The Zombies Ate My Homework!

Developer: Valve
Publisher: Valve Corp.
Release Date: 11/18/08
Genre: Zombie Apocalypse FPS
Pros: Extremely Smart A.I., endless replay value, multiplayer is a blast
Cons: Story could be flushed out more, needs more weapons

OK, so Left for Dead has been out for nearly two weeks now and it has taken this long to put the official review up. In my defense (and in all honesty) I didn't just play this game's campaign mode once through nor did I only play five or six online matches; I 'sunk' 40+ hours into the campaign and gutted fools in hundreds of multiplayer matches. The game is that good. The sheer ferocity of each campaign level is astounding, the co-op play is as good as it gets, the level design fits the bleak outlook that the games back story represents perfectly and the multiplayer is to die for (no pun intended zombies). Just make sure to leave the light on when playing if you have a faint heart when it comes to horrific hordes of zombies running at you full sprint, wanting one thing and one thing only...Brains!

Ever seen Night of the Living Dead? Remember how slow the zombies where when approaching people? Sure there's power in numbers but when you move like an eighty year old with emphysema just about anyone can get away. You will find non of those types of zombies in Left For Dead (LFD). In fact, the zombies here not only run at you full sprint; they'll jump from a distance, pounce on you, straight jack your face and then move onto another character close by. These are not your typical stereotyped zombies; they think intelligently, move fast and kill even faster. Their basically zombies on steroids. Here's a quick list of the different types of zombies you'll come across (and even play as in multiplayer):

1. The Boomer: A morbidly obese boss that vomits a bile that attracts ordinary Infected to the targeted player(s).
2. The Hunter: A type of boss, Hunters are much faster than average Infected. They can jump large distances and close in on survivors with extreme speed.
3. The Smoker: A special type of Infected, the Smoker possesses a long tongue he can use to strangle survivors
4. The Tank: A special type of Infected, the Tank uses his inhuman strength to pummel survivors and throw heavy objects.
5. The Witch: A special class of Infected, the Witch lays dormant and only attacks when alerted to the presence of survivors (most powerful in game).

Suffice to say: the A.I. is damn near close to perfect. Don't stand still for to long...they'll find you no problem.

LFD also sports great multiplayer settings that combine wits, a little bit of planning, a lot of screaming and a ton of running and gunning! You can have up to three of your best buddies playing along side you throughout the single player campaign. Ideally, each individual will sport a different character and weapon in order to vary the "zombie slaying" properly. There's four characters to choose from: Francis (voiced by Vince Valenzuela), a tattoo-covered biker; Zoey (voiced by Jen Taylor), a college student and horror movie enthusiast; Louis (voiced by Earl Alexander), a Junior Systems Analyst in his company's IT department; and Bill (voiced by Jim French), a former Green Beret and a Vietnam veteran. The player can also choose to play as one of the infected zombies in multiplayer matches/skirmishes. This is extremely satisfying seeing as though you can choose between any of the zombies listed above; (my favorite was the Tank of course) and play against the survivors in a multitude of online instances.

Story wise, LFD is a little hazy and can come off a little lack luster...that's if your not looking in the right places though. There is basically no story cue's throughout the game, no cut-scenes explaining as to why zombies plague the Earth and especially no dialogue (shh, you don't want to startle the Witch). It's basically, run, run, run...shoot, shoot, shoot, ask questions later. However, in each safe house there are writings on the wall, little "tid-bits" written by past survivors that vaguely describe what went down in that particular sub section of the city. Kind of like little glyphs of what people were thinking, or planning. This type of viral story telling leaves you chilled to the bone. Some passages say things like: "The worlds F'ed...Nuke us all." Or things like: "The Subway was the first to go, stay way clear of that place." There was even one safe house that had the following message transcribed on the wall: "I miss the Internet." I thought that was pretty funny.

Graphically, LFD looks pretty good. It's not going to rock your socks off but it does its' job unequivocally well. It creates an atmosphere that is bleak, dark and extremely scary; what more can you ask for from a zombie shooter? Lighting textures are just right, there's virtually no texture pop ins and not once did I see any frame rate lagging. This is extremely impressive seeing as though there are times when there will be hundreds of zombies running at you all at once all wanting to eat your brains.

Left For Dead makes a strong entrance into the overly bloated world of First Person Shooters. Schematically sound, technically savvy and just plain old fashioned fun make this game a must have not only for horror fans but shooter fans alike. Just do me one favor, don't be mad at me when I toss a Toyota Sedan via fast ball special at you while playing as the Tank. Just a heads up.

Left For Dead Gets a bloody:
9.0 out of 10

-GAME HARD-