Enemy Down

Review: Left 4 Dead

You don’t need "Braaaains!" to know that this is a Winning Formula.

Posted by SmellyMoss on Dec 2nd 2008 19:35

By RT Dekko

The Source engine is a remarkable piece of modern engineering. It is four years old, nine if you count the starting point for the development of Half Life 2, and it can still produce outstanding 3D gameplay that stands up to the scrutiny of the current crop of next generation games.

With Left 4 Dead, Valve are taking Counter Strike and Team Fortress and standing them on their head with a twist of zombie, rattling the sabres of post apocalyptic doom, action movie and horror chic in the face of the bedazzled gaming masses who can choose the role of one of four survivors; Francis (cocky and loud - looks like he’s just stepped out of the Blue Oyster bar), Louis (beleaguered Systems Analyst and odds out favourite to die first in the clichéd movie stakes), Bill (Vietnam veteran, all round supporter of the beret and full time old fart) and finally Zoey (bloody student, horror movie buff and a bit of a girl).

These four have to stand up to the might of the Infected (don’t say the ‘Z’ word!) who are controlled by the The Director (A.I. Director), a fat controller with a Napoleon complex who throws the Infected around the map at random points. He controls where and if you get weapons, ammo and health, even the music itself. The Director is no dummy, you could play the same level five times in a row and it not play the same way twice, with the Infected coming at you when and however The Director sees fit. There are certain sections where your actions will unleash a wave of the maggot ridden vermin in order for you to progress but you’d be hard pushed to notice this in game trickery. When the Director does choose to throw them at you, it can be both dramatic and scary as you face a desperate struggle to stave off wave after wave of undead scum.

First there is the Horde - these are your basic zombie type, straight out of the 28 Days Later mould in that they can run fast and their main aim is to eat you from the outside in. The Horde will come at you in large numbers and, if your aim is not true, they will overwhelm you. Be careful, they are startled easily, such as when a car alarm suddenly goes off.

Second there is the Witch and she is one pissed off mama-jama. When you hear the sound of a young girl crying for the love of Ringo Starr move quietly and turn off your flashlights for the Witch is startled by LOUD NOISES and she most certainly does not love lamp! She will tear you apart if you disturb her from having a good weep. Both of these zombie types are not playable in ‘Versus’ mode by the way.

Next we come to the first playable type in ‘Versus’ mode and that is the big, fat Boomer, or Mr. Creosote as we have nicknamed him. Oh my, what a pleasant creature he is! The Boomer is a slow moving, bloated, vomit filled pustule and his main aim in life is to get close enough to you to vomit his guts up all over you. When you hear the cries of “Oh $%*£! A Boomer has puked on me! Run!” in a game then you know you have to be ready to reload fast and shoot, shoot, shoot! For, you see, the Boomers vomit attracts the Horde and in vast numbers. And to cement what an uncouth bastard the Boomer is he can blow chunks all over you at the most inappropriate times such as just after or during, a Horde attack.

Fourth there is the Hunter and if you thought that the Horde were amazingly agile for corpses then you ain’t seen nothing yet. When, or more likely if, you see a shadow moving on a roof top out of the corner of your eye it is more than likely a Hunter. The more common scenario will be that you won't know there is one around you until it has you pinned and is clawing away with your face. Hunters attack from a crouching position and a short range crouch attack will leave a Survivor well and truly floored.

Next comes the Smoker, not to be confused with that mass of huddled humanity clinging to the outside of buildings in minus temperatures trying to puff on a Rothmans, oh no, this Smoker is of a much nastier variety. You could be discussing your tactics in a quiet moment of the game, deciding on which path to take (they’re limited but there is a choice) when all of a sudden you’ll be being dragged backwards into the darkness, screaming like the day you were born. This would be the moment a Smoker has you, their Gene Simmons shattering tongue is so long that ant eaters get an inferiority complex when the Smoker flicks it out to snare the Survivors and always, no matter how prepared you think you are, when you least expect it.

Lastly comes the Tank and there is never a good moment to meet this steroid supping dude who surely is a future candidate for Governor of California. A Tank is, as his name suggests, a hulk of toughness that steams right towards you. It will take a team effort and concentrated fire to put one of these bad boys down. That brings me to the most crucial point of Left 4 Dead; the team work.

Never, in recent memory, have I played a game where the players have to truly work as a team to get through a level. This is no Gauntlet-esque run and shoot where it is every Red Valkyrie for themselves, oh no. They’ll be no gobbling up all the food here. If one of your fellow Survivors is badly wounded they will slow down and your life will depend on moving at a good pace so you will feel the need to heal your teammates in a way that you don’t feel in many other team games. There can be no lone gunning hero here, it is teamwork or die, so choose who you play the campaign with carefully as your life may depend on it.

The only negative issue that Left 4 Dead brings up is longevity. Once you’ve been through the campaign what makes you want to play it again? Well, The Director helps by keeping things random and fresh. When you get bored of playing the campaign there is always Versus to take a spin on - being a Hunter may suit you, sir? There is nothing I can say but BUY THIS GAME!

Summing up the Left 4 Dead experience:

Initial thought: Thank Christ this game is finally here!

One hour in: Aaaaarrrrggghhh!!! TANK!!!!

Long term: I can’t see you playing Left 4 Dead every day for a year but you sure as hell will be playing it every day for the next good few months.

Overall: 8.5 out of 10