Dead Vacation is an enjoyable and well-made Custom Map overall, and it interestingly comes with two different Finale variations.

Dead Vacation takes you through a variety of unique urban locations, including a fast food restaurant and its parking lot, a small shopping mall and its back areas, a lengthy underground sewer/piping system, a luxury hotel’s stores, offices, cafeteria, pool, showers, server rooms, parking garage, flooded storage areas, cramped reception area (where the hardest Megamob + Tank event is set), and finally its roof; where the Finale takes place.

Dead Vacation features four Crescendo events in total. There is one easy Crescendo event on Chapter 1 located in the first sewer area, a potentially difficult Crescendo on Chapter 2 located deeper in the sewer, an easy Crescendo on Chapter 4 in the server rooms, and by far the hardest part of the whole campaign is Chapter 4’s Crescendo + Tank event in the cramped reception area.

During the reception area's Crescendo + Tank, it’s likely often best to finish fighting the hordes, and then fight/kite the Tank before having everyone get into the elevator. Note that the Tank and other Infected can enter this elevator, though, so don’t linger in it for too long.

Both of Dead Vacation’s Finale variations are very similar, with their layout and spawning formula being an identical and easy Defend-Tank-Defend-Tank.

The only difference between the two Finale variants is their endings.

The Original Finale’s ending is very spectacular and cinematic, but is also very confusing and disorienting on your first playthrough, with large explosions, spontaneous terrain destruction/deformation, and an odd-looking rope ladder that you have to run and jump to (be sure to aim for in between the two ropes, or else you’ll fall and die). You should expect at least one Survivor to fall/burn to death on the Original Finale’s ending, unless everyone knows what to expect and where it’s safe to stand.

The Alt Finale’s ending is a more standard helicopter escape, although it should be noted that Common Infected, Specials, and Tanks can board the escape helicopter and attack the Survivors (which is atypical, and can be very dangerous if all of the Survivors don’t board the helicopter quickly).

On both Finale variants, you can easily survive by holding out on the elevated cubed platform in the corner of the roof, closest to the Finale radio and First Aid Kits. The Infected can only climb up to this spot via two pipe Infected Ladders located behind the cubed platform, and you can just sit atop these pipes in order to automatically crush and kill all Common Infected and block most Special Infected from being able to climb up.

Also, unlike the identical cubed platforms found on No Mercy’s Finale, you can’t even be knocked off the roof by Specials/Tanks and instakilled here, as the abyss is walled off (making this spot even safer).

On both Finale variants, I appreciate the unique idea of letting the players choose where they want to position the Minigun, as well as the option for players to barricade and block off up to 3 windows/doors of their choosing.

It should be noted, however, that a major glitch exists on both versions of Dead Vacation’s Finales, where if you interact with the ghost of a placeable Minigun whilst not looking directly at it, you can actually mount and fire the imaginary Minigun.

These glitched fireable imaginary Miniguns will overheat as usual if you fire them for too long, however their overheat only lasts for about two seconds, and then they’re fully cooled down again. Thus making them extremely powerful (especially since each Survivor can potentially man and fire one at the same time).

However, it should also be noted that if someone is mounted on an imaginary Minigun, and then another Survivor places the real Minigun elsewhere, the Survivor who was on the imaginary Minigun's ghost will become unable to move, and the Finale itself will break and become unwinnable; with no more Infected spawning.

There were also some sporadic issues throughout Dead Vacation with Tanks being getting stuck in various areas, resulting in them rapidly suiciding due to Frustration.

Looking beyond these glitches and issues, however, Dead Vacation is a solid and fun Custom Map, with both Finale versions being worth trying.


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