Left 4 Dead | Review

Zombies, zombies, and more zombies.  This is exactly what you will be overwhelmed with while playing Left 4 Dead.  In small sizes or in hordes prepare yourself to be mobbed (literally) by fast moving, pissed off zombies.  The satisfaction of shooting hot lead into the hundreds of undead you encounter is very rewarding.  As you and 3 other friends will have the chance to try and stay alive while making your way through alley ways, subways, abandoned train stations, and my favorite…the classic creepy corn fields.

I have to admit there are plenty of games that are released that can’t get the co-op qualities down like Left 4 Dead.  If your team does not work together it leads to complete death.  Medic packs and pain killers can be traded during actual game play. Pipe bombs and Molotov’s also come scarce as you have to move quick enough to dodge waves of the Infected.  Valve’s source engine makes the game visuals look pretty good.  I really enjoyed the blood and dark areas of the game not to mention the film grain which sadly is only available to PC owners.

Playing with the AI isn’t always the smart thing to do when its time to make the difficulty more challenging.  On the bright side the AI is fairly accurate and will actually heal you…online players won’t be so concerned.  This title also give you the chance too play as the Infected.  This is where Left 4 dead also shines in my eyes.  Lobby’s made up of 8 players can play versus.  Four infected vs. four survivors battle it out as the infected try and stop the survivors from actually getting inside the safe room.  Playable Infected are Hunter, Boomer, Smoker, and my favorite…the Tank.  Each team has to rack up the most points by the end of the campaign to win.  Versus has many achievements that are only available in this mode.

You will find that these achievements, unlike most titles, are fun to obtain.  Which adds to the replay value.  Now for the Xbox360 users, the game gives you 4 campaigns to choose from.  PC owners will have a very good time with this title.  I usually get some arguments about this but Left 4 Dead really does look better on PC.  With endless maps you can download and fun skins from third party web sites, you are able to customize the way you play Left 4 Dead, and from the Source engine, what should we expect?

I will admit I still find myself putting time aside to play the campaign levels again from time to time, just so that my first person shooter needs are taken care of.  Bottom line for this game is if you love the horror feel of shooting zombies down with assault rifles and auto shotguns than I highly suggest you give this game a try. Left 4 Dead has given the co-op survival horror genre a refreshing new direction, I wouldn’t recommend sleeping on this.

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