Left
4 Dead is a blast-fest like few others, allowing
4-players to co-operate in the zombie slaying bedlam
Zombie
fans rejoice - interact with your heroes!
You
will often be surrounded by hordes of infected
and there's only one cure - a bullet through the brain
Valve Software, the creators of
the ground-breaking and incredibly successful Half-Life series
have crafted one of the most addictive and enjoyable interactive
experiences ever, with their new release Left 4 Dead.
The game began development at
Turtle Rock Studios who had previously worked with Valve on various
Counter-Strike projects before becoming part of Valve in 2008.
Harkening to the classic George
Romero zombie movies, Left
4 Dead is a 3D shooter that allows gamers to play as one
of four “survivors” as they attempt to flee hordes
of 'infected' that have overrun the city and surrounding areas.
Playing as either Louis, Bill,
Zoey, or Francis, players can explore the game world along with the
A.I. taking control of other the other characters or they can play
along with friends or other gamers online.
I found this to be a fantastic
feature as I have always been a fan of being able to play a game in
co-op mode. Being able to play through the entire game with your
friends adds greatly to the games enjoyment and replay value.
The game is broken down into 4
chapters, each a mini movie that casts players in the role of a
character. As the game loads, players see a throwback movie poster
that, complete with tagline, tells the name of the segment and the
parts that each character will be playing.
Each segment contains five levels
and concludes with a finale that forces the survivors to face waves of
enemies as they attempt to escape. The opening chapter, No Mercy,
starts on a rooftop and tasks players with moving through apartment
buildings, city streets, subway stations, hospitals and more as they
attempt to reach the roof of a hospital for a possible rescue by
helicopter.
Armed with pistols, shotguns,
machine guns, assault rifles, and explosives ranging from pipe bombs
and Molotov cocktails, players will need every resource at their
disposal to survive as the infected are not the sluggish zombies of
old.
Instead these undead brain eaters
run, jump, and swarm, rarely letting up their assault.
Aside from the infected, there are
more deadly forms of infected such as the Witch, who alerts you with
her child-like crying before unleashing her fury.
There are also Hunters who leap
out of nowhere, Boomers, who coat you in vomit that attracts hordes of
infected, Smokers who snare players with a long tongue, and the massive
Tank who can pummel anyone and everything in their paths.
Players are able to load up on
weapons they find during the game, but are limited to one explosive,
one rifle, and 2 pistols for their arsenal. But there are things such
as gas and propane cans and other items that can be dropped and ignited
to create a very satisfying wall of flame to bake advancing enemies to
a crisp.
There are also mounted weapons
that you'll find from time to time and often when you're forced to make
a stand. The rapid fire function of a mounted gun can help turn the
tide against superior numbers.
Another nice touch is the ability
to push enemies away with your weapons as when surrounded or trying to
reload, it helps to hit enemies with what your player is holding in
order to dispatch them or gain needed space to deploy your weapon.
As chapters unfolded, I was amazed
at how well the look, tone, and feel of a zombie movie had been
captured. Other games have tackled zombie infections before, but none
have added the level of immersion of Left 4 Dead, and
that includes the recent Dead
Rising.
The story of the game is cryptic,
as there are some clues scrawled on the floors and ceilings of the
maps, as well as on the walls of the safe rooms that conclude each
level of a chapter.
The graphics and sound of the game
are first rate as aside from various quips and statements that the
characters make from time to time, the game has vast amounts
of gore that allow you to mark the walls with everything from the blood
of the infected to your bullet marks.
Another nice feature is the use of
health packs which are limited to one per character at a time.
When a player is wounded, they
may need another player to help them up, and bandage them. Since much
of the game is based on cooperation between players, gamers may wish to
use their health packs to aid teammates in much worse shape than they
are, even though this will leave them without a pack until they can
locate one later.
If a player dies in game, they can
be revived later by other team members provided at least one of them
survive which is not always possible from the relentless attacks by
overwhelming numbers.
Players are also required to use
their heads as shooting everything in site will only attract more
enemies and while some may like this feature in order to earn more
achievements, I prefer not setting off car alarms with random shots and
bumping.
Players also can play as the
infected and in a 4 vs 4 match. pitting four human survivors against
four player controlled infected.
My only regret with the game was
that it can be completed in 5-6 hours, but thanks to randomized
features and different skill levels, as well as the highly enjoyable
gameplay, I do not think gamers will tire of this game anytime soon.
Valve has once again set very high
standards for others to reach to and have crafted a new franchise that
not only will help pass the time until the next chapter of Half-Life, but will
also have gamers clamoring for more chapters.
