Left 4 Dead: Are You Ready for the Zombie Apocalypse?

So, like many of you readers out there, I downloaded the Left 4 Dead demo version from XBox Live awhile back and couldn't put it down. What's better than having thousands of zombies to fight your way through with a pack of your best buddies? I'm going to take a look at what make L4D a great game from both a traditional review standpoint and from an unconventional standpoint.

First of all, Left 4 Dead comes with a variety of modes; Single Player, Multiplayer, and a Versus mode. Single and multiplayer are closely identical except that in single player all your teammates are bots. Versus mode spices things up with letting half the players be the zombie bosses. This is pretty fun after you have worn yourself out on the regular campaign modes. Overall the difficulties in the game are fine, but I personally think the best mode is Expert because it gives a real feeling of danger to the game and knowing that you need your teammates more than the other modes. The weapons in the game are overall fairly balanced but I still wish there were more. You have your choice of fast firing machine guns, slow but powerful shotguns, pistols, or long range rifle. Each weapon is powerful in its own way but has their drawbacks and perks. It's recommend for most teams to carry a grab bag of weapons.

The level structure in the games is linear but the environments are fun to explore around and get into trouble. If you have a good multiplayer team, you'll feel like a SWAT team clearing the rooms. If you have a bad multiplayer team, you'll feel like each room could mean your end because your team is scattered and uncooperative. The zombie bosses are varied in their techniques for making you fear them. The Boomer spits bile on you or the team, blinding you and at the same time calling horde to eat you. The Smoker, on the other hand is lone wolf, who picks off strays from your group and strangles them. The Hunter, stalks you and pounces ripping at your chest. The Witch, is meant to be avoided as disturbing her sends her into a fury after the person who woke her. The Tank, is to be feared by all because it can easily whip out your whole team with brute force. Each boss is unique and adds a different element to the levels.

One of the greatest things about the game is the Director. The Director randomly generates weapon and zombie spawn points throughout. This creates a unique experience each time you play the levels which drastically increases the replay value of the 4 episodes in the game. At the end of each level is a final showdown for that episode. At this point, the surviving players must endure for a set amount of time the undead hordes until rescue arrives. You'll be laughing and telling your stories about how Larry missed the rescue chopper and is getting munched on as you fly away.

I think the only downside for many people on this game is the limit to the Versus mode and the number of campaigns. IMO, I wish there were more weapons but that's just a minor gripe. So overall, the gameplay is excellent with good replay. The campaigns can be very challanging on expert mode and you won't get tired of this game fast. The graphics are good but nothing groundbreaking. The audio adds excellent atmosphere to the environments ranging from the moans of the zombie hordes to the distinctive sounds of each boss. You'll feel a great rush when you hear that little tingle sound of the zombie horde approaching and hunker down for the oncoming battle.

So what makes this game great BESIDES all of what was listed above? Well, I think Valve played their cards right taping into all of our boyhood (and possibly girlhood) fantasies of surviving in a zombie apocalypse. Most of us grew up watching zombie horror movies and always saying "Yeah, well I would have done this if I were there!". This game gives us the opportunity to walk the walk. When I watched the remake of Dawn of the Dead, I said, "man that was awesome... I wish they had a game" and now they do. So with that said, if you still haven't played Left 4 Dead and you're itching to shoot some mindless flesh eaters, then Left 4 Dead is your chance. Go out and get it!