Four Against the World

So if you ever got caught in a zombie apocalypse, what would you do? Why, find all of your still-alive friends and team up of course! Many hands make a lighter load, after all. It isn't as though you're going to survive every zombie there is alone, even if you are armed to the teeth with military-grade weaponry and immense piles of ammunition everywhere you go. In the case of the latest game I have been thinking about, "Left 4 Dead" and "Left 4 Dead 2", I am going to say it was a good idea from the start.

The "No Mercy" poster, the first campaign
in Left 4 Dead 1. Pay attention and it looks
like Zoey has three hands.

This isn't the first predominantly multiplayer game I've played, for those of you remembering the second post ever on this blog about "Army of Two: The Fortieth Day". Due to it being predominantly multiplayer for the platforms of Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, it is naturally a very lonely game to play on your own, though the AI is really all you need to play.

Let's start talking about Left 4 Dead 1. This game, like it's successor, plays out in various campaigns that are advertised like movies. It is an interesting concept--the end game results play out like movie credits, and while waiting for it to load you get a different movie poster for each campaign.

You start off and get a brief overview of everything. This is a game by Valve, a company that likes to introduce segments of the story at a time and make it so only a keen observer can see the whole thing. A process which increases replay value a surprising amount.

Now back to the game, since I keep getting distracted by preparing you for the game. It starts by asking you which character you want: in Left 4 Dead 1, your character choices are: Bill, a Vietnam Veteran who's been looking for a meaning to his life. Francis, a biker punk who sees the Apocalypse as "The world's biggest bar fight". Louis, a laid back businessman who worked out once in a while (has a pill addiction according to the internet) and Zoey, a Gamer chick who used to go to college before all hell broke loose.

Naturally I picked Louis. He's a badass. The game starts and my basic loadout is a pistol with unlimited ammunition and an automatic weapon, tier one. I swapped out for a shotgun that was just conveniently  on a table. Francis was anxious, so I shot him before realizing Friendly Fire was on. Well, bad start, sorry Francis, I thought, before opening the door and going down to the apartment complex.

A few zombies, nothing bad. From the CGI I was expecting a "Tank", a gigantic steroid zombie, to be waiting down on the streets, which was kind of why the characters started on a roof. We make it down to the streets and I realize that it is probably not the best idea to waste all my shotgun ammo at once when I have a pistol with unlimited ammunition.

Apparently why Zoey shot the car.

We reached the first "Safehouse", or checkpoint in the level at last after Zoey shot a car and set off a car alarm. She was caught in the zombie horde so I left her, and everyone else, behind while bolting for the safehouse. If they don't feel like living, fine by me. So Bill and Francis miraculously survive due to Zoey dying and them no longer caring, (Louis cried out in agony as Zoey died. I sense fanfics all over the internet) so they ran to the safehouse.

So we start the second part of the campaign, and I start reading things on the wall. In Apocalypses, the Internet and forums and chats are replaced by painting on the wall and hoping the intended recipient stops long enough to see them. After amusing myself a bit, I realized that Zoey had respawned in the safehouse, and patted myself on the back for not caring for the stupid car-alarm activating zombie attracting female. I slapped Bill and Francis for caring and trying to help. Yes, you can smack things, it makes reloading in the middle of a horde attack a lot easier. And when you have stupid companions who care for other stupid companions.

After whacking around my companions for a bit, enjoying my safehouse paradise for a little while, and debating whether to leave or not (on singleplayer, of course), I finally decided to start killing zombies from the safehouse door. They just sit there, putting their arms through the bars, like they're waiting for us to kill them. Why not pull out my shottie and pick them off? I have unlimited ammo as long as I am in the safehouse.

After some more amusement, we went through the subways, running around and killing zombies. We ran into a tank at what was known as a Crescendo Event, where zombies just start charging in from everywhere. After the Crescendo event (and Francis' unfortunate demise) we blew up a gas station once going topside.

