After reading my buddy’s blog down there about the Left 4 Dead cover and zombie fiction, I simply had to add my 2 cents. Color me inspired. (Thanks, David!)

I’m a fan of pretty much zombie anything. If it ends with “… of the (Living) Dead” I’ve seen it. Be it Shaun, Dawn, Night, Day, Afternoon, Morning, Brunch, whatever. Zombie games? Yep, I love those too. Resident Evil(s)? Check. Left 4 Dead? Check. Stubbs the Zombie? Double check! (If you have a few Xbox Live Credits lying around I highly suggest downloading it. It’s a gem.) Dead Space? Not quite zombies in the traditional sense, but Check anyway. Anyhow, I think you get the point.

So when I saw David’s suggestions for zombie fiction, I thought I’d stop by to add a Zombie fiction “lite” recommendation to his magnificent list. You know, all the zombie with half the calories. Enter The Walking Dead graphic novels. Though I was a bit skeptical at first, I thought I’d give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised. It’s not heavy reading by any means and there are only zombies every fifth page or so, but that’s the beauty of it. It’s not about zombies, per se, but rather about what happens to us after a zombie outbreak. In fact, the author, Robert Kirkman, begins his Introduction by stating that he’s not trying to scare anyone. Odd for a zombie story, no? He’s more interested in exploring how people press on and persevere in such extreme situations. And really, how much more extreme can you get than a full blown zombie outbreak?

So if you’re a zombie freak, appreciate graphic novels (or just aren’t into books that don’t have pretty pictures), give the Walking Dead a shot.  You might be surprised. I was.

Now if you’ll excuse me I have to get back to Ghostbusting.

PS. David was right about Dying to Live. It is an AWESOME read.

Cr0wnd
Gamerpoints: 30
Description: Kill a Witch with a single headshot.
Tips: While it’s possible to hit a Witch with a sniper rifle, it’s best to take her out at close range with a shotgun. But timing is very important. I’ve seen most teammates get this achievement while standing slightly behind the Witch while she’s still in a seated position. As they creep closer (with flashlight off) she begins to stand; this is the time to attack. Aim for the back of her neck and head, but you must wait until she’s standing to register the lethal hit.

Field Medic
Gamerpoints: 20
Description: Heal 25 survivors with a first aid kit.
Tips: This one just takes time but is made easier with some cooperation from your teammates. Instead of constantly healing yourself, always offer your assistance to teammates…especially if they don’t already have this achievement. As long as you heal a teammate and they heal you, you’ll both stay healthy and quickly meet the criteria for this achievement.

Ground Cover
Gamerpoints: 30
Description: Save another survivor from a special infected while on the ground.
Tips: It’s hard to stage this one. For me, it just happened. I was incapacitated when one of my teammates was pounced by a Hunter. I just took aim with my pistols and blasted the Hunter. So if you’re down, look around for teammates being attacked by Hunters or Smokers and help them out. Your pistols are surprisingly effective in these dire moments.

No-One Left Behind
Gamerpoints: 20
Description: Beat a campaign with all 4 survivors.
Tips: I didn’t think this one was too hard, but some players are having difficulty with it. The trick is to make sure all of your teammates are up and walking at the time the evac vehicle arrives. If anyone is incapacitated ensnared, or pinned, they’ll be left behind. So consider holding near the evac vehicle until all your teammates are inside. If you’re standing inside the vehicle, anyone lagging behind can be abandoned instantly if they run into trouble, giving you no time to stage a rescue attempt. So don’t step inside the vehicle until everyone is okay. Also, it’s best to attempt this on easy or normal difficulties.

Pyrotechnician
Gamerpoints: 20
Description: Blow up 20 infected in a single explosion.
Tips: This one is easy if you have the cooperation of your teammates. A single pipe bomb is sufficient to draw 20 infected prior to the big boom. However, make sure your teammates hold their fire while the pipe bomb is beeping. The more zombies that gather around the pipe bomb, the more likely you are to get this achievement.

