Left 4 Dead
Released: November 18th, 2008
Developer: Valve Corporation (PC) and Certain Affinty (360)
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Genre: FPS
So here we go, Left 4 Dead! The story....uh. It doesn't really exist. Seriously, there is no story. You just play as 1 as 4 survivors, trying to get out of a world full of the infected. Left 4 Dead is not a type of game to have a story. The game is focused solely on gameplay and multiplayer. So you don't get caught up with "Aw hell, what happened? *repeats cutscene*" None of that. No cutscenes. No explanations. No nothing.The gameplay is like how FPS normally (or used to be I guess...) You have a gun, you hit a button to shoot, and you have a visible health bar. (none of hit the button to aim, and a different one to fire) You can hold 2 weapons though, so to change you replace one. Once you are injured, you have to find a medkit or pills to heal you, hiding from the monsters will not auto heal you. The objective is to get to the end of each level. There are 4 main areas. A city, a more ruined city, a sorta industrial part, then a rural area.
I know it sounds very empty, very dull. Trust me, it's not. The game is FILLED with the infected, and you have to work with team mates to get through. 4 players can play a single game at one time (L4D online is very solid. It hooks you up right away with a game) You can either be Zoey, the female; Louis, the black guy; Francis, the biker; or Bill, the badass old man. As you join, you can pick whichever one you want, unless that person is taken. If somebody leaves in-game, a computer replaces the person until another human joins.As your going through the levels, and massive hordes of the infected come after you, you'll notice they are many types. They're the common ones, hordes and hordes of them. The boomers are the fatties, they spit acid to blind you and blow up when defeated. The hunters leap from miles away to push you to the ground and rape you. The smokers use their tongue to capture you, and when they die they release smoke to blind you. The tanks are fucking scary and should be avoided (the horrible rumbling is a clue to run) The witch is the final special infected. She wonders around, and is startled by everything. If you startle her, you basically die; it's best to avoid her.
The music is very dynamic and matches the game very well. I mean, when you hear the music rushing, you know a fuck-load of infected are running your way. (yes, they run, don't walk) Sitting there in this dark tunnel, hearing the crying of the witch, and the slow creepy music, it's a very good atmosphere.
So as your fighting through the millions of zombies, you have to rely on team mates. There is no way to solo this game (really, you have to have to have bots with you if you play alone) If a smoker grabs you with his tongue, you're left hanging there. You can't do anything. Another player must go over and shoot the tongue to free you. Or if a hunter leaps up and pushes you to the ground. You have to wait for another player to shoot the hunter off. Same if you're hanging off the edge of a cliff; a team member must help you up, or you'll fall and die. If the common infected are giving you the beat down, and you go down in battle, you must wait for another person to help you up (although you can shoot in this case)On top of that, you have advantages over the infected. For instance, they cannot open doors, they must bust them down. Explosives can be found, and can be thrown to set the enemies on fire and such. In order to complete a level, all of your surviving team mates must be in the safe room, and the door closed. Team members who have died will come back after a little while. Friendly fire is also active and can't be turned off. Medkits and pills can be used on your team mates to heal them. Team work is the key here.
Ok, this isn't really "online only" but...it is. There is a single player mode, but why the hell would you play that? Almost every single person who plays L4D, 360 and PC, has a mic. This just enhances the experience. The community on both platforms is very very very active. You will always find a game to play no matter when.Because of the large online, it's very fun to play. Even if the game is short, you can find good humor with it. Along with that, the bots I.Q. is about -4. They're extremely retarded. This game also has a ton of glitches. (like jumping on a log killing you) But because this game is so free and short, there is absolutely no frustration in dying. In fact, it'll crank out laughs and good times. "Haha, oh maaaaan, that log just pwn'd me!" Or watching a hunter just leap down to it's own death, then jumping out of the abyss and onto your character. The bot is too busy dancing to help you. Even then, you'll be having the time of your life.
There are other game modes besides the main campaign. Versus mode is the 2nd most popular. In this mode, a group of people control the survivors, and another group controls the infected. You get to pick whatever type of special infected you want, and your job to is to kill the survivors. In this mode, the survivors don't respawn. With each level beaten, the teams switch, so you get a chance to be both the survivors and the infected. There is also a survival mode, in which it's an endless stream of infected.
It's really the community and the fun little quirks that make this game shine. Just join in, shoot infected, and have a good time. Downloadable content adds even more to the game (although, I don't have any of that, which is why I did not comment, sorry) Through it, this is a very special gem of a game."Should I wait for Left 4 Dead 2 instead?" I say no. This game is fun, and it will still be supported even when the sequel is released.
+ Infected!
+ Active Online
+ Fun bugs and oddness
+ Lots of people have mics
+ Encourages team work
+ Left 4 Dead 2 already announced
- Left 4 Dead 2 already announced
- A little hollow
- A little short
- May not stand up to the test of time
Left 4 Dead gets a 4.3, because I like that number.
The 360 version also gets a 4.3
