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Zombies are a favorite enemy when it comes to videogame settings. The sheer fact that it’s not necessarily a “monster” so much as it is a dead, demented human being makes the thought of encountering one a nightmarish idea. So what then would you do were you trapped in a town, a town overrun with the undead, with three other people, and you had one night to escape? Try to survive, that’s what. Valve Software are aiming to take that simple premise, one that’s been used in countless movies, and turn it into a “blockbuster, cinematic” interactive co-op experience with Left 4 Dead; their brand new survival horror FPS for the Xbox 360 and PC.
As I walked into the demo room waiting for my session to begin, I started to think about tactics. “I could go here if X happens, and then run to here and hold out. Yeah, that’d work.” “Then again, what if I’m in trouble? My teammates will be able to get to me no problem...there’s three of them afterall.” Oh ho ho, how wrong I was. I sat at the start screen waiting for everyone to get set up, and then we launched the game. There we were, iside of a small room staring at a table full of various weapons, health packs and ammo. I took a minute to familiarize myself with the controls, and found that I had a default pistol on my character, Zoey, one of the four survivors “left for dead” in the story. I then grabbed a shotgun, extra shells and a health pack (you can only carry one health pack, and one main weapon at a time)... and we began.
Hit the jump for more.
In our demo (which was on the PC version, by the way), we were limited to 5 “rounds," each being a new “area," all of which are continuously strung together as if you’re progressing through the ruined city in real-time. At the end of each area (which last varying amounts of time depending on how your team chooses to work together and progress) there is a “safe room” that once all of the players are inside of (assuming you all make it that far) the door can be locked from the inside. It’s in these safe rooms that you’ll be able to prepare yourself for the next area by stocking up on ammo for your current weapon, choosing to swap out weapons, healing yourself and gathering more health packs, etc. Make sure you don’t grab what you don’t need. Items are not infinitely available. If you are at full health and your teammate isn’t, let them pick up the health pack…they’ll need it, and they must just be the one the to save you later on. Health packs aren’t the only item you’ll have at your disposal for boosting your life bar back up, there’s pill bottles too, though they deal out far less life. Speaking of weaponry for a second, you’ll be able to choose from SMGs, dual pistols, shotguns and sniper rifles. Valve didn’t say if there would be more later on. As we all made our way through the various alley ways, warehouses and underground passageways, we were constantly (and unaware) that we were actually communicating with one another. It was such a natural fit to be able to give your team mate cover as he made his way down a flight of stairs as the rest of us held up the back end, then rushing forward to re-join our compatriot. As an added handicap (and a helpful one at that), players can always see each other, no matter where they are in an area. If you leave the vicinity of your teammates, you become a green outline that can be seen through walls by the rest of the crew. A nice touch that saved our asses many times.
Did I mention that this game was about surviving an onslaught of zombies? Oh, and are there zombies. Hordes and hordes of undead, sprinting and jumping zombies. Conveniently enough, Valve have named the creatures “The Horde.” Well played. The A.I system that drives the walking dead here is some of the best I’ve encountered to date. Not only will they swarm you on sight, in masses, but they’ll even flank you and do whatever they can to get to you should you decide to book it and run. Climb a ladder and they WILL climb after you - somehow. If you get surrounded (which is often), you can do an alternate fire melee attack that knocks the zombies back for a second while you try to get away. It should be noted that at times like this, it’s usually a good idea for your friends to help you out. But it’s not JUST regular old zombies that you’ll be fighting here, oh no. There are multiple types. You have you run of the mill Horde, and there’s tons of them. They will file in through doorways, windows and over fences to get to you. But as deadly as they are, there’s the Hunter, a zombie that can jump extremely high and is extremely fast. If it cathes you, be prepared to watch one the goriest death animations you'll ever see unfold. Think intestines..and lots of blood. There’s also the Boomer (sound familiar?), a gigantic, bloated, green Horde that if shot from a distance - and quickly - poses no threat to you. Let it explode near you, however, and you’ll be covered in a toxic slime that will make you (and whoever else is covered) an automatic target for the Horde. Almost as soon as you leave whatever room or area that you encountered a Boomer in, if you’ve been slimed, it’s combat time. No sooner will you round a corner or doorway and you’ll be swamped with undead left and right. The good thing here is, the Horde will be drawn, solely, to the designated player(s). If it’s only person who’s been slimed, the rest can fight off the Horde from a distance, helping their friend, safely.
I know what you’re probably asking: “But what happens if you die?” Good question, my friends. If your health is down to zero, you will be knocked down to the ground where you will have to wait an be revived. Any player can revive you, provided they ca get to you and perform the action without getting attacked halfway through. As well, there are times that you will be downed that you can still fire your pistol from crippled point of view. Your hand and gun will be slanted (as if firing from laying on the ground) and your vision slightly blurred, but you can attempt to protect yourself until help arrives. If you’re the one with a health pack on your person, you can select it and press your alternate fire button near a wounded teammate to heal them. Once again, a nice touch that adds to the co-op motif. You and your comrades are constantly watching out for each other because no one person can carry the group. Even if you’re a crack shot, you WILL NOT be able to make it through an area on your own (unless you’re playing on Easy mode).
One of my most memorable moments was near the end of the demo in an open parking lot housing a gas station. After we cleared the area (blowing up said gas station in the process - very satisfying), we needed to get up to the roof to get in a window. There just so happened to be a forklift that led to an awning, and we all climbed aboard, pushed the “up” button and rode it to the top. Not 10 seconds after we were 30 feet up in the air did we see waves of Horde filing in below and above us. They swarmed the forklift, busted through the awning’s roof hatch, climbing the ladder that led to us, scrambled along pipes and more. It was a LONG conflict that we had to do 3 times before we made it, but we all finally cleared the Horde out and made it safely to the next area.
But what about "teh grafix" ? Left 4 Dead, like all Valve titles, runs on the company's ever popular Source engine, as well as the Havok physics system. While Source is OLD now, Left 4 Dead looks as good, if not better than a majority of shooters out on the market. There is so much detail in character models, environments, not to mention the fully real-time, dynamic lighting system. It’s truly beautiful and creepy at the same time. Animations couldn’t be better. While the survivors’ movements are well done, it’s the Horde that takes the cake, as each one is always doing their own thing...and sometimes there’s upwards of 20 onscreen at the same time. Framerate has also been nearly locked at 30FPS, even in this early stage. Something that will be quite necessary to accommodate for the twitch gameplay and frantic action. Here’s hoping they can lock the console versions to the same speed. All in all, Left 4 Dead left a lasting impression on all of us. While I walked into the demo knowing almost everything I was going to see, what I didn’t expect it do was create a sense of dependence amongst us, not only in the game, but one that stuck even after it was over. After departing, we all found ourselves out in the hallway recapping what we’d just experienced, in detail, for quite a while. That was something unique. Valve also told us they plan for a Machinima maker to be released for the game (PC version only, currently) sometime after release, because of the nature of the characters and how they play off one another; I could already picture the movies that will be made. Left4 Dead is shipping in November, and I can’t wait.
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