It is crazy for me to think that Left 4 Dead was originally released over a decade ago! I spent so much time playing this on the Xbox 360 it is crazy, but lately, I have gotten back into the game thanks to STEAM. We have only had two games in this series and that is crazy, by my count we should be on at least Left 4 Dead 5 by now!
How to Download Left 4 Dead
You can download Left 4 Dead (as well as its sequel) from Steam. Click on the Download button at the end of this review.
The Game Review
Left 4 Dead is not your typical game that has a story. The game takes place during a zombie apocalypse. There are four characters and you are assigned one at random. Zoey is a young college girl, Francis is a badass biker, Bill is a Vietnam war veteran and Louis is an average Joe who was an accountant.
These four people would never have been “friends” however, due to the world turning to crap, they have been forced to join forces in order to survive. The “story” of what has happened is filled in by the characters talking to each other as you play each level and the levels here are great.
This game was supported with DLC, but I am going to focus on the default four levels that the game has. Each level has multiple chapters in it and there is a lot of content here even though four levels does not sound like a great deal. Each level is its own theme, kind of like its own movie or TV show.
No Mercy is a story that takes place in a town. Death Toll is awesome as it has a church, a riverboat, and a highway. Dead Air has you heading to an airport and my favorite is Blood Harvest which takes place in a forest. Each one has you need to get from one checkpoint to the next which is easier said than done.
This is a game where you have to play with others. You can play on your own, but with bots as your partners, and this kind of works, but it is nowhere near as much fun as with playing with friends. You and your friends need to get from one safe house to the next, but there are a million zombies in your way.
There are tons of zombies to kill in this game and they are for the most part easy to pick off. The challenge is that there are so many of them it is easy to become overwhelmed. You cannot run off on your own, you guys need to work together. If you run off on your own, you will die or your team will die!
Left 4 Dead keeps you on your toes by having special zombies. These are much more powerful zombies that are way harder to kill. There is The Boomer that spits dangerous bile all over the place and my favorite is The Witch who is super creepy and lures you in with her cries. There are other special zombies too and it is always a nervous experience when one shows up.
At the time the game was released it was famous for its “Director” technology. This basically means you get a random set of zombies each time you play it. It will adapt to your skill level and if you blow through a level with no trouble, you better believe it will ramp up the zombies in the next one.
I loved Left 4 Dead back then and it is still a lot of fun now. Even in an age when Activision has taken over the zombie shooter thing with Call of Duty Zombies. I still feel that there is a place for Left 4 Dead. I would love it if Valve would one day make another game or even remaster the first two!
