Above: 2 good 2 B left 4 gottenMy Left 4 Dead review is up now at thephoenix.com. Yes, this is a wonderful game. I do have some doubts about how it will hold up over the long term, but I feel comfortable saying that it's something almost everybody needs to try once. Playing to the end of the "Dead Air" campaign alone is worth it just for the astonishing sight right as your team reaches the tarmac. The first time I made it there, nobody on our team had seen it before. We all stopped in our tracks, stared at it, and exclaimed "Awesome!" about five times each.
God I love Valve Software.
5 comments:
My 360 just got back from the repair center and Left 4 Dead is a key part of my "getting caught up" plan.
Hope you like it! I hear the griefing is getting out of hand, but I mostly play with people I know.
I agree the plane crashing is really cool (Valve has always done that stuff really good), and stuff like that makes playing through each campaign at least once a definite requirement for any self-respecting gamer. However, I feel like the replayability, even with the versus mode taken into account, is going to make my eventual review of this game be largely neutral. Left4Dead is good, but it's not game of the year in ANY category, IMO.
Wow. I can't believe you're doubting the replayability? Seriously?!
In the last three weeks, every Saturday night, I've headed to a friend's house to thrash L4D, with the last run lasting from 6.30pm until 7am.
However, I'm going to assume you've been playing the game on console, in which case you may have a point. In my experience, L4D feels very much like a LAN game, best played in a room with a bunch of mates and a slab of beer.
I've been through each campaign at least six or seven times and we've still made sure to keep this Saturday night free for L4D. Screaming at each other whilst trying to tackle a Tank in expert, beer spilling over table tops and the occasional moan that it's XX in the morning is one of the best experiences I've ever had gaming.
And that crash, it never gets boring -- just like blowing up the petrol station.
Heck, after 5am when we're all too smashed to string syllables together, it's an absolute pleasure to see how quickly we can sprint through the campaigns on Easy, one after another.
Valve are also likely to release an expansion of sorts not too far down the road and there's already a fan dev community springing up behind it.
There should be no question regarding it's replayability unless you're playing on the 360...
Oh, right...
What Valve nails down better than anyone is level design. Each campaign is meticulous when it comes to placing of first aid kits, enemies, etc. Everything in the level has a purpose.
As for the replayability, I have to agree with Mitch. If there were ever a game that needed episodic content, Left 4 Dead would be it.
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