This is a public service announcement

Zombies! The world’s being overrun by them! Nazi zombies, pet zombies, mutated zombies, funny zombies, not-really-zombies, crab-head zombies, Zombines, voodoo zombies - I can go on! These undead mutated freaks have enjoyed a revival in recent years that has brought an awareness of their controversial existence into mainstream society more successfully than any of the many previous attempts. Unbelievably, most people still think zombies are just make-believe fanciful imaginations of some money-grabbing creative lunatic with a penchant for movie deals, but some of us know better, and we’ve been using these FPS releases as real-world training scenarios, much like America’s Army has been used for training in the US Army.

DISCLAIMER: I know the Infected in Left 4 Dead aren’t genuine zombies (as in the undead variety) but for the sake of this review, and for the ignorant readers out there that still think this is all make-believe, the Infected in Valve’s apocalyptic world will be hereafter referred to loosely as “zombies.” Oh, and I won’t include any spoilers either!

Left 8 Dead?

The Passing DLC for Left 4 Dead 2 arrived with much fanfare and great anticipation. The original reports boasted more of the same (read: AWESOME) zombie-slaying four player co-op action, but this time around there was a ripple amongst the stream of reports that suggested there would be a few exciting new additions to this DLC. Not only would The Passing tie in the story between Dead Center and Dark Carnival, add some new weapons and a new type of Uncommon Common Infected, but there would also be a cross-over between the original Left 4 Dead survivors and the new Left 4 Dead 2 survivors. The Passing DLC was pinned to have Bill, Francis, Zoey and Louis running into Ellis, Coach, Rochelle and Nick! What’s more, according to early reports, these guys would all team up together for a grand showdown that would see one of the original survivors “passing away” in a noble sacrificial act, which was heavily alluded to in the title of the DLC (“the Passing”) and the campaign poster’s ominous subtitle “nobody survives forever.” All of this additional wonderment for a very reasonably priced 560MSP (free on PC) promised to contribute more value to an already awesome value-packed game!

But just how well does The Passing DLC fare in execution? Does it measure up to the expectations and hype embraced by its partisan promotional department and the frenzied excitement of the hordes of fans? Read on for the low-down!

A bridge too far?

The Passing DLC is a mixed bag of disappointments and delights. Some of the much-vaunted additions are pulled off really well, and certainly contribute to the overall Left 4 Dead2 product, but other new features translate into an anticlimax and feel like they missed their potential. Permit me to explain…
In terms of a new campaign, The Passing is short and feels out of place amongst the original Left 4 Dead 2 campaigns. There are only three levels to this campaign, but they feel longer than the normal levels in Left 4 Dead 2 and the developers could probably have spread the levels out over four stages which would have certainly helped with the sense of pace and frenetic tension.

You see, the Left 4 Dead franchise relies heavily on the premise that if you don’t keep moving, you’re going to die - there’s a lot of emphasis on forward momentum all the time, but with The Passing there’s a strange feeling of too much happening all over the place, but without that sense of urgency you’ve grown to respect in Left 4 Dead. Firstly, the beginning is a little muted with the highly anticipated encounter between “The Original Survivors” and “The New Crew” amounting to nothing more than a very brief dialogue between two characters. If I hadn’t known to expect the Original Crew I could quite easily have missed it, because they’re holed up on the top of a bridge about ten yards away and behaving in a very un-Left4Dead’esque manner - I mean, they’re just sitting around up there! Don’t they know that’s NOT how it’s done?

After this very uninspiring and uncharacteristic encounter, the new survivors will journey through the backstreets of a small Georgia town before making their way through an abandoned wedding venue (complete with sobbing witch-bride), some broken down buildings, and eventually into the sewers. Too much variety in only two levels makes the pace feel strangely stilted and erratic.

Oh goodness, no!!… Weapons here!

The final level brings the crew back to the original survivors for a combined standoff while the players have to scavenge for fuel cannisters to refuel the motor that controls the suspension bridge. During this standoff three of the four original survivors will hold off the hordes as best they can (from a distance) while you run around grabbing whatever fuel cannisters you can find, ala Dead Center. The major disappointment about the finale is that the much-vaunted “sacrifice” of an original survivor is done and dusted before the action even starts - in fact, you see the (now fallen) survivor slumped over on the ground and that’s it! No dialogue or tragic music, just a corpse with a gun, and again you could just as easily miss it if you don’t know to look out for it! Once the scavenge run is finished, you just hop into your car and drive over the bridge, with the remaining original survivors making a few comments and then the game fades to black. That’s it?? That’s it. As far as storyline and plot development goes, The Passing is such a massive disappointment.

Features-wise, however, The Passing does introduce a few additional things to the Left 4 Dead 2 experience. Firstly, there are now randomly placed footlockers which can contain unlimited supplies of molotov’s, pipe bombs, adrenaline, or pills. This is an awesome discovery, but it can also detract from the sense of urgency, because players can choose to hole up by a tub of pills if they want to. There’s also the introduction of a new Uncommon Common Infected, the Fallen Survivor. Basically a zombie armed with random items (such as medpacks, adrenaline, pipe bombs) that takes a few shots more to kill, and if he’s startled, he’ll run away with all the goodies in tow. Finally, there’s also a few extra weapons - a baseball bat, a golf club, and an M60 machine gun.

Mutations are a moot point

The mutations feature adds additional limited-run multiplayer modes to Left 4 Dead 2 (such as Realistic Versus or Chainsaw Massacre), and includes new co-op challenges (such as Last Gnome On Earth). Unfortunately it isn’t easy to find a playable game if you’re in South Africa (if you do, let me know!), so these mutations haven’t been tested for this review.

All in all, the DLC brings along a new campaign, and that’s never a bad thing, but unfortunately it seems to shift pace a little in some places, and most frustratingly brushes over what was in my mind one of the most highly anticipated moments in the series - the cross-over between the two teams of survivors. Hopefully Valve will learn from this mistake and when they release the Midnight Riders DLC (you heard THAT prediction here first) we’ll see more attention paid towards the storyline and characters. One secret bonus in the DLC for zombie fanatics is the plethora of references to other zombie movies and games (yes, Frank West included). If you are a Left 4 Dead fan and own the sequel, then this DLC for 560MSP is not a waste of money (especially if you play multiplayer online), but don’t expect as much from the cross-over as you’ve been led to believe…

The Good: It’s Left 4 Dead! A no-brainer! Mmmm…braaiiiiiins…
The Bad: The cross-over is brief and disappointing; the passing is unexplained; funky pacing of the campaign.

Purchase: