Left 4 Dead Review

Plot

After the apocalyptic pandemic turning ordinary citizens into deranged hordes of frenzied infected mindless zombies intent on killing you, you meet up with survivors and are forced to fight your way through to safety. Waves and thousands of undead block your path to safety, you’ll have to trek through city streets and across rooftops to board that flight to safety and to survive the horror lurking within the dark underworld that has been created.

Playing as one of the 4 survivors (Francis – hard fighting biker, Zoey – student, Louis - Junior Systems Analyst & Bill - former Vietnam veteran), you take the fight to waves of attacking with the aim of reaching one of the games periodically placed safe rooms with the ultimate goal of escaping the dead zone in which you are trapped.

Plot is an interesting description as really, this is over clichéd and slap stick first person shooting action which takes great pleasure in putting a smile on your face. There is a weak plotline which literally is as bare bones as I’ve described above although, there are 4 separate scenarios termed (by the makers as Campaigns) which see you fight your way across different environments, but that can’t disguise the fact that this is not one of the game’s strengths.

Gameplay

A back to basics control system mated to House of the Dead inspired blast action means this game has great pick up ‘n’ play ability. What that entails, is basically that the game appeals to casual and hardcore gamers alike, with the focus clearly on fast paced free for all zombie hunting and less on the squad based strategy that has limited audiences with 4 player co-op games that have appeared in the past.

From the acclaimed makers of Half-Life, the crisp sharpness and rapid responses from moving your digital counterpart is pure Valve. The ideology behind the enemy AI is also typically innovative. Utilising the all new “A.I. director” mated with the well used Source engine, this basically means no two experiences are ever the same.

Zombies spawn at different places, weapons move and special infected characters appear at other locations then to previous play throughs. Seemingly safe points (such as up against walls or railings) where no infected emerged last time become magnets to the horde and beasts such as the Boomers and Smokers as they leap from walls to rooftops looking for the perfect vantage point to vomit or suck you up respectively.

The atmosphere created so well in this game definitely deserves credit and a mention here, as you flow from street lit roadways into dark corridors leading through hospitals and the machinery within, blackness faintly lit by a weak tunnel of light from your torch only to catch a glimpse of a cowering creature chanting to herself. Shining your light towards her however, gets an unexpected reaction as your fellow survivors are forced to stop the witch tearing your limbs from the natural placement, safely nestled within the confines of your body. Brilliant, gruesome and a little twisted, but still epically entertaining.

Online

This game is destined to be one of the most played and critically acclaimed online co-operative experiences the 360 and its users will likely participate in this year. The 4 player co-operative multiplayer sees each gamer assigned to one of the four playable survivors as work your way through the game, starting from any chapter throughout the game. This lends itself well to the gameplay as a drop in, drop out function where friends can jump into the action for however long they want and then leave doesn’t interrupt your game or the intense action.

There are other modes however, versus is a particular highlight which sees one side take control of the 4 playable infected characters (Boomer, which vomits bile which turns your screen green and attracts the ‘horde’ of undead; The Smoker, who’s killer move is using his agility and tongue to draw the victim in; The Hunter, who leaps from out of seemingly safe distances only to kick the living crap out of you and finally; The Tank which is this game’s answer to the Hulk. This thing takes mega damage and is a force to be reckoned with) and have to defeat the 4 survivors.

Fast paced action blended to hilarious screaming from your friends over the microphone offers endless fun and truly extends the lifespan and increases the appeal of this game. If you love online shooters for the experience of pwning noobz, perhaps this isn’t your thing, but if your game is to sit back, chill and just have an absolute riot, this is FINALLY the experience you’ve been waiting for.

Graphics

Valve have supplemented highly detailed and lush environments for pleasing on the eye fast frame rates and dark atmospheric scenarios. This doesn’t hamper the game in anyway and you will often overlook the silly graphical mess ups where you can see inside the head of your survivor counterparts.

Guns and animations are well rendered *coughs Half Life 2* and enemies are suitably menacing with bulges and throbbing boils, suitably grotesque to reflect the bile nestling within them. Yeah, probably not one for the giggly teenage school girls, but kids and the young at heart blokes will simply love them. Have to say, the Tank really is just the Hulk though, let’s not be mislead.

Environments are destructible, doors will be broken through and shards of glass are scattered as the infected bust the way through all obstacles to get their mitts on you. Fire effects are decent and lighter sections are suitably atmospheric and deserted with upturned cars and flashing police beacons.

Sound

A deserted cityscape, hospital and ruined roadway aren’t known for hustle and bustle and their variety of sounds so there’s little in the way of background noise. The only sounds to be heard when peering through doorways are the gentle distant breathing of an undead beast lurking on the other side of the toilet door you just opened.

Cue orchestral number and voila, about 50 undead come flooding from all around you, jumping through windows screaming, gun fire and reloading and yelling screeches of a friend being beaten to a bloody pulp next to you.

Voiceovers are well timed, including basic commands where characters inform one another of the locations for such items as ammunition and health packs however, aside from that, they are suitably muted throughout the experience.

Final Thoughts

The sleeper hit from the geniuses behind killer titles which every gamer has admired and drooled over in the past. This game takes the standard mundane single player experience, forces you online, demands you to get your friends together and commands that you play this game until your hands are bloody and swollen.

This is not only one of the finest online experiences to greet the 360, this is one of the finest games the Xbox 360 and its owners can gloat over. A killer-ap that you must simply play and try and I defy you to not fall for its charm....if you can call blasting the heads off attacking vomiting mutants, charming.