15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
An amazing game
For starters people might turn down Left 4 Dead considering it runs on the Source Engine which is not Unreal Engine standards but the game looks great. The lighting, scenery, and blood all look very realistic and stunning. One thing that bothered me was the textures on some rocks. But you'll rarely notice them to care. The controls could be better but for most first...
26 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
Don't buy this version - You are wasting your money
This is a "game of the year" version in name only. Everything "extra" that's on this disc is available for free on xbox live. Valve, the manufacturer, didn't have everything for online play on the original disc (why, I have no idea) so they came out with this version later. If you don't have xbox live, than you don't need to download anything as it's basically all...
For starters people might turn down Left 4 Dead considering it runs on the Source Engine which is not Unreal Engine standards but the game looks great. The lighting, scenery, and blood all look very realistic and stunning. One thing that bothered me was the textures on some rocks. But you'll rarely notice them to care. The controls could be better but for most first person shooter fans, I'd say go with Config 4. The game contains 4 campaign levels each with 5 sections. These can be played in single player and over xbox live as well as offline split screen with two players. In addition to the campaign there is Versus mode and Survival mode which comes with Game of The Year. In Versus one team is the infected and the other are the survivors. In Versus you play through the campaign levels switching teams at each safe house. It offers fresh gameplay with constant suprises. Say you're in the forest and an enemy smoker grabs you and pulls you away and no one knows where you are. Lets say if that happens, your dead. Overall Left 4 Dead is a great experience and I would reccomend it to anyone who owns an Xbox 360
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First let me comment on the GoTY version. Yes, all the additional content in the GoTY title is available on xbox live for free as a DLC. The only perk to having the GoTY version is that you wont have to use up memory on your harddrive for the survival pack because its already installed on the disc. Other than that i would suggest just getting the normal game if you find it cheaper. I found the GoTY version and the normal version for the same price of $29.99 at gamestop brand new! the funny thing is, right next to it they had the used version for $44.99 still, $15 more then the brand new ones!
This isn't just a Call of Duty World at War Zombie mode revamped...even though the premises is nearly the same there is four people, and if you don't have 4 players to play the 4 survivors then the remaining survivors will be OP'd by computers. In the multiplayer mode you can be the zombies (the special zombies with super moves). The only thing that i didn't really like about this game which others may have liked is that there is no story mode at all. The weapons aren't extensive at all in this game. You can either have the pistols, shotguns, sniper rifle, or uzi. theres some health packs, pills, molotovs, and grenades. to me, this was just a renter after a week or two of playin this game just became pretty boring and repeptitive.
theres only 4 main maps that the survivors fight their way through 4 or 5 stages of the map to get to the end where they will try to be evacuated. its the same story on every map! i gave this 4 stars because 5 stars would just be overatin the game and 3 stars doesn't do it all justice, but know this i wont be buying or playing the sequel because unless they add a storymode or drastic changes all a sequel could be for this game is just a big expansion.
**Edit**
DO NOT buy this with the $59.99 price tag its cheaper at gamestop for $29.99
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Great multiplayer game, offline is kinda boring so if u have no xbl, i would not suggest this, goty edition comes with survival dlc but its free over xbl anyways so if u just buy the reg. edition instead of this you can save yourself some money and just download the dlc free from xbl.
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This is a "game of the year" version in name only. Everything "extra" that's on this disc is available for free on xbox live. Valve, the manufacturer, didn't have everything for online play on the original disc (why, I have no idea) so they came out with this version later. If you don't have xbox live, than you don't need to download anything as it's basically all online multi-player material(the only exception being survival mode, and that's not worth the extra money--it's free online, take your hard drive to a friends xbox). STOP BUYING THIS VERSION. It's a money grab and you are letting them take your money.
EDIT - The price has recently been cut (Monday, August 31, 2009). At $27.99, unless you find the original version in a clearance section, this isn't a terrible price anymore. Just understand that a sequel is being released in November (though DLC for this version, a short campaign, comes out in September).
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First, let me say that I have the xbox Game of the Year Edition, I have downloaded everything I could find for the game from xbox Live, I have played the game a few times (but I play many many hours at a time), and I've already got over 3/4 of the Achievements available for the Survivors.
Whether or not you will like this game depends on the style of play you like in your games. Some people might like this type of play, but I didn't. I've enjoyed playing everything from the Evil Dead games and Dead Rising to Resident Evil 1 & 4 and a bunch of other "zombie" type games. The issue I have is that Left 4 Dead doesn't play like how it feels like it should play - or it feels one way but plays another way. Left 4 Dead feels like it should play like a tight strategy game of team tactics and smart game play - hardcore Zombie Apocalypse survivors: The smart & the dead, ... but it isn't, it just isn't. I'll get back to the game play in a minute.