Witch Hunter
Gamerpoints: 20
Description: Kill a witch without any survivor taking damage from her.
Tips: Depending on the circumstances, this achievement can be earned at the same time as Cr0wnd or Burn the Witch. If you need Cr0wnd, sneak up behind the Witch and perform the close range shotgun kill for the double achievement. If you need Burn the Witch it’s best to attempt this from a upper level requiring the Witch to climb before reaching you. Smack the Witch with a molotov to earn Burn the Witch, then rapidly blast her until she dies before she can attack you or your teammates to get the Witch Hunter achievement.

Wii is a natural party platform since it gets people up and moving. Even with the included game Wii Sports, you can have a homerun derby or similar contest with everyone getting a turn with the Wiimote.

Another idea are quiz type games such as Scene-It. The Xbox 360 version comes with four buzzer type controllers allowing four people (or four teams) to answer questions about movies. This game is a hit not only for parties, but also with a family or significant other. I gave this to my wife last Christmas and she, who had never played on the 360 at all, loved it.

For really livening up a party, get the gang back together with Rock Band. Four people can play this at once and it can be really entertaining just watching. Other music games like Guitar Hero and even American Idol are fun for group gatherings.

Bring a little retro to your party with older games you can download from Xbox Live or the Playstation Network. For those in their 30s and 40s, Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, and so forth can be a lot of fun to play. These are fairly inexpensive and you can have tournaments with these classics.

Video games can even be the theme of the party. Have several friends bring over televisions and their own game systems and set up game rooms throughout the house or party location. Rock Band can be head banging in one room while movie trivia is in another and sports in a third. The key is to pick games that partygoers are either already familiar with or can pick up quickly. Be sure have something for everyone. Zombie slaying is not for everyone. You can even make up your own games with a computer, digital camera, and PowerPoint. Trivia games about your guests can be a great way to start the evening. “Name that Baldspot” or “Which couple has been together the longest” are easy to put together and help everyone get to know each other better.

Have a great holiday season and please write to let me know how video games were a part of your party.

Don’t hog the infected slots: It may sound stupid, but I’ve waited in lobbies for more than 10 minutes waiting for a game to start simply because all four infected slots are taken. It doesn’t seem to matter that everybody gets a chance to play as the infected. Some players will join, see the infected slots are taken, then disconnect. So consider leaving some infected slots open as an incentive to keep impatient players in your lobby so you can finally start the match.

Don’t just plug in your mic, use it: I’ve played several public matches where my teammates simply don’t talk. Sure, they have mics attached, but there’s no communication. This just doesn’t work in Left 4 Dead. Communication is vital whether playing as the survivors or the infected. So get over your shyness and talk to your teammates. And don’t antagonize the 12-year-olds on your team because they will shoot you.

Speed is the key: Too often I’ve been stuck on teams of survivors that want to explore every nook and cranny of each map at a grandmotherly pace. While this may be fun in the co-op campaign, it’s stupid and dangerous in versus mode. The more time you waste exploring, the more chances you give the other team to kill you. As the survivors your goal is to reach the safe house at the end of the map as quickly as possible. Anyone who intentionally lags behind should be left behind.

Infected teamwork: The infected have a tremendous advantage if they work together and coordinate ambushes. One of the best ways to start out an attack is with a Boomer. Vomit or explode on as many survivors as possible to trigger a swarm of common infected. In addition to attracting zombies, the viscous bile also temporarily blinds all affected survivors. This allows the Hunters and Smoker on your team to take advantage of the chaos and attack, sometimes without being noticed until it’s too late.

Watch your fire: I’d say more than 50% of the damage I’ve incurred is caused by my own teammates. Friendly fire is a huge threat in versus mode so go easy on the trigger cowboy. If a teammate is pinned by a Hunter or ensnared by a Smoker, don’t shoot! Instead, melee the attacker to free your teammate, then open fire on the infected. Also, be careful when using molotovs and igniting the red fuel cans. Fire is extremely deadly, especially if your teammates are incapacitated within the flames.

