I've had Left 4 Dead for quite a while, although I never really got to play it, because my PC wasn't, and still isn't, powerful enough to load games in a fast enough manner to be acceptable. I had a lot of fun with it when I got a chance to play, though.
So, my friend's dad had bought it for his 360 to play with his "Over 30 years old people" clan. He loved it, and I was talking to him about it, when he said it was on sale for 40 bucks at Target. I sprinted down there pretty quick and picked it up, and, two days later, here I am.
Now, past the description of how it happened, and onto what I think of it.
Graphics
As usual, Valve did a great job with this. The Source engine games work just as well all the time, no matter what the setting, so I suppose we can jump past this section pretty fast with a quick statement: Source engine/Valve games tend to have very pretty graphics.
Of course, there were some problems, but every game's got that now and then, so I won't mention it.
Story/Characters
This part bugged me a bit. It's a game where the story is 90% implied. We know it's the zombie apocalypse, we know there are four survivors in your group, and we know that we're trying to escape in a variety of different ways(Helicopter, Boat, LAV(I think...) and a plane.
But other than that, there's not much description. The manual tells a bit about the characters, but most of it is stuff that could easily be assumed: Bill is a Vietnam vet, Francis is a tough-guy, Louis is a business man, and (This one was a bit harder to pick out)Zoey is a college girl.
What I love most about the characters, however, is that they all seem to show some sort of stereotype.
Bill: The vet who knows everything about stuff. He tries to be strong("That wasn't necessary...But...Thanks."), but he isn't really the toughest guy around.
Zoey: She's the college girl, but the thing about her is that she seems the sort of "Sunshine and flowers!" type to me. She Is the one who says please and thank you, and always keeps positive about getting away.
Louis: He's the token black guy. I don't mean that in a bad way, but he really IS. No offense meant at all.
Francis: He seems like a biker, and he thinks he's indestructible.
Gameplay(The big stuff)
I thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay of Left 4 Dead. The concept of forcing players to work together lest they be killed is just a great concept to back yourself behind. It makes many people play in a completely different way, because many of the people on the internet and whatnot try to be John Rambo or Master Chief or some other unbeatable character, like George Washington. But then they'll be pinned, or constricted, or both(that one's always fun to watch), and they quickly realize that to really play this game, they're going to have to use teamwork and try to be competent about things.
I love the concept of it all, as Valve seems to be doing something that not many have done, or done well.
At its core, Left 4 Dead is a basic shooter game. You get guns, you get grenades, all that little stuff, and you shoot the enemies who are trying to kill you. But it's done so well, that I couldn't really ask for more. By adding the health meters like so many games haven't, Valve has challenged players to think not only about themselves, but about their team. If someone is low on health, there is actually a chance that someone else will fix them up, since in this game, the more the merrier. You don't want to be left out there all alone.
The versus mode is also very fun and mildly original, but it seemed to me as a sort of afterthought. The basic concept behind it on the survivors' side is the same as the regular campaigns: Use teamwork, stick together. But now, instead of the director controlling the special zombies(Boomers, Hunters, Smokers, Tanks) are now human players, working against you to obliterate your team before they make it to the safe room. The survivors/infected alternate teams, trying to earn the most points as survivors and keep the survivors from getting points as infected.
The infected team seems a bit flawed, in my opinion. With long respawn times, low amounts of health, and all the noise they make when trying to sneak up to the survivors and defeat them, the teams seem rather unbalanced. But, of course, there is still the annoying horde and the witches to defeat, and they really do help quite a bit.
As an overall rank, I say...
BUY IT!
The game is very good, but it has a few issues with teammates not wanting to be teammates, and with imbalance during versus matches.
So, my friend's dad had bought it for his 360 to play with his "Over 30 years old people" clan. He loved it, and I was talking to him about it, when he said it was on sale for 40 bucks at Target. I sprinted down there pretty quick and picked it up, and, two days later, here I am.
Now, past the description of how it happened, and onto what I think of it.
Graphics
As usual, Valve did a great job with this. The Source engine games work just as well all the time, no matter what the setting, so I suppose we can jump past this section pretty fast with a quick statement: Source engine/Valve games tend to have very pretty graphics.
Of course, there were some problems, but every game's got that now and then, so I won't mention it.
Story/Characters
This part bugged me a bit. It's a game where the story is 90% implied. We know it's the zombie apocalypse, we know there are four survivors in your group, and we know that we're trying to escape in a variety of different ways(Helicopter, Boat, LAV(I think...) and a plane.
But other than that, there's not much description. The manual tells a bit about the characters, but most of it is stuff that could easily be assumed: Bill is a Vietnam vet, Francis is a tough-guy, Louis is a business man, and (This one was a bit harder to pick out)Zoey is a college girl.
What I love most about the characters, however, is that they all seem to show some sort of stereotype.
Bill: The vet who knows everything about stuff. He tries to be strong("That wasn't necessary...But...Thanks."), but he isn't really the toughest guy around.
Zoey: She's the college girl, but the thing about her is that she seems the sort of "Sunshine and flowers!" type to me. She Is the one who says please and thank you, and always keeps positive about getting away.
Louis: He's the token black guy. I don't mean that in a bad way, but he really IS. No offense meant at all.
Francis: He seems like a biker, and he thinks he's indestructible.
Gameplay(The big stuff)
I thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay of Left 4 Dead. The concept of forcing players to work together lest they be killed is just a great concept to back yourself behind. It makes many people play in a completely different way, because many of the people on the internet and whatnot try to be John Rambo or Master Chief or some other unbeatable character, like George Washington. But then they'll be pinned, or constricted, or both(that one's always fun to watch), and they quickly realize that to really play this game, they're going to have to use teamwork and try to be competent about things.
I love the concept of it all, as Valve seems to be doing something that not many have done, or done well.
At its core, Left 4 Dead is a basic shooter game. You get guns, you get grenades, all that little stuff, and you shoot the enemies who are trying to kill you. But it's done so well, that I couldn't really ask for more. By adding the health meters like so many games haven't, Valve has challenged players to think not only about themselves, but about their team. If someone is low on health, there is actually a chance that someone else will fix them up, since in this game, the more the merrier. You don't want to be left out there all alone.
The versus mode is also very fun and mildly original, but it seemed to me as a sort of afterthought. The basic concept behind it on the survivors' side is the same as the regular campaigns: Use teamwork, stick together. But now, instead of the director controlling the special zombies(Boomers, Hunters, Smokers, Tanks) are now human players, working against you to obliterate your team before they make it to the safe room. The survivors/infected alternate teams, trying to earn the most points as survivors and keep the survivors from getting points as infected.
The infected team seems a bit flawed, in my opinion. With long respawn times, low amounts of health, and all the noise they make when trying to sneak up to the survivors and defeat them, the teams seem rather unbalanced. But, of course, there is still the annoying horde and the witches to defeat, and they really do help quite a bit.
As an overall rank, I say...
BUY IT!
The game is very good, but it has a few issues with teammates not wanting to be teammates, and with imbalance during versus matches.
