Run or Shoot? UPDATE

Remember at the beginning of the month when I posted that I was going to be playing original Left 4 Dead maps on Expert to try to get the "What are you trying to prove?" achievement?

Well, yesterday afternoon while doing a single-player run, I finished the Death Toll map. So, basically, I did an expert campaign by myself because we all know those AIs are kind of clueless when it comes to helping you finish. Yeah. I'm awesome.

I am already doing some practice work on the finale of the last map, but I seriously doubt I'll be able to beat it before 6:00 Sunday night ... which is when I go to the hospital. Kind of freaking out here.

original here
edited by me

Run or Shoot?

via

Raise your hand if you have Left 4 Dead on Steam.

Not Left 4 Dead 2. The original one.

Yeah, I know they ported all the maps from the original to the second one. I DON'T CARE.

Before 2008 (or was it 2009...?) I didn't really play any first-person shooters. My husband kept trying to get me interested in them by having me play Golden Eye and Perfect Dark on the N64. Unfortunately, I never played console games growing up.

Side Note: I KNOW, RIGHT? My parents thought that console gaming was too violent, but PC games were okay. To this day I'm still pretty klutzy with classic controllers.

Anyway, so trying to play a shooter with someone who grew up playing this game was less than fun. But I digress.

At some point my husband bought Left 4 Dead on Steam because of it's clever AI, which controls the level pacing and item placement. The game practically punishes you if you spend too long in an area.

I downplayed any interest I had in the game for a few months, but eventually asked if I could play on his account.

And that's how I got hooked.

Eventually I got a copy for myself, but didn't play a lot since the Left 4 Dead 2 came out a few months later. So I'm missing a lot of achievements. One of them that I'm missing is completely all campaigns on Expert. I have No Mercy and Dead Air, but am still missing Death Toll and Blood Harvest. So for a few hours every day in October (until the baby arrives) I'm going to be trying to get those last two campaigns, starting with Death Toll. And I'll need help. How can you help? First off, you'll probably need to add me on Steam. At the bottom of the page I have a link to my Steam profile, so check that out. When you see me playing, join my game. TOGETHER, WE WILL VANQUISH THE ZOMBIE HORDE.

I call Zoey!

The Invasion is Here

MANN   VS   MACHINE

Team Fortress 2's latest update came out on Wednesday, but I didn't get to play until Friday due to some trepidation about the game in general. (I quit playing in April because the online gaming scene was raising my blood pressure too much, which isn't good for pregnant ladies.) But a friend of mine showed me the trailer above and I had to at least see what it was all about.

The format is basically a survival mode - waves of robots will come at you, and you need to stop them before they drop a bomb at your base, blowing it to smithereens. The bomb carriers also follow a set path, indicated by blue markers before each wave starts, so it has a tower defense feel to it as well.

This new mode reminds me of another popular Valve game, Left 4 Dead, which I should add is pretty much my favorite game ever. Naturally, I love this too. It can be really tough, especially when you don't have the appropriate classes covered, but it is oh so satisfying when you do stop the robots from invading. I've also been tinkering around with the upgrades you can purchase, and I feel like I've got a really solid build for the Heavy in this mode.

If you want to know more about Mann vs. Machine, check out their page about it. And if you want to play with me, you can find me on Steam.