keeps screaming at the football players on TV like he could do it better. Go on, then, you moron!

[@inr9751]

"Insecure anemic little girl" As if being any of these things is bad or automatically makes your point invalid, lol

[@Yun_Kurayami]

I mean yasss i have a katana its damascus steel :D

[@imchipjames]

Yun Kurayami when wielded properly, no can defend

[@peterdietrich8810]

You spent $100 on mirrors edge? I got it for $2.50 on a steam sale.

[@ryanb.5274]

*cough* Australian prices, mate.

[@peterdietrich8810]

Jaraxxus Krakthang VII Oh, right. Their prices are much higher.

[@ryanb.5274]

+Pete Detrick yeeeah.

[@timebomb4562]

+Pete Detrick 4 quid out of cex

[@DvnxnPs]

+Jaraxxus Krakthang VII not to mention... oh idk, maybe how many years since release?

[@SaturnVII]

I don't know if its from elsewhere, but the little black horned creature used for all the NPCs and mooks reminds me of what South Park used as little minions in Hell back in the 90s and early 2000s.

[@shawniscoolerthanyou]

Thank you! I've been trying to remember where I recognized it from.

[@unknownanonymous2651]

The imps are from the first game Yahtze made a zero punctuation about, before going The Escapist, 2-4 episodes later.

[@spacecadett463]

While watching this, I turned into Heisenberg and said "You're Goddamn right". I love ripping nipples, and this was generally a good review.

[@Punchyzen]

Left 4 Dead is also a fun game to play with friends on expert, and probably the best way to play the game. Hilariousness ensues when people end up shoot each other constantly (mostly on accident).

[@MrGMoney1944]

Hmm I believe we should make a ritual sacrifice to the AI director. :p

[@MrGMoney1944]

I like your train of thought...

[@Spartan14540]

Maybe Valve's maths tutor?

[@MrGMoney1944]

Cage would make a much better sacrifice.

[@jigsaw117able]

We did. Bill in The Sacrifice. How else do you explain that?

[@NOICKNOICK]

***** No, Nick Cage is better.

[@c.d.w.3944]

Love the fact that there is almost certainly a mod for L4d that turns the zombie into koalas.

[@ThePigeon5734]

"I saw someone pray to the AI director once" *Me, the scientist equivalent here:* The AI director rewards speed, GO, GO!!!

[@Delicoms]

"Although he is black, so that probably fucks that up a bit" God that had me in tears

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

Valve has a cheep way of naming things in this game: "If it charges, then it is a Charger." One of the levels was called Hard rain "So that people would remember that it was the level with rain in it."

[@OaksCU1]

0:23 What a great movie title!

[@damobeck1]

$100 for mirror's edge? dude, I got it for like $10

[@Barholtworld]

it is for sale now on steam actually

[@NoTimeNoEffort]

100 AUSTRALIAN dollars, it's not as much as you think.

[@Barholtworld]

how much is it actually? my phone can not show me the currency difference

[@MrDANISHcraft]

Barholtworld Ever heard of Google? Or a computer using Google?? It takes like 0.014 seconds for it to find the difference

[@Barholtworld]

oh yeah forgot

[@HailtotheKiin]

3:00 this type of bossfight is the EXACT one that occurs in Killer is Dead Escapist

[@Dragacane]

In Australia I paid $100 for Battlefield 3 and the reason for that is: 1:Exchange rate 2:Using plane or something to get the game here 3:the 'We have the best beaches tax'.

[@expanddong3975]

Australian money might as well be monopoly money

[@ryanb.5274]

Have you SEEN our money? Canadian money I mean? I still find it funny every time I go fuck my wallet, literally.

[@thebeyblademaniac]

Erm, by 'Smart' zombies he means zombies that are not controlled by the AI and can actually judge something without using the simple algorithm that is 'Run into those guys till they run out of ammo'. And by that, he means that the player character knows how easily he would die if he were to rush in there, so he'll most likely make up a plan such as an ambush or something.