Left 4 Dead launched last week and it looks like most players are getting the hang of it, fully embracing the teamplay aspect of the game. But the game isn’t easy, readily apparent when playing as the survivors in the chaotic versus mode or when tackling the co-op campaign on advanced or expert difficulty. So here’s a few more tips to help your team survive the zombie apocalypse.

• The Boomer is a highly volatile target and should be dealt with delicately. When encountering a Boomer at close range, don’t shoot it. Doing so will only coat you and your teammates in bile, triggering a swarm attack. Instead, melee the Boomer, pushing it away from you. Backpedal to a safe distance and shoot it. If nobody is splashed with bile, this will get you the Clean Kill achievement.
• When attacking a Hunter on a pinned teammate, use melee attacks to knock them off. This prevents you from injuring your teammate with friendly fire—an important consideration when equipped with a high-powered weapon like a shotgun or sniper rifle. But be prepared to shoot the Hunter as soon as it’s knocked off your teammate. Otherwise it will attack again. Knocking a Hunter off a teammate with a melee attack earns you the Hunter Punter achievement.
• If a teammate is ensnared by a tongue attack, quickly locate the responsible Smoker and shoot him. If the Smoker isn’t within view, perform a melee attack on the tongue to release your teammate. Avoid shooting the tongue to prevent inflicting friendly fire on your teammate. Once a Smoker has snared and released a target, they can’t attack for several seconds. Use this time to hunt them down before they can strike again.
• If you can’t engage a Witch at long range, look for other ways to delay her attack. If she’s in a room, toss a molotov at her and shut the door. She’ll eventually claw her way through the door, but will sustain heavy damage from the molotov while doing so. Hitting a Witch with a molotov gets you the Burn the Witch achievement.
• The Tank is by far the most deadly of the infected and must capture the attention of the entire team if you have any hopes of killing one. Although incredibly strong, the Tank isn’t very fast. It’s entirely possible to backpedal while firing at the Tank without getting touched. But that’s assuming you don’t run out of room or back into a corner—in which case you’re pretty much screwed.
• The pump and auto shotguns’ extreme damage output is a double edged sword, particularly when playing at the harder difficulties where friendly fire is a huge threat. One misplaced shot could seriously injure or incapacitate a teammate. So be extremely careful when firing around teammates. If in doubt, use melee attacks until you can get a clear shot. This is critical when trying to knock away Hunters or Smokers, as attacking them directly may hurt a pinned or ensnared teammate.
• Two pistols are always better than one. Look for pistols lying around and pick one up, allowing you to operate dual pistols. This essentially doubles the pistol’s magazine capacity, rate of fire, and damage output. There is no downside. Once a second pistol is acquired, it cannot be dropped unless you’re killed.
• Operating the SMG requires a cool head and a steady hand. Even during swarm attacks, avoid holding the trigger down for long durations. This simply wastes ammo as your weapon pulls off target or pumps round after round into a an already neutralized zombie. And never swing the weapon left or right while firing—this is a good way to hit teammates. Lay-off the trigger, aim, then shoot.
• Only use the sniper rifle’s scope when a teammate is nearby to cover you. While peering through the scope your peripheral vision is completely eliminated, making it easy for infected to flank you. In most situations, the crosshairs on the HUD are adequate for aiming.
• Given the assault rifle’s automatic capability and penetration power its possible to score multiple headshots with a single auto burst. Bullets fired through one target’s head continue travelling in a straight line, penetrating anything behind it. Also, try aiming the rifle at head-level and panning the crosshairs across multiple targets to decapitate a line of approaching common infected.

Not everyone gets to live their dream and make a living of all things leisure-time like sports, comics, movies, and so on. One person has, however. Todd McFarlane, Spawn creator, founder of Image Comics and McFarlane toys, was kind enough to grant me an interview recently. We talked about his involvement in creating the Halo collectible action figures, his approach to work, and his view on video games.

Todd McFarlane

Fernando Bueno: Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with me, Todd.

Todd McFarlane: No problem.

FB: So tell us, how did you end up here?

