Redemption II

Some of the most famously modded games are ones produced by Valve, the creators of Half Life, Portal, Team Fortress 2, and other well known games. Valve's games are easy to mod and with the addition of the Steam Workshop some time ago it was made even easier for modders to create something they enjoyed and get it out there for everyone to see.

I have to admit, Left 4 Dead 2 is snugly fitted into my Top 5 favorite games of all time. Playing it back on the Xbox 360 I met friends who I still talk to today so this series has a special place in my heart. I've been looking forward to reviewing some of the wonderful mods for this wonderful game, so I think it's time I did exactly that.

Author: Morloc

Redemption II

This campaign was inspired by the comic that was put out in four parts leading up to the release of The Sacrifice for both Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 (Which you can read here, if you haven't already, and I recommend you do). This campaign ties in with the comic and is meant to be some sort of interquel between the penultimate part of that comic and The Sacrifice itself. Basically, in the comic, Bill does something bad. Really bad. And the group becomes more wary of him as a result.

This campaign, as implied by the title, is his Redemption for that act. 

Set in a remote research lab somewhere along the East Coast the group of four finds themselves stranded when a military bombing run previously destroyed the bridge their train was going to cross. Out of options they decide to head into the lab itself in search of another form of transportation, but, as with all horror movies, they inevitably find something more sinister...

"No, YOU go first..."

A clever use of old material to tell a new story.

The great thing about this campaign is the work that went into it. Not only are things happening directly in front of you but you can see things happening in the distance every now and then, too, like a military plane flying overhead or a helicopter crashing into the building somewhere ahead of you. The environment is also well constructed, with props placed in locations where they can tell a story about what happened before without it being in your face (As is the goal of Left 4 Dead, though usually more through safehouse graffiti).

Speaking of graffiti, the primary method of exposition in the Left 4 Dead universe, this campaign has quite a bit of new writing on the walls. It isn't a big touche but it's nice, and helps to give the facility a distinction from many other campaigns as the environment around you tells a new story.

The trance you go into when slaughtering the undead is a truly wonderful thing.

There are also a few new melee weapons included, the most memorable of which being, and I am not in any way joking here... a human foot. Or an arm? Maybe it was an arm. I can't remember entirely, as the novelty of bashing skulls in with a human limb was too much for me to overcome at the time.

There is a noticeable and welcome atmosphere that reminds one of Half Life, specifically Black Mesa, when trudging deeper into the facility. 

The finale throws a curveball that you might not be prepared for.

But, something I have a problem with... is that there's really no Redemption to be found here. Yeah, the group shoots its way through a lab heavily implied to be the source of the virus, but that's it. There's no cure to be found (Obviously) and no culprit to bring to justice. You just shoot zombies in the labs (Though these labs are well constructed and it's very fun) then escape on the train. If something happened that was supposed to redeem Bill, I didn't catch it.

Speaking of the escape, the author tries out a new form of finale that can catch new players off guard the first time through. The first wave is the same as usual, hold off the zombies until the rescue is ready, but then it makes a turn. You need to retrieve three oxygen tanks thrown down to you by an NPC, fight your way to the bay under the train, and hook them up to power the tracks. The change from the normal finale formula was interesting and keeps one on their toes, but it can become easy to lose the canisters after they've been thrown down to you, especially with the horde closing in from all sides.

And yes, NPCs. This campaign has them, all fully voice acted and able to be interacted with. The few surviving members of the research team help you along your way as you fight through the facility, another welcome change to let the player know that they aren't entirely alone in this apocalypse. And, on the subject of dialogue and characters, the banter between the survivors themselves is excellent. At points during the campaign the four will launch into drawn out conversations about what they see or think leading to more than a few hilarious conversations. It's all scripted of course but the survivors here are a lot chattier than they are in the vanilla game so I can't complain.

As far as campaigns go, this is one you should definitely check out. Gather up some friends, fire up your copies of the game, shoot your way through White Helix together. While the story is a little lacking none of you will regret it.