Left 4 Dead Hands-on Preview - Infected Side
DEVELOPERS AND CONCLUSION
An easy way to tell how something is going to turn out or to be taken care of is by looking at the people responsible for bringing it into this world in the first place. Coming into our trip, I had doubts about how the game was going to turn out, and fortunately all of those doubts washed away as soon as I was able to sit down and play. Something even more surprising to me than how the game played were the actual developers themselves. We were able to meet a lot of great people on our trip and again we are forever thankful, but we found out that not only are the people working on this game really nice guys, they truly and thoroughly enjoy the game and have every hope and desire about the game that we as fans have.
The developers are passionate. They watched and played with us and had just as much fun as we did. They laughed and shouted and gave us tips on how not to end up dead. It was really great to hear all of their ideas for future content and gameplay mechanics, and after spending the day with them neither of us have any doubt that this game will be anything less than the best it can be.
During our breaks we heard countless stories throughout our long day at Valve headquarters about past play experiences. The boss infected have such unique powers and the game is designed in such a way that you not only come out of a play session amped up and satisfied with all the zombie-slaying goodness, you almost always have some unique experience happen to you that you are just dying to tell everybody else about. We've told you some of our stories, such as being stuck in a small elevator with a Tank. I believe that was one of the first times that particular event had happened to any of the developers, and everyone playing and watching were laughing and shouting, having a blast.
We had other memorable encounters with the Tank, including being 30 feet from the checkpoint, extremely low health and limping, and having a Tank spawn. There was no hope of getting away from it so the people that were actually alive had no choice but to make a run for it. The now flaming Tank (from a Molotov) was moving closer and closer, the Survivors clinging to life trying to get to the safe area, when finally they get there they turn around and JUST as the Tank is about to slam them across the room they successfully close the door and he is stuck outside. I don't believe I've ever experienced such a heart-pounding thrill from any game I've played.
We've mentioned the devastating effects of being attacked by multiple boss Infected, but I believe that we faced the worst possible combination. At one point, our team was working our way through the map fairly well when we heard the tell tale moans of a Witch nearby. Instantly, the four of us are bringing up our voice rosettes and having our characters, in hushed whispers, say that a Witch is near and to shut off the flashlights. One by one, our lights go off and we're carefully walking through in silence, a dim flickering light casting eerie shadows on the wall. As we move onward, the Witch's moans become louder and louder until we realize that the only way out of the building is down a stairwell, where the Witch was currently residing. Suddenly, we see shadows running along the wall behind us and a pack of Infected comes charging around a corner.
Fearing that the sound of our gunfire will alert the Witch, but having no other alternative, the time for stealth is gone. One Survivor launches a Molotov through the door and down the stairwell while the rest fire into the swarm of Infected. An angry scream tells us the Witch is on her way and we turn to face the threat. She comes barreling out and charges the nearest Survivor, instantly dropping him and turning to face her next victim. As the remaining three Survivors focus their guns on the Witch, the ground begins to shake with the pounding feet of the Tank. It blasts through a doorway and we all panic. Still focusing on the Witch, we managed to take her down but turn to see another Survivor on the ground, with the Tank pounding on her body. One of the standing Survivors runs to pull up the Witch's victim and all three fire at the Tank, but cannot kill it in time. The Tank falls, but we press on with one less Survivor.
Another time, I was manning the machine gun on top of the Hospital security tower. I was blasting away at the Horde below, safe and comfortable. I see a Tank coming up the stairs, out of my machine guns' range, so I abandon it, jump out of the window and run down onto the warehouse roof. The Tank chases me and manages to blast me off the roof. That Tank died, but with the Horde coming I have to get back up the stairs. I start running towards them when suddenly out of nowhere I am hit with a huge slab of concrete - I had forgotten that during finales two Tanks are spawned. At this point I am limping, bleeding and screaming for my life. I've never really felt so helpless.. I wanted to run, but I couldn't - all I could do was stagger backwards with my pistol and watch as the second Tank closed in and ended my chances of survival.
We have many more stories and experiences that still, even almost 2 months after playing, we can both vividly remember. That is exactly what Left 4 Dead as a co-op game offers - not just a fragfest, but an amazingly thrilling, heart-pounding, difficult and unique experience that you'll be playing and talking about for a long, long time.
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