Ready for the Zombie Apocalypse?

Author's Rating:

Pros: Fun game play, quick pace, ever changing situation, low system requirements

Cons: Graphics, imprecise controls at times

The Bottom Line: 

Think you have what it takes to survive the zombie apocalypse?  Think you work well with others?  Here's your chance to prove it!

Author's Review
I rarely have time to play games nowadays, but the fact that I am making time to play this particular one says something.

Left 4 Dead takes the first-person shooter genre and turns teamwork into a must. Unlike other team-based games (such as Battlefield 2142), you don't have a large group of people to work with. In Battlefield, you have many squads, and if you wish, you can venture out on your own and can generally do some good. In Left 4 Dead, you have four survivors (oh wow, I just got that now...) fending themselves from the typical B-movie plot of a zombie apocalypse.

Teamwork, then, is very crucial in surving, and thus, winning. The concept is simple - just get your team from point A to point B with as many of the survivors possible. But of course, all good games have a simple concept that becomes dynamic once you're actually playing it.


Game Play

I'm going to start with the game play itself, since I've already alluded to this in my introduction.
Deceptively simple, the goal is to get your team into the safe room of every level as you avoid hordes of fast-moving zombies. Think 28 Days.

The intro movie that plays in the begining does a great job of getting the player up to speed. I love the movie, as it does not go about in a way that instructions you directly. It's more of a movie that sets the mood and let you know of the dangers ahead, so you'll know what to expect when you're in the game. You'll know what to do, and what NOT to do just by watching the intro movie.
You'll meet the four survivors, the horde and their behavior (they seem to be attracted to noise), the boss zombies (Hunter, Boomer, and Smoker), the big boss Tank, and the Witch. You can see what each of these enemies can do, and what you can do to counter them.

If you've played any FPS games on the PC, you'll pick the controls on this one right up. I actually own both the XBOX 360 version as well as the PC. Both are fun, but I like the controls of the PC better.

All four survivors have the exact same abilities, and can use any of the weaons. No one jumps higher or punches harder. This was done to keep everything equal, so no one should have preference on which character they'll play as.

You can play on your own with computer-controlled teammates, or on-line with other people against computer-controlled enemies. In Versus Mode, up to 8 players can play. On one team, you have the survivors, and on the other, you are the zombies! After the survivors gets in the safe room, or the zombies kill all the survivors, the teams switch sides. You're basically competing on points, which are awarded by total health (including health pack used), the percentage of the level your team completed, as well as the difficulty.

As a zombie (or as Valve calls them, the "Infected"), you will spawn in as one of the three boss infected (Boomer, Hunter, and Smoker). The horde of zombies (the standard infected) are computer controlled, however.

The Boomer is my favorite - you get to throw up on the survivors, and the horde will come after whoever you spat on! Apparently, they are attracted to your bile. When recently spat on, the survivor will have a hard time seeing through your bile, which effectively makes them somewhat blind. Also, when they DO shoot you, you explode, covering them with your guts, which also attracts the horde! Of course, they can counter by pushing you away far enough to not get covered by your guts before they shoot you. Also, since you're pretty big and loud, they will see you coming from a mile away! So the best way to use the Boomer is to ambush them.

The Hunter is my least favorite, though other players seem to like him. He's a fast jumping zombie that can pounce, then melee the survivor to deal damage. It takes a bit of skill to use the Hunter effectively. The Hunter is also very adept at leaping from wall to wall, keeping him pretty airborne, making him hard to shoot when you're on the move.

The Smoker is like a short-range sniper in a sense that he shoots out a long tongue to grab and pull a survivor in before he melees them. If you're on the edge of a cliff or platform, you can hang them to death as well. He's called the Smoker because he emits smoke when the survivors lands that killing shot.

All of the playable boss infected make unique noises so that the survivors know you're around. It's on you to be creative in your attacks, as well as working together on a successful ambush. The most basic plan is for the Boomer to attack, then while the survivors defend themselves is a sea of the undead, a Smoker can drag one of the survivors away from the group. When it's a bit clear, one of the survivors may come to rescue the one dragged away. A Hunter can then pounce on the savior.

Of course there are way more scenarios, but the one described above seem to happen a lot!

The Tank is a very strong boss infected, and is usually spawned by the AI's choice. He is usually spawned around the same time/area for each run to keep it fair.

As you can see, playing as the infected is a unique experience, making the traditional FPS concepts new and interesting again.
As the survivor, you do get guns at the beginning of the level, and usually, weapons, ammo, and other helpful items appear throughout the level. The randomness of where and when hordes attack, as well as where items and weapons are make the game fresh and new every time you play. While it does feel more like a traditional FPS, the real difference is the up-close combat as the hordes surround you. Also, since you need someone to help if you get pounced, or tongued, you have a real danger of getting killed if you venture out on your own. No loners here!
 