A lot of the game looks OK at first (maybe "Good", but nothing "Great"). The graphics break-down badly when you are getting stomped on by zeds (any time you are on the ground, or when zeds are too close to you) and when you get dragged by Smoker zeds it gets really glitchy. And the fire effect (i.e. from molotov cocktails) is awful. But, for as flawed as some of these things are, I wouldn't necessarily say that they detract too much from the game play.
The areas/maps aren't very open; there is a definite "tunnel" feel to the game. Which, given the nature of the objectives, is probably unavoidable. Yet some of the tight tunnel areas, like the ones that are outside, do provide an illusion of openness, which is nice. But, what this all means is that, game play is relatively linear; the route to a destination is pretty tight, and your style of game play will be pretty much forced upon you. So all that turn-off-your-lights and sneak-around-the-witch dialogue is garbage - she's either in your way or she isn't - anyhow, just shoot her.
And, now speaking of that game play, it's just an ammo-burner game. You have limited ammo for your "special" weapon of choice (shotgun, assault rifle, Uzi, whatever), but unlimited ammo for your pistol(s) - and you go through a lot of it really fast. Forget about S.W.A.T. play, forget about being a ninja, forget about sniping to clear a path ahead; just forget about stealth and efficiency.
You shoot, you run and shoot, and you shoot and run some more. Lingering around areas, being cautious and thorough, will only get you more encounters with randomly generated zeds. There is not a general fixed number of zeds in an area, the game will spawn more zeds (crap-loads more) when conditions are triggered. This is a game of "whatever" (like "get from Point A to Point B", or "stand on a rooftop/Lighthouse") that is punctuated by random "Special Zed" appearances and waves of rushing zed hoards. Pointless wave after random wave of rushing zed hoards. A Run-n-Gun (or a Stand-n-Gun).
So the best tactic is to just run through an area until you hit a Special Zed, or a good vantage point, and then turn around and deal with everything in a hail of blazing lead (or a pipe bomb - they're magical zed magnets). Seriously, it works best that way; you'll save ammo, and time, and deal with less crap. Because, when you trigger a zed rush, they will spawn and come running at you from all directions: from the empty rooms you just swept clear, from the dead-end halls you just swept clear, from anywhere and everywhere they will magically appear to come charging at you. So forget your Spec-Ops mentality; it's pointless. And there is no meaningful stealth action. So just forget about "INTELLIGENT" game play, unless your idea of strategy is to back yourself into a closet and fire outwards.
Now, maybe everything I have complaints about is just the way the game is supposed to be? Maybe I'm whining about would'a, should'a, could'a, and crying about stuff that I want to have that just shouldn't be a part of the game? I keep wondering about that myself. But then the heavy-handed teamwork elements keep running up to me and smacking me in the face.
This is a total "buddy system" game. You aren't going to get anywhere without someone else there to pick you up-off the ground. It is FORCED upon you through the games mechanics. There is no running ahead and going solo because everyone else is cramping your style. This is a game about teamwork, team tactics, teammate support and assists. It is a key element in the game - there are several Achievements based off of this. It's good and it's bad; I'm still on the fence about how I feel about it. In some ways I do like it, and in other ways I think it totally hamstrings game play.
You are the "I've fallen and I can't get up!" lady. If you are grabbed: you are helpless until someone else assists you. If you are on the ground, no matter how much health you have: you are stuck on the ground until someone assists you. If your whole team gets knocked down, no matter how much health everyone has, or how many health packs everyone has: it is Game Over because no one is left standing to assist anyone else back up. And Survivors WILL get knocked-down and dragged-around (and probably bitten and mauled) a lot.
With this sort of forced and required team-play element, the game feels like it should be more at a level of SOCOM, Call of Duty, Ghost Recon, Halo, or even Splinter Cell or Tenchu; demanding a higher level of tactical style and strategic "cover your, and your teammates, butts" type of game play - but it's not. It's a sloppy trigger-happy fire-fest. This is not a game of clean shots and efficient kills, there is no "Go ahead, I've got you covered" stuff; Spec-Ops style tactics (or any thoughtful or cautious efforts) just don't have any credit here.
Fast zombies or slow zombies, infected or undead; I don't really have a preference, but I thought the "Special" zombie types in this game were kinda lame. Puker/Exploder fat thing stereotype. `Roid-Rage Tank stereotype thing. Leaper/Pouncer zed. Sniper-Tongue smoke-exploding (?!?) zed. "I just want to cry and I hate the light" emo Witch zed. I just don't think any of them are really cool or inspiring.
