Left 4 Dead

"Can you survive the zombie apocalypse or will you be Left 4 Dead."

OVERVIEW
Left 4 Dead is a survival horror game Developed by Turtle Rock studios and Published by Valve corporation. It was created by using the famous Source engine which was also used to make half Life 2 and its episodes. Its is a first person shooter where you can take control of any one of the four survivors either Bill who's a Vietnam war veteran or Louis who's a worker at a hi tech facility or Zoey who's a college student or Francis a cool biker.It mainly focuses on cooperative play which is very intense.

GAMEPLAY - 10/10
This is the most fun part in Left 4 Dead as the gameplay is very innovative and highly addictive. There are 4 modes of gameplay. In campaign mode you can cross the campaign online or via LAN with friends. In versus mode you can either play as the survivors or the infected against each other online or via LAN. In single player mode you have to complete the campaign alone where the other 3 survivors are computer controlled BOTS. The last mode which is called developer's commentary allows you to go through the game invisible to zombies learning how the game was developed through voices by the Left 4 Dead head developer through speech balloons. The gameplay is very intensive and innovative. Its just the 4 survivors who have to fight through many waves of zombies to get rescued. There are 4 difficulties in Left 4 Dead, easy,normal,advanced,expert. Each difficulty is made for the type of gamer one is. There are many environments which you travel throughout the game such as a hospital to a sewer to a subway station and lots more. You can just select any level you want to play anytime, unlike most games(if not all) which require you to complete them first before choosing the level's you want to play. There are quite a few weapons to choose ranging from sniper rifles to Uzi's to shotguns. Each weapon has its own good and bad. If each member of a team carry a different weapon and use each of them properly like snipers for the far targets and shotguns for the near ones, it can prove to bee very effective especially when fighting hordes. Apart from just shooting you can also melee zombies by your gun. When you are reloading a some zombies lunge at you you can melee them which pushes them a few steps back owing you time to reload your gun and fire. Melee is effective a places because it can damage your foe's and prevent yourself from getting hit by them. The majority of the infected are normal zombies who just lunge at you and attack you. But there are some special infected who give you a lot more damage than the normal ones. Although you get warned if they are near by, they can sneak and attack you from range. As you pass through the game you will find important items that will help you in your fight. First aid kits restore you health by about 75% and pain pills increase your health for a period of time. Apart from that you can carry a Molotov or a pipe bomb to use against the zombies. You can also use the environment against the enemy.

STORY - 5/10
Although there is no plot told or narrated, the obvious plot is that an infection broke out in the unnamed city the 4 of you are in which turned everyone into zombies except the 4 of you and some other rescue patrol team. The game never lets you know how the 4 of you were unarmed or any other details of the game. This could be a plus point as you are allowed to make up your own story which can be fun and kinda disappointing too. Your main objective in the game is to fight your way through thousands of zombies to get rescued by a rescue transport. The story is pretty much the most disappointing part in Left 4 Dead.

GRAPHICS - 9/10
The graphics in Left 4 Dead is superb, with the source engine giving out its maximum graphical power. The game's physics make it feel so realistic. The draw distance in streets is spectacular and there are no frame rate drops anywhere. Although you need a really good PC to run it at highest settings even the naive resolution is really great. Every environment is heavily detailed and made to look dark and scary.Except a few minor lag issues, the graphics really are amazing,

SOUND DESIGN - 9/10
The sound effects is Left 4 Dead are spectacular making it a very spooky atmosphere. The voice acting made by the survivors are so natural. The sound made when you fire a gun is very realistic. The music changes according to situation, when you are at a quite and lonely house it's very slow and frightening whereas when you are fighting a horde it changes into fast and tensed music. Even the infected make very scary sounds.The sound design in Left 4 Dead is very realistic and creepy. You are able to communicate to teammates but using shortcut menus which allow you to speak important phrases like "Look out", "Be careful" or "Hurry" and many others. This can be used very quickly and is very effective when used correctly.

REPLAYABILITY - 10/10
There are 4 campaigns and 5 levels in each of the campaigns. Saying each level takes you about 15 minutes, you can probably finish the game in about 5-6 hours. But there is high replaybility content in it. The versus mode will want you to come back for more action and the developer's commentary will want you to know how the game was made. Moreover the 4 difficulty levels prove to be quite a challenge if you are playing in advanced or expert mode as one hit from a normal zombie takes 20% of your total health. The replayability in Left 4 Dead make up for its short but extremely fun campaign mode. The most important factor in Left 4 Dead is its AI. Every time you play a level its different from your previous play through as the location of the zombies, the special infected and even the health and weapons are changed. This makes a totally different game each time you play it except you are in the same area.

VERSION COMPARISION
Left 4 Dead is available on the PC as well as on the Xbox360. There are no major differences in the gameplay between the 2 versions but the graphics on the PC version look far better than its 360 counterpart when maxed out. Mouse aiming might prove to bee easier than the analogs of the 360. Apart these both versions are equally amazing games.

THE GOOD
Intense gameplay
High Multiplayer content
Lots of replayability
Superb Graphics
Spectacular sound design and voice acting
No frame rate issues
Very realistic combat.

THE BAD
No Story is kinda disappointing
The arsenal of weapons is sorta small
The game can be beaten in quite a small time.

OVERALL - 9.2/10
This is a really good game in almost every way and I highly recommended it to anyone who loves some action as well as some innovation. This game is really worth your time and money so consider buying this game on either the 360 or the PC.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/22/09