I’ve always been a keen video gamer over the years, and although I have a significantly reduced amount of time available to me to relax and have a blast on the laptop (PC/Mac gamers ‘for the win’), I don’t really have a great deal installed on my Macbook Pro other than Far Cry 2, Team Fortress 2…and now Left 4 Dead.
The game launched last week, and after a short delay my pre-order has finally arrived. I got a few hours in on the demo and have had a couple of hours in-game since the retail launch, and I have to say it is already showing signs of being both a) a legendary, timeless title and b) something I’ll be playing an awful lot of.
Left 4 Dead, a game that uses the proprietary Source engine developed by Valve, the creators of the Half Life franchise, pits you and three other computer or human (i.e your friends) ‘survivors’ against the zombie hoards through (currently) four campaigns where you are given locations to reach as your objectives in order to survive. The game is co-operative and is online multiplayer enabled, so you can play with, or against friends (where you or your buddies can choose to play the ‘boss’ zombie characters instead of the humans); of course you can play Left 4 Dead on your own on the train if you wish. A couple of the chaps and I will be hooking up over Skype (good for small group voice conferences) to blast through the levels over the coming weeks/months/decades. If you fancy a game, look me up on Steam; I’m Mr_Semtex.
The one feature I will single out about this game is the AI or Artifical Intelligence for you non-geeks. Simply put, the computer brain that Valve have dubbed the ‘Director’ which controls your playing experience (and more importantly, controls the enemy!) never lets you have the same gaming experience twice. Every level you play, regardless of whether you are alone, playing with or against friends will be completely unique in regards to where the zombies appear from, when they appear and in what quantity. It is something quite special, and a quiet period where you think you’ll get to the safe house alive will often quickly turn into a full scale defence operation as you are swarmed by dozens of blood thirsty infected.
The Director, combined with the cult zombie film look and feel, outstanding audio and breathtaking graphics means Left 4 Dead is a game that you MUST buy if you have a PC, Mac (running XP) or an XBox 360. Make the purchase, you will not be disappointed. Just don’t wake the witch!
Good night, and…RUUUUUN!!!
