Valve, the creator of Left 4 Dead, is known for quality games. A game stamped with Valve generally means a game of promise, a promise of quality, fun, and stability. And sometimes perhaps a bit of originality, which happens to be Left 4 Dead’s best feature.
Left 4 Dead’s premise is simple. It’s the zombie apocalypse (again – how often does this occur?) and you play as one of four survivors. The survivors are somehow inexplicably immune to the zombie virus and must battle the hoards of zombies to survive.
The game itself is relatively short. There are four different campaigns that each start with the same premise. The four survivors start in one area with health packs and guns and must make their way through the level to the next safe house, a place where they can rest and recover before venturing out once more. At the end of each campaign there is a finale where the survivors are finally rescued. Of course, there are plenty of zombies in between.
The zombies are more than the brainless brain-eating buffoons that are showcased in many survival horror films. They are fast, sprinting, climbing, and zig-zagging humans of death pent on taking a chunk of your leg home as a souvenir.
In addition to these regular zombies, there are also a variety of special zombies that can incapacitate survivors so that you must rely on your friends to save you. Each has its own special ability, whether its pouncing you so you cannot move, dragging you off a cliff, or killing in a single hit.
And now, the originality comes into play. Left 4 Dead is a game best played with friends. While there is a single player game where the other three survivors can be controlled by artificial intelligence (bots), the most fun is had playing online headsets and friends. It blurs the line between a single player and a multiplayer game to great effect. Each campaign can be run with any combination of human players and bots. In addition, there is an online only versus mode available, where the fun really shines.
In versus, it’s four vs. four; four survivors that battle through each campaign while being attacked by four players playing special zombies. At the end of each round the tables turn, and the survivors become zombies and vice versa.
Real, human played zombies are something that’ll give a survivor nightmares if played properly. They set traps, attack together, and are generally vicious little creatures. Besides, there is something oddly compelling about pouncing one of your buddies as a zombie, attempting to tear him or her limb from limb.
No campaign is quite like the one before it. Zombies are placed in different areas in different densities that attack at different times. An artificial intelligence director controls all of this. The AI director fine-tunes the game in real time. If the survivors are hurt badly, there may be fewer zombies. If they are doing well, an extra special zombie may come into play. All of this is designed so the survivors will barely make it into the next safe area.
Graphically, the game shines. The added film grain and special lighting makes it seem like you’re playing a movie. And while the game is based on the aging Source engine, this adds more to the game than it detracts. Sure, it doesn’t look like Crysis, but it’ll also run on a much wider scale of computers.
Four campaigns, only two of which are playable in versus, leaves something to be desired. But given that no two games are alike with the unpredictability of human companions and the AI director, it seems it’ll be a while before it’ll get old. Valve has already announced upcoming additions to the game as well. Overall, its well worth your money, as long as you have a few friends to enjoy it with.