Infestation: Survivor Stories is $3.75 (Also known as The War Z)

Good deal.  It was $3.74 a few times on Steam this summer sale.  This works if anyone didn't want the Steam overlay or missed it.  I think it's def. worth $3.75 but I would be prepared for a ton of hate posts to fill this thread. 

 
This is War Z, it was re-branded because of the movie, and to avoid issues of confusion between the two, it is pretty much considered a broken game, with false promises, do NOT fall for the rebranding. The game is pretty much considered a pay to win game, where you spend a ton of money on buying ammo only to have you lose it as soon as you die. Trust me save your money.

 
This is War Z, it was re-branded because of the movie, and to avoid issues of confusion between the two, it is pretty much considered a broken game, with false promises, do NOT fall for the rebranding. The game is pretty much considered a pay to win game, where you spend a ton of money on buying ammo only to have you lose it as soon as you die. Trust me save your money.
While the pay to win complaint is definitely valid, it's far from a "broken" game. It can be played and enjoyed in its current form as long as you know what you are getting yourself into. I really wish the game would cut the "controversies" because the minute one dies down, you have another one for people to rage about.

Reportedly going Free to Play in October.
Hmmm, interesting. Good to know. I can't see this game being sustainable in its current form in F2P. Losing everything you buy the instant you die does not promote spending in the cash store so where would they get their money.

 
"Don't buy it!" -Posts a link where you can buy it.
Somebody edited my headline and posted that on there, all I posted was the name of game. Why would a moderator do that? Wow! Some gamers here might want to grab it.

 
OP is a marketer for that scam company.... Just kidding(I hope). But check out some YouTube videos of this trash. I almost pulled the trigger a month ago when it was on sale for $3. I'm glad I bought a nice snack for work instead
 
OP is a marketer for that scam company.... Just kidding(I hope). But check out some YouTube videos of this trash. I almost pulled the trigger a month ago when it was on sale for $3. I'm glad I bought a nice snack for work instead
I am, in no shape or form, affiliated with them, I just thought it was a good deal, and thought I come here and share it with you lovely gals and gents. You're welcome btw.

 
I am, in no shape or form, affiliated with them, I just thought it was a good deal, and thought I come here and share it with you lovely gals and gents. You're welcome btw.
Heretic! Heretic! Burn him at the stake! Burn him at the stake!

Actually, I kept looking at buying this game during the Steam sale, but backed off every time due to the hate posted not just here in CAG, but in the game's Steam forum itself. Tons of hate for this title out there....

 
Somebody edited my headline and posted that on there, all I posted was the name of game. Why would a moderator do that? Wow! Some gamers here might want to grab it.

awesome... mods don't have time to do their fucking jobs, but have time to pull immature crap like this...

 
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I purchased this game during alpha/beta/whatever they said it was. 

Game was really fun to start. Then they added in having to pay real money if you want to respawn instantly, or you have to wait an hour if you dont. They then went back on a number of promised features and changed the game so much. After that, they started blanket banning ANYONE who had any kind of criticism for the game, constructive or not.

At this point, i contacted my CC company and got a refund of the $50 i paid. 

Bottom line, the game can be fun if you have a large enough base group of RL friends. Otherwise, the game is full of dickbag griefers, hackers and immature lowlifes that will hunt unarmed people with guns (so you have NO chance of fighting back), and kill you over and over. You quickly hit your character slot cap and end up either having to delete characters, wait an hour to play again, or paying real money only to get griefed again. 

It really is a frustrating game, especially because of the potential it had until the devs went all cash grab on it.

 
While by all accounts this is an awful game -- and I don't suggest that anyone pick it up -- there are plenty of games that people consider bad that I love, and would love to hear about deals on. So I'm not a fan of the "remove this post!" comments.