[@PalmerDudeGamingChannel]

funnily enough when playing as the special infected you could actually play as one of the common crappy zombies during the development of this game but it was not allowed in the final game for some reason

[@PalmerDudeGamingChannel]

***** better than waiting to play again though

[@jaypee9575]

I disagree. It was probably a good decision. On one hand, that much switching probably bogs down latency. And even more importantly, that 20 seconds gives you the opportunity to observe the survivors and plan your next move.

[@Tbass17]

Watching old ZP and you realise how much younger Yahtzee sounds.

[@Cinderfella_Productions]

Yeah, it's extremely jarring

[@thegardenofeatin5965]

Remember when Valve made games?

[@RickJaeger]

strictly l4d were Turtle Rock developed and Valve assisted, and then 2 was a Valve baby, iirc

[@shawniscoolerthanyou]

"Zombies are second only to..." *names 3 things*. Love this guy.

[@ThrottleKitty]

Praise the director. PRAISE HIM.

[@TheInglorioustaco]

I love Yahtzee. We all need a bit of pessimism in our lives.

[@Ultramegazoar]

It's just one of the models he uses to convey that this creature is an enemy like he uses the white Rayman type people to convey allies or the protagonist.

[@TheBirdThatWhistles]

This reminds me of a video game idea I had in which the 'AI director' would punish the player every time s/he does a bad action (just like karma, only more immediate) and one way to escape from this karma system is by worshiping the 'AI director' along with the other NPCs, lol, thats so fucked up :P

[@CaptainScorchMane]

I must be the only one who gets the 'Deus Ex Machina Airlines' helicopter joke. 'Oh my god, JC, a bomb!' 'A BOMB!'

[@Humanius1994]

It are Australian dollars. 100 Australian dollars are roughly the same as 80 European euros, 105 American dollars, 3250 Russian rubles or 8320 Japanese Yen.

[@In5an1tyB]

The Idea to take control over a common while waiting is AWESOME O.o

[@thecurse23]

I bought L4D the first day it came out back in November 2008. I still play it.. and play it often.

[@user-tw7jd9pk5v]

Left 4 dead actually has a lot of plot.

[@InfiniteEscuro]

FUCK In the comics here is plenty of plot, but the games are really just, "Shoot those zombies, blow up that zombie, save your teammates, run from that big zombie, Do not touch *that* crying zombie, escape. Rinse and repeat." Although there are still so much damn fun.

[@user-tw7jd9pk5v]

Not really. left4dead.wikia.com/wiki/Green_Flu left4dead.wikia.com/wiki/CEDA Try reading the wiki sometime, it explains a lot about the plot.

[@Sheldonthesnail]

FUCK If you have to read the wiki about the plot it's not the plot it's the lore, and if you have to read the wiki about the plot it's not put forth well, it's done shittly. The games are really just shoot zombies, avoid certain zombies, shoot the living fuck out of certain zombies, that's all there is too it. That said I still like left 4 dead.

[@InfiniteEscuro]

Sheldonthesnail... I feel like that's more or less what I said... But yeah.

[@Sheldonthesnail]

the darkness It was but he didn't firmly grasp it.

[@bakugomorelikebakugay9275]

"This is probably how cults get started." You're probably not wrong.

[@jessicaashba6688]

Playing as the boomer is like this. "The boomer is a suicide bomber but instead of explosives your vest is filled with CYBERPUNK 2077 ACCORDING TO THE COMMERCIALS!!"

[@SantuXD6]

So, about that retirement you mentioned during our mission to reclaim Earth for the reapers... I died. Sorry bud.

[@722lovemonkey]

The AI director being bored all the time is an understatement. If he had a bad day at work he'll definitely take it out on you. Need proof? Last time i played The Parish with some friends the AI director spawned *A FUCKING TANK* at the beginning of the campaign. We didn't even make it to the Juke Box. ;-;

[@commmander64]

Dear god was this video always low resolution with a smaller video box?

