Left 4 Dead: A Game to Help You Plan For the Zombie Apocalypse
If you're like me and happen to find yourself driving aimlessly on cold winter nights with friends and all of a sudden the topic of surviving a zombie outbreak enters into the conversation then I have good news. Earlier this month Valve released their highly anticipated co-op first person shooter "Left 4 Dead" for the PC and Xbox 360. The game has you taking on the role of one of four survivors of a zombie outbreak. You can choose from Bill (the old war veteran), Francis (the tough guy biker/thug), Louis (The business man), and finally Zoey (The College Co-ed); all of which play exactly the same. Now you can live your zombie survival fantasies. Oh Joy! But is the game worth the money or should you just go out and buy a shotgun and some water to prepare for the outbreak instead.
The game is separated into 4 unrelated campaigns; each with 5 “chapters” that are broken up by safe houses. Each campaign culminates in a final stand against the horde as you await rescue. The game treats each campaign as a movie, complete with its own poster and ending credits. Aside from the short intro video each time the game is started each campaign has no story. You never really learn about each character besides what you can infer from their appearance. You are never told what caused the outbreak, nothing. The entire purpose of each campaign is to survive, which for a zombie game works just fine.
Each of the 4 campaigns has a unique feel. The environments range from heart of a city to complete wilderness. The developers are able to make each campaign feel different from the others. Even with the different feel of each campaign the core feeling is exactly the same whether you are running through crowded alleyways with towering buildings in the distance or slowly creeping through cornfields you are always tense wondering where the zombies will come from. The developers do a great job by having the zombies spawn at random points for each play through. This keeps each play through fresh and new while maintaining the tension of not knowing where the swarms will come from.
This game is meant to be played with friends or at least with people online. If you are planning to get this game and play alone then do yourself a favor and don’t. When the game is played with others that is when it truly shines. But that is no surprise considering the game is marketed as a co-op first person shooter. It never gets old to hear a teammate yelling for help over the microphone. There is almost always just a slight hint of terror in the person’s voice and it only adds to the atmosphere of the game.
The game also has a versus mode, which supports up to 8 players. 4 players can play as the survivors trying to escape while 4 others play the zombies. The zombies get to take control of the special zombies, which are more powerful than the average zombie. There are 4 special zombies. The Hunter, a quick zombie that is able to leap great distances. The Boomer, a weak zombie with the ability to vomit on survivors that attracts more zombies. The Smoker, which is able to launch a projectile like tongue and drag survivors before strangling them. And finally there is the Tank, which is actually what you can imply from the name a zombie of immense size with tons of hit points and able to do massive damage. During versus mode the survivors and zombies alternate playing each side. The zombies must try to stop the survivors from reach the safe house and the survivors receive points for the distance they are able to travel. This mode is actually quite fun to play. It requires some teamwork for both sides and varies the game play by allowing you to take control of the horde. My only complaint is that this mode can only be played on 2 of the games 4 campaigns.
My only complaints are that the game only has 4 campaigns each of which can be completed in around an hour. Also when you are unable to find three friends to play with at the same time you are forced to let the AI take control of one or more of the survivors. The AI is semi competent but sometimes it can be downright retarded. The AI will let you die and not save you even if you are standing next to it and being strangled by a smoker. Also sometimes when you play the game on expert mode the game can be nearly impossible. The game always seems to know exactly what special zombie to send to beat you. But that also adds to the fun so it’s not really a complaint.
The weapon selection is also a bit lacking. There is 1 handgun, 2 shotguns, 2 semi automatics, a sniper rifle, pipe bombs, and Molotov cocktails. That’s about it. I guess in the department of realism those would be all you’d be able to get your hands on. But I would have liked to see a greater variety.
Left 4 Dead is a fun way to spend an afternoon. It takes no chances but does everything very well. I can’t complain since I have finally had the chance to fight my way through a zombie infested city with some of my friends. The 4 campaigns really hurts the replayability of the game. The random spawning will keep you busy from quite some time and keep the levels feeling fresh but that will grow stale. I really would have liked to see some more levels.
I’d give Left 4 Dead an 8/10.
My review is based off the PC version of Left 4 Dead
The game is separated into 4 unrelated campaigns; each with 5 “chapters” that are broken up by safe houses. Each campaign culminates in a final stand against the horde as you await rescue. The game treats each campaign as a movie, complete with its own poster and ending credits. Aside from the short intro video each time the game is started each campaign has no story. You never really learn about each character besides what you can infer from their appearance. You are never told what caused the outbreak, nothing. The entire purpose of each campaign is to survive, which for a zombie game works just fine.
Each of the 4 campaigns has a unique feel. The environments range from heart of a city to complete wilderness. The developers are able to make each campaign feel different from the others. Even with the different feel of each campaign the core feeling is exactly the same whether you are running through crowded alleyways with towering buildings in the distance or slowly creeping through cornfields you are always tense wondering where the zombies will come from. The developers do a great job by having the zombies spawn at random points for each play through. This keeps each play through fresh and new while maintaining the tension of not knowing where the swarms will come from.
This game is meant to be played with friends or at least with people online. If you are planning to get this game and play alone then do yourself a favor and don’t. When the game is played with others that is when it truly shines. But that is no surprise considering the game is marketed as a co-op first person shooter. It never gets old to hear a teammate yelling for help over the microphone. There is almost always just a slight hint of terror in the person’s voice and it only adds to the atmosphere of the game.
The game also has a versus mode, which supports up to 8 players. 4 players can play as the survivors trying to escape while 4 others play the zombies. The zombies get to take control of the special zombies, which are more powerful than the average zombie. There are 4 special zombies. The Hunter, a quick zombie that is able to leap great distances. The Boomer, a weak zombie with the ability to vomit on survivors that attracts more zombies. The Smoker, which is able to launch a projectile like tongue and drag survivors before strangling them. And finally there is the Tank, which is actually what you can imply from the name a zombie of immense size with tons of hit points and able to do massive damage. During versus mode the survivors and zombies alternate playing each side. The zombies must try to stop the survivors from reach the safe house and the survivors receive points for the distance they are able to travel. This mode is actually quite fun to play. It requires some teamwork for both sides and varies the game play by allowing you to take control of the horde. My only complaint is that this mode can only be played on 2 of the games 4 campaigns.
My only complaints are that the game only has 4 campaigns each of which can be completed in around an hour. Also when you are unable to find three friends to play with at the same time you are forced to let the AI take control of one or more of the survivors. The AI is semi competent but sometimes it can be downright retarded. The AI will let you die and not save you even if you are standing next to it and being strangled by a smoker. Also sometimes when you play the game on expert mode the game can be nearly impossible. The game always seems to know exactly what special zombie to send to beat you. But that also adds to the fun so it’s not really a complaint.
The weapon selection is also a bit lacking. There is 1 handgun, 2 shotguns, 2 semi automatics, a sniper rifle, pipe bombs, and Molotov cocktails. That’s about it. I guess in the department of realism those would be all you’d be able to get your hands on. But I would have liked to see a greater variety.
Left 4 Dead is a fun way to spend an afternoon. It takes no chances but does everything very well. I can’t complain since I have finally had the chance to fight my way through a zombie infested city with some of my friends. The 4 campaigns really hurts the replayability of the game. The random spawning will keep you busy from quite some time and keep the levels feeling fresh but that will grow stale. I really would have liked to see some more levels.
I’d give Left 4 Dead an 8/10.
My review is based off the PC version of Left 4 Dead
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