Speaking of the weapons, as you go on, you may find upgraded weapons that are stronger, faster, or more accurate. In the beginning, you get to choose a shotgun or a sub-machine gun. Later, you may find a choice of an auto-shotgun (faster firing rate) or a machine gun that does more damage and can penetrate walls. You may also find a highly accurate sniper rifle that shoots at a very slow rate.

You may also find home-made pipe bombs that have smoke detector parts to make noise to attract the horde to it. The payoff is that you get to see a whole bunch of zombies explode into a sea of body parts! Oh, and not to mention that they get off your back while they chase the blinking beeping light on the pipe bomb.

A Molotov can also be found, which does what looks and sounds. Basically, it's a bottle filled with fuel and a rag. You can set a large area on fire and turn those zombies into flaming zombies.

Then there are health packs that takes a while to use, so you better make sure someone has your back while you're healing. You can also heal someone else who may need it more than you. There are also pills that can temporarily make you feel better (temporary life I guess). They are instantly taken, and can also be given to someone on the team.

There are more, of course, such as stationary guns, containers of gasoline, propane tanks, and oxygen tanks, all of which can be used to smack the hell out of the enemies, as well explode or catch on fire upon a few gunshots. All this variety makes playing as the survivors just as fun as the infected.


Graphics

Left 4 Dead uses the Source engine, which is the same one used in Half-Life 2 and the new episodes, as well as TF2 and Portal. As such, it doesn't require much graphical powers from your GPU. That said, the graphics aren't all that great (simple geometries much like in a PS2 game). However, if you wanted to prove that a great game is all about game play and not graphics, you can use Left 4 Dead in your examples.

But still, there was a lot of attention put into creating the right look and mood for the game. The boss infected, tank, and survivors have the most details, while the horde are more simplistic looking. This was done to make sure those hundreds and hundreds of zombies that appear on screen won't bog down the fast pace nature of the game.

You can turn the graphic settings all the way down and be hard pressed to find too much missing. I was able to play this game on a Penitum Dual Core 2.0 GHz machine with a nVidia 8500GT at 1920x1080.


Sound

The sound is done very well. Characters have a lot of lines that doesn't seem to get old over time. They actually seem to be creating dynamic conversations at times! The guns sound right, with enough oomph to make it believable. The horde sound as scary as they look, and the unique sounds each of the boss infected are clear and easily identifiable.

Gunfire and explosions resonates the room with my Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers and dramatic music cues you into what may come next. Valve did a good job on creating tension and hinting fear with just the music itself. Add the visuals, and you're in for a treat!

With headphones, the sound is just as stellar, but both speakers and headphones does not do positional audio very well.  With my Sound Blaster X-Fi, however, headphones do sound much more immersive.  I would love to try out a true 5.1 or 7.1 set up, but I do not have the room for this currently.

On my laptop's integrated Realtek HD Audio sound chipset, even with good quality headphones, it is hard to tell where sounds are coming from.  It sounds a bit flat compared to listening through my gaming PC's X-Fi card.

This proves that a discrete audio card may be worth the money, and the flat sound is not the fault of the game itself.


Controls

I've always found the way things move on Source games to be too fast and unnatural. Fortunately, I don't notice it much here. Sure, it's fast pace, but for some reason, I haven't found myself looking away from the screen due to eye strain and fatigue. The action is fast and furious, without the nausea. Perhaps the thought of helping your friends as well as getting away from the horde alive to keep your team's score high will distract from the frantic visuals.
 
That said, it still feels just as imprecise as other Source games I've played (HL2 and TF2). Aiming at items and hitting "E" to pick them up can sometimes make you pick up the wrong item when they are placed close to each other. It's also pretty easy to unintentionally shoot your own teammates when playing as gun-toting survivors.

Still, the fast paced nature and 360 awareness requires the use of the mouse for players to swing around a full 180 easier than on the XBOX. It's funny, though - to counter this need for a quick turn swing, the XBOX version of the game dedicates a button for a 180 degree turn! It's still no match for the more intuitive mouse control.

That said, controls feel natural for those who've played FPS games on the PC. Of course, I wish it was easier to hit the right button to chat, as well as type comments while in-game. I got used to it pretty quick, but it may frustrate others. What do I mean? Well, as you know, WASD are the keys you use to move forward, back, and strafe side to side. The "C" key is used for voice chat, the "Y" key is so you can type instead (if you don't have a mic) for everyone in the game, the "U" key is to type to your own team. Hitting the wrong key may have you unintentionally giving out your plans to the other team.


The Upshot

While it's a simple concept, the game play is very deep and can be as complex as you make it. Planning ahead, strategies, and scheming is all part of the fun! Of course, this can mean your experience can be horrible when playing with people who just doesn't play well with others. It happens...