Anticipated by fans since its announcement, The Passing DLC unites the Left 4 Dead one and two Survivors as they rally to escape a small town that's fallen to the infectious zombie outbreak. With a whole new set of challenges, the two groups must try their absolute best to cross a bridge. Believe me, it's harder than it sounds.
Taking place between the Blood Harvest (L4D) and Dark Carnival campaigns, The Passing brings back Jimmy Gibbs' car and the old crew that introduces us to L4D. As always, the object is to survive, but you'll also have the added suspense of seeing who dies, which you is a surprise you need to earn.
The Passing should last about as long as Crash Course, but the end of this new campaign is a great deal more difficult. And when I say "more difficult," I mean nightmarishly so. The pounding storm we experienced during Hard Rain is back, a sewer gauntlet brings back memories of Swamp Fever, and the finale is a test of both teamwork and patience, one that makes every previous campaign look like delicious cake. That's not an exaggeration; imagine having to deal with two Tanks, two Hunters, and a Spitter at the same time. You've just imagined the The Passing's finale. On the flip side, anyone playing the Infected will be having a field day.
Between dodging Chargers and killing Hunters in mid-jump, the Survivors will find two delightful new weapons: a golf club and the M60 machine gun. This nine iron delivers satisfying blows and feels as reliable as the katana or axe. For extreme firepower, the M60 is an excellent choice that can quickly turn any dire situation in your favor. The only downside is that it can't be reloaded, much like the grenade launcher.
A quick shot is nice to have with the new Witch Brides and Fallen Survivors -- the latter run away from players. So what? They carry all sorts of useful loot, but you'll need to kill them first. Think of these new Infected as pinatas that drop first aid, pills, and other such usable goodies. Foot lockers often hide stashes of molotovs and adrenaline shots, but those are only useful when you have lots of zombies around. Otherwise, they just take up space until you find the next swarm.
Overall, The Passing is short but very hectic. Alongside the new and beyond challenging trials in this new campaign are the weekly Mutations. This mode basically changes up existing modes of play by combining them, spawning new modes like Realism Versus and Chainsaw Massacre, where Survivors use nothing but chainsaws. The interaction with the two Survivor teams could have been expanded, but you could just assume that no one has time to socialize when there are zombie hordes after their brains and flesh. I definitely felt Valve could have thrown in a bit more content, like a fourth stage or keeping the Survivors a while longer. Still, it's a great freebie for PC, and at $7.00 on Xbox LIVE, a 360 version is a recommended buy.
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