I can only rate this game a 2 or 3 stars. The only recommendation I can make is: Try before you buy. Don't just read the hype.
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After reading some reviews about how good this game was I decided to rent it and play it with some friends of mine.
We started by playing 4 player story mode. For the most part, it was fun because one of my friends is a bit jumpy. But after about 20 minutes of playing, it just got repetitive. I thought to myself, "Wasn't I already here?" After 30 minutes of playing we all stopped because all you do in the game is kill zombies. There's no plot, no real dialogue, and nothing really stood out to me. This game isn't at all challenging because you never run out of ammo unless you never stop shooting throughout a level.
Graphics: I thought the game looked like an Xbox original or PS2 game. And there are very little different zombies models. For example, you may see the woman with medium length dark brown hair maybe 4-8 times.
Guns: There is very little gun variety in this game. I think there are maybe 6 guns. And the guns all shoot the same. Shooting a zombie from far away would have the same result as if you shot it with a pistol or even a sniper. The game feels very sloppy and thrown together.
Multiplayer: The multiplayer is pretty fun but not great. The first day I played I was on for a few hours but after that I found it to be, like the story mode, repetitive.
Overall: I wouldn't recommend it for purchase but for rental it would be okay. Hopefully the sequel will be improved.
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Left 4 Dead is an amazingly fun game. I have the standard edition and just downloaded the extra content from Xbox Live. I don't think you need Xbox live to enjoy this game; the A.I. players are fun also. Personally, I've never been into FPS games, but I can play this game for hours. Thumbs up.
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One of the best shooter game of the last year. The Game of the Yer edition presents new campaing modes for multiplayer experience, wich is unique in this game. Walk through cities, country side, inside airports and a hospital filled with zombies' hordes is a really fascinating experience, and much better for fans of zombie movies. With action at every momments, it's possible to have lot of fun hearing the characters' inside game dialogue.
Um dos shooters mais legais do ano passado. A edição "Game of the Year" apresenta novos modos de campanhas para a experiência multiplayer, que é única nesse jogo. Ande pelas cidades, campos, dentro de aeroportos e um hospital repletos de hordas zumbis é realmente uma experiência fascinante, e ainda melhor para quem é fã de zombie movies. Com ação a cada instante, ainda é possível se divertir muito escutando o dialogo dos personagens no jogo.
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Left 4 Dead reminds me somewhat of a combination of the"Dawn of the Dead" and "Resident Evil-Apocalypse" flicks all wrapped up in a video game , which is not a bad thing at all.
The intensity and paranoia that a player is placed in from start to finish in this title is a both a breath of fresh air for this genre and a bit of an annoyance.
Placing yourself as the leader can end up with two results when completing a level : scoring kills+achievement points and accidentally shooting one of your team
mates due to the erratic behavior of your A.I. partners getting in the way. Close combat with hordes of the undead certainly adds to the tension , but when a partner
blocks your ability to get a nice head shot off it can kind of tick you off especially if you are replaying a level to boost you score stats.
Beyond this though , it's really not a bad game , not great , but not bad - I'm enjoying it.
If you plan on always staying up front , just be careful of the occasional "Boomer" or "Hunter" lurking around the corner, while these baddies add much to the games
charm , it's very easy to get distracted by your team-mates hopping in front of you at the wrong time without notice which can sometimes get vomited on by a Boomer
or pulled in by a Hunter. On the plus side the developers do give you an audio cue to warn you to whats waiting in the wings.
Cool game for those who enjoy Survival Horror (I myself love this genre), and I.M.O. amps up the intensity factor (just as good if not better) than the R.E games
with the exception of R.E.4 ,(can't compare it to R.E.5 since i haven't purchased that one yet, but it's on my list). A definite (4 Stars), would have gave it a (5),
but i already mentioned above why. Note : My opinion is based solely on the Single-player portion of this game , i haven't tried the Multi-player Online parts nor
do i intend to , but the offline coop sounds fun. Looking forward to purchasing L4D2 once the price goes down a little or get's released as a Game of the Year version.Happy Zombie hunting and don't forget to TURN OUT THAT LIGHT !!
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This game is very fun. It does only have 4 maps but they way it is never the same is great. Also if you system link or play with friends you know it is all that much better. I don't recommend playing with people you don't know very often because some people just get stupid and start shooting you for no reason or leave you behind. But I recommend this to any Zombie or FPS fans out there.
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