TM: Well, I broke into the comic book industry out of college and sort of hit the ground running there. I worked my way up the ladder, working on some big characters like Batman, Spider-Man, and Hulk. From there I started my own comic company, Image Comics, at which point I pulled this comic character named Spawn out of my portfolio that I had since high school and made him sorta the flagship title of my studio. From there, I started to push Spawn up the mountain, if you will.

I decided that I needed to get into other things like TV, movies, toys, and video games. Sometimes I used other companies, and in the case of the toys, I couldn’t find any that would understand what I was trying to do artistically, so I started my own toy company. As time went by with the toy company, I decided that I couldn’t have all my eggs in one basket so I decided to make toys of other stuff. I mean, what happens if people don’t like Spawn after a while? So from there I was able to dive into doing all the sports figures, because, well, I’m a big sports geek. I went to college on a baseball scholarship, y’know. Anyhow, as we began growing the toy company, we started doing sports and comic book [characters], and [taking on] movie licenses, music licenses, and TV licenses. In fact, I think our first video game license might have been Metal Gear Solid 2 a few years ago. That did pretty well for us.

FB: McFarlane Toys has covered a lot of ground!

TM: To me it’s all pop culture. It’s moving the radar across the nation and trying to tap into that.

FB: It’s funny that you mention “pop culture” specifically, because you’ve been successful in nearly all fields of pop culture, from directing videos for major recording artists like Korn to the world of sports!

TM: We refer to it as “jack of all trades, master of none.” [chuckle] I’ve been able to dabble in a lot of different arenas and take a whack at art in the confines of those mediums given that they all have their different sets of rules.

FB: Music, TV, comics-how do you find time for everything?

TM: Yeah, a bunch of cool stuff! I’ve been fortunate enough to [try my hand at] those areas that people usually do after they’re done with work. Everybody has leisure time, right? I’ve just been fortunate enough to do those things during the working hours and not have to do them at the end of the day.

FB: So you’ve essentially made a living out of leisure time?

TM: That’s it! It’s not bad. I recommend it. [chuckles]

FB: You probably don’t have much time for games, do you?

TM: If I do, it’s usually with my kids. I admire [the games]. I [look] over the shoulders of all my [employees] who [play] here at the office after hours. I’m amazed at [their] dexterity. My eight-year-old boy plays them all-Call of Duty, Halo, and Guitar Hero. I grew up in that Pong and Ms. Pac-man era. You didn’t have to be quick with those sort of games, so I was never trained to be quick enough to play today where you can get killed nine times in one second. I’d play and say “Ah, look at that, one of the goblins is going to get me here eventually.”

I did play, [but] I got busy with my career. When I came back to [games] I thought, “Wow!” Things got fast and I haven’t figured out how to catch up. I’m good at Donkey Kong, though. I’m pretty good at getting bananas for my kids; other than that I’m not too good.

FB: As someone who got to see games grow, what are your thoughts on the industry?

TM: I come from a different vantage point. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes I get a sense that people who hang around and know [the industry] are products of their environment, and I think that at times (and I’ve seen it), they get a little bit blind to the process. They have a tendency to repeat what they already know or has already been in front of them so many times. For a guy like me who doesn’t really know everything or have the understanding, I [approach things] a lot of times asking “How come you guys don’t do this?”

And the answer may be that it’s a deadline issue, which is valid; it’s a budgetary issue, which is valid; it’s a technological issue, which is valid. But every now and then you get a moment that is a pregnant pause and none of those is the answer. And it’s just that nobody does it differently. Those are the moments that I’m asking questions. And for every 25 I ask, there may be one where everybody is sitting there silent and there is no comeback other than “We just don’t do it that way. There’s no reason why we can’t do it that way. We just don’t do it that way.” And so I go, “Yeah!” Those are the moments for me, that I think, “Why don’t we do something a little bit different? Why do we do something the same way in every aspect the way previous games have been done?” I don’t get that. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but surely you want to polish it up a little bit, right? It’s like putting the flames and the mags on a car. All right, everybody is now driving the same car, but how do we just “dude-man” it up a little?

