Left 4 Dead – Xbox 360 Review

When I first caught wind of Left 4 Dead and saw actual gameplay, my trigger finger itched with anticipation. I thought to myself, FINALLY a game where I can live my zombie apocalypse fantasy! And these aren’t your “ordinary” zombies. No, these aren’t the zombies that raise their arms up, walk slow and moan like a drugged up porn star.

Instead, the fine folks at Valve that produced mega hits like the Half Life and Counter Strike series, have taken a page out of the movies 28 Days Later and the remake of Dawn of the Dead. Yep, these zombies run. they run fast. Not only that, but they break down doors, climb walls and pretty much do whatever they can to eat your flesh, wherever you may be. You might think, all I have to do is corner myself and blast away or even find the highest elevation possible and pick my shots.

If that was the case, then we have a problem. Thankfully, Valve decided to throw in some “special” zombies or special infected as L4D puts it to mess with your “master plan”. These “special” zombies include the Boomer, a fat zombie that throws up on you which attracts other zombies via his bile (which he has a lot of). The Smoker, who has the longest tongue ever that can yank you away for prey.

The Hunter, who pounces at you from a distance and just rips you apart as soon as he gets his hands on you. The Witch, a zombie chick that’ll practically kill you in one blow if you bother her. And finally, the granddaddy of them all, the Tank. He’s a zombie that discovered a warehouse full of steroids and went off on it like a fat kid that discovered Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. To put it bluntly, the Tank is one zombie you don’t want to run in to. But it wouldn’t be fun if you didn’t! And Valve made sure you run into the Tank more than once. Let’s get to it!

Story/Premise

What story? This game has no story. You’re basically four unlucky people that got Left 4 Dead (it’s a double entendre!) that play out in scenarios or movies. It’s simple. You have four scenarios/movies consisting of 5 acts. Each act has a saferoom which you need to find to complete. All this repeats itself till the final act where you must survive for about 10 minutes till your rescue comes.

Although story is an integral part of the gaming experience, Valve took another direction and payed homage to zombie movies by creating four scenarios or movies. Not only does it eliminate the complication of going over the typical “government experiment gone wrong” story, but it gives gamers the chance to experience zombie mayhem in different environments such as urban, a forest and farm just to name a few. Valve even took it a step further and created one-sheets or movie posters for each scenario with all four survivors in the front at the loading screen. A definite homage to the genre and a very amusing one at that.

Gameplay – 10/10

If you’re looking for something innovative, you won’t find anything here. This is a classic FPS that concentrates more on on the fun factor than trying to create something new with the genre. The objective is as simple as you can get, aim your gun at the zombie and blast away. That’s it. Well any other FPS is just like this right? Wrong. It may sound boring to just shoot and shoot and shoot then move on, but the pace of the game is so fast and so intense that you forget all you’re doing is pointing and shooting. And when I say intense, I mean it. Imagine, 50 undead running your way from ALL directions. On top of that, the special infected are roaming amongt them waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Now what would happen if one of your fellow survivors gets knocked down or dragged away? Will you help them up? Or save your ass and leave them for dinner? All these dilemmas are placed at your feet while fighting off the undead. Awesome ain’t it? This game puts your reflexes to the test and makes you think fast.Think of it as a great way to practice your aiming and will prepare you for the more technical FPS out there.

Another plus for me is how easy it is to adapt to this game. Veteran gamers will no doubt pick up easily, but I was really surprised at how it got the attention of non-gamers. A friend of mine, who despises FPS had a blast playing because of how simple it was to pick up the controller and play like a pro. I even had spectators waiting for one of us to die so they can get a chance to play. And they don’t even play video games! How cool is that? Valve not only satisfied the hardcore gamers, but they managed to pull in more fans and possibly even new gamers.

Graphics & Sound – 8/10

The game is running on the latest Source engine and is assisted by the AI known as ‘The Director’. I’ll elaborate more on the AI under Replay Ability so let’s focus on the graphics itself. I’ll be honest, the graphics are good but not great. When playing online or solo (no split-screen) the games looks pretty and runs exceptionally well given the amount of bodies on screen at one time. But play co-op/split screen with a friend, the graphics take a dip and it’s not as impressive anymore. I personally felt they could’ve smoothed out some edges but overall I was pleased with the presentation.

The sound is one of the best I’ve heard in games recently. I highly suggest you crank up the volume if you don’t have surround sound. Every bit of noise is a cue to your survival. You’ll know the zombie horde is coming when you hear horns blowing or that eeire music from horror movies when something bad is about to happen. The special infected also give out clues if they’re in the area. If you hear crying accompanied by scary music, then a witch is nearby. If you hear loud coughing or low growling then a Hunter and Smoker are nearby. Your fellow survivors will also shout out for help and let you know if they found some first aid and weapons. So keep the volume up and keep your ears peeled!

Multiplayer – 9/10

A definite plus since most fans of FPS are demanding co-op for every game out there. Although you can play the campaign solo, it’s so much more fun when you play with friends or strangers. If you decide to go solo, then you should be able to complete the scenarios easily on the normal difficulty because the AI bots do a pretty good job at balancing their duties which include healing teammates. But on the harder difficulties, it just seems near impossible at times to get through with computer controlled teammates. So four-player co-op whether LAN or online is the definite way to go.

There are only two options for multiplayer: co-op campaign or 4-on-4. The co-op campaign is self-explanatory, but the 4-on-4 gives players a chance to play as the special infected. In this case, the four survivors play through the campaign while the other four will be randomly selected special infected with one player taking control of the Tank randomly as well. For those assuming the roles of the infected, it’s crucial to still work as a team as your health is very, very low. A well placed gunshot (especially from a shotty or sniper rifle) will kill you instantly. Because of that, communication is very crucial between teams in order to be successful.

Replay Ability – 9/10

Even if you’ve beaten it already, every experience is different thanks to the AI technology known as ‘The Director’. The Director, reads how you play, how often you use health and items, how often you take and dish damage and adjusts it to the game in play. So if you died in a certain area and remembered there was health pack nearby, don’t count on it being there. The Director either eliminated the health pack completely or spawned it in a random location. The same goes for enemies as well. If you notice in some or most games, enemies and items spawn in certain locations after passing a certain point. In L4D, The Director keeps you on your toes by randomly spawning from different areas every single time thus making you change your strategy along the way. If you think you won’t have to deal with the Tank till the end of the scenario, you better expect him at the very beginning at times as The Director will throw him your way depending on how well you’re playing. Aside from the very unique AI, the achievements are surprisingly easy to unlock…or so they seem. At first glance, you will probably complete 65% of the achievements without even knowing. The more difficult ones, which include killing the Tank by yourself or completing the scenario with pistols only will force gamers and especially those achievement whores to come back again and again.

Overall – 9/10

This is not a rent or a borrow. This is a must have game for any FPS fan out there. Unlike the other games collecting dust, you can be sure L4D will be running for a long time. Coupled with a very unique AI, and ultra-fast and intense gameplay Valve has created another winner.