Communication is the key to success
The smooth transition between campaign and online play is flawless as players drop in and out of the action. Left 4 Dead plays to its co-op strengths magnificently through a near-perfect combination of astute A.I. and cleverly designed environments. Ultimately this means that you need to communicate with your team-mates and work together to reach the end of a level.There are some nice subtle touches as well, such as how team-mates communicate with each other and shout out whenever they’re re-loading, see enemies or spot health and ammo lying around. The whole game is geared toward making it an enjoyable multi-player experience to share with friends and it's clear from the outset that Valve had real knowledge of what makes a great co-op experience. You’re all working toward a common goal and at the end of each level there’s a real feeling of camaraderie as you take satisfaction out of knowing that you had to work damn hard as a team to reach the extraction point. We’ve struggled to think of another game that handles co-op this well.
Valve really knows how to get the adrenaline flowing with a mix of great animation, cinematic flair, and brilliant audio work, as well as with its cast of believable and bum-clenchingly scary zombies. Left 4 Dead is just about killing zombies, it’s as simple as that, yet still it manages to grab you around the throat from the outset, amaze you and take you for one hell of an enjoyable ride.
The new Survival Mode adds further replay value, the Last Stand in particular, which leaves you feeling extremely vulnerable as you try frantically to see off the threat of hordes of invading zombies descending on a lighthouse near the edge of a seaside cliff. It’s a game mode that’s prove to be an excellent addition in other games, such as Gears of War 2, and here it’s just as exciting, nerve-racking and a lot of fun.
Click for larger imageWhat we don’t like?
Erm, well, we’re really clutching at straws to find anything negative about our Left 4 Dead experience because there really isn’t much we can say. You could argue that it lacks depth; after all you’re just killing zombies with a variety of weapons that we’ve all seen before. You could take a pop at the fact that the levels are extremely linear and there’s no room for exploration. Or you could even moan about a few clipping issues that show up on rare occasions. That’s it though. The only thing we’re disappointed about is that there hasn't been more downloadable content and that we’ll probably have to wait quite a while before we get to play the next iteration in this brilliant new franchise.
Final Thoughts
It’s once in a blue moon that a game as good as Left 4 Dead comes along, yet we know plenty of people who still haven’t played it. With the release of the Game of The Year Edition imminent there’s no excuse not to give it a whirl. You won’t regret it.
Verdict: 9.5/10
