Game Review: Left 4 Dead (PC,360)

Have you ever watched a horror movie? In particular, a Zombie flick with some friends? Inevitably there is always somebody that brings up the topic of “What if it really happened?” or “I would survive that”… Let’s take a look at Left 4 Dead and see how good it recreates the scenario….

Left 4 Dead is a first person cooperative survival horror game. Four players or combination of players and AI work together to make their way from safe room to safe room and hopefully if all goes well to a helicopter where they are rescued. Along the way, they are attacked by hordes of Zombies. Not the usual slow and lumbering zombies but fast crazed zombies that are as relentless as they are blood thirsty.

Besides the normal undead that will be after you, there are five special zombies that add to the threat. The Hunter: fast agile and able to pounce from rooftops and great distances. The Smoker: grabs victims with its long tongue and drags them, when killed releases a cloud of smoke. The Boomer: A very large, bloated creature that vomits on victims and attracts the horde of regular zombies. The Tank: another large adversary that is very strong and when an attack hits, throws the victim. The Witch: if a player gets too close,makes too much noise, or shines a light on her will prompt her to attack.

The player gets to choose between the four different survivors: Francis, Zoey, Louis and Bill. Other than the character models and the lines yelled out by the characters, there is no difference between them. Left 4 Dead is best experienced online, with other players. The AI is pretty good but obviously you want a real person watching your six. Players can either play a 4 player cooperative match or 8 player competitive. In competitive mode, 4 players are survivors and 4 players play the special zombies (with the exception of the witch). This is where the game shines, playing with a team of your friends against another team of four, rotating from victim to zombie after each round.

While you can play single player, let’s be honest, other than getting used to the mechanics and maybe the levels, it really isn’t the best. It isn’t the focus of the game as it is meant to be played with others and that’s alright. Anway, if your looking for a unique cooperative game to play, I would recommend this title. If you typically play by yourself or very limited online play, I would skip it and perhaps look elsewhere.