FB: Is that your approach for all of the things you do? From a new artistic vantage point?

TM: Well, it’s interesting because with the Halo figures there is a little bit less of that. I’m not saying I didn’t put my efforts in. There are times when you have more artistic freedom and there are times when you just say “We’ve got something that is already firing on all cylinders here.” I was less concerned, if you will, with reinventing anything for Halo than I was with being as true as possible to it. Which is why we asked them for the computer data. We [began] from there and literally output their own data. So that way there wasn’t any real interpretation about what the armor looked like, or the weapons, the vehicles… We cleaned up their [assets] and put them into toy form. We have to make some concessions when we’re [making] things into a toy.

Compared not necessarily with Halo but with almost everything I’ve done at McFarlane, I think the biggest thing we did was to make the first series of Halo [figures] heavily articulated and to make them more “toy-centric,” if you will? Instead of just [making] statues-though we do have a few of those coming out, I’ve got a few of those on my desk and they’re cool as heck-[making] these toys so that if you’re sitting at your desk and you’re on the telephone, you could manipulate them as you’re on the phone and put them in some really cool poses. It may not look like it in the package, but there’s something like 32 moving parts on them. They allow you to put them in some pretty neat-looking poses, with the guns up, and they look dynamic.

Master Chief's points of articulation

FB: What’s this about statuesque Halo figures?

TM: When we first met with Bungie, part of the comments they made was that they were enamored with the military figures we’ve done. They liked the authenticity of that and the poses they were in that were more like frozen moments. I told them that I’d eventually come out with that “army” version [of the figures] that asked “What if these guys were real? What would they look like?” With that, you have to do some interpretation because in the game, they’re just polygons and they’re built a certain way and they move a certain way. But it’s kind of like cheating the costume, because you don’t always see it as something practical, in terms of having to make that as real armor. So we now have a version coming out-our Legendary line, as we’re calling it-that will be out at the end of 2008, beginning of 2009. Some of the first will be Master Chief fighting the Flood, and one of the  Arbiters, and a big, fat, cool Brute with a hammer. He’s the most plastic for your dollar; he’s going to be a heavy guy.

FB: So where the first Halo figures were more closely related to 3-D art renders from Bungie, this new Legendary series is more like adapted concept art?

TM: Yeah. Like if there was actually a movie out and you were to catch a frame of the movie, what would these guys look like? You know. We’re trying to make them truly alive, if you will. And again, there are limitations to that when you’re making articulated toys and when you’re doing video games. With this one we’re just trying to have fun and pretend they’re real guys.

FB: What about Halo Wars? Can we expect to see anything for the next game in the Halo franchise?

TM: Oh yeah. I went down to take a look at it and was really impressed with what I saw and the effort they’re putting into it. And not only that, but the visuals! I was expecting to see more of the same with some slight variation, but they’ve done some really cool stuff there. Even with the look of the Master Chief, who is their icon-they’ve messed with that a bit, too. We’re going to have some fun with that. To me, though, you could take Halo, Halo 2 and 3, or Halo Wars and strip away all those extra words. In the end it’s just Halo. Just like Star Wars, you have a brand name. I don’t want retail to get all caught up on what version it is.

Detailed view of MC in clay - front

FB: Have you been surprised at the reception that the McFarlane toys have gotten? A lot of them sell really well on the secondary market.

TM: Well, there’s always a supply and demand quotient. It’s sort of interesting from my end. We weigh the figures, we don’t [manufacture] them [in equal amounts]. With Halo, we sit there and think, “OK, which figures are people most likely to buy?” What ends up happening is that whoever we put third on the list instantly becomes one of those secondary market sellers. It doesn’t matter who it is. As popular as someone like Cortana is, she would’ve still been somebody we would have made less of because I’ve got my toys in a boys’ action figure aisle. So the female figures in boys’ aisles don’t necessarily sell well to the laymen even though they may be popular with Halo fans.

