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Product summary
Left 4 Dead makes both sides of the zombie apocalypse a thrill to experience, as long as you're not alone.
Specifications: ESRB: Mature ; Genre: Action See full specs
Price range: $49.99 - $59.99
Gamespot editors' review
- Reviewed on: 11/19/2008
- Released on: 11/17/2008
The zombie apocalypse. Be honest: You've thought about it. When most humans have been turned into shambling, flesh-hungry monsters, how will you fare? Whether you fancy yourself an intrepid survivor or an infected savage, Left 4 Dead is the game for you. Battling your way through the grim, desolate world is always tense and challenging, thanks to the unpredictable, relentless enemies. It's equally thrilling to play as one of the zombies (aka the infected), coordinating deadly ambushes as you try to kill the survivors. Nevertheless, Left 4 Dead's well-crafted gameplay simply must be experienced in multiplayer. Human teammates (or enemies) make each play-through dynamic, mitigating the game's two hang-ups: limited map selection and uninspired friendly AI. Despite these hitches, Left 4 Dead is a remarkably fun, excitingly tense game that will make you want to revisit the apocalypse again and again.
There are four campaigns in Left 4 Dead, each spanning five levels. The first four levels end in safe houses (places to heal and rearm free of the zombie menace), and the final level ends in a desperate stand as you wait for your rescue vehicle to arrive. You'll travel through urban, suburban, and rural areas, each one grim, desolate, and littered with evidence of the apocalyptic event. You never learn exactly what happened, but the rich environments and thoughtful graffiti set the stage expertly. One campaign on normal difficulty (the second of four tiers) takes about an hour to complete, so you'll soon become familiar with each set of maps. Although the limited selection and grim, overcast color palette can sometimes feel a bit repetitious, the dynamic enemies, varying weapon and ammo spawns, and ever-changing human factor combine to make each play-through feel surprisingly unique.
Left 4 Dead stars four charismatic survivors whose appearances and personalities add an immersive element to the game. They each banter in appropriate, often amusing ways when healthy, and they become more subdued and anxious when injured. The character models are top-notch, and there's nothing quite like looking at the macho biker when he is injured and seeing fear creep across his face as he begins to doubt that he'll survive. Seeing the relief on his face when you heal him is almost as satisfying as the relief you'll feel when your AI allies heal you. Their team spirit doesn't stop there: they'll shout out when the find ammo or health, and, crucially, will pick you up when you've been incapacitated by an enemy.
For all of their good qualities, you'll definitely appreciate your fellow survivors more when there's human controlling them. AI teammates are definitely competent when it comes to killing the infected, rescuing you from the enemy's clutches, and reviving you when you're down. However, they aren't particularly keen on using explosives or defending strategically, so while you choose to camp out on an elevated platform to better defend against the horde, they generally won't be inclined to join you. Though you can certainly end up with equally uncooperative human teammates, you can at least communicate your strategy to them or, in a pinch, call an on-the-fly vote to boot them from the game.
When you play with one or more competent teammates, Left 4 Dead is an absolute blast. Even if you've played every level many times, you'll still find the infected are distributed in different, unpredictable patterns. They may be milling around in a parking lot, half-oblivious to your passing, or they may come screaming at you from around a corner or over a building. They look nasty, run fast, scream hideously, claw viciously, and, best of all, they die in a wide variety of superbly animated ways (often with explosive decapitations or flying limbs). You might get jumped in a hallway, stairwell, both, or neither. Each area of the level becomes a potential battleground, so you have to be constantly vigilant, ready to make a defensive stand or rescue a teammate at a moment's notice.
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