Left 4 Dead

... so ... addicting...

Posted 4 years ago By - Brian Edey

Left 4 Dead is a four episode zombie killing game about four completely different characters who are trying to survive a zombie-apocalypse. Each episode is completely different with each setting they take place in looking and feeling different, from traveling to an airport, to fighting your way to a hospital or finding your way to a boat, each and every episode is unique. Each of the four characters are also different with their own personalities and back grounds, Bill is the ex-soldier type who probably has more in common with the uni-bomber then anyone else, Francis is a tough biker guy, Louis is your average office worker and Zoey is the young and perky co-ed, but they all play exactly the same so there is no fighting who gets to play the tough character or fast character.

Each episode is made up of 5 chapters and the goal of each chapter is to make it alive from point A to point B and sometimes that is easier said then done. The average time to complete each episode will range from 40 to 80 minutes depending on difficulty and the skill of the people you are playing with but while the game sounds short, the game is very re-playable with the location, number, intensity of zombies as well as how much health, ammo and where the weapons are located being different and changing on the fly each and every time.

There is no real story to the game, we do not know how this zombie-apocalypse started, or if the humans destroy all the zombies and live happily ever after or even if the zombies get jobs at Wal-Mart, we just know that there are other survivors in the world because we see messages left at safe houses to loved ones and others with some basic information on where to go and what is happening. This lack of story is fantastic because with replaying the entire 4 episode arc 8 times already, an actual story would have made the game very boring and our imagination can create a George A. Romero-esque back story on our own.


Left 4 Dead is a simple game, with a very simple concept but is so much fun and comes with a huge amount of replay value it is always a fun and rewarding game to play. Part of what makes the game so rewarding and fun is what Valve is calling the “AI Director”, a system which sends different special zombies, such as Tanks and Hunters your way as well as triggering the zombie horde and the direction and intensity of where the horde will come from. It works very well and changes every time you play the game so where there were zombies the first time, there may not be next time and this Director always keeps the players on their toes.

As a first person shooter Left 4 Dead is a simple game with simple controls. It is your standard FPS controls, something we have seen and played with for many years, you can kneel/crouch, hold 2 firearm weapons as well as a Molotov or pipe bomb and some medical supplies in the form of a first aid kit and pain killers. There is no cover system, you can not order your AI team mates to use suppressing fire while you flank, or any of the other common FPS gameplay mechanics we see and use today. It would be easy to say that the game is on par with Quake 2 for controls and overall mechanics and while that might sound bad compared to what we play today with the likes of Half Life 2, Far Cry 2 and more, keeping it simple works for the best in Left 4 Dead. But there is one new gameplay mechanic used in Left 4 Dead and that is when your health is below zero you are knocked to the ground but still alive with a reserve of health. You can still be attacked, but you can also still defend your self with your pistol(s) and turn around if needed and if your health reserve drops to zero again your are officially dead for that level.

Left 4 Dead is a co-operative title that you can play as a single player with 3 AI controlled friends, or your friends can play one of the 3 other characters. The AI is smart in the game, but not smart enough in some cases. Your AI team mates will almost never leave you on the ground dying and will rush back to save you, but sometimes they will stand around and they can not seem to find you to help you in your time of need.

As a co-operative game the idea is to stay together to fight off the zombies and even on the easiest difficulty it is necessary to follow this rule because hunters, smokers, tanks, witches and the zombie horde can and will overwhelm you. There is always a need to save or to be saved from one of the special zombies who will pin you down or simply just kill you. This was a major problem with playing with players who are used to just going in as the lone wolf and did not play as a team, they ended up dead very quickly but thankfully they can be booted off the team. Luckily most of the people on my friends list also have this game and were smart about how to play the game.

If attacking your friends and eating their brains is more of your thing, then you are in luck with the ability for your self to take control of one of the special zombies attacking your friends who are playing the survivors. Up to eight players can participate in this zombie versus survivor picnic with the general zombies being controlled by the “AI Director”. This side of the game is just as fun and intense as the survivor co-operative game. It is actually very fun to be one of the special zombies and hunting down human players, this is an experience everyone should try.


The base graphics for Left 4 Dead are not that impressive, character models are repetitive, shadows are blocky, and many of the models are not very high in poly count or quality. But it matters not because the game runs at staggering frame rate at all times even with a few dozen zombies rushing your position, with 4 player characters all moving and shooting and the great special effects for fire thrown in.

Left 4 Dead has destructible objects in the game which are mostly wood doors and walk planks which you can shoot and destroy or they will be used (or destroyed) by the zombie horde. The horde will also break down walls and come after you in many different ways which is part of what makes the game so re-playable because they will not come after you the same way twice and the walls they break down are different each time. This is part of the great level design mixed with Left 4 Dead’s Director to give the game a replay value we rarely see in games.


Left 4 Dead follows the idea of K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) for its overall audio design and it works. In Left 4 Dead everything from the music and sound effects which are excellent but are completely subtle and unassuming in their overall presence in the game. In the end the music could be considered the zombie sounds as an orchestra of terror. The voice over work on the other hand is very memorable and adds to the humor of the game as well as triggering your heart rate at key moments. Each and everyone of the characters speaks several little quips of information and humorous comments about any number of situations they will encounter in the game and they always fit the situation and come out at the right time. The zombies have their own “voice over work” as well in my opinion with the common zombie sounding exactly like you would expect, hunters, boomers, tanks and smokers are all detectable by their various and excellent sounding moans, screams and cries. But the Witch is by far the best sounding zombie character in the game with her soft child like cries and moans turning into a screaming rage which always gets your team of characters worried, and it does not matter if it is a team of AI controlled or player controlled characters. When the Witch is heard you must look out where you go, where you shoot and that is not always possible as the Director will send a flurry of the zombie horde your way at a most fatal time.


If you play alone or with friends this is one long term, high value, immensely fun game which never gets old. Hopefully Valve will release downloadable content for the game in the future with more weapons and levels as I can see that this is one game I will have in my game collection for years to come.

Even though you can finish all four chapters in just over four hours, the amount of replay value is immense. Weapon and ammo stations change, zombies will pour out of one area the first time through and another the next time and if you stay still you will get swarmed by a ton of zombies. This is a must buy for any action fan.

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