by Thomas Yoo

Created on: February 02, 2009

Left 4 Dead is VALVe's latest attempt at a shooter, and let's just say that it has worked very well. The game is polished inside and out, and really gives a great reimagining of the zombie shooter genre. Although the story is minimal at best, it has no negative impact on the overall experience.

This game really gives the impression that a zombie apocalypse has hit, and that you must do anything in your power to survive. There is a massive amount of violence, with blood and gore flying around in uncountable amounts. The graphics are amazing, especially when cranked up to max, and the new updated Source Engine really handles the game well with amazing fire, explosion, and hitscan blood effects.

The environments are nice and varied, ranging throughout the four campaigns from an urban city, with sewers and alleys, to a rural farmhouse. The textures are very nice, and the character models are detailed. A nice little detail also added is the contextual zombies, where if you are in a certain location, the zombies match the location. In the hospital, you will see patient and doctor zombies.

Of course, even if the graphics are the best, if the gameplay falters then there is no point to the game. The gameplay is, in a word, fluid. The controls are mapped nicely, and each shot feels satisfyingly powerful. I feel that VALVe also did a great job by giving the pistols infinite ammunition and the regular guns a lot. If that was done wrong, even for realism, the game would have been a lot more boring. Imagine going through the levels flailing your arms for half the way.

Of course, the spotlight is on the Special Infected. The Boomer, Hunter, Smoker, Tank, and Witch are very intuitive additions to the cookie-cutter zombies, each having their own special skills. These skills constantly keep you on your toes, and you constantly have to remember to punch a Boomer before shooting, dodge the tongue snares that are thrown at you, and more. These moments are accentuated especially in Versus Mode, where a captivating new experience places the zombies at your control, and you can leap, snare, and barf your way through the Survivors' defenses.

Up until recently, the online gameplay was marred with several glitches and exploits, such as hitting zombies OVER 9000! times in a second by rapidly meleeing and quickswitching, or punching through walls as a Tank. However, most of these issues have either been fixed or aren't a big issue to the gameplay.

Teamwork is a big part of the game, and the game is balanced as so. You must recieve help from your teammates whenever you are attacked by a Hunter or a Smoker, and if you are incapacitated, then you must be helped up. The game design is an ingenious teamplay encourager, as you find yourself not only healing yourself, but also healing others; calling out names to help, and actively take the role of a Survivor.

The game is near-perfect, but with a few glitches that don't take away from the overall experience. Looks like VALVe has another winner on their hands.

9.3/10

Pros

+ Great Gameplay

+ Good Graphics

+ Polished Teamplay Experience

+ Inventive Enemies and Playmodes

Cons

- Minimal Story

- Few Glitches and Exploits

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