Game review: Left 4 Dead

Since it's release, I've read nothing but praise for Left 4 Dead. A rare feat for a computer game (or in fact any art form), and I must admit I'm mildly surprised by the unanimous approval. Many gamers are harsh critics these days, even games like Fallout 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV seem to have caused almost as much disgust as they have joy. All credit must go to Valve for somehow developing a game that is proving to be as popular as the Team Fortress and Half-Life series.

They consistently pull off winners because they know what gamers want. Silky-smooth gameplay, satisfying and intense combat, interesting characters, enemies and locations, all running beautifully on a perfectly optimised engine. It is a thoroughly professional product, nothing less is expected of Valve.

Left 4 Dead is a co-operative survival horror first-person shooter. Four survivors, humans or bots, shoot their way through zombie infested campaigns set in the city, the countryside, an airport and woodlands. If the nippy hordes of zombies aren't enough to stop the team in their tracks, special infected characters such as the immense Tank and the pouncing Hunter provide a huge challenge on higher difficulty settings. There is a chance to play as the special infected in the well-executed Versus mode. Dying regularly is a given, it is persistence, timing and luck that can eventually overwhelm the survivors.

Choosing music to accompany proceedings is somewhat of a no-brainer. Dark, atmospheric drum 'n' bass adds to the terror of having dozens of zombies rushing you at once. It can be a truly exhilarating Extreme Electronic Experience.

So why am I surprised that the game hasn't suffered the usually mandatory backlash? Well, because content is so thin on the ground at the moment. There is roughly an hour of gameplay within each of the four campaigns, and players who tend to dip in for short blasts will usually be forced to play the first couple of levels of a campaign over and over, causing disappointing repetition. Also, the weapon count is low - fingers crossed this is an area Valve will work on. Downloadable content is expected to trickle out to extend the lifespan of the game, but considering the speed the developer works at there could be frustratingly long waits between updates.

Nonetheless, Left 4 Dead is a worthy addition to my Steam games list, which I now turn to solely for my need to shoot real people in their virtual faces. For once, those people are fighting by my side as I shoot hundreds of virtual zombies in their virtual faces.

8/10