Left 4 Dead Video Game Preview

The line for Left 4 Dead was rather long, but worth it for the few attempts I had. While I only got to play as a Survivor, I continually wanted to go back for more, as it had been a long time since I experienced any new frantic gaming like Left 4 Dead has to offer.

Initially, you start in a safe zone with weapons, ammunition and medical kits lying on the table. From here you can choose between a pump shotgun and an Uzi submachine gun. The Source engine can really put a trashy and cluttered feel to the surrounding environment. Because of this, one thing I noticed immediately is a white border color around any usable item you might be able to pick up. Once your team is ready, shoot any zombie reaching their arm through a window into your safe zone and get ready for the swarm.


Left 4 Dead (courtesy of l4d.com)

Once you step outside, things pick up rather quickly. Zombies come out of almost nowhere to attack you, but as long as you use team work, you can work your way out of sticky situations. Sometimes you may only come across a small batch of them, which drop pretty quickly, but if there's a swarm nearby, they'll converge on your group at a rapid pace. This obviously requires a great deal of communication and teamwork, but in the event of a zombie holocaust, there's also a time for "every man for himself". Fortunately, the secondary fire on your weapons is a fairly brutal melee swing, which came in handy a lot more than I thought it would. I'm really hoping they put a foot-kick in there as well.

Along with your standard firearms, there are also Molotov cocktails and pipe bombs. While I don't recall using the cocktails, I can definitely tell you that the pipe bomb produces a great deal of destruction. At one point my team and I were moving carefully through a fairly dark alley that dumps into a street at the end. In the middle of this street was a car, and from behind that car, running straight at us was a large swarm of bloodthirsty undead. Naturally, I felt this was a fantastic opportunity to throw my pipe bomb and watch the chunks fly. Not only did they fly, but a firestorm shot down the alleyway toward us, forcing us to retreat a bit so we weren't torched. Even still, the scorched and flaming, yet surviving zombies ran out of the inferno at us relentlessly and unfazed by the large explosion.

As the level progresses, you'll find yourself needing more ammunition and medical supplies. Fortunately, there's a cache or two of them the farther you get, including upgraded weapons such as an M16, scoped hunting rifle, and a semi-automatic shotgun. There's also a stack of pistols if you want to go akimbo style. Use this opportunity to make sure your teammates, and yourself are healed and ready for battle, because it only gets crazier from here.

Page:  [1]  2  Next >>

 

Comments on this article

Be the first to comment!

 

Add a comment

Please keep your comments on the subject of the article.
We will delete your comment if it is racist, misogynistic, sexist, bigoted or just plain lame.
No HTML allowed!

Your name
Your email	(Your email address will not be displayed)
Comments

Enter the text shown in the box below (not case sensitive):