I have to say that I was less than thrilled with the new content when I first played it and even made a slightly negative impression of it; to be honest I don't like doing reviews immediately, I prefer to ruminate on things for awhile, however to be current I sometimes forego my journalistic integrity (yes, I can be a pretentious prick at times). I have to say that overall my impressions haven't changed massively but I'm willing to give the new content a recommend now.
My big problem was only trying the new screen, the light house, and it is a tough bitch; it frustrated me and jaded my experience. However after trying some of the other levels I find I can enjoy most of them. I won't cover ground that Darcy did, but I will say this: the bronze levels, 4 minutes are reachable by one or two players and the AI and I believe Silver, 7 minutes, is within reach on many levels, however I don't think the Gold can be reached by anything less than 4 experienced and hardened campaigners.
The spawn rate is still the biggest problem, but if you can learn the ebb and flow of it you can work through it. Exhibit A, this graph I got from the Left 4 Dead blog:
This is the actual graph that is used in the game for spawning, you can see the rapid progression as time goes on, especially in regards to the special infected. However, give this a glance before playing and you can begin to time your actions. Did we clear that last wave in time for an ammo run? When is the next Tank due? Did Francis say anything amusing this time around? OK, the last one isn't on the graph, but it's still valid.
Best advice I can give? Heal after every wave for the first couple of times. Don't worry about saving resources until you've gotten good at these levels, you won't last long enough to use them all. Ideally you should be able to clear the first wave in about 30 seconds, leaving you 10-15 seconds for regroup and resupply before the first tank hits. You won't take him down before the second wave spawns unless you're well co-ordinated and after that it's a free for all, so don't spare the pipe bombs, Molotov's, or first aid. Like Bill always says: "First to aid, last to die!"
One last thing, you'd think it's a good idea to gather all you gas cans, propane tanks, and oxygen bottles in one place and use them as deployable mines, but don't. All that does is guarantee you set yourself on fire in the middle of a firefight, throw them out and use them on the zombies instead of your teammates.
Good hunting people.
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