Left 4 Dead

"Left 4 Dead, showing that simple game mechanics can still create stellar games."

Lets clear something up right away; Left 4 Dead is in no way your average shooter or your average horror game. One might classify it as a Survival Horror game, but I really feel that that description falls short of describing what L4D really is. This game is a fast-paced and intense shooter with real elements of survival and horror. It is the shooting aspect of this game that separates it from other games, specifically horror and survival games. You do not have an inventory with a variety of items that you use to outsmart your enemies, you are not a 1-man army/ tank on legs, you do not creep your way through tight and poorly lit hallways to have over-powered enemies jump out and bite your face off. It is the kind of game that makes us redefine video game genres the way that Resident Evil 4 did. But enough prefacing, lets jump into the review.

It is hard to describe why the rather simple mechanics that went into this game work to make it so entertaining. The best way I can describe it is to remember how I thought of the mechanics of the original Halo. Its not different from anything I've played before, but its done so much smoother and better than I've previously seen. Its almost like Valve said to themselves, "lets strip a shooter and survival game down to the basics and make those basics the best we possibly we can". Left 4 Dead is a game that is unpretentious, it knows that it isn't going to wow you with it's graphics or complexity, instead it just shows you how well its gameplay is done. And let me tell you, once you have fought your way through your first horde rush you immediately realize something that Valve knew all along: Killing hundreds of zombies is inexplicably entertaining.

Most of the zombies you will fight are your standard mindless horde, with a few special one thrown in that try to catch you away from your teammates and kill you, attract hundreds of zombies to you so THEY can kill you, or simply pound your hapless human skull into the ground. Once again there is beautiful simplicity that keeps you entertained no matter how many times you shoot a Boomer in the belly, only to have him cover you in bile and attract the horde to eat your face.

The campaign, or rather campaigns since L4D forgoes a linear storyline in favor of 4 separate missions split into 5 chapters that all lead to different rescues. The non-linear story allows for increased number of gaming experiences and, when added with the 4 difficulty settings, really add to the replayability. While you can play alone with three computer-controlled companions, the real allure of this game is the online campaign and versus play.

The entirety of this review up to this point has been overlaying the overall feel of the game. And while you CAN play it alone, I really see no reason why you would because the fun if killing endless hordes of zombies is significantly multiplied when you and three friends are killing hordes of zombies. As you progress through the higher difficulties with your friends and start to replay some of the campaigns you will begin to notice that things have changed a little. This is the result of the games ability to mold itself around your playing abilities and switch around weapon, item and zombie respawns to coincide with your play, offering truly unique experiences every time you play.

In addition to the amazingly entertaining co-operative play, L4D also offers a versus mode that basically entails two teams that take turns trying to play through campaign mode while the other team plays the role of the specialty zombies that the game normally throws at you. It bears mentioning that there is a certain satisfaction to playing as the same zombies that have been making life difficult for you in campaign.

Though I really admire some of the things that the game does well, there are some detractions to the overall play. One of my qualms is that there are only two available campaigns for the versus mode, and replaying the same two can get somewhat repetitive. Another problem is that fact that it can get frustratingly difficult to escape a group of zombies that have closed with you, since each of their attacks slows you to a crawl. The game also puts most of its stock of online play, which may isolate those gamers that prefer a solo experience.

Besides a few other minor problems, this game is about as sound as you can possibly find. It reminds me tremendously of Halo: CE in that it decides to take a simple approach of telling you to get from point A to point B, shooting everything that moves along the way. It's beauty lies in its simplicity, and I simply cannot overstate that fact. This game is a must-own for every fan of shooters and survival games alike.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/26/08

Game Release: Left 4 Dead (US, 11/17/08)