I don’t care what modern cinema says: Zombies don’t run. Yes,
I realize that the hordes in Left 4 Dead are technically
“infected,” and not “reanimated corpses,” but when you market a game as
being filled with endless hordes, those of us who grew up on the genius
of George Romero are going to be a bit miffed when some armless,
milky-eyed bastard comes sprinting out of the darkness.
That said, everything else Valve set out to do in Left 4 Dead has worked out pretty well: There’s nothing quite as fun as wandering
the darkened hallways and streets of an unnamed city with three
friends, spraying reams of ammo and tossing makeshift explosives at
hundreds of foes. Left 4 Dead boasts exactly the sort of
cooperative gameplay we’ve been hoping for ever since games began
offering multiplayer options, and even the slight lag that occasionally
crops up in online games can’t detract from the months of enjoyment
shooter fans will find here.
Notice how I’m focusing on the multiplayer aspect when talking up
Left 4 Dead? That’s because there’s essentially no single player
mode. You can play the multiplayer campaign with computer-controlled
partner characters, but that’s the sort of tacked-on extra that would
normally be included with any other shooter’s multiplayer mode.
Even with Left 4 Dead being one of the most entertaining
multiplayer games of the last few years, the whole package seems a bit
skimpy considering the $60 price tag, especially in light of all the
other shooters that offer a complete single player and multiplayer mode
for the same amount of cash. Compared to Valve’s last release—the
three-game The Orange Box, which hit retail shelves for $10 less
than Left 4 Dead—this game seems positively anemic. Still,
if you’ve got a cartoonish bag with a dollar sign drawn on it, and a
group of friends with an itch to slay some faux zombies, this is the
best way to scratch it.