 
This is War Z, it was re-branded because of the movie, and to avoid issues of confusion between the two, it is pretty much considered a broken game, with false promises, do NOT fall for the rebranding. The game is pretty much considered a pay to win game, where you spend a ton of money on buying ammo only to have you lose it as soon as you die. Trust me save your money.
Yes...there are "pay to get ahead" options...just as there are in NCAA football, NBA 2K, and several other full retail $60 releases. You act like if you just don't choose to spend real money, you can't play the game. I'm not going to say it's not a little messed up to micro-transaction people to death, but this is hardly the first game to do it, and if you're sitting at a $3.75 buy in, how much can you really complain? It's crazy seeing people get so up in arms about this. I've put about 8 hours into the game so far, with friends...and we've had a blast. Are there douchebags who just want to kill you and teabag over your dead corpse? Sure. But that's pretty much status quo for any online experience. Does the game have some gameplay hiccups and graphical glitches? Sure. But in this day of patches and updates...again, status quo. But the game is nowhere near broken and nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be.

 
I know I'll get some flak for this, but I actually like this game a lot. If you can get a few friends playing together it can be very fun to raid.

 
I also think it's very easy to get around the flaws in the game if you possess any critical thinking skills at all. I knew about the micro-transactions going in, and my mindset was to basically pretend that they don't exist.

1. Yes, if your character dies, you lose what you were carrying. Honestly, many games could (and do) replicate this kind of system, depending on how forgiving a save system they have.

2. Yes, when you die, you have to wait an hour to respawn with that character unless you choose to pay. You can, however, create another character with no limitations. I'm pretty sure you have 5 slots for characters. I've only used 3 slots and have never had a need for more than that. If you can't keep 3 characters alive over the span of an hour, you're doing something wrong. This isn't an FPS. Stop playing it like one.

3. Yes, you can choose to pay for weapons, ammo, armor, etc. You can also find it at numerous places around the map that are uninhabited by zombies and are generally safe to explore. If you're smart, you'll play on a server that isn't very full, thus decreasing your odds of running into players looking for trouble. As soon as you join a server, press the TAB key, and look at the list of people in the server. If it's filled with "thugs", it would probably be a good idea to disconnect and find another server.

4. It's also much smarter to play during daylight (for obvious reasons). All servers are on a consistent clock which you can easily keep track of here: http://warzti.me/. I've also read that there are iOS and Android apps for this purpose as well.

5. Your loot can be stored (for free) in a vault at any of the settlements, and used across all your characters. If you've got a full backpack, it might be wise to head back to a settlement and store some stuff. If you're wandering around fully loaded all the time, don't be shocked if you die and lose everything.

It's really not that hard to have success in this game. You can question the ethics of the developer if you want, but like I said, I've seen EA Sports do the same thing. But the game definitely isn't broken. It just takes a little bit of thought and strategy.

 
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:applause:

That's exactly how the game is meant to be played IMO and how I played it and enjoyed every time I've booted it up.  I paid $15 for it last year when it was coming out of Alpha or Beta and I've gotten my money's worth. 

 
Im going to address a few of the comments with my experience. 

The reason why this game is more considered "pay2win" is because there are items you can ONLY get through the cash shop. Granted idiots who buy these items drop them on death, so they are literally wasting their money. But having items that can only be purchased with cash (scopes, rangefinders) make it more pay2win.

Servers. Sure you can log out and find a low population server. What this leads to is people play on empty servers, loot a bunch of weapons, then jump back on full servers and grief new players. If by some miracle you are close to killing someone, they will run, hide for 5 seconds, log out, log back into a new server, move to a new location and switch back to your server and kill you. Server hopping is one of the main things wrong with this game. Find a loot spot. Jump servers all the way down the list until you have a full pack then go stash it.

Painkillers. You can chain painkillers during a fight to be invincible. As long as you have pills (which are easy to get in a group), you cannot be killed. Fights tend to end up whoever runs out of pills (or lags) first, loses. Ive done this on several occasions, especially to griefers. Run at them with a flashlight, spamming pills while they shoot the hell out of you, and kill them. 

Settlements (safe zones). You can be killed in a safe zone. The only thing that makes these zones "safe" is your weapon is disabled within them. This doesnt stop a sniper nailing you as you go to store your precious haul. Safe zones are usually camped by bandits for this reason, they can shoot you, but you cant shoot back. The only way around this is to jump to an empty server, stash/retrieve your gear, then leave and swap back to the server you want to play on. It defeats the whole purpose of the game.

