Left 4 DeadReviews: Left 4 Dead
Amazon Minimum Age: 204 months Binding: Video Game Brand: Electronic Arts EAN: 0014633098563 ESRB Age Rating: Mature Item Dimensions: Label: Electronic Arts Manufacturer: Electronic Arts MPN: 9856 Platform: Xbox 360 Publisher: Electronic Arts Release Date: November 17, 2008 Studio: Electronic Arts Features:
Rating:  - Most intense game... EVERDon't let the lack of plot fool you in some reviews. This is the most insane experience for any zombie fan. Expert mode makes you feel like you are actually living the zombie apocalypse, with careful planning and precision to complete the simplest tasks. Great game, great design, unreal experience. Rating:  - It's The End of the World, as We Know ItMany of you have probably known or familiarized yourselves with Valve's new first person shooter (FPS), "Left 4 Dead". For those who don't know of it, lived under a rock, or maybe even just set foot into the next generation of gaming, no worries I'm here to help. To begin this is a game based on cooperation, even in single player campaign modes you'll want a fearsome four. Not a feeble loner, or you'll be turning the game into "Left 2 Die", with a middle finger on the cover and to your teammates. Left 4 Dead begins in the middle of what appears to be a zombie apocalypse, with no real back-story. Aiming for an easy hop in and play title, rather then having to make a proper story and avoid a cliché way of infestation. The game features four prime cuts of zombie terrain goodness, broken into chapters. Each scenario holds no story to the other, so any beginner can play any section without missing much. Some chapters though are quite tough, but difficulty settings aside beginners wont be turned away even joining up with a group nearing the end of the game. Streets painted in blood, urban sprawl, and sewers are just some of the areas you'll venture to. Airports even fields (as we all know are terrifying in real life in the dark) are available. Progression is logged by making way to a safe room. These rooms serve as a quick breather in a rather hellish atmosphere, and offer goods from ammo to health packs. Players on higher difficulties will see these rooms as a sign of salvation. So next time you make a bold attempt to dart to one of these safe rooms, look both ways. Zombies pose little threat at first, much like the "28 Days Later" rage infected people, they are fast but nothing a bullet can't handle. Special infected are what to look out for. Special musical cues alert players of what to expect. Special infected range in size and abilities. The most deadly being the Tank, a destructive `tank' like foe, which specialty is to bludgeon or toss survivors. Next in our Frankenstein like conveyor belt is the `smoker'. You can hear this fella cackling away from either emphysema or laughter as he's about to lash out his tongue and victimize you. Along the way you'll probably see the hunter, chances are he'll see you first though. He likes to tackle and maul you! He's pleasant in comparison to the boomer. The boomer likes to cover you in gooey bile of some sort that attracts a horde of zombies. Now those weak pestering waste of shot zombies are an army of the dead, and you're their primary target (lovely). Before I finish this segment, it wouldn't be complete with out mentioning the witch. I wont mention much about her, leave her be and maybe you wont know a thing of her either. Weapons are a constant in survival, and teams must choose accordingly to their premises to survive. Entry grade weapons include a sub machine gun, and a shotgun, as pistols are equipped as a back up or last resort. Down the road you'll run into the upgraded versions (automatic shotgun, assault rifle, dual pistol), and a hunting rifle. What you used before may not be suitable at this point. Consider speaking and clarifying your specialty with others, if everyone only has a shotgun, say good-bye to the straggler. Items are just as important if not more important to survival here. Medical items anyways. Pills, and `med packs' are your health boosters. Pills increase your health but slowly ware off and bring you back to bare bones. Med packs can be given out to other players, or used upon you; it goes for pills too (can be handed out). (Lower your health the slower you run). They can also save you when your screen becomes grayed (ill explain more upon this grayness later). Other items can be improvised such as a Molotov cocktail, and a pipe bomb. Players must choose one or the other, in a perfect world we should be able to carry both, but this isn't a perfect world, in fact it feels like the end. Gasoline cans and propane tanks can be shot or thrown into a spot for some tactical explosive goodness. Players can become incapacitated by what they are facing and have in need of some assistance. As their health bar dwindles, players can pick them up. After enough knockdowns though, their screen will appear faded and gray. After one more accident, they will die! Luckily your friend is much like a zombie and will respawn in a closet at a later time. Versus mode offers players to be special infected or survivors, and incapacitation is the biggest objective to avoid or initiate. Versus mode is a rehash of the games campaign, with only two of the trials offered. Teams switch off each round (to zombie or survivor). This works rather smoothly, but the spawning is a bit confusing at first, and isn't all that interesting. Visuals- 4/5: Cinematic flares added here and there make the gore even more horrific. Sound-5/5: Not much music, but the bits are crucial to survival. They also heighten the freight to another level. Frame rate and performance-4/5: The E3 demos gave me this conception of a Half-Life 2 mod with a clunky frame rate, oh how I was wrong. It runs smooth, not too many clunks, and the A.I. is great. Check out the A.I, director to learn more. Gameplay-4/5: Fun,fun,fun! Repetitiveness done right, you don't even want to call it that. New feeling each play through, just with a stronger sense of familiarity. Left 4 Dead summed up is a game that will have you completing the same objectives every time, fairly linear but different combinations of weapons and people and even difficulty changes make for a great intense game. Slight changes of item locations and witches will have you peering around every tree and or wall. This is a game worth buying if you have a devoted group of friends or clan to play with, but as for now a rental if available and while the online community lingers with the dead. For I fear that lack of downloadable content (DLC) could hinder this games online player base, so lets hope for a few new locations. Rating: - lots of fun4 different campaigns, tons of zombies to kill, simple weapons, and sawrms of zombies called the horde. This game is a blast and it is a different experience every time you play the best game since Halo 3. Rating: - A blast if you have Xbox Live.Too often designers try to substitute tons of boring content and story for engaging gameplay. I am tired of collecting 100 hidden coins to unlock a lame costume or waiting thru 15 minutes of movies just to begin playing a game. I want quality, original gameplay and this game has that. Yes, every level is similar and yes there is some room for improvement, like any game. But, there is a reason why the same zombie movie has been made 100 times. . . shooting zombies is fun and this game captures that fun like no other game before. This game is also original because it forces you to work as a team and stick together. If you go off on your own, you will die, it's that simple. Simply put, this is one of the most entertaining games I have ever played (and I started with Pong). I put it right up there with all the other classics built around solid gameplay, not story and add-ons; Pac-Man, GoldenEye, Street Fighter, etc. . . I say buy it and I can't wait for the next one. DISCLAIMER: This game is designed to be played online. If you don't have the ability to play online, it is a rental at best. Rating: - Left 4 Dead game reviewThe game is amazing and it's addicting. The AI is unbelievable on expert mode. It's scary, it's fun, even more so on versus mode online. Definitely worth getting. One of the best games of the year. Left 4 Dead ReviewsMore reviews:Buy Left 4 Dead Sale Reviews Deals
Left 4 Dead
|