Ah, another zombie game, but this is certainly a different animal than Dead Rising. While Dead Rising charmed me with it's quirky annoyances, Left 4 Dead is polished and perfectly balanced. Left 4 Dead is an on-line co-op game where you play one of four survivors stranded in the zombie apocalypse. You have one purpose, to get you and your friends to the rescue vehicle waiting at the end of one of four playable campaigns. Against you is wave upon wave of fast moving zombies that want nothing more than to bring you down. Oh, and did I mention, you get to play as the zombies too. By creating special zombies (or infected, as the game likes to call them) that have the ability to instantly ensnare survivors, the game forces the players to work together and cover each other's back. The loan wolf is easy pickings here. More over, the items and enemies spawn differently each time, which is controlled by what Valve calls the "AI Director". The game actually monitors how the players are doing. Is your team really hurting? Well, maybe the director will through a med-pack your way (then again, perhaps not). Are you guys doing really well? An extra horde or two should slow you down. The variability extends right down to AI dialogue and individualized music soundtracks for each player. The amazing thing is that the game still feels polished and scripted each time you play.
If Valve is known for anything, it's for play testing the hell out of their games, and it shows. The weapons are incredible balanced with no weapon outshining the others. This extends to the four playable infected types. Despite their various abilities, forcing you to play them very differently, none is better to play than the others. In fact, their abilities complement each other well and players that play the infected like a team can devastate their opponents.
Story: 4
Interface: 5
Game Play: 4
Challenge: 5
Fun: 4
9.0/10
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