Left 4 Dead Hands-on Preview - Survivor Side
ARMED AND DANGEROUS
In Left 4 Dead there are two tiers of primary weapons: the weapons available at the start of the scenario and in checkpoints, the pump shotgun and the Uzi submachine gun; and then the weapons available later on in the scenario (found "in the wild", where you'll have to keep alert while getting them, and also in the very last checkpoint before the finale), which include the M16 assault rifle, the hunting rifle, and the auto shotgun. When you find the second tier weapons you usually have the opportunity to also pick up a second pistol (to dual wield).
None of the weapons have any sort of silencers or secondary fire. The only use besides shooting and killing is the melee attack, which is an indispensable tool that you will use very, very often. When you right click your mouse, you swing whatever weapon you have equipped and push away whatever zombie is closest. The coolest thing about it is that when you're surrounded by a mob of zombies, one push can send many of them flying back. If you push one zombie into another, they both fall back. It looks great and many times it's the only way you can stay alive. Also, if a Boomer gets too close, the only method to further yourself from him is to continually just push him back, run away then blow him up.
First Tier Weapons
Pump Shotgun: Not much needs explaining here.. it performs exactly like you would expect. It's a solid gun that gives a very satisfying feel whenever you blast a zombie. There were 8 shells maximum, and if you're going to go Rambo and just blast away at everything you will find yourself in a bad situation (as I did).. the great thing about the shotgun is that with it's power you can kill 4 or 5 zombies in one blast if you aim it and time it right. An advantage the pump shotgun has over the Uzi is that you can reload a single shell at a time, meaning when you do find yourself out of ammo, you can melee push a zombie back, reload and shoot. The pump shotgun has huge power up close, but don't even bother using it at a distance.
Uzi SMG: The Uzi fires real fast and doesn't feel weak to use at all. It sounds and feels like it actually has some power, which is a nice change from a lot of games where SMG's feel like toys. In my time playing I preferred the Uzi to the shotgun because I prefer being able to take out targets at range instead of letting them get close. The Uzi is surprisingly accurate over long distances, as long as you crouch and burst fire.
Second Tier Weapons
M16 Assault Rifle: The M16 looks very much like the beloved M4A1 in Counter-Strike, so if you think of that you have a pretty good idea of what this weapon is like. It is a good weapon at all ranges, allowing you to spray and pray and mow down entire legions of zombies in one clip, or being able to pick off wandering zombies from afar.
Hunting Rifle: BOOM HEADSHOT. AWPers, I present you your weapon. The hunting rifle is the most satisfying weapon I played with, and I certainly played with it a lot. It has a scope, but when you're indoors or in close quarters you don't need to use it. Scoping does make it more accurate, but from what I could tell it was accurate enough without it. As I've mentioned before, the graphical effects in the game are amazing - blowing heads, arms, and other body parts off is a common occurrence especially when using this weapon. It has penetrating power, so it can shoot through some walls, which (if we had known the map better) would be great if you suspected a boss infected was hiding around the next corner.
Don't think of it as a slow and cumbersome sniper rifle, because it shoots fairly fast and shooting it without the scope is perfectly fine. Do not think you will be strafing between shots, either. Movement affects the accuracy of your weapon much more easily than in Counter-Strike, so moving and shooting is a definite way to get killed. I should also mention that when you are scoped, your movement is severely slowed so you better make sure somebody's got your back.
Auto shotgun: The most powerful weapon in close quarters, and also the fastest at delivering a whole lot of pain. This gun was great for every time the horde rushed you through a doorway. It is very useful against most boss infected, especially the Tank. Also, for both this shotgun and the pump, an advantage over the others is that it can be fired effectively while on the move.
Secondary Weapons
Pistols: If you run out of ammo, you always have your pistols. You start off with one and later can pick up a second one. I tried going through a couple maps with just using the pistol and it didn't turn out so bad. For any shotgun users, these will be great to switch for when enemies are at range. You'll be using these a lot, because when you get knocked on the ground they're the only weapons you can use. Accuracy is pretty bad when you're lying on the ground, but usually any dangers are right next to you so it doesn't matter too much. Dual wielding these is far better in terms of feel and usefulness than dualies in Counter-Strike.
Grenades: Survivors can carry only one grenade. They are very powerful and take a while to learn to use properly. The Molotov Cocktails are bottles with flammable liquid in them, and the pipe bombs look like white dynamite. Molotov Cocktails are real good against groups of enemies - when you throw one down, a very large area on the ground catches on fire and lasts for a while. I wouldn't recommend using them indoors, as they damage your buddies as much as they do the zombies, and you don't want to block off an escape route. Zombies are flammable - it looks amazingly cool to see them running and on fire, but on the other hand, the only thing scarier than a Tank running right towards you is a Tank engulfed in flames running right towards you.
After my first experience with the pipe bomb, I didn't go back to it because I was a little afraid of what I might do. I think it was our second time through the hospital level, in the sewers, when I turned around and saw a Boomer and a ton of zombies really doing a number on a teammate. I had no idea of how powerful the pipe bomb was, but I saw a lot of zombies and figured it'd be a great time to use it, right? I threw it behind the Boomer, and bam! The Boomer and all of the zombies in the area were dead! Unfortunately, so were the other three survivors... My bad. When I died I saw a whole lot of red demerits proving to everyone that I was the moron who killed them. From that experience and seeing other people using them, it seems to me that the pipe bomb is a much better direct damage dealer than the Molotov. I think once people learn to use the grenades intelligently the boss infected are going to have a real tough time.
WEAPONS VERDICT
There you have it, the weapons of Left 4 Dead. It seems that while I was trying to describe each one of them I wanted to type in 'solid', which is definitely the case. Every single weapon has a purpose and is particularly useful in certain situations. That's what I really loved about the weapon selection - Turtle Rock cut out the bullshit. There aren't any useless guns that no one will ever use; they are all carefully crafted, well thought-out quality weapons.
NEXT: Voice system and Friendly Fire >>
