Dark Carnival - 1/5: Highway

"Whispering Oaks! Shit, I used to go there as a kid!"

- Coach

"Oh great, now we can die there as adults!"

- Nick

The Highway is the first chapter in Left 4 Dead 2 ' s Dark Carnival campaign. It was first revealed at the Penny Arcade Expo and again in Tokyo Game Show '09.

Campaign
The campaign opens with the Survivors starting off in Griffin County standing behind Jimmy Gibbs Junior's stock car (now in need of a car wash and panel shop) lamenting that they can take it no further due to the interstate being clogged with "twenty miles" of stalled and crashed vehicles.

After collecting Health Kits, Pistols and their choice of Tier 1 firearms, players move through, around and over a roadblock of vehicles. Early on, Coach will remark on the large Whispering Oaks Amusement Park billboard next to the highway bearing its soon to be familiar 'Lil Peanut logo and fondly reminisces about visiting it as a youth (which Nick will shoot down saying how great it is that they can now "die there as adults").

Players work their through two lanes of stalled and crashed vehicles mopping up random Infected with an occasional mini-Horde thrown in for good measure. Supplies appear along the way (e.g. in the back of a panel truck). On the highway proper next to the off-ramp is a camp site (denoted by a fire circle and discarded clothing) that usually yields an extra weapon and supplies. Turning down the off-ramp to the cross-road below (or dropping down to it via the incline between the two over-bridges) brings players to the underside of two highway under-bridges. An Army Hummer is parked next to ammo and weapons. This area is filled with random Infected and a mini-Horde is guaranteed to attack from the bush covered incline on the left between the two under-bridges.

Once clear of the under-bridges, players will notice the Whispering Oaks Motel with a large billboard looming over it up an incline to the right. (Alternatively players can simply head up the incline between the two bridges, get onto the bridge and follow it to the billboard.) By jumping onto the white sedan next to the billboard players can access the walkways on the billboard; here will always be found a hunting rifle. The fine vista over the motel from this vantage point gives both an overall orientation and a sprinkling of sniping opportunities.

Dropping down onto the motel roof usually reveals a Pump Shotgun at the front of the roof over the reception office. At the same time it is normal for a mini-Horde to spawn and attempt to storm the roof from at least two directions.

How the motel is explored and mopped up is a matter of personal preference and circumstances. Players must be on guard since the motel commonly spawns a Tank and/or a Witch, whilst mini-Hordes, Spitters, Chargers, Jockeys and Boomers make for character building moments throughout.

Careful inspection of all the rooms in the motel reception office block is well rewarded with very useful supplies like Laser sights, weapons, explosives, etc.. Individual motel rooms always contain pills, adrenaline shots, pipe bombs and melee weapons. An ammo stash will usually be found next to the vending machines at the end of the reception block (look for the pink flamingo) or on the reception counter.

The parking lot contains an alarmed car.When on the ground level if a mini-horde ever comes becareful where u shoot espicially if u have a submachine gun and if you do fire in short controlled bursts because you do not want to set off a car alarm. The pool area (which is accessed via two separate entrance ways) usually contains a couple of gas cans that can be sniped to burn out some inappropriately dressed Infected. Nick usually has a humorously wry comment to make about the bodies in the pool.

Once players have fully explored the motel they can get moving to the next stage of the chapter by going up to the far end of the motel overlooking the pool and entering the motel unit with a broken wall. (Trying to jump the gap in the external balcony is futile and will simply result in injury.) Once in the neighboring unit it is a simple matter to get out onto the balcony through the window. On approaching the end of the balcony overlooking the highway players can practice their sniping by mopping up random Infected milling around on the highway and in the bushes behind the motel. At this point the Common Infected may get agitated and try to storm up the stairs and if a co-op team is taking its time a Spitter, Jockey or Charger may arrive to ginger everyone up.

Next, players make their way round the back of the motel and follow a crazy-paving path leading to a large steep-sided gully. A good idea is to look down the gully and note a series of small ledges that invariably contain nice items like Propane Tanks, Gas Cans, grenades - and bad things like Witches. Note in particular the broad ledge right at the end of the path, it is a gentle drop down and often has vaguely useful supplies (like a Propane Tank).

