Left 4 Dead - Game Review

2008 was a great year from video games. With such titles as Grand Theft Auto 4, Metal Gear Solid 4, Little Big Planet, Fallout 3, Dead Space, Call of Duty: World at War, Grid, Gears of War 2, Mirror's Edge, how could any gamer be disappointed? Well they've yet to play one of the greatest multiplayer FPS to be released in ages.

Left 4 Dead is that good. This is the game you'll never want to play alone...because you'll die otherwise.

Gameplay:

The title says it all. You and three other teammates must survive five stages of zombies, and special infected and reach the safe room at the end. Of course the team consists of those always generic zombie apocalypse survivors. You have the old (very old) veteran Bill, the white trash biker Francis, the chick Zoey, and the always dying first black guy Louis. Everything about this game screams zombie flick. When the screen loads up one of the four maps you get a great movie styled poster showing off who is who. On the start off you get to choose between a shotgun or sub machine gun, a pipe bomb or a moltov, and a single health pack. These all with your default pistol are your tools of destruction against the zombie hordes, and yes you will face zombie hordes.

The great thing about this game is the AI director. The director controls where and when you'll be attacked by a horde or special infected. Great as a new gaming experience, a pain in the ass on the expert difficulty.

The special infected consist of:



Boomer: Large and filled with bile, the Boomer is an annoyance up close. When vomited on by a Boomer you'll be a walking zombie lure as well as a bit blinded by the bile. Best chances of survival is to melee what you can and hope your teammates weren't also splattered. Also make sure to push the Boomer away before..because if you shoot them when close to a teammate they will still get covered in bile.



Hunter: Hear that soft snarl? It's obvious that a Hunter is just waiting around the corner. Great annoyance during single player, and one of the more common spawn types in versus mode. The Hunter pounces on it's prey and claws at them until death is brought to it's prey..or itself.



Smoker: Coughing out puffs of smoke and entangling you in it's disgustingly long tongue. The Smoker is not friendly at all when it's got you in it's grips. Tearing away at your flesh or just letting you dangle off the side of a building. This special infected is the long range specialist..so make sure to watch your buddies back before heading out of a room...you never know where that tongue might reach out from.



Tank: When you hear the music pitch change you know a brutal Tank is coming. The ultimate special infected, the Tank can only be stopped with teamwork and some friendly moltovs...basic weapons only?..Good luck. This long armed brute can easily knock off any player off a map with it's hefty swing or stop those who feel escape is the best choice with a large boulder ripped right from the ground. Good luck to those who see the Tank rushing for them.



Witch: The horrid Witch...just when you can see escape right in front of you a Witch will surely be sitting there. Now you may say that she just like any other zombie..a quick cap in the head and we can move on..and that's when you die. You see the Witch has a nasty tendency to rush the person closest to them..or that particular dumbass who decided to fire on her. With one swing the Witch can bring you down and after that it's up to your teammates to save you.
*Hint: Don't mess with the Witch...*

Graphics:

The graphics for Left 4 Dead feel just a bit dated..based on the now aging source engine..
BUT!..While this game may lack just a bit in looks, the gameplay completely makes up for it. With just enough movie grain to fill your screen, you get that feeling that you're in a b-movie horror flick..and that's all you really need when surrounded by a horde. The great thing about this game is when you're on the brink of dying the screen will only show black and white.

Controls:

This of course depends on what platform you might be playing on. I haven't tried it..but I really can't say that I would enjoy the controller that much. Left 4 Dead is a key PC game that was created by the masterminds at Valve..so do yourself a favor and beef up your PC. Nothing beats a mouse and keyboard for a FPS.

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Rating: 5/5

Pros: This is the ultimate multiplayer experience. Zombies! 'Nuff Said.

Cons: Lack of online maps. (Only two Valve?..Jesus Christ at least give us all four maps to play on.)