There is a balancing act of trying to put out enough for the collectors or the people who know about the game but not doing so much that you’ve got a lot left over. I’d always err on the side of having too little of that product, because I’ve been on the other side of that equation. Once you get past the people who want [Cortana] then you’ve got to ask who is left? The laymen. Not many kids are going to be walking by saying, “Hey, I can either get Iron Man, that cool robot Transformer, or…that girl.” [chuckle] And I know Dad isn’t saying “No, no, no. I don’t want G.I. Joe and the military guys. And I sure as heck don’t want those robots. And I don’t want those superheroes. I think my eight-year-old boy needs himself a girl doll.” [chuckle] They’re not going to take the girl doll home! Like I said, we’ve got a formula that says “Here’s the percentage we need of those kinds of figures.”

FB: As a prominent figure in the comic industry, what are your thoughts on the Halo comics?

TM: I know both of the guys that were producing it. They’ve gotten some good guys on it. In fact, the first series, the guys who worked on it used to do a book for me, then they moved over to Marvel, where they did a good run on Daredevil and now they’re working on the Halo series.

FB: What are your thoughts on the current comic book industry? I remember being able to walk down the street and find multiple comic shops. Now I’m lucky if I find one!

TM: Yeah. Unfortunately that is a by-product of the community sort of collapsing on itself a little bit in its heyday in the early ’90s. My personal opinion is that we took advantage of the consumer so the consumer eventually woke up to that and moved on. And so we lost a tremendous amount of our readership and with that we lost a tremendous amount of stores. It’s been probably 12-14 years since the heyday. People say that everything comes in cycles, but I don’t believe it. The sports card market did the same thing. They burned bright and [many collectors] walked away feeling like they had been burnt a little bit.

Because of that, and because I saw what was happening with the comic book market, I knew I had to take all of my eggs and take them out of comics and [diversify] into those other mediums that we talked about. Though I still work with comics today. In fact, I just finished inking a cover today.

FB: Well, as someone whose cubicle was once decorated solely with McFarlane toys and on behalf of the millions of cubicles around the world, I’d like to thank you.

TM: [laughs] Ah, God bless you! You know what, that’s cool. Because a lot of the time when I do interviews, I try to explain that just because you buy my products it doesn’t make you a toy-collecting geek. It may just mean that you like that brand, right? So if you play a lot of Halo and all of a sudden you’re walking down the aisles and you see something that catches your eye and say, “Hey, there’s the Master Chief!” And you buy it and put it next to your computer, well, it’s the equivalent of T-shirts and hats with logos on them. Somebody walks in with a Yankee hat, you say he either likes baseball or the Yankees because he has the hat on. If someone has Aerosmith across their shirt, it’s the same thing. It’s just branding! The clutter and stuff we have next to our computers and in our cubicles says a lot about a person.

FB: Agreed! Is there anything else you’d like to say before we go?

TM: Let me just say that working with Microsoft and Bungie has been tremendous. And I’m not just saying that. We’ve dealt with dozens and dozens of licenses and I’ve got some nightmare stories! But, [Microsoft and Bungie] have been attentive, detail oriented, and they really care. And that always helps. When the people care about the product as much as we do, it makes our job easy.

We’ve got more Spartans coming! Don’t you worry, young lad! We’re going to have your whole desk littered with Spartans!

Check out the amazing Halo 3 Art Book to see more stunning images.

Now that you’ve had a chance to play the Left 4 Dead demo you have a good idea of how the co-op campaign plays. But what about versus mode? Versus is an adversarial game mode pitting the survivors against the infected. No Mercy and Blood Harvest can be played in this four-on-four mode, offering ten maps total. The gameplay is nearly identical to the other modes with the survivors tasked with making it from safe house to safe house and ultimately escaping after surviving the movie’s finale. It’s the job of the infected team to stop the survivors. Unlike the other game modes, in versus the survivors cannot respawn, but the infected team can. This provides a unique twist to the game mode, forcing the survivors to work together and watch each others’ backs.

