Left 4 Dead on ShackCast 26 - 1/11/08

Following the news of the late summer release, Shacknews has released the 26th episode of their Shacknews ShackCast, where they talk about Left 4 Dead and Valve's acquisition of Turtle Rock Studios. Download the full podcast here.

From 11:30-16:50, they discuss Valve's evolution as a force in the game industry, the acquisition of TRS, and what the acquisition means for Left 4 Dead. Starting at 25 minutes in and going until 33:20, Aaron Linde and Chris Faylor discuss their trip to Valve and their impressions of the game.

"I loved it, I was really impressed. ..I've never played a game that so wonderfully realizes co-operative play. It's not like Halo co-op, which is just 'let's run around and shoot some crap', it's a game that is better built for co-op because it's built for co-op." -Aaron Linde

"There were definitely elements of 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake. There was a point when Linde and I were walking through an open cornfield and it was one of the scariest fucking moments I've ever had in any game." -Chris Faylor

When asked about the game's visuals, they said that character models and environments are incredible, and go into detail about the emotions in the character's faces. On the other side, they said that some graphical things were rough such as the cornstalks. Some other topics include the voice system, map design (specifically Cornfield), and the release date. To sum up the game:

"It's the utter culmination of zombie game and you wonder why the hell somebody hasn't done this sooner." -Chris Faylor

As posted before, Shacknews expects to have their hands-on impressions of Left 4 Dead posted next week. Listen to the ShackCast!