[@DILFDylF]

Don't forget Portal, Fallout 3, Silent Hill 2, Saint's Row 2, Prince of Persia The Sands of Time... He's a lot more positive than people give him credit for.

[@Jamesrules90]

He just made a typo, no one makes a mistake that simple but used a colon.

[@ShadowSpawn666]

You know, I never thought about praying to the AI Director. I'm gonna try that now.

[@GarrettTBuse]

Custom maps make this game VERY replayable and the versus is fantastic.

[@jcj94brony]

I have a Hunter curse on L4D2. Director... *rattles his fist skyward*

[@SantuXD6]

Rule #34.261 Subsection B Appendix 1: Thou shalt not mention "The Cake is a Lie", unless you want to expose yourself and/or your work as crap.

[@Ethanarbryum]

Rule #42.2.2: Always carry an oversized handkerchief you can call a towel.

[@Trancidonia]

yeah i would love to play as those mini small role zombie while waiting

[@Yodelinghero1]

Not to mention the Currency conversion rate of an Aussie Dollar to the Yankee Dollar

[@QuilloManar]

The zombies in CoD Blobs is the only thing I like about that series.

[@mrcenturies1820]

His special zombie Yahtz graphic looks like a botched Freddy Krueger

[@pancakekiller5]

the A.I director...GAVE US A HUNTER,TANK,SMOKER+THE WITCH IN FRONT OF THE SAFEROOM WITH NO MEDKITS AND 1 AMMO STASH +PILSS

[@LuisCarlosAlvarezRebaza]

Are you serious? That black guy was clearly based on Ben from night of the living dead.

[@SpiderandMosquito]

The main difference between Trekkies and Manchester United fans is that Trekkies never trashed a train carriage. So why are the trekkies the social outcasts? -Terry Pratchett

[@jynxleturie782]

No matter what, without fail, Lewis would always die at the last possible second before being rescued, like catapulted directly off the the mercy hospital roof by a tank who thought the token black guy looked better against the wall of the building 4 blocks away, player, bot, it didn't matter, my experiences were that of a 90's horror cliche.

[@DegEldraziii]

100 AUD is 90 USD, but the Australian Government imposed a ridiculous amount of tax on videogames. You can get Sid Meier's Civ 5 for about $30 USD. In Australia, however, the game is $85 AUD on Steam, which is the cheapest you can find it. The "big" DLC pack costs $80 AUD. Conversation rate has very little to do with it when taxes are ridiculously high.

[@AlexReynard]

I nominate Oh Christ Them Cunts Be Dead as the best potential movie title ever.

[@Chubbaaa]

Beating GLaDOS didn't give you a physical reward, but you got the mental reward of pride for "destroying" the AI who was being a bitch to you throughout half the game.

[@Wbfuhn]

You could replace the zombies with Koalas, but it would be the same as replacing them with the teletubbies. There is a mod for it.

[@DragonflightProduct]

Get it for the PC. There are tons of community maps and a good portion of them are good. One of my faves is the one with the clouds of neurotoxin.

[@XxUltimateCheshirexX]

Haha, "guy with long tongue"... It's actually roping you in with its intestines D:

[@cocososupergeek]

*WE'RE LOOKING AT YOU HELIX FOSSIL!*

[@Eggbeforechicken]

*CAPITAL LETTERS IN BOLD*

[@leon2550]

*[BOLDING INTENSIFIES]*

[@FrancisHatesStairs]

In Australia, games cost much more, possibly for a similar reason to why their games come out so much later.

[@crazyj10agains]

The only one of the original survivors I really have trouble seeing as NOT a zombie at this point is Louis, that's because he's in a white, untucked shirt with bloodstains and LOOKS like a zombie at first glance. Ironic because he has the friendly-fire line of "DO I LOOK LIKE ONE OF THEM!?"

