Games for Lunch: Left 4 Dead
In a nutshell: A zombie game that's actually scary.
11/17/2008 9:10 PM | 4 Comments | Page 1 of 3
Kyle Orland
Status: "You can't get quality video game editorial from a value menu!" "No, really, you can't."
Developer: Valve
Publisher: Valve
Release Date: Nov. 18, 2008
System: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PC
ESRB Rating: M
Official Web site
0:00 I'm not usually much for horror/zombie games/movies, but the Valve name and the mounds of chatter have me excited about this one.
0:01 "Two weeks after first infection." Close-up on a four-fingered hand (missing a thumb) with buzzing flies. "Hold up! Ain't seen anything like this before," says a grizzled paramilitary. "They're changing?" He rubs some goo on a chatty cohort. "Someone's still alive," says a woman in a jogging suit. It's a whimpering girl in a nearby building. In the alley, the zombies attack, and inside, so does the whimpering girl (who is a zombie, of course). "Run like hell," says the tracksuit woman, accurately. Commence shooting, blood, chaos, etc. "Fire in the hole," says Grizzly McGee as he throws a timed grenade. A helicopter scans the town with a spotlight as the token black guy screams for attention: "WE'RE NOT INFECTED! OVER HERE!" The chopper ignores him, then a zombie leaps on his back. "Aw, this is gonna get bad," says Grizzly, accurately, as hundreds of running zombies come streaming over fences and out of alleys in slow motion. Among the throng is one huge hulking guy. "Run or shoot? RUN OR SHOOT?" asks TBG in a panic. They choose both. "Get to the roof!" A fire escape comes down on top of Hulk just as tracksuit girl makes a leap for Grizzly's outstretched hand. "We made it!" "Son, we just crossed the street. Let's not throw a party 'till we're out of the city." And just like that, it's loading the title screen. Already it's more exciting than most games...
0:06 The title appears in front of a rainy night and a neon-signed hotel, with zombies shambling in the street.
0:07 Though I've heard co-op mode is fun, I don't want to burden random Xbox Live strangers with my constant stopping and typing. Single-player it is.
0:08 Difficulties are Easy, Normal, Advanced and Expert. There are two chapters to choose from, surprising for a demo. I start with "1: The Apartments" and a random character in Normal mode.
0:10 The loading screen features a poster for the movie "No Mercy" starring "KyleOrl as Bill" (the grizzled guy). Tagline: "Curing the infection, one bullet at a time." Heh.
0:11 "To anyone who can hear this, proceed to Mercy Hospital for evaluation..." comes the message from a low-flying chopper. There's a submachine gun and a shotgun sitting on a nearby table. I pick up the shotgun and a health pack as my compatriots tell me about the subway we can take to the hospital.
0:12 Down the stairs and the first zombie comes lunging at me. A reflex headshot liquefies his whole face. We turn the corner into the kitchen, which is overrun. An info box pops up: "Stay together to survive." GEE, YA THINK?!
0:14 A zombie sprints up the stairs and falls over to a shotgun blast. It's like he ran into a bar or something. The realistic crumpling is a bit unsettling.
0:16 My teammates are a big help. I really feel like they've got my back, especially when they yell stuff like, "Behind You!" just as a zombie sneaks up on me.
