Post by Morreion on Aug 7, 2010 10:37:23 GMT -5
"I did not come all this way to die" - campy fun runs throughout the game.
OK, the Left 4 Dead FPS series isn't for everyone. Blood and gore abound. If you don't really care for that, avoid this game.
If you don't mind it (and especially if you like it), it's a wild ride.
The time is now- some bizarre form of infection has spread across the United States and turns people into flesh-eating zombies. Survivors who seem to be immune are few and far between, scattered across the country. The military has set up regional refugee camps that every non-zombie is traveling to get to.
Civilization has been trashed. Thousands of zombies stumble numbly across what used to be the setting for their lives. Survivors have left heartbreaking, angry and even humorous graffiti scrawled across walls. There are 'safe rooms' set up across the landscape, places where survivors can replenish their ammo supply, pick up new weapons, get first aid kits.
The team readies itself for another mission- wading through zombies while looking for rescue.
In Left 4 Dead 2, you are 1 of a group of 4 survivors near New Orleans, Louisiana. There's the Coach, a big down-to-earth man who loves chocolate bars. There's Rochelle, a petite gal wearing a pink Depeche Mode T-shirt. There's Nick, a sharp-dressed gambler with a quiet understated manner, and then there's Ellis, a country boy who loves guns and who has a rambling odd sense of humor. You are trying to get to a military camp, but you have to fight your way through thousands of zombies who attack you on sight.
Ellis tells another corny story in between zombie waves.
You have plenty of ways to kill zombies. You always have a pistol with inexhaustible ammo. You come across such weapons as shotguns, molotov cocktails, various assault rifles (hint- the AK-47 rocks), submachine guns, sniper rifles, even the occasional machine gun or grenade launcher. Then there are the melee weapons- baseball bats, police nightsticks, fire axes, crowbars, frying pans, ninja swords, electric guitars (!) and the very nasty gasoline-powered chainsaw. Zombies die in gruesome ways. I won't go into that, you can imagine it I'm sure.
Die, zombie scum!
The single-player campaign is surprisingly rich in plot and wisecracking dialogue. For instance, when Nick complains that they face yet more zombies when they leave their current safe room, Coach tells him to enjoy his new fulfilling life in the tiny safe room. There are half a dozen chapters in the game, each having several missions leading up to a finale. One example is the 4 survivors have to get through a large carnival full of zombies (including killer clowns) to get to an arena where a rock band (called the Midnight Riders) were going to play. You get on the stage, turn on the light show, pyrotechnics and the sound system, to attract the attention of passing helicopters looking for survivors. All the while zombies attack you in waves, drawn by the lights and sound. Another cool moment is where your team meets another team of 4 survivors, the party members from the first Left 4 Dead game.
The famous and wild rock concert mission.
Zombie number 548 dies a bloody death.
Your run-of-the-mill zombie is not a big threat- though fast, they are weak and die easily (though you can be taken down by a pack of them, and they travel in packs). But there are other specialized mutated zombies that are more deadly. There are huge musclebound Tanks that can absorb dozens of bullets while they throw boulders and even cars at you- they cause massive damage. There are the Spitters who regurgitate dangerous acid upon you from a distance. There are Witches- sobbing little girls who, when disturbed, can rip you to shreds with their long talons. And there are the Rammers, who run very fast, knock you to the ground, and pummel you with their one massive arm. You also see zombies wandering around in bulletproof armor worn by infected riot troops, and you see the occasional swamp mutant or even a zombie lab worker in an airtight decontamination suit.
Behind the shirtless zombie is a Tank, which can really put the beat-down upon you.
Nick gets the bejeesus pounded out of him by a Rammer.
A zombiefied riot trooper in bulletproof armor charges me on the right.
Traveling across the maps can be a challenge, not only because of zombies. Many a time you have to search for a way through neighborhoods with car-choked streets and ruined buildings. Touching or shooting a car with a car alarm on will draw a host of zombies to attack you. Sometimes safe rooms can only be accessed by helping another survivor who is holed up behind a barricade. One gun store owner wants you to bring him a case of Coke in the local zombie-filled supermarket before he'll help you get to your destination. Reading the graffiti scrawled upon walls is a fun experience. A lot of creativity went into this game.
A sample of the entertaining graffiti you run across, read by flashlight.
Using a bit of strategy is a good thing. Don't get too far out ahead of your teammates with their supporting fire, or you may get dragged down by zombies. Once off your feet, you need a teammate to rescue you (they also can heal you up if they have a one-use first aid kit). You may need to rescue one of your teammates as well. There's safety in numbers. Besides, you get credit for rescuing or saving your comrades. As you play, you unlock achievements.
The final mission- getting across a car-choked freeway bridge suspended over the Gulf of Mexico to reach an evacuation point- is very harrowing. The zombie waves are endless. One time I killed just over one thousand of them myself in a half-hour or so, not including the body count my 3 NPC comrades racked up. Knocking zombies off the bridge to a watery death one hundred feet below can be satisfying when you realize they want to eat you!
More graffiti- because I like it, that's why!
There are also several modes of multiplayer play, joining up with other players to fight the zombie hordes, or taking the role of a zombie yourself to attack other players.
Overall, this is a solid FPS game with great graphics, fast and fun gameplay that you still have to think about, and an enjoyable plot with lots of little things thrown in for entertainment. But it is quite bloody and gruesome, so don't say I didn't warn you!
