"Left 4 Dead" is the surprise hit of the year
At PAX 2008, I saw a booth for "Left 4 Dead" and passed it by, thinking it was some lame adaptation of "House of the Dead" from my childhood arcade days. Boy, did I eat my words.
"Left 4 Dead" is without a doubt the surprise hit of the year. This game came from nowhere to deliver a zombie-slaying experience like no other. The campaign consists of four separate missions cast as different B-movie horror flicks, complete with purposefully cheesy titles (but featuring the same cast members). This sets the tone perfectly for a half heart-pumping/half-humorous survival horror experience filled with unexpected moments.
Each of the campaign modes can be played cooperatively over Xbox LIVE. Indeed, the game is designed to force players to cooperate, as once tackled or ensnared by a variety of special zombies, a player must rely on his teammates to rescue him. This creates a sense of comradery that lies at the heart of why the game's campaign mode is so engaging. The feeling of standing back to back with your comrades and fighting for your lives against the rush of an overwhelming zombie horde is unlike any other co-op experience.
The experience is all the more engaging because the AI is dynamic: enemies behave differently and spawn in different places every playthrough, so if your team fails a first attempt, subsequent attempts are never the same. The enemies are varied as well: one enemy can snatch you with his tongue like a frog can a fruit fly; another fiend can vomit bile on you that will attract a zombie horde, still another can pounce from the shadows and rip your chest out chunk by chunk. Combined, the foes in "Left 4 Dead" are extremely fun to fight and force you to stay on your toes and watch your teammates' backs.
Perhaps the best part about "Left 4 Dead" is that you can play as the special zombies in the competitive online multiplayer mode. Surprising a group of survivors with a belly full of bile or watching a poor human player writhe and struggle in my zombie grasp was endlessly entertaining. My only regret was the absence of any ranking system to add an extra layer of addiction to the online play.
The few minor criticisms I have of the game relate to some limitations on variety and integration with the Achievements system. Despite the good diversity of zombie types, I wish there had been some enemies or bosses specific to the different campaigns, so that each one would have felt a bit more unique. Also, the online Versus mode was only limited to two maps, which was somewhat disappointing. Finally, some of the game's Achievement requirements are excessively draconian: for example, one might devote several hours to completing a campaign on "Expert," fail to escape on the last chapter, then have to play the entire campaign over again to get the Achievement.
But these are minor gripes about an otherwise excellent game. For what it attempts to do--deliver a survival horror action thriller in the package of B-movie horror flick--"Left 4 Dead" excels and ultimately topped all my expectations. Anyone who enjoys exciting co-op action (or eating human brains) will surely find "Left 4 Dead" an appetizing experience.
