Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing DLC – Full Written Review

If you’ve been under a rock for the last couple of months, here’s the upshot of why I was looking forward to downloading and playing Left 4 Dead 2 add-on content, The Passing. Firstly there was word this DLC would see our Left 4 Dead 2 heroes crossing paths with our Left 4 Dead 1 heroes. This was quite exciting news, because it meant Zoey would make an appearance, now who doesn’t think Zoey and Rochelle would make one ass kicking lesbian couple? Just me?

Sapphic fantasies aside, Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing was also going to bring the death of one of the original 4 Left 4 Dead survivors. This was bad news, but most gamers – like me – probably assumed this would be quite dramatic given the “Valve” involvement, it would be heart-wrenching and no doubt memorable moment in the Left 4 Dead story.

As well as these character additions, Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing was also going to feature new weaponry and new ways to get slaughtered. Surely then this is a must purchase piece of DLC. Let’s see shall we.

Firstly let me say right of the blood infused baseball bat that I am a huge fan of the Left 4 Dead games. The thought therefore of spending around ten bucks for a piece of such promising content was a non issue. I couldn’t wait to see who of our original posse had died (as long as it wasn’t Zoey or I’d be paying a visit to Valve with my not happy face), I couldn’t wait to see new special infected and just to have all 8 survivors on screen at once.

For those who are delicate about spoilage, this next bit gives away level design / story, but I won’t say who died. The Passing is slotted in between Dead Centre and Dark Carnival, our survivors need to find the car, fill up a generator and lower a bridge manned by, the original survivors. The whole thing runs at a rather measly 3 levels, which was the first downside, given I finished this very fast indeed.

As far as in game changes go, there really wasn’t much of note. Footlockers could be found now and again, stuffed to the gills with one item, thus making it fairly useless to the one player 3 CPU helpers style of game, also this generally seemed to always be pills or Molotov’s (at least in my games). The new infected were also a tweak on the old, which sees randoms drop useful bits of equipment when killed, I actually liked this idea, though it did little to add to proceedings overall.

Gameplay is simple enough to cover, this is Left 4 Dead, so nothing has truly changed, outside your environment and the small gameplay tweaks mentioned. The running for gas last level of The Passing can be infuriating, particularly if two Tanks come down on your team at once (oh didn’t I mention that?), then it’s all a bit of an anti climax. Yes we see who the original character is to have bought the zombie infested farm, but there’s nothing cinematic, it’s an empty, distance fed call that they lost someone. There’s no heart.

Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing DLC is an enjoyable addition if you’re bored of the campaigns you have, but it all feels a little hollow and non emotional with regards to the highly anticipated offing of one of our original favorites. The new mutations mode will no doubt be of interest with its Realism Versus mode, set to be changed to something else as each week passes. Personally the ‘realism’ mode, could as well have been labeled ‘where the f_ck are you mode’, so there was little in the way of fun for me and my posse here.

Female gamers will see two female survivors on screen for a short period of time, and that’s all I’ll say, so as to not give anything away.

U-Haul Review Status:
Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing is a solid enough purchase, but if you move it in, it won’t be there for long, and it’s a bit emotionally stunted, so don’t go putting your whole heart into it, you’ll only get it broken.

Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing DLC must get the Gabby Deveaux rating. As Alice one stated Gabby was an emotional cripple, though she was a great addition to proceedings. Like Gabby, L4D2: The Passing was just way too short lived and with little emotional content.