14 DAY TRIAL // Left 4 Dead is Valve's big bet this holiday season. The company had a major success last year when it released The Orange Box, one of the most successful products, which featured Half Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2, so hopes are high as the horror survival zombie shooter is getting ready to hit the store shelves and the Steam online digital content distribution network, on November 18.
Recently, Valve has released a demo for everyone who pre-ordered the game on Steam, which promised to give players a taste of what they should be expecting this mid-November. The demo contains two levels from the first part of the game and puts the four players against a zombie infected city with only some weapons to fight and escape.
The first impression is that the game is extremely well polished, and that the atmosphere is pretty scary, but, because you have your other three friends, it isn't without hope. First of all, you get to choose what character you want to play out of the four survivors and, depending on your choice, you get some specific weapons. I checked the random box so the game made me play the old Green Beret war veteran Bill, who tends to like the shotgun. A great choice, as the stopping power of that weapon is extremely useful when you are facing the hordes of zombies that come at you and your friends from every direction.
You have the ability to play with three friends as the title promises to deliver one of the most well-polished co-op experiences ever featured in a game, but the AI-controlled characters aren't so bad either. Because they always follow you, perhaps Valve should have put some sort of tactical commands at your disposal for the times when you can't play with your real-life friends.
The action is very intense and there's almost never a dull moment, as the small town is filled with zombies everywhere. Although it can get very hectic sometimes, if you think a bit and create a little strategy before going into open areas, such as streets or warehouses, you will avoid the difficult situations. The city is well structured and seems very real, with different areas that you will surely see in any real-life town.
The enemies are very well done and quite differentiated, so as to keep you on your toes. The bulk of the zombie horde is made up of relatively slow moving ones, but Hunters or Smokers will definitely give you a challenge, not to mention the Boomers, which will cover you with a bile substance that will attract other zombies to you.
All in all, a very interesting gameplay experience, as it seems that Left 4 Dead will rise to all the expectations that fans had in this regard, and it will surely deliver on its promises when it will be launched.