First Impressions, mediocre - mildly enjoyable but not amazing.
Well - it's been long enough coming and here we have it - the long awaited 'The Sacrifice' DLC for Left 4 Dead.
I played through it a few times last night on Campaign mode, enjoyed it - but wasn't blown off my feet. Really - it feels like you've got Left 4 Dead 1 characters and game mechanics in Left 4 Dead 2 maps. Everything's bright and sunny as you explore the Floriday Key's - you don't see any new infected, or L4D 2 infected though...
There are some nice mechanics, like a bit where there's a container with a Tank trapped in it and someone has to open door to let it out so you can get through. The finale is a little different too. After the bridge has started raising it jams forcing a player to jump down and re-start a generator, which means they die.
It also means once there are less than two survivors alive – it’s game over in the finale. It’s mildly interesting, but hardly revolutionary. The maps are okay, they aren’t the best L4D maps though, although I haven’t fully explored all of them – so… There are some nice easter eggs sneaked in too – like the boat from Death Toll. Ultimately though it’s pretty short and pretty much more of the same with a couple of minor twists. If you’re a die-hard fan you’ll enjoy it, but I doubt it will re-kindle an interest if you’ve already put L4D down to play something else.
My biggest gripe is the buggy achievements. We twice did the required steps to get the ‘Kill Bill’ achievement and we started the generators at the same time – Nobody got the achievement. Valve has cocked this one up in the past – several Crash Course ones don’t work and I think some of the original ones don’t either. You’d think after all this time they could have released something finished, polished, and with some real, new content.