Hackers. Hackers are EVERYWHERE. The server anti cheat is shit. Hackers can no-clip through the floor, have all players highlighted on their hud and shoot you through the floor.  This was the main thing that prompted me quitting. Spend 4 hours with friends gearing up, only to be killed instantly by a teleporting flying douchebag and losing every item gathered in that time. At this point, whats the point in trying to play?.

Graphics options. Man was i pissed when i found out about this. So i like to run games on full. This game looked amazing, flowing grass in fields, swaying trees etc etc. So i would sneak around in the grass, getting close to someone before i killed them, only to be shot accurately through my cover. I couldnt figure it out. Then my friend was on, has a shitty PC. I snuck upto him ready to surprise him, and he said, "what the hell are you doing laying in the middle of that empty space". I was like "WTF".  It turns out, that if you lower the graphics, ALL the grass, foliage, cover is removed. ALL OF IT. So, in order to play without gimping yourself, you have to play on low settings, otherwise your going to be at a disadvantage. I was so pissed at this.

Granted i havent played in a while, so some of the above may have been fixed, but i doubt it. The reason why i get so angry about this game, is i REALLY loved it to start. It had such potential. Then after discovering some of the above, i realized they had ruined the game completely.

 
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How does this compare to State of Decay? I know that obviously it shares far greater similarities with DayZ, but as far as fun goes, is it more fun than either of those other two?

I paid for Arma II just for DayZ and was disappointed by how poorly implemented most of the mod was, I can't imagine this is any worse. State of Decay was perfect for the first few days but became really really boring after seeing most of what the game had to offer.

Interested to hear thoughts, may grab this today.
 
Thanks for the in depth review/highlight of some of the issues. That grass/textures issue is pretty high up on the BS factor and something they should not have let pass. But it did make me lol just with the image of the ostrich with its head in the ground I got when I read your story. I've also always disliked the one base to go be safe idea. Even if they made it so you could not be hurt IN the safe zone, you would still have snipers lining up to try to get you in the entrance before you got it. I think the game would be much better served with multiple safe zones, or even unique, player specific safe zones that changed each time you spawned into a server. With this particular game I never quite understood what there is to win. I guess survive the longest? I'm not really interested in killing other players or collecting uber loot, so I guess I don't connect with the Pay2Win claims since I don't see anything to actually win in the game.

Before you consider supporting the assholes that developed the game, read this interview with the head asshole at Hammerpoint: http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/the-war-z/1226980p1.html
I always hate when BS like that gets posted and passed off as journalism. An IM chat where the "journalist" is clearly hell bent on being right and has an agenda? That's not journalism. I'm all for asking challenging questions, but hounding someone over and over to admit that you are right and they are wrong is just pitiful.

How does this compare to State of Decay? I know that obviously it shares far greater similarities with DayZ, but as far as fun goes, is it more fun than either of those other two?

I paid for Arma II just for DayZ and was disappointed by how poorly implemented most of the mod was, I can't imagine this is any worse. State of Decay was perfect for the first few days but became really really boring after seeing most of what the game had to offer.

Interested to hear thoughts, may grab this today.
I heard someone say they enjoyed State of Decay a lot more. I haven't played it so I can't say. In some respects this game is more refined/playable than DayZ, which is its big appeal right now. You have more features implemented and more ease of use/ease of getting going than DayZ. DayZ can often feel like getting dropped into some unfinished sandbox where you have to figure everything out on your own and just wander aimlessly until you die. WarZ is just more refined in some aspects. Getting into games is easier. Playing with friends is easier. Basically the UI and features are refined whereas DayZ is still really rough there. It might go F2P as someone posted so you might be better off waiting.

 
I really wanted to grab this during the summer sale, but I feel like it's going to be the equivalent of dating a hot girl with crabs.

 
State of Decay is INFINITELY more fun than this, but single player.

 
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To be honest, in my experience, the same could be said about all PC game communities, and that's why I don't play PC games online.
The notion that this is something only found in "PC game communities" is laughable. Any online console game is going to have griefers and immature lowlifes...and believe it or not, even modders. No matter what game you're playing on any system, the objective should just be to avoid them. Playing with them is an exercise in futility.