While the survivors spawn as the main protagonists, the infected team take on the roles of the special infected. At any given time the infected team always has one Boomer, two Hunters, and one Smoker on the map. Who spawns as what is random, determined by the director. At some points in the map, one player on the infected team is given the chance to spawn as a Tank, providing the team with an extra boost in offense. The Witch is not playable by the infected team, but Witches do make appearances on occasion. Witch spawns are determined by the director and are never in fixed locations. Still, the infected team should use appearances by the Witch to bolster their numbers during coordinated ambushes.

During these matches, each team gets the chance to play as both the survivors and the infected on each map. So after the survivors have escaped or died in the first round, the same map is replayed and the two teams switch sides, with the former infected taking on the roles of survivors and vice versa. Playing as the survivors and infected are completely different and require different skills and tactics to win. But regardless of which side you’re playing, communication and teamwork are always essential.

So how do you determine who wins a match in versus mode? After playing a round as the survivors a score is calculated based on this formula:

Average Distance Traveled + Health Bonus x Survival Multiplier x Map Difficulty Modifier = Team Score

Average Distance Traveled: The points awarded in this category is based on how far your team traveled during the round. If your team made it all the way to the end of the map and reached the safe house, you’re awarded with the maximum 100 points. But if your team only made it through 37% of the map before being stopped by the opposing team’s infected, you only get 37 points. The percentage of the map your team completes determines this score.

Health Bonus: This bonus is determined by averaging the hit points of the survivors who made it to the safe house—survivors who were killed enroute are not part of this average. So if everyone makes it into the safe house with full health, the max 100 points are awarded.

Survival Multiplier: Once the average distance travelled and health bonus has been added, the score is multiplied by the number of survivors who made it into the safe house at the end. If all four survivors made it in, the score is multiplied by four. If only one survivor made it, the score is multiplied by one and thus has no impact. If nobody survived, the score is not multiplied by zero. Rather the score remains untouched, with no multiplier applied.

Map Difficulty Modifier: Each map is assigned a predetermined difficulty modifier. The easiest (or shortest) maps are given a modifier of 1, and the hardest (or longest) maps are given a modifier of 2. The rest of the maps fall somewhere in between, sometimes rated as a 1.50 or 1.60. Whatever the modifier is, it is then multiplied by the score, giving you your team’s final score for the round.

So what’s a good score? Usually posting a score close to 1,000 points per map is considered a praiseworthy achievement. But ultimately it all depends on how well the opposing performed in their turn as the survivors. While no points are awarded when playing as the infected, stopping the opposing team’s survivors is critical, preventing them from posting a high score. Even killing one survivor can have a dramatic impact on the final score, especially in close matches as it robs the opposing team of that vital survival multiplier. So don’t fool around while playing as the infected. Stopping the opposing team is just as important as reaching the safe house when you’re playing as the survivors.

Infantry play an important role on the battlefield of the future.

Ninety years ago today the guns fell silent all along the trench lines stretching from the Alps to the North Sea. The War to End All Wars was over. Within 21 years, the world would once again be at war. The Treaty of Versailles planted the seeds of World War II. While wars continue throughout the world today, none have compared to the two world wars.

 Tom Clancy’s EndWar is set a hundred years after World War I ended. The units you can command are evolutions of the same units that fought during WWI. It was during this conflict that the tank and aircraft were first used in combat. Artillery and infantry both played a major role at the time. Even though modern tanks, gunships, and artillery are so much more advanced, in 2020, the soldier on the ground still decides the battle.

 Infantry is often the overlooked unit in EndWar. They are actually some of the most important units. There are two different types of infantry units: Riflemen and Engineers. Infantry are the only units which can secure uplinks and then upgrade them for supports. Therefore, you need to have these units in your force when you deploy to the battlefield. Following are some tips on how to get the most out of your infantry.

 Infantry are slow to move. Therefore, load them up in transports to quickly move them to their objectives. Transports also provides protection for your infantry since they are extremely vulnerable to all types of enemy attacks while out in the open. When your infantry are going to fight, make sure they are either in cover or garrisoned in a building. Buildings are great spots for positioning infantry. Both cover and buildings give infantry increased rate of fire and longer attack ranges in addition to providing protection.

