Left 4 Dead

Title: Left 4 Dead
Platform Played On: Xbox 360
Release Date: November 17, 2008
Date Played: November-December 2008
Time Played:  20 hours
Completed (Y/N): Yes
Score: 4/5



Opinion:
Clever name, brilliant game. Left 4 Dead is so genius that I cant believe that no one has come up with anything like it before.

I think every gamer had a moment where they said "damn I wish this was multiplayer, so that me and my buddy can fight for survival together", while playing a zombie game such as Dead Rising or Resident Evil.  Well, I bet the guys at Valve/Turtle Rock thought exactly the same thing because Left 4 Dead is precisely that. 

Left 4 Dead features four pretty unique from each other "campaigns" that loosely feed into each other to form an overarching story. But enough about that, Left 4 Dead is not about story, it is about getting up to 3 of your buddies (4 people total) together and enjoying a fast paced zombie shooter, covering each other's backs and constantly anticipating the "AI director's" next move.

The AI director was hugely hyped, it is something video games have been trying to do for many years, and we finally have the technology to make it work. Basically the game studies everyone's actions, and locations and adjusts the enemy behavior accordingly.  This basically makes it so that even though the level layout doesnt change each and every game will play out completely differently. There is no such thing as AI routines or patterns in Left 4 Dead. I do wish that the level geometry was somehow randomized at least a little bit, but thats not major knock against it.

As always Valve (technically Turtle Rock) did a phenomenal job at telling the story with the environment.  Every piece of the level is set perfectly in a believable manner and scribbles on shelter walls tell bits of the story as well as fates of other survivors. All in all Left 4 Dead has a great atmosphere and level design.

Then on top of all that co-op goodness in a highly detailed awesomely crafted world there is the multiplayer.  Here in four vs four you can be the "infected" or as I prefer to call them "zombies" and prevent the opposing team (who is playing the survivors) from reaching the safe house. Playing as infected is a ton of fun since you gain new, and interesting abilities that play nothing like the co-op survivors experience. Playing as survivors against the infected controlled by other humans is also a blast.

All in all Left 4 Dead is a ton of fun. The Source engine is as smooth and fun as ever. I absolutely love the games that utilize it well. Left 4 Dead is a must for any shooter fan.