That said, I just finished a 2 hour session of Infestation and saw one other person the entire time...while playing on a server with at least 15 people in it, and trekking back and forth from one of the safe zones (there are several, btw), to unload my loot with no issues. The map is big enough to avoid people if you don't just run around like an idiot. I had a great time bashing zombies with baseball bats and shovels, leveling up my character, and firing off a shot with a rifle every now and then just to let anyone within earshot know to keep their distance. The game isn't revolutionary by any means. But in my opinion, it offers a fairly realistic "survival" experience.

 
I always hate when BS like that gets posted and passed off as journalism. An IM chat where the "journalist" is clearly hell bent on being right and has an agenda? That's not journalism. I'm all for asking challenging questions, but hounding someone over and over to admit that you are right and they are wrong is just pitiful.
Oh please. This asshole of a game developer has been doing just that since the beginning. Telling lies and not admitting when faced with difficult questions. A journalist's job is to inform people and if something is really wrong it'd better be well informed. I have no hate on your point of view. I just think that the cause is just.

 
Steam says I've put 13 hours into the game already, and I've seriously experienced almost none of the problems you're talking about. I feel like these are gross exaggerations.

Pay2Win - Gold coin items do appear naturally in the game (though I'm sure not all do...backpacks, NVGs, etc). I found a wooden barrier in a building and found a holographic scope in a store on a shelf. These were not dropped by other players.

Servers - Like I said, I hardly ever run into people. In my 13 hours of play, I've probably been killed by another player 3 times.

Painkillers - Stop engaging other players. Not the point of the game. If you're looking for an FPS, go play COD.

Settlements - Haven't seen this yet either. Like I said, between playing on smaller servers and looking at the player list to watch out for "thugs", it seems like this issue could be easily avoided. If you don't want a likelihood of being killed and losing all of your stuff, don't join a server with 46 people on it. If you think it makes the game "less fun" to not have a lot of people to run around trying to kill, then don't be mad when someone does it to you. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Hackers - Haven't seen this at all yet. I don't doubt that people do it...I just haven't seen it. But what I have seen is LOTS of people getting banned. Some might view that as a negative, but considering the state of online gaming and the mentality of people who play them, I'm happy to see a game/server that doesn't tolerate BS. Maybe they have tightened up since you played. I don't know. Just relaying what I've experienced.

Graphics - I agree it's unfair to have different people seeing different things...but some of that has to be the nature of PC gaming doesn't it? We're not all playing on standardized systems (ala consoles), so not everyone is capable of the same textures. I will say though, while some people may be gaining the advantage unintentionally, anyone who is willing to stoop to those levels to win at a video game is going to do whatever it takes anyway. You run into those people playing CoD, Madden, NHL, etc. They don't even care about having fun...as long as they win. There's no just point even trying to compete against people like that. You're better off just avoiding them.

 
To be honest, in my experience, the same could be said about all PC game communities, and that's why I don't play PC games online.
Thats true, but this game rewards that antisocial behavior by allowing someone to kill and steal everything you have worked for. In most games, dying is no big deal. In this, its everything.

N8rockerasu: Honestly, to call me out for "gross exaggerations" when you have only put 13 hours into a game like this is a little lame. I have over 100 hours into this game, I was playing before it was even on steam. I went through all the forum deletions, locking threads that mention anything bad, sergei's nerdrage...everything.

To tell me the fix to spamming pills is to "stop engaging other players" in a pvp game speaks for itself. Rather than accepting the way healing works is broken, your fix is to stop playing that way. In fact, reading your whole response, your "fixes" seem to be "play on empty servers". This was sold as an "MMO". You dont buy into that sort of game to play solo or on ghost-town servers.

I did a fast cursory read of their "new" forums. All these problems still exist. They are still reported on the forums. People are still getting account banned for complaining about the game there. There are MULTIPLE videos posted in their hacking forum about it. If you dont believe me, go read for yourself. But just because you havent seen it in your 13 hours of play, doesnt mean it doesnt happen.

 
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N8rockerasu: Honestly, to call me out for "gross exaggerations" when you have only put 13 hours into a game like this is a little lame. I have over 100 hours into this game, I was playing before it was even on steam. I went through all the forum deletions, locking threads that mention anything bad, sergei's nerdrage...everything.

