Hello all, I haven't been on much recently, but with good reason, I have been ravishing Left 4 Dead.
So, on the 21st November, I got hold of Left 4 Dead, a game I have been hyping and anticipating since late 2006 and boy, was it worth it.
The game is very easy to drop in and play, but near impossible to master. At first the choice of weapons seemed limited but after many hours of constant gameplay you realise the limited choice actually enhances the squad based gameplay, meaning that your team ends up taking one particular type of weapon to deal with certain situations(auto-shotty with tank, Mac 10 with horde etc). The sheer amount of enemies on screen at once is stunning, this combined with the incredible AI director means every single game is intense and fresh.
The controls on the 360 version are as good if not better then Call of Duty 4's, bringing together realistic rumble and pin point accuracy with just the right amount of auto-aim. The maps are incredibly re-playable and have many paths, options and secrets to uncover. The maps also have a sense of being really sprawling and you never feel as if you have been in a certain area twice, thanks to the AI director.
I have heard some people complained about the graphics, let me just clear up a few things.
This game has some of the best graphics on any console, full stop. The dynamic lighting is nothing short of incredible, and this updated version of the source engine looks to be fully utilising this generation of consoles power. I have been playing on a Samsung HD-TV so I have seen what this game can do. The sound is also top notch, but what really makes the sound in L4D incredible is the neccesity of having to closely pay attention to any change in music or tempo, miss the tell-tale drumming music of a horde rush, and you will die.
One of the real suprises for me is the insane awesomeness of the versus mode. Playing as a boss zombie really mixes things up perfectly and it is incredibly satisfying to succesfully mess up a teams tactics and leave them helpless and dying/dead. There are currently only 2 campaigns available for versus, while they are absolutely incredible and satisfying, an extra 1 or 2 campaigns would just be mindblowing.
My hands are still shaking from the finale of Blood Harvest I have just played. After defending the farm-house, we were beaten up and pretty bloodied. Our team was running to the escape vehicle when we all got vomited on, all of us at this point were nearly dead, and out of nowhere, a tank. Long story short, I just managed to kill him, but the others were not so lucky, and there was me, limping pain-stakingly slowly to the APC, shooting off mass hordes of zombies with my auto-shotgun. I took one step inside the vehicle and saw 2 hunters pounce at me, luckily, the APC had already started moving and I was safe.
To summarise what I am trying to get across, this is the best game on the Xbox 360, and in my opinion, Valve's best video-game to date.
My FINAL review score 85/100
So, on the 21st November, I got hold of Left 4 Dead, a game I have been hyping and anticipating since late 2006 and boy, was it worth it.
The game is very easy to drop in and play, but near impossible to master. At first the choice of weapons seemed limited but after many hours of constant gameplay you realise the limited choice actually enhances the squad based gameplay, meaning that your team ends up taking one particular type of weapon to deal with certain situations(auto-shotty with tank, Mac 10 with horde etc). The sheer amount of enemies on screen at once is stunning, this combined with the incredible AI director means every single game is intense and fresh.
The controls on the 360 version are as good if not better then Call of Duty 4's, bringing together realistic rumble and pin point accuracy with just the right amount of auto-aim. The maps are incredibly re-playable and have many paths, options and secrets to uncover. The maps also have a sense of being really sprawling and you never feel as if you have been in a certain area twice, thanks to the AI director.
I have heard some people complained about the graphics, let me just clear up a few things.
This game has some of the best graphics on any console, full stop. The dynamic lighting is nothing short of incredible, and this updated version of the source engine looks to be fully utilising this generation of consoles power. I have been playing on a Samsung HD-TV so I have seen what this game can do. The sound is also top notch, but what really makes the sound in L4D incredible is the neccesity of having to closely pay attention to any change in music or tempo, miss the tell-tale drumming music of a horde rush, and you will die.
One of the real suprises for me is the insane awesomeness of the versus mode. Playing as a boss zombie really mixes things up perfectly and it is incredibly satisfying to succesfully mess up a teams tactics and leave them helpless and dying/dead. There are currently only 2 campaigns available for versus, while they are absolutely incredible and satisfying, an extra 1 or 2 campaigns would just be mindblowing.
My hands are still shaking from the finale of Blood Harvest I have just played. After defending the farm-house, we were beaten up and pretty bloodied. Our team was running to the escape vehicle when we all got vomited on, all of us at this point were nearly dead, and out of nowhere, a tank. Long story short, I just managed to kill him, but the others were not so lucky, and there was me, limping pain-stakingly slowly to the APC, shooting off mass hordes of zombies with my auto-shotgun. I took one step inside the vehicle and saw 2 hunters pounce at me, luckily, the APC had already started moving and I was safe.
To summarise what I am trying to get across, this is the best game on the Xbox 360, and in my opinion, Valve's best video-game to date.
My FINAL review score 85/100
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