Left 4 Dead (Preview, Out 21st November, 360/PC)

With many long delays I finally got the chance to play L4D at this years Eurogamer expo. Just waiting and watching L4D was a treat, with each team member constantly yelling co-ordinates of oncoming zombies and health packs ect. After watching a team get the whole way through the demo killing the games bosses I finally got the chance to play.

Starting in a safe room my team (2 people, my friend Ben and myself) equipped guns, picked up health and headed out. Already a few zombies had left the pack and were trying to claw through the door. We steadily moved forward as a team until hordes of zombies flooded the screen. The amount that run towards you is impressive, they come from everywhere you can think of. After spraying my ammo about frantically I looked to see I had plenty left, L4D allows you to be liberal with your ammo not bogging down it’s frantic pace.

As the game went on I realised that Ben and I were the only ones communicating; with our two partners running off separately on a vendetta. One was clawed to death and knocked out of the game for five minutes. Going off on your own leads to big problems, leaving your party for more than a minute, even backtracking can lead to a swarm attack of zombies. Walking though an abandoned underground crash was surprisingly tense. Were the undead about to fill the screen? We slowly edged forward. After the initial horde everyone was left tense, carefully assessing the scenario before moving on. L4D’s AI director means that our play through on the demo was paced differently from the team before, with our foes attacking us at different times and in different quantities.

Upon coming to the next room we reached a ‘crescendo moment’. This is something  the AI director doesn’t control. Opening a door, starting an engine, calling in a helicopter. These kind of defining moments are where it’s time to knuckle down and prepare for the oncoming beast. Ours was in the form of the smoker. After flipping a switch zombies swarmed the room and our other two partners quickly died acting like Rambo. Ben was taken by a smoker, which can drag you in from a distance; you NEED an ally to save you. I ran and killed it pummeling shotgun shells into its back and then was surrounded by the horde, dying being attacked on all sides.

This game has always been my most anticipated title of the year. With Valve (Half Life,Portal) behind the helm I felt comfortable I wouldn’t be let down, and I haven’t. The game feels tense with the AI director setting perfect pace, working alone doesn’t work and shooting zombies is great. There’s a real frantic feel about it and with 2 player off-line, 8 player online and single player all confirmed there’s very little else you could ask for. With so many games being released in the coming month, this is definitely my number one pre-order.

by Kiron Ramdewar

Tags: L4D, Left for Dead