To tell me the fix to spamming pills is to "stop engaging other players" in a pvp game speaks for itself. Rather than accepting the way healing works is broken, your fix is to stop playing that way. In fact, reading your whole response, your "fixes" seem to be "play on empty servers". This was sold as an "MMO". You dont buy into that sort of game to play solo or on ghost-town servers.

I did a fast cursory read of their "new" forums. All these problems still exist. They are still reported on the forums. People are still getting account banned for complaining about the game there. There are MULTIPLE videos posted in their hacking forum about it. If you dont believe me, go read for yourself. But just because you havent seen it in your 13 hours of play, doesnt mean it doesnt happen.
Your continuous assertion that this is a pvp game is your problem. I have no interest in "hunting down" other players. To me, this is a survival game tasking me with finding food, water, and medicine, while avoiding zombies in the meantime. I'm also not playing solo. I'm playing co-op with several friends. But none of us really feel the need to "go after" random people for no apparent reason. We're scavenging food, storing supplies, killing zombies, leveling up our characters, and surviving. Why do you think you don't get any XP for killing another player? "MMO" doesn't stand for "Go Around And Kill Every Person You See."

Seriously, are there not enough games involving running around and shooting other players in the face? I won't deny that there are plenty of people playing this game that way...but they're the ones ruining the game. The reason it's so infuriating to lose all of your stuff when you die is because Johnny Dumbass thinks it's hilarious to run up behind you and hit you in the head with a bat. I'm just saying, if others want to play the game this way, that's their business. But I'll do my best to avoid them. I'm not here to play Call of Duty.

 
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Your continuous assertion that this is a pvp game is your problem. I have no interest in "hunting down" other players. To me, this is a survival game tasking me with finding food, water, and medicine, while avoiding zombies in the meantime. I'm also not playing solo. I'm playing co-op with several friends. But none of us really feel the need to "go after" random people for no apparent reason. We're scavenging food, storing supplies, killing zombies, leveling up our characters, and surviving. Why do you think you don't get any XP for killing another player? "MMO" doesn't stand for "Go Around And Kill Every Person You See."

Seriously, are there not enough games involving running around and shooting other players in the face? I won't deny that there are plenty of people playing this game that way...but they're the ones ruining the game. The reason it's so infuriating to lose all of your stuff when you die is because Johnny Dumbass thinks it's hilarious to run up behind you and hit you in the head with a bat. I'm just saying, if others want to play the game this way, that's their business. But I'll do my best to avoid them. I'm not here to play Call of Duty.
Then why not go play State of Decay instead? its a far better single player experience, which is essentially how you are playing the game.

The game is designed for you to compete against other survivors for resources, compete, as in, PvP. Thats where the game falls flat due to problems. You cant ignore a major aspect of the game thats broken, and say that the game is fine. The fact that you feel you have to play on empty servers to enjoy the game shows how bad it is. Just because you ignore the pvp, doesnt mean it isnt a pvp game.

By playing the game super carebear and switching servers when a "thug" gets on isnt playing the game as it was intended. Play the game however you have fun for sure, but dont ignore a HUGE portion of the game because you dont like it, then come here and say "everything is fine". This also highlights part of the problem. By being able to switch servers anytime you want and have a constant position across all servers means you can teleport. The big 5 story building in the main city, where the decent weapons spawn. Several times me and friends have gone in there, fortified it and tried to hold it. All people do is switch server, go in there on an empty server and hide in a back room, switch back to your server. Now they spawn INSIDE your fortifications and kill you. Before you respond to this with "well, dont try to pvp then", that isnt a fix for this.

But even if you are playing it solely for PvE, the problems are still there. You can tank 50 zombies spamming pills while your friends loot a store. Or just stand on a car because the AI cant figure out how to get to you, so they stand still while you kill them. Invisible zombies that kill you with no chance to fight back because they are under the floor. Extremely bland towns with maybe 10 different buildings you can go inside, copy pasted town after town with the same layout and decoration. Every store is the same layout, every post office, every police station, all copy pasted.

 
I actually just thought of something else N8rock:

You are actively avoiding other players, logging onto empty servers etc, intentionally trying to play solo/co op. You said you have been killed 3 times in your 13 hours of play. 

