Studio: Valve
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Genre: Survival/Horor
Rating: M+17
Left 4 Dead video review
Premise: You and three other survivors try to survive the zombie Apocalypse. In the game you choose from four playable survivors as you try to overcome the infected. The game is built from the ground up to be an intense co-op game.
Story: In the game you see the zombie apocalypse through the eyes of four survivors as they overcome horrifying enemies such as vomiting boomers and hulk like tanks. The game is divided into different acts/parts that have their own distinct title and level layout. Throughout the game you face different obstacles and are given the full experience of what could happen in a zombie apocalypse. The game only builds off of the premise, but doesn’t feature a real campaign. Each campaign is built to feel and looks like a Hollywood movie with solid pacing and different plot twist.
Characters: In the game, Valve wanted to nail different character elements with the characters in the game. The characters names are Louis, Zoey, Bill, and Francis. Each of them has their own distinct personality and dialogue that is shown throughout. In each campaign the characters have their own input on the situations at hand and the enemies that they have to face. The characters are engaging, which is surprising without a central storyline linking the campaigns. Beyond human characters and normal infected you also have a large variety of zombie characters such as the Hunter (Who ounces on nearby survivors), Smoker (Who grabs nearby enemies by using its long tongue, when it is killed it returns into a pack of smoke), Boomer (That vomits on nearby survivors, but when shot it explodes), Tank (A giant hulk like creature that is by far the hardest of the infected), and the Witch (A sensitive and highly dangerous creature, that hates light and when light is shined on it attacks the survivor that startled it).
Engagement: The game engages you in the world as it shows you the just how far the infection has spread. The game also immerses you in the characters and how they had all come together in the crisis. The games pacing is impressive and the way that each level is laid out is fascinating. The game also uses a effective atmosphere that helps you learn more about what was happening in the world, such as writing on the wall from other survivors that had passed through your location.
Behaviors: In the game weather you’re playing alone or with friends the AI is impressive. When your health or ammo is low your AI partners will give you weapons or heal you. They will also tell you when your about to die or if their ammo is low. Beyond the Human AI, the zombie AI is also impressive using different roots to reach you, along with using the environment to get the upper hand on the survivors.
Resources: The game gives you very few resources in order to ensure that you are having the most realistic experience. By this I mean you won’t find weapons that wouldn’t be found normally, such as instead of finding a rocket launcher you would find a shotgun. Each weapon is very useful and replaces weapons that you would use in other shooters, such as how the pipe bomb replaces the usual grenade. Each gun and weapon fits the apocalypse feel and never makes it feel too far fetched and too easy.
Challenge: Left 4 Dead has a impressive challenge mechanic which is circled around an AI director. The AI is used to make the player have amore unique experience. Let’s say you are doing extremely well in your campaign than in the parts to follow the AI director will send more enemies and boss infected. If you are doing very bad and not working well with your teammates than you will verse very few infected and bosses. Each time that you play the game is completely different and makes it a less frustrating experience. The games challenge is based off of the skill of the player rather than the already set difficulty of the level.
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