#007

After a long and unannounced hiatus, this is Deadly Neurotoxin coming back to review Left 4 Dead.

First off, let me say that I had wanted this game for a long. time. I was extremely excited about the new Valve production. But I waited a pretty long time before buying it, simply because the price was inexcusable for my budget. Finally I found a copy for $30 in a discount bin at Target. Score! GameStop still sells it at $50 used I believe, so that was lucky.

Left 4 Dead is a game based around four survivors after a zombie apocalypse has occurred: Zoey, Francis, Louis, and Bill. It has four campaigns that play out as different scenarios of rescue, but essentially you travel through the city to a finale where you wait for someone to get you while zombies bite your ass to bits. To add a little flavor, there are "special" infected, which maim you in special ways instead of just running up and scraping at your face. There is also a versus mode where you can play as a survivor or a special infected, which is way more fun than it has any right to be.

My very first impression was that the game was very well thoughtful and expertly put together. Even with only four campaigns, I enjoyed the character dialogue. It randomizes each time you play, depending on which survivor is first in line, what everyone's health is, and who's alive. Even after playing through for the millionth time, I was still shocked at some little touches they added; for instance, when you duck underwater you start losing health after a few moments of holding it. I didn't even realize this feature until a few nights ago, after playing it non-stop. Little touches like that really make this game.

The best part of Left 4 Dead is the feeling of comradery. The mechanics of the game force your group to stay together, especially on the harder levels. If you run too far ahead, you could be mobbed by zombies or snatched up by a smoker, helpless unless one of your teammates happen to be around. Nothing is more satisfying to me than playing on Live, shouting "I'M COMING! I'VE GOT YOU!" while a person is pounced by a hunter and things are going to shite.

I really can't stress how the game mechanics really help make this fun. You can vote to boot people out of the game, which makes things fair most of the time, it's easy to join people's games in lobby or in process . . . it's all very intuitive.

Now the bad part: this game is FULL of glitches. I'm fortunate enough that I've only had a complete game melt-down twice, where I have to turn the XBOX off because all I see is flashing polygons. More than five times I've had huge lag problems, to the point where I have to exit to dashboard. And there's glitches everyone knows -- ways to get through the game without trouble.

1. Jump down to the air conditioning at the beginning of No Mercy and essentially skip the entire chapter.
2. Break down the automatic door instead of altering the horde in Dead Air.
3. Have a zombie open up the Jesus Room where nothing can hurt you at the end of No Mercy.
4. Sit on a Jesus Rock in Death Toll where no zombies can get up/the tank can't find you.
5. Use a gas can or the turret bungee trick to get on top of the plane in Dead Air (I've never seen this done, but everyone tells me about it).
6. Get the tank stuck behind the plane in Dead Air and shoot him to death.

The list goes on. I'm torn on these -- when playing on Expert, these glitches are the only way to survive. I was very thankful for them. However, they're still flaws in the game. Plus, these are only the ones that are popular; once I played with a kid who knew how to get around alerting the horde on every single campaign. And that's just sad.

The only other complaint I have is this: the game is not scary. In the director's commentary, they talk about how terrified players would be, and I was struck with how incorrect that was. I was never honestly terrified with this game, not even on the hardest difficulty. Maybe one time when I stumbled upon a Tank that had yet to spawn, so he was just chillin' in a corner that I happened to walk into. And he beat my ass. I may have screamed a little.

So, nice try with the scariness, but even without being "terrified", this game makes my face explode.

Overall:
Gameplay: This game is PURE playtime, not a cutscene in sight. And I give it +100 points.
Plot: Not much of a plot at all, but I honestly think it would have detracted . . . the point here was the gameplay.
Creativity: It's the best zombie game I've ever played.
Enjoyment: Even the repetition didn't stop me from loving this game.
Graphics: Exceptional! I like the reactions from the AI when you look at them, depending on who you're playing and your relationship with them. Does that make sense? I'm such a damn nerd. Beautiful lighting, too.
Replayability: You will be doing a lot of replaying with this game if you're playing for achievements. I made some of my best friends playing this game, so I still keep replaying just to meet people. And have my ears bleed from the squeal of tiny male children. "TANK! TAAANK! RUN! RUN!" ". . . We're on easy, kiddo . . ."