Vulgar Curiosity

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Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Game Review: Left 4 Dead: GOTY Edition

Developer: Valve
Distributor: EA/Steam
Platform: Xbox/PC
Release Date: May 5 2009
Genre: First Person Shooter /
Survivor Horror
Rating: M



Zombies. Zombies, zombies, zombies. Never have I experienced a movie, t.v. series, video game, or pretty much anything that encapsulates the undead like these two instalments of games. I haven't felt a realistic approach to this genre of game that really puts you in there since playing Resident Evil 4.


"umm...i thought the protagonist got the chainsaw..no?..this doesn't feel too good!"


Let's begin with the characters. You get a solid cast of four diverse individuals. Bill, the military vet, who occasionally refers back to his old dog days. Zoey, a female protagonist, is a young college student. Louis, our next guy, is an average office worker, and Francis, a biker type who complains a lot. The character interaction is lacking a bit, leaving you wanting to know just a little more back story behind these guys.

"ragtag?"


The gameplay is fast paced and fun, but slow and creepy when it needs to be. There are a good runthrough of levels but any experienced gamer can rip through this thing on a sunday afternoon. But that is a good thing in this game's case; the replay value is amazing! I mean, who wouldn't get tired of laying waste to zombies for hours on end. And the game gives you an option from the get-go to choose and start from any level or sub-level that you want.


"there's so many to choose from!!!


What you get for defence are a couple of fun things to sling around: A shotgun, machine gun, the option of duel pistols. Not to mention cocktail molotov's and pipe bombs (these are A LOT of fun. Zombies run to them like its the last brain on earth) The latter two items come in handy when you've got about a hundred of the rotting corpses lunging themselves at you.

The undead themselves also come in a nice colourful variety pack of all kinds of flavours. You got the general horde-Romero looking lurkers, then your smokers, who wrap a dragon tongue around you and pull a Boba Fett ala Return of the Jedi. Boomers spit vile, ...no, they projectile VOMIT their entails on you and attract a lovely fine group of gentlemen your way, in a hurry. (And blowing up a Boomer is soooo satisfying) Next up is the Hunter, who pins you down and claws you. The Witch...the scary-crouched-in-a-corner-crying like a little girl who is lost, Witch. Shoot her. Go ahead, just do it. Nothing bad happens ;)


"there's so many to choose from!!!


I'll save the Tank for last. The Tank is the funnest and most adrenaline pumping adversary of this game. This thing is an overdosed, over stimulated, over steroid induced giant who shows up out of nowhere and completely levels the play ground. It takes a lot of manoeuvring and will power to take this govenator down.


"an acurate representation of the tank"


Another great thing that I love about this game is the movie poster artwork that is in the loading screen before each campaign. It literally looks like a theatrical poster for an upcoming horror film. This makes sense as the game itself plays like a movie. Each level is a scene, taking you to the ultimate climatic conclusion each time you roll though one.


"I would watch them all."


All in a all, this is a great game. At least once a month I find myself coming back to it. Its the perfect scratch to that zombie itch...just make sure your immune before you go picking scabs, though.

8.5/10

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