One Bad Chick has 5 chronicles

1. Left 4 Dead
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Mar 12 2009

   As Promised......
   
   Left 4 Dead is a first person zombie shooter. It is reminiscent of Resident Evil, in that you are a "survivor" fighting your way through a sea full of the undead, Where it is different however is that it presents itself as a live action movie. You as the player will have the choice of 4 survivors : Zoey, Bill, Francis, and Louis. Once you pick your character it's zombie killing time! (And trust me there is no shortage of half dead rotting corpses.) The task that lies before you is an ominous black hole of terror and certain death, make it across town the the hospital to radio for a pick up....alive.
   
   
   The campaign gameplay is an action packed roller coaster as you mow down wave after wave of the zombie horde. The graphics are believable and definitely do their job of setting that creepy end of the world vibe even in the most well lit of gaming dens.(I did, however, notice that there are a few glitches that will occasionally disrupt what would otherwise be a near perfect mirage.) What's even more amazing is the variety of actions are programmed into the random CPU controlled zombies and even the CPU "survivors". Each mindless killing machine has its very own personality and each "survivor" their very own will. (Which can be frustrating if you are pinned around the corner and they refuse to come to your rescue.) There are an ample number of weapons to choose from, however, I would have liked to have seen a few more. This also includes a pistol with unlimited ammo, which can be dual wielded, if you can find a spare one lying around. Ammo is mostly found in the safe rooms (save points), but there are a few other places in the game where you can find it lying around. To accompany the guns are pipe bombs, maltov cocktails, gas cans, and propane tanks. (These come in handy when you're being overrun.) Which brings me to the horde.
   
   
   For the most part the zombies you encounter in this game are your everday,mindless eating machines, we all know and hate. This game doesn't, however, stop there. They brought the gameplay to a new level with 4 special zombies. The witch, the tank, the smoker, and the hunter. The witch is a wailing,sobbing self absorbed mess until she is startled. Once disturbed the witch turns into a shrieking blur of teeth and claws, and she is no easy target.The tank is the exact opposite of the witch, he is a loud,hulking, overly agressive beast. Watch out for his giganticly meaty hands! The smoker is aptly named for the green smoke blanket he creates when he dies. But don't worry about coughing fits, shoot him before he does his signature tongue lashing. And last but not least there is the hunter, who is different in every way. With all 3 preceding super-zombies you can hear them before they get too close for comfort,not so with the hunter. He is comparable to a ninja, and once he has you pinned a teammate is your only hope. But don't worry if you are killed you will be respawned and your teammates can find you to reactivate gameplay.
   
   
   One final praise to the makers of Left 4 Dead...I know it's been around for a hot minute, but the auto pilot feature for inactive players. I love that at any given moment I can answer my phone, take a potty break, or grab a snack, and the computer will cover for me while I am gone. I have read several other reviews on the game and I have not seen mention of it once. For that extra kudos!!!
   
   Let us raise our controllers in united frustration at setting off yet another car alarm...and here come the horde!
   
   
   
   
   Left 4 Dead:
   4 out of 5
   
   The graphics were there, the gameplay was there, but the storyline fell short with me.
   
   
   Stay tuned kiddies..next time....L4D online play review...it's bound to be more fun than a barrel full of monkeys.

   
   

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One Bad Chick has 2 comment s on this chronicle.

1. One Bad Chick
   Posted On Mar 13 2009

   To answer your question RyuBlitz, my chronicle did only cover one of the 4 possible scenarios that you are able to play through. It wasn't the fact that I thought that the game fell short, it was just that each story line is a little short and choppy. But in real life I wouldn't want to be dragging out a fight with the legions of mindless infected, so I wasn't too hard on the game in that aspect. Also, in my rush to complete atleast part I of this review I forgot to mention the 5th special zombie...the boomer. They are big tubs of lard that spit a bile all over you. This disgusting goop not only impairs your vision...but it also attracts boat loads of zombies.Hope that answered your question...keep looking out for part II of this review where I take the carnage to live and get a taste for the multiplayer games.

2. RyuBlitz
   Posted On Mar 12 2009

   Very nice review. I'm definitely more interested in finally buying this game, now.
   One question about the storyline comment.... Aren't there multiple storylines that you can play through? Did your review just cover one of them, or are they all about the same?