As the more observant of you have probably noticed by now, Crash Course has come out in all three game modes along with ten new achievements:
Crash-proof
Survive the Crash Course Campaign.
Quick Power
Restart the generator within 30 seconds of it shutting off in the Crash Course campaign.
Smash Hit
Win a Versus campaign of Crash Course.
The even more observant of you may have noticed that every single of one them can only be unlocked IN Crash Course. This makes sense for those three, sure, but how about these?
The explanation I’ve heard is that Microsoft’s strict policies on DLC are behind this odd choice, although there’s no confirmation that I’ve found anywhere. It’s possible that it’s just a way of getting people to play the campaign, although it seems a tad unneeded.
Speaking of Microsoft, this update isn’t free on the 360. Valve is quick to say that this is all Microsoft’s fault. Going back to achievements, there’s no achievements tied to the Survival maps in Crash Course unless you get your first bronze, silver, or gold medal there. Old achievements (like Distinguished Survivor) haven’t been updated to fit these new maps, and there’s no new ones. This is likely tied to Microsoft’s rule that you can’t have more than 10 achievements in one DLC pack.
For those of you that haven’t played, Crash Course was apparently designed for a quicker (30 minutes) versus experience, so it’s a bit shorter than usual- only two maps in the campaign. However, these maps are a bit longer than normal, so don’t think that it’s an instant run on Campaign. Possibly drawing from that new idea in Left 4 Dead 2 of making the player move around while the hoards attack to stop them, in the finale the generator you turn on will cut out half way through, forcing you to run over and spend a short time restarting it. It’s an interesting trick that changes the strategy of where to stay for the finale, but it won’t really make that radical an impact. In Versus though I’ve seen at least one round where there was no Tank for the entire match, which is a little annoying, but it’s a great map to play Boomer in, with enough corners, roofs, and cover to ensure that you won’t be stuck out in the open waddling towards the survivors.
All in all, Crash Course is definitely worth playing, and if you’re on the 360, pick it up.
As for that in-depth location strategy article someone will no doubt call me out for not writing yet, it’s coming within the next week.