Although steep, there is no danger in sliding or dropping down the gully to the bottom but it is helpful to try and end up in an open area at the bottom because, if they have not yet made their appearance, a horde of Common Infected is certain to charge down from the motel and being in an open space enables a team to form up and cull it.

It should be noted that the gully is a "point of no return." Co-op teams must bear in mind that Smokers, Hunters and Jockeys can easily kill someone if the rest of their teammates have already gone down the gully and they are still up on the cliff. It is thus essential to stick together and ensure everyone goes off down the gully simultaneously.

The gully floor is a treacherous place. It is filled with Infected, has poor sight lines, movement through the river is slow and combat is at close quarters for the most part. Hunting rifles are ideal to delouse the river area at a distance and submachine and shotgunners must handle the rest. (Any unfortunate deceased player will respawn in a small outhouse at the end of the river area.)

Note that there is a rock at the bottom of the gully that was overlooked when programming so Infected will stop giving chase when a player jumps up on it.

At the end of the river bank area, an open hillside will be espied on the opposite side. This hillside is an extremely dangerous area as it is one of The Director's s favorite places to spawn heavyweight opposition in the form of a Tank, Charger or Witch. Players need to check their weaponry and proceed cautiously up the incline. The decision whether to run down ammo magazines mopping up the random Common Infected in the bushes round about or keeping them fully charged against the risk of Special Infected attack must be finely calculated at this point.

Just below the brow of the hill is a good time for the team to extend ranks, check magazines and prepare for the final push to the safe room. Thereafter players step up into the open area giving onto the Whispering Oaks Amusement Park. It will be generously populated with Common Infected. Submachine gunners should go into a crouch and burst fire at convenient targets whilst snipers are assured of having a field day as the team practises its fire and movement drills across the car park towards the safe room building on the far side; during which process it is essential to note and avoid inconveniently parked alarmed car. Team captains should also note any players with low health and take appropriate covering action (the last thing one wants is to have a man or two down and a horde to deal with this close to the safe room.)

The safe room is located in the building surrounded by concrete safety barriers with its door perpendicular to the player's normal approach direction.

Survival
Bedroom Method: This requires a Combat Rifle and a melee weapon. A pipe-bomb is advised as well. Grab your supplies and head upstairs. Now go to the furthest room, it should have a katana, a first aid kit, a defibrillator and a Molotov. Using the defibrillator, take an extra first aid kit or some special ammo upstairs. Start. In this room, you have a good amount of supplies. Smokers can't get you, the horde is delayed, you have plenty of room to maneuver, and Chargers are almost useless. Jockeys are the biggest threat, as they can take you to the bottom floor. When the Tank comes, leave the room and take him down. When the second Tank comes, throw the pipe-bomb. Then take him down. Now pick whatever explosive you like and hold out. The Combat Rifle is required to take out Jockeys and Tanks from range, and the melee is used to: A. get you to the room and B. Help when you need to leave when Tanks arrive.

Scavenge
The Motel: This is the only scavenge level available for Dark Carnival so far. One very effective tactic for this one is to all scope the ground floor together to prevent hunters, chargers, smokers etc from picking off stragglers. A hunting rifle/military sniper rifle is a good asset to your team especialy for any Smokers or Spitters guarding the fuel generator. Proceed to the building directly opposite the pool exit and retrieve those first, then move on to the other ground floor cans. Once all have been retrieved, split up. A sniper and shotgunner should stay by the generator: the sniper covering the two survivours proceeding up stairs the shotgunner covering the sniper, whilst the others (assalt rifle and shotgunner) search the upper floor, sticking together. Due to the open balcony, the sniper should have no trouble covering the two on the upstairs floor. The upper floor team should be picking up cans and throwing them down to the generator whilst the shotgunner pours and the sniper keeps an eye out for that troublesome Spitter. Overall this tactic (if done correctly) should work. So good luck!