[@IndyStry]

His name is Louis and he is GRABBIN PEELZ. :D

[@AMassiveHeadache]

If there were a koala apocalypse, I would be less than useless. I could never harm those sleeping vicious bastards.

[@RobynLynette]

My boyfriend came over a couple of days ago with an English accent, and told me it's because he watched you videos. I really like them, but now my boyfriend gone cray cray. LOL

[@Lightscribe225]

Ironically, Valve originally had the idea that in Versus, players waiting in respawn would play as common infected but the idea was scrapped when they decided your lifespan'd be as long as a snowflake in a furnace and dying so frequently might be too much for players.

[@Elhak7]

The first 30 seconds of the video were where he got the idea for Jam XD

[@segasbest]

A.I. director sounds like he's much more merciful than the RNG god

[@E8144EOE]

I'm off to get the zombie-que and The One Free Bullet achievements from Half-life 2: Episode 1, because I like playing the game.

[@Inusitus]

2:24 I had that same idea

[@CM421]

it has updated alot in that year. play it again.

[@killingfeveronline_archives]

2:32 I beg to differ. If you research the plot of L4D in wikis and pay attention to all the decals and stuff, you will certainly learn a lot of interesting stuff. So I also like L4D for it's plot :D

[@jotabeas22]

I keep coming back to left4dead/2 Amazing with "friends"

[@christos1709]

someone made a mod where the survivors are well detailed dinosaurs

[@MMODoubter]

MC WASN'T a game until they added the Ender dragon. Now, I can play with a definite, game-supported end goal.

[@0x28]

Mean spirited traffic barriers. lmfao

[@CM421]

it dosen't need a story, either. and also, the ender dragon boss fight, like the wither fight, is 100% optional. also, you can skip the credits are skipable. and, it is an ending because before the credits there is this whole thing with the voices in your head talking to you saying all kinds of strange things but you can skip that too. check mate.

[@SporeTres]

He knows about PST. I am happy ^___^

[@QuilloManar]

Fun Fact, Ben Yahtzee lives in Brisbane.

[@MarcTBG]

My mistake, ceiling 97.73 = 98 != 100 I cannot believe that I had failed to notice this sooner.

[@Silversteeldragon]

both games are incredible in their own way. portal is a linear game where everything serves the story and the puzzles and is very tight-focused. minecraft is perhaps the purest interpretation of a sandbox and is very open-world. they are two opposites,but are both fun because they both found their element to explore on and built up from it.

[@TurboStrawberryKat]

Somebody needs to make a Left 4 Dead mod with Koala-faced zombies

[@JonathanHallShow]

That's OUTRAGEOUS!!!

[@daxxkid101]

Louis was actually based on Shaun from Shaun of the Dead, true story :)

[@Andy85uk]

Yeah that's true. The Half-Life episodes were meant to be 6 months ish apart and here we are 7 years later. And the one occasion when they do release a sequel quickly, L4D2, everyone freaked out, thinking this game was gonna be rushed, Valve are changing, its the end!! lol

[@elchuckles2787]

"Oranges and lemons, said the bells of St. Clements..."

[@QuilloManar]

Because Australia's video game industry is four times more expensive for some reason. Probably packaging and shipping, then again, that reason was killed with digital purchases. I don't really know.

[@EVIL1357]

I always find myself listening to either Zero Punctuation of Everfree Radio in the background while I play ME3 Multiplayer on the 360. Well, I'm off to go hack more geth so they kill each other while I laugh.

[@zx0luke0cv]

*Applauds*...

[@champion3433]

"nerd who have no social skills" are me in a nutshell and i love this guy :P

[@dinkir935]

oooh he made a really good point about being able to be a generic zombie while you wait to respawn

[@haltopen12]

Shame Yahtzee never played Pay Day the Heist, it reminds me of left 4 dead and even had a crossover level with left 4 dead