Game Review: Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead is the latest offering from Valve, the acclaimed developer who have previously brought us such gaming masterpieces as Half Life 2 and Portal. With such a remarkable pedigree it's difficult to expect anything other than excellence from Valve, and it was almost without doubt that Left 4 Dead would deliver. I mean; Valve developing a multiplayer game with zombies? What could possibly go wrong?

Left 4 Dead feels like it's been ripped right out of a classic zombie film. You play as one of four survivors, each one playing up to their individual stereotype in the usual fashion, and as a team you'll shoot your way through the horde of infected to reach safety. It's nothing complicated, and certainly nothing deep, but thanks to the four survivors - who feel satisfyingly human and are very well characterised - it's a little more enjoyable than the typical zombie game.

If they'd collectively spelt out "brains" by trampling down the corn, Left 4 Dead would have been the greatest game ever.

With a group of likeable characters, you'd expect Valve to follow up with some excellent gameplay, as per usual. But in Left 4 Dead, they've left most of the gameplay to the so-called "AI Director", an apparently sophisticated programme developed to change where enemies spawn, where equipment shows up, and play around with the sound and visual effects to not only create the creepiest experience, but also the increase the game's replay-ability by changing the experience each time. While it sounds like a fantastic concept, but it never quite seems to cut it. Most of the time you'll find that equipment shows up in the same place, that enemies spawn in the same location and that the AI Director will play the same tricks over and over in an attempt to get a scare. It's not a bad innovation, it's just not all Valve cracked it up to be, and needs a little refining before it's wheeled out again.

Because the AI Director isn't particularly sophisticated, Left 4 Dead's gameplay is very repetitive. Admittedly there are four different campaigns, which naturally include all the generic settings from zombie films but, as well as being very short, each one plays so similarly that you might as well be running down one corridor with interchangeable wallpaper. The zombies are varied enough; besides the cannon fodder zombies there are five other types of zombie, each requiring different tactics to beat effectively, and this is where Left 4 Dead shines. Working together to beat the bigger enemies is one of the most fun and rewarding experiences in a game. But once you've fought a zombie once, you know the tactic for beating them, and at that point Left 4 Dead veers once again into the repetitive.

The tactics for the tank include "run", "shoot", and "die like a bitch".

To break the monotony of the campaign there is a multiplayer versus mode, which is essentially the campaign but from the zombie's perspective. Playing as one of the elite zombies you'll be able to hunt the four survivors, killing or damaging them to score points. While it's not going to fully break the monotony of the campaign, since half the time you'll still be playing as the survivors against player controlled zombies, the opportunity to play as the zombies is well worth it. The only real issue in the versus multiplayer (besides the ones that come with the co-op) is the long respawn time. It's easy to see why the respawn time is so long; having so many elite infected in the game could make it far too difficult for the survivors. But surely there's a better alternative to having twenty or thirty seconds of nothing?

Not even Michael Moore was safe from the infection; he's just been eaten by this zombie John Goodman.

Valve have developed a habit over the past few years of finding an innovation and sticking it to their Source engine. Left 4 Dead carries on that trend, but with the innovation being surprisingly weak, the four year old Source engine is left to pick up the pieces; and the extent as to how dated this engine is really starts to show. It's still competent, but four years is a long, long time in the games industry, and in a game where lighting and shadowing are so important, the Source engine is starting to show it's age. In games like Portal or Team Fortress 2, it's forgiveable; both were released at around a quarter of the cost of a normal game, or as additional content in the brilliant Orange Box. But with Left 4 Dead, a full price game, we should be getting more for our money than an outdated engine and a half-arsed AI Director.

Left 4 Dead doesn't really do anything wrong, and if you're a fan of zombie films or first person shooters then this could well be the title for you. But this still feels like a let down; the engine is dated, the AI Director is predictable, and it's very repetitive, and not really worth the full price it asks for. It's competent, but there are other games out there more deserving of a purchase.

7/10

Good god, I'm finally being controversial. Ooh, I feel all tingly.

Played Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" during every campaign - tomdoodle16@live.co.uk