Left 4 Dead, the title reads like the last text message you will ever send as you mercilessly beat the un-life out of the nearest brain hungry zombie with the butt of your freshly shell-drained shotgun. Did the game seem as rushed as its solecistic title implies? Or did Valve finally deliver the zombie apocalypse shooter of our dreams?

Perhaps the most noticeable thing about Left 4 Dead is the pace, no matter where you are or what you are doing, there is always something to shoot. The good people at Valve were even kind enough to include a button that allows your character to turn around 180 degrees instantly, and believe me, you’ll be using it more then you think. Only when your characters finally reach the inviting bosom of the safe room can you stop for a moment to allow your brain to catch up from the madness that just occurred. This game will easily get your blood pumping and can often set you loose into moments of panic as you try to speed you way past wave after endless wave.

Another thing to note is the atmosphere. The design and layout of the game definitely screams zombie apocalypse, but most noted in the atmosphere is the use of sound. The audible cues in this game are very important, as often you end up stuck in very dark areas with a simple flashlight to narrowly guide you ahead. Via the audible cues, you can guess the size of the approaching horde, from just a couple, to a crowd, to “Holy SHIT lets circle up and start firing everything we got in random directions”. To make you especially paranoid, Left 4 Dead has also employed audible cues for each special infected. Each special infected has its own unique call, and upon hearing this, members of the group begin frantically searching for their new target, as with these particular infected, if you don’t find them first, you better get your medpack prepared. The look, feel, and sounds of Left 4 Dead have created the perfect atmosphere to accommodate this apocalyptic wonderland.

Lewis? Is that you?

Let me make one thing clear about the gameplay, you are meant to operate as a unit, either with the NPC’s or other players. The game is designed in such a way, that if one individual wanders away from the group, they will meet a quick and brutal fate. While blasting away at the horde is one thing, many special infected are impossible to take on alone if they get the jump on you. Being attacked by a smoker or a hunter completely incapacitates your character, leaving you helpless and awaiting rescue from your team mates. As you can probably imagine, this makes team play with friends incredibly fun, or sometimes incredibly frustrating. A team is always only as strong as its weakest link, and if one player drops, your chance for survival drastically decreases.

Playing through campaign mode can be a lot fun, but in my opinion, the real beauty of this game takes its form in the versus mode over X-box Live. The game separates you into two teams of 4, one side gets to play as the survivors, while the other gets to play as.. you guessed it, the zombie horde! Each member assumes the role of a random special infected, where you work once again, as a team to kill off the survivors. Special infected are pretty much glass cannons so to speak, it only takes one or two hits to get killed. However if you do die, you’re respawned as another random special infected in just a few short seconds. Depending on the special infected, your job may be to create chaos by summoning the horde to the survivor’s location, or taking advantage of one that’s happened to stray off from his friends. If you lucky, there is a rare chance a random character will be chosen to spawn as a tank, the only class that can actually take a few hits and seriously level the playing field. It doesn’t matter what side you end up on, playing verses is a blast on either side.

Now for the cons: Frankly, it’s hard to think of any. This game is so awesome that I’m still expecting to see a chupacabra dart out from behind a flaming vehicle (did that I mention that like zombies, chupacabra are also very awesome?)

So very close Valve ...

I would say that there aren’t enough levels on Verses, but I’ve played the same level over and over and over again and have no complaints whatsoever. Thanks to randomizing where, what, and when the monsters will hit you, each time you play it through, it never gets old and keeps you on your toes every time. And just when you think your doing great, and easily making your way to the safe room, you suddenly trip on a witch and your wonderful zombie killing spree suddenly turns into a horrific massacre. I would also say that the graphics aren’t up to par with some of the games released around the same time, but Valve compensated very nicely for that by creating the perfect atmosphere. Really, the only complaint here relates to the total lack of story and character development, however it was never Valves intent to create a story driven game here, the great thing about a zombie apocalypse is that they are pretty self explanatory. Most players are too busy screaming “SHOOT THAT *****” to be concerned with the existential quandaries of Lewis.

In closing, whether you happen to be a zombie aficionado or a fan of shooters in general, this is a must add to your collection.

It takes a special kind of genius to work in zombie photography.
I also highly recommend you encourage your friends to pick this up, as the enjoyability of the game dramatically increases when you can play with good friends. Left 4 Dead definitely delivers on what it promises. I would rate this game at a 7, if you only play by yourself, and 9 if you’re playing with friends.