Late Reviews With Yoshi Volume 3:
Left 4 Dead
Today I played Left 4 Dead. The game is set in the apocalypse, zombies control the cities with their sheer numbers. Millions of people have fallen victim to both the zombies and their mutated allies. These mutant zombies (as if they weren't bad enough) use a range of attacks that feature acid being spat at you, all the way to having a tongue strangle you. The worst one of all is the Tank who uses his mass and solid muscle to make you wish you were dead.
The story follows four survivors through their quest to not die (how original)
Francis, Zoey, Louis (pill addict) and Bill are all playable characters and all have their own set of dialog
Below I picked important aspects of the game, rating them out of ten.
Gameplay: 8/10
Your goal is to make it to the safe house by any means necessary. Whether or not that means someone is left behind is up to you. You have the option to choose a primary gun and a pistol, or a melee weapon and a pistol, each have their own benefits. Once stocked up you leave the safety of your safe house just to go to another safe house hoping that their is a way out of this mess. Your survival group navigates sewers, hospitals, campgrounds (what smart places to put a safe house) scavenging for pain killers for Louis and bandages and ammo for everyone else. Of course there are zombies every were and the game often requires you to do something that summons the horde. The game is extremely fun, regardless of how corny the situations are, the endless slaughter of zombies is relaxing, and when the Tank comes, it really gets your heart going.
While there are versus modes I will only talk about the campaign.
Population: 10/10
Since I am only doing the campaign, there isn't much of a population to be had. It is easy to find others to play with you and you can probably find a game faster than MCC.
Bugs: 7/10
There are plenty of bugs in this game but they are minor and unless you really look for them they go unnoticed, sometimes you can see under the map, or walk through walls, but these things only make the game more enjoyable.
Graphics: 7/10
The game loos really good for it's age. The zombies all have their wounds and the world is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, with posters form the CDC and body bags every were.
Campaign: 10/10
I already covered most of the campaign above, the campaign follows four survivors through a multitude of maps searching for salvation, they find themselves in more difficult situations as the story progresses. The end credits of every set of maps (the game is broken up into 3 or four mini campaigns) they tell how many zombies died, how many of each type of weapons were used and if a survivor did not make it it says a few words about them. It's like putting lemon juice into the cut of the player who did not make it.
AI: Halo Marines/10
The AI's are absolutely brain dead. The zombies run INTO fire and OFF OF cliffs. The survivor AI's don't know how to use their weapons, they wait until you are incapacitated to help you. Not to mention they often refuse to go into the safe house. Sometimes it is better to just kill them and take their health pack for yourself.
Left 4 Dead is a wonderful game and I demand you pick it up. Preorders are available now and the release date is November 18th 2008