Left 4 Dead

Some games have an incredibly creative premise but they are bogged down by poor implementation. Think of The Ship for example, a game that invites players onto a cruise ship and gives each guest an envelope with the name of another guest they must murder in order to win money and ultimately survive. While the idea behind this game is diabolically splendid, the gameplay and bugs pretty much scared off the few people who actually purchased it. Left 4 Dead is the polar opposite of course. While the idea has been done to death (shoot zombies to survive) all other aspects from the controls to the sound effects have been polished to a near perfect shine. This sort of game requires no explanation other than get from point A to point B without dying but doing so is so fun that you will find yourself playing the same levels again and again.

Cast as one of the four survivors in an apocalyptic horror movie, you and three other survivors (which may be controlled by the computer or by other people) shoot your way through endless oceans of fierce zombies in order to get to safety. While you explore environments, salvage useful items and solve simple puzzles you will sometimes encounter the super infected, individual zombies with terrifying abilities. For example there is a morbidly obese zombie called the Boomer that vomits zombie-attracting bile that also temporarily blinds your character. The Hunter and the Smoker pick off stray survivors who wander too far from the group, while the Witch is harmless unless alerted by a careless Survivor who she will then mercilessly hunt down with her incapacitating claws bared. Lastly, there is the Tank, a massive undead hulk that throws cars and chunks of pavement at people and requires the full force of the four survivors to be brought down.

The game is divided into four feature length movies, between four and five chapters each. Most of them start out with a promise of escape such as having to reach a helicopter or get picked up by the military. Between the Survivors and that spot you will find a whole bunch of challenges ranging from defending an abandoned house to dueling with Tanks in narrow spaces. Thankfully your characters pack a lot of zombie-dispatching firepower in the form of shotguns, automatic weapons, pistols, rifles, Molotov cocktails, and pipe bombs. Also, you get a few chances to change or upgrade your weapons, so while long stretches of open terrain benefit from carrying a rifle you will very likely want an automatic shotgun for that big finale.

Still the star of this game is the artificial intelligence “director” that keeps tracks of the players and challenges them frequently while allowing them to catch their breath from time to time. The pacing remains consistently thrilling and no matter how many times you play through a level you never fully know what to expect outside of the scripted set pieces. Additionally, the game really lends itself to unexpected and exciting war stories, for example fending off dozens of zombies while waiting for a boat to rescue you, only to have one survivor dragged off at the last minute before escaping. If something like this happens you will see a little “in memory of” message for that player when the credits roll.

Also, for those who would like to take control of the super infected there is a versus mode of play that allows you to stalk the survivors that are playing through the game. While it will take you a couple of tries to master each of the zombies’ individual revolting abilities, the in-game hints make it pretty easy to figure out. I am also really fond of the idea of spawning as a manner of ghost, which gives you the opportunity to find a good hiding place to ambush the survivors from. Since the zombies are extremely vulnerable to the survivors weapons it is necessary startle your opponents into making mistakes and with a little teamwork, a group of experienced zombies can quickly take down a disorganized band of survivors. Like I said earlier, while this game is far from the most original that has come out this year it is really worth playing again and again, especially with friends.