Should I buy the Left 4 Dead games through Steam?

I've been wanting to purchase Left 4 Dead 1&2 for PC for quite some time now. The problem is I'm not sure if I want to buy the digital copies from Steam, or if I want the retail version with the box and disc from Amazon. There is currently a sale on Steam that sells them as a bundle for $15, or I could buy them separately on Amazon for $40.

I have never bought anything from Steam, and I'm not sure if I want to because I have heard that you can't play Steam games without an internet connection. Is this true? My gaming PC is a laptop, so there are times when I don't have internet available.

Also, since the Left 4 Dead series requires Steam, could I even play the retail version without internet access?

And another thing I'm wondering is, do many people still play the Left 4 Dead games online?

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm having a really hard time deciding how I want to purchase these games!

Thanks! :)

You have to activate the games on steam anyways, so get it on steam for cheaper. But I would wait, it's likely to go on sale for a better price some time during the sale. Also I think it's pointless to buy Left 4 Dead because they ported all the campaigns over to L4D2, but I'm not sure.

Oh and you can play steam games offline. What you have to do is run it, then switch to offline mode while online. From then on, you can run any game offline unless it has its own drm that requires you to be online.

You have to activate the games on steam anyways, so get it on steam for cheaper. But I would wait, it's likely to go on sale for a better price some time during the sale. Also I think it's pointless to buy Left 4 Dead because they ported all the campaigns over to L4D2, but I'm not sure.

Oh and you can play steam games offline. What you have to do is run it, then switch to offline mode while online. From then on, you can run any game offline unless it has its own drm that requires you to be online.

cain006

What this guy said. Watch Steam in the following week; it's almost a sure thing that you'll see the collection even more heavily discounted than it is right now. And Steam does have an offline mode, but if I'm not mistaken Steam requires periodic logins to do whatever it does.

I think it's pointless to buy Left 4 Dead because they ported all the campaigns over to L4D2, but I'm not sure

cain006

Yeah, all of the campaigns from L4D2 are n the 2nd game and you can still play vs., survival, etc. on them.

Well not only are they already significantly cheaper through Steam, but with the sale they'll be even cheaper, not to mention that you have to activate it through Steam anyways and it would be more convenient to be able to access it without dealing with the disc.

You have to use steam regardless of if you buy the retail box. I'd recommend keeping your eyes glued to the current steam sales. Valve is very likely to discount the L4D franchise at least 75% sometime in the next week. Also you might as well skip L4D1 since all content has been ported into L4D2.

[QUOTE="cain006"]I think it's pointless to buy Left 4 Dead because they ported all the campaigns over to L4D2, but I'm not sure

Zevante101

Yeah, all of the campaigns from L4D2 are n the 2nd game and you can still play vs., survival, etc. on them.

Anyone wonder why you can see your characters legs and feet in L4D but not L4D2? kinda weird

[QUOTE="cain006"]I think it's pointless to buy Left 4 Dead because they ported all the campaigns over to L4D2, but I'm not sure

Zevante101

Yeah, all of the campaigns from L4D2 are n the 2nd game and you can still play vs., survival, etc. on them.

Anyone wonder why you can see your characters legs and feet in L4D but not L4D2? kinda weird

Any time of day you can find people playing L4d2. Don't like the team your on or is the leader taking to long to initiate? Quit session and join the next one. There is always one going. And with good G*damn reason. Whatever is going on in my life. Whatever game or non-game I'm enjoying. Whatever game or non-game I'm not enjoying, one thing never changes. Getting from safehouse A to safehouse B is always a fun, challenging cooperative experience. Japanese food analogy: L4D2 is like a bite of ginger clearing your palette between all those delicision and different bits of sushi that are your other games. No matter what I'm sick of or what I like, L4D2 is always welcome for at least one safehouse run to say the least but if I have time for five or six safehouse runs? Even better.

You should get L4D2 and have another three friends buy it and play with them. The game is an absolute blast when played with friends who know what they're doing. I'd wait and see if it goes on its own daily deal (they usually put it up for sale), buy the 4-pack (it runs for 30$ right now [basically it saves you a copy's worth]) and have your friends repay you. That's what I did with my friends and when we play we have a lot of fun.

If it doesn't go on a daily deal, just get it for $10, it's a very good price.

Wait for Left 4 Dead 2 to go on sale on steam over the next 2 weeks.

Those are the 'fficial 'structions.

Wait for a Steam sale. I've seen L4D2 for $5 many times. Also there is not point in getting the first L4D because all of the campaign maps are ported over to L4D2. 

You can buy it if you want but the game has been left for dead.SKaREO

that's not true

1. Yes, totally get em on steam. No point to go retail.

2. Wait for an even better deal. L4D games are heavily discounted frequently.

3. Don't waste money on L4D1. All the content is included in L4D2.

4. Don't believe the myth that steam games require internet to play. They require internet to activate, and most retail games these days do too. If you don't have internet, you can open steam in Offline Mode, and play any game that doesn't have its own internet requirement, such as multiplayer-only games. One thing, though. At least once, open steam while you have internet, and switch to offline mode manually (select 'go offline' under the Steam pulldown menu). Think of it as activating offline mode. After you've done that, any time you try to open steam with no internet, it will let you go offline mode.

Wait for a Steam sale. I've seen L4D2 for $5 many times. Also there is not point in getting the first L4D because all of the campaign maps are ported over to L4D2. 

klusps

Get them off of Steam, don't be dumb bro!

If you order boxed off of Amazon you have a disc that literally is a Steam activation and then gathers dust.  Get it straight from the source, download it, enjoy yourself and forget about things like boxed copies.  Unless they're DRM free like The Witcher or King's Bounty, in which case you can grab the disc.  But Steam activation makes retail redundant and most importantly saves you some cash (more often than not).

EDIT- oh, necro topic. :P