 Engineers are excellent against all types of vehicles while they are in cover or garrisoned. They are also fast at upgrading uplinks Riflemen, on the other hand, are best used against enemy infantry—especially Engineers. With some upgrades, your riflemen can defeat any enemy infantry—even if they are garrisoned in a building. Riflemen can also secure uplinks fast.

 Infantry have some very cool upgrades. While Riflemen can get stealth suits and sniper rifles as well as the ability to deploy anywhere on the battlefield, Engineers can deploy minefields and deploy defenses around uplinks.

So next time you are fighting in 2020, focus on your infantry. If you use them correctly, keeping them in cover or garrisoned in buildings, and upgrade them, you will see just how effective they can be.

Establish communication with your team: There’s no time to type messages back and forth, so make sure everyone on your team has a microphone and knows how to use it—a gray speaker icon appears next to their name in the lobby if they have a microphone connected. If playing with strangers online, say hi and establish a rapport with your new teammates. Breaking the ice in the lobby will pay off later as the game begins.

Get organized: Before beginning a game, discuss your individual roles. It’s usually a good idea to elect one teammate as the leader. This player will not only physically lead the team but make key pathfinding decisions at branches, determining which direction the team will go. Therefore the leader should have at least some experience with the layout of the maps you’re about to blitz through. But most importantly, the leader should possess good communication skills, constantly checking in with teammates and ensuring everyone stays together and healthy.

Diversify your firepower: When choosing weapons at the beginning of a level, mix it up, taking a couple of shotguns and two SMGs or assault rifles. This gives your team a good balance of firepower capable of engaging threats at close and long range. Never take more than one sniper rifle. Although powerful, sniper rifles have a low rate of fire and take a long time to reload. And since most engagements occur at close to intermediate range, the rifle’s scope isn’t very useful, and can even be a liability.

Stay together, stay alive: It may sound easy, but keeping four players together during a chaotic advance is a constant challenge. But it’s a challenge that must be overcome if you hope to make it to the safe house. Stay in constant voice communication with your teammates, calling out targets and issuing warnings. If you need to stop and heal, let everyone know so they don’t leave you behind. When stopping, make sure everyone gets the message. Anyone who continues advancing on their own won’t stand a chance.

Close doors: The infected can’t open doors. Instead, they must break them down with melee attacks. While a simple wooden door won’t last long when faced with such violent attacks, it will delay the infected, allowing your team to slip away or prepare to engage the attackers. Often the sound of the infected breaking down a door is just enough to get your team’s attention, preventing you from being attacked from behind.

Share the health supplies: If your character is healthy and someone else on your team is seriously injured, either heal them with a first aid kit or hand over a bottle of pills. Injured players slow down the whole team so it’s in everyone’s best interest to keep everyone healthy and moving at maximum speed. Each player can carry one first aid kit and one bottle of pills, so there’s usually enough supplies to go around if you all share.

Use the survivor’s names when communicating: It’s often easier to say Bill, Francis, Louis, or Zoey in the heat of battle than it is to decipher someone’s 15-character Gamertag. So take note of what survivor you’re playing as and respond to any questions or requests when addressed by this name.

Monitor your teammates: You can see your teammates at all times, even if they’re not in your current line of sight. They’ll appear as a blue glowing silhouette if blocked by an object such as a wall. These glowing silhouettes allow you to keep tabs on all your teammates. If the teammate’s silhouette turns orange, it indicates they’re in danger. This could mean a variety of things. They could be covered in a Boomer’s bile, dangling from a ledge, incapacitated, pinned by a Hunter, or ensnared by a Smoker’s tongue. In any case, get to them as quickly as possible to assist.

We have a Basics overview teaching you the combat chain, followed by three different mission type walkthroughs: The Conquest of Rovaniemi walkthrough, The Raid on Rozenburg walkthrough, and The Siege of Washington D.C. walkthrough.  You can check out the End War Video Strategies at G4 here.

You can also go to our Tom Clancy Feature Page and purchase them in a discounted HD or SD bundle or with their eGuide.