"To sum it up... Left 4 Dead = MP game of the year" Zoso Fan
For those of you who are still on the fence about it, here are some of my thoughts on the game – written with such gush, you might think it is a commercial. EDIT: This is all in reference to MP Versus, and in transferring from WordPad to the webpage, I lost Zoso's quote - back in now.
Sure, in actual gigabytes of art assets, or hours of campaign gameplay, the game is quite thin. However, unlike other games in which the player has to navigate their way through tons of elaborate mazes, puzzles, and varied enemies, L4D verses provides the tools for fun. It allows the creativity, imagination, and personality of the gamer to shine through. It even forces emotionally and morally-charged, decisions on the players: "Do I run for the safe house, or do I turn back and try to save my buddy?" Seriously, I experience considerable angst every time that sort of situation arises, and it happens several times a game, sometimes even several times a round. Forget Little Sisters, these decisions are far more frequent, and far richer in meaning and implication. Every time I play, it is like life or death for me. I am not much of a zombie movie fan: not enough using the brain instead of losing it, I guess. However, when I "play" Left 4 Dead, it is real, and I am running for my life.
There are so many split-second decisions to make. The pace is incredibly frantic, and on several occasions, I have been leading the group, have turned back to help someone, only to have them all run ahead past me, and have myself downed by a smoker or hunter. Similarly, I know that I have died at least twice because I stopped for a moment to upgrade my weapon or grab extra ammo. Now, every time I pass one of those tempting tables laid out like a buffet at a church potluck, I squirm with agony - do I stop to grab, or do I just keep running?
Conversely, the decisions are almost as intense and numerous as the Infected. Should I spawn now and try to delay their movement for a bit while the horde gather momentum, or my teammates re-group to launch another attack? Should I wait for the perfect attack, allowing the Survivors time to cover valuable ground or heal up?
As for the emotions, well, the laughter, the cursing, the fear, the elation, the suspense... these emotions flow like a river deep and fast, right from the time the game starts till the time the Survivors hop into their get-away vehicle...or not. ;)
Stories, as in Gears 1, are aplenty. However, because there may be as many as 10+ great moments in a single round, it is nearly impossible to remember them all. All I know is that after a game or two, especially if we didn’t just get stomped, I feel lighter and somewhat cleansed by the laughter and joviality of it all.
/Commercial
Here is Eurogamer's review. More eloquent, but no less gushy.
The rest is basically just a link dump of interesting articles on Left 4 Dead. Take a peek. I have put a good 20+ hours into MP Versus, and yet I learned all sorts of new things from the articles linked below. Similarly, even tyrus’ stories, for example, have much deeper meaning now that I know what he is talking about. Give those diaries a re-read. Great stuff!
Huge props to L4D411 for creating an awesome, informative fansite.
Some hints by Movie. Some more helpful guides, complete with comical but useful illustrations (copied below), on being a:
Boomer ( <-- Click for the whole guide) <br>
Hunter ( <-- Click for the whole guide) <br>
Smoker ( <-- Click for the whole guide) <br>
And finally, a Tank ( <-- Click for the whole guide)</p>
This game is a must buy, Gearheads! Pounce on you soon!