Zoey died again and I finally made it to the safehousse with Bill. The rest of the campaign was running through a sewer to get to the hospital, and fighting through it. After encountering a whole host of zombie menace, such as the Smoker, a zombie with a boa constrictor tongue, the Hunter, who would disembowel their foes, a Witch which has near one hit kills, and a Boomer which can attract more zombies to the scene, I was thoroughly impressed by the time we almost escaped the hospital by helicopter. Only Francis got on the copter, everyone else got caught by a Freak Tank Accident, and we died.

But hey, Francis survived! The guy I shot survived the apocalypse...for now.

The second campaign of Left 4 Dead 2, showcasing that
all of the characters are, indeed, tall enough to die.

Now for Left 4 Dead 2. The game isn't all that different, in reality, save for a bit wider variety of bombs now accessible to the party. A new cast of characters now tries to survive their own zombie apocalypse, before and after the events of Left 4 Dead 1.

The first campaign of Left 4 Dead 2 is called "Dead Center", which is similar to Left 4 Dead's first campaign in a few aspects: First, it starts on a rooftop with the characters desperately wishing they had a helicopter. Second, it involves diving headfirst into the zombie horde to get to a public center (mall, hospital, what's the difference?) where they are expecting a rescue to be possible. The differences start when you get to the rooftop of the public place. In Left 4 Dead 1, there actually is a rescue waiting. In Left 4 Dead 2, you and your partners end up being left behind again once reaching the rooftop.

Your character is one of four, like the original game. Your characters are: Nick, a gambling alcoholic mafia wannabe kind of guy. Rochelle, a news reporter that got caught up in all this. Coach, the nameless fat PE teacher who unites the four like a family, and Ellis, my favorite, the redneck hillbilly kid that has all sorts of stories that may or may not be embellished.

Ellis, being my favorite character, is the one I picked, naturally. So we battled our way to the mall, after learning about the new Special Zombies: the Jockey, a zombie that will ride on your shoulders and drag you away from your group, and a Spitter which breaks up concentrations of Survivors with their acid spit.

After some banter while in an elevator, the group introduces themselves to eachother. Ellis then realizes that there is a racecar driver's racecar on the ground floor of the shopping mall, with tanks of gas that conveniently happen to be lying around for just such an occasion. After the mall scramble, Coach got caught by a Charger, which is like a Tank but with one arm instead of two. Ignoring his death and waiting for Nick and Rochelle to give up trying to save him, I wait by the car, patiently killing enemies as they attack me.

Finally, everyone else dies but me, and the game registers me as the only survivor of the Mall Massacre. Sweet! I survived. Now I'm alone...so did I really want to survive? I predict that I'd be dead if I helped Coach and Nick and Rochelle, but I am alive now. Ethics don't exist in zombie Apocalypses. They don't, I swear!

Actual in-game screenshot

The game is an absolute must-play with plenty of replay value for storylovers like myself. However, the game gets very repetitive, especially because it does not change very much between the first and the second game. It ends up being "Run through this area, kill zombies, stay alive", which, while staying true to genre, makes for a depressing game after a while.

But wait! There's more. Online, there is a "Vs Mode" which allows one team to play as the zombies. This was true for both games. VS mode is an interesting twist, as on the Survivor Team, the Special Zombies are no longer as predictable, (depending on player, of course), and especially, playing as a zombie.

Each different Special Zombie, or Special Infected, has their own unique HUD and abilities. Hunters pounce victims, Boomers puke, Jockeys grab, Spitters break up groups, Chargers smash the group apart one Survivor at a time, and it each different one has their own controls, making a refreshing playthrough. Though after a while, this too gets repetitive, especially because this is only available online. So you have to deal with other players and their droll...

So like I said, definitely worth a playthrough or two. Or four. It gets repetitive, though, so build up a good amount of patience beforehand.

Until next time I post, see ya around!