Everytime you die, you go on a 1 hour cooldown before you can play that character again. So in your 13 hours of play, 3 of those hours were spent with your main character on cooldown due to PvP/Ganks/Grief. Thats almost 25% of your total time while making an effort to avoid other people. You dont see this as a problem?. 

Think about the people who arent switching servers when someone comes online. I remember when it was a 24 hour cooldown, and you literally had to delete characters just to continue playing the game. Just another broken mechanic in a broken game. 

 
I will snatch this game for $4, although, I do not wanna risk using my credit card to purchase the game, since its been known to been hacked and acquiring credit card info from customers.

 
I will snatch this game for $4, although, I do not wanna risk using my credit card to purchase the game, since its been known to been hacked and acquiring credit card info from customers.
I used Paypal if I recall with no issue.

Also, when I read PvP in a game likes this I don't take it to mean firefights and death matches galore.

If someone is trying to fortify the building with the best drops to keep them all then I see them as part of the problem and part of the reason a game like this wouldn't be enjoyable to people. If they are going to play the game like that, then why not just play Gunz or War, Inc?

The game has a ton of design flaws and not the nicest devs, but the same can be said about a lot of games. I think plenty of people have had fun with the game playing it whatever way they wish to play it and I know a lot of people hate it to. The thing that annoys me is people finding the need to chime in about "don't support this game" or "worst game eva!" when they never even have tried it out.

 
I used Paypal if I recall with no issue.

Also, when I read PvP in a game likes this I don't take it to mean firefights and death matches galore.

If someone is trying to fortify the building with the best drops to keep them all then I see them as part of the problem and part of the reason a game like this wouldn't be enjoyable to people. If they are going to play the game like that, then why not just play Gunz or War, Inc?

The game has a ton of design flaws and not the nicest devs, but the same can be said about a lot of games. I think plenty of people have had fun with the game playing it whatever way they wish to play it and I know a lot of people hate it to. The thing that annoys me is people finding the need to chime in about "don't support this game" or "worst game eva!" when they never even have tried it out.
This 100%. It's like people get offended that others find something to enjoy about it. It's an infantile mentality.

 
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This 100%. It's like people get offended that others find something to enjoy about it. It's an infantile mentality.
If that was directed at me, im not offended by the way you play the game. Its also pretty infantile to say im exaggerating because you havent experienced any problems in your minuscule amount of playtime. Because you havent seen it first hand it doesnt exist? You cant take the things you like, claim the things you hate dont exist and say its a good game. Overall, its not. It has fun aspects. But overall, its broken.

As for what you said fox, i dunno. They added barricades, barbed wire and boarding up windows for that reason. Take a "base" and hold it. In my opinion, its better to force people who want to PvP to come fight you, rather than roaming around and murdering people who are just trying to scavenge. Tanking and holding camps was supposed to be one of the PvP aspects. But like many thing, got destroyed by poor planning. There is no "legitimate" way to pvp now, either you grief, or get griefed.

 
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If that was directed at me, im not offended by the way you play the game. Its also pretty infantile to say im exaggerating because you havent experienced any problems in your minuscule amount of playtime. Because you havent seen it first hand it doesnt exist? You cant take the things you like, claim the things you hate dont exist and say its a good game. Overall, its not. It has fun aspects. But overall, its broken.
Ok, guy. It's a bad game. You totally win

 
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Ok, guy. It's a bad game. You totally win
Its not about "winning", this is the internet. Debate much?

Its more about you using comments like "over exaggeration", "infantile" and being all passive aggressive, then responding like a child, as shown in this post.

Its ironic, when you add that to your signature. Ive posted specific points that can be discussed. You have metaphorically stuck your fingers in your ears and screamed "IM RIGHT, EVERYONE ELSE IS STUPID". How about debating my points like an adult rather than attacking the person? Care to bring up counter points more mature than "its not a pvp game"? (shame about that description). I never flamed you, went all emo passive aggressive with my comments like you have.

You might want to check your own maturity level before you use the phrase "infantile". Clearly that suits you more than me based on this thread. If you have nothing more than idiocy to bring to the topic, then kindly STFU.

 
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