Mammoth Left 4 Dead Hands-On Preview

Left4Dead411, a fan site dedicated to the upcoming zombie apocalypse co-op shooter, Left 4 Dead, recently posted a massive hands-on preview of their play experience as the human survivors. I just finished reading Cell by Stephen King and I am totally in the mood for the undead. Granted, the deadly threat in that novel were not undead, simply re-programmed humans, but that's just one of many twists Mr. King decided to throw into the familiar zombie genre to shake things up.

By the same token, developer Turtle Rock Studio looks ready to take survival gaming to the next level, focusing on effective team cooperation and an innovative feature that allows human players to take control of designated "boss infected" zombies and work against the team of human survivors. I have a a review of the preview after the jump!

I was excited about this game. Now that I've digested Left4Dead411's humongous, glowing preview, I am even more eager to get my hands on it. The Zombie Renaissance is still in full swing, as far as I'm concerned. Bring on the 4-player co-op action. Bring on the enhanced Source engine. Bring on the randomly generated hordes of flesh-hungry zombies and their Boss Inflicted masters.

The preview goes into great depth, covering everything from weapons, the health/respawn system, level descriptions and the visceral impact of feeling like you are a star in the latest zombie horror film. It's a long read but well worth your time if you're starved for information on this game. I know I was. The announcement for the Halo 3 beta came and went; I couldn't be bothered to repeat the news on PMB. Nothing against Halo, I just prefer to talk about games that either a) interest me completely, or b) are not being talked about by everyone on the planet. My only gripes with this preview were the incessant and unnecessary comparisons made with Counter-Strike (of all games!) and the writer's orgasmic gushing about the game. They had nary a negative comment to make in the preview. And I'm curious: what exactly is a "pure gaming experience"?

I have some minor reservations. We still need to wait for their Part 2 of their hands-on preview, where they will spend quality time playing as the zombie boss characters. Mixing in player input with AI is not a new thing in gaming (think FPS deathmatch bots) but in this kind of scenario, it is very unique. I have worries about how badly a skillful bunch of zombie players can imbalance a game and make it harder for the human survivors than it needs to be. Based on the current preview, the AI hordes alone pose an insane level of challenge. Obviously I look forward to seeing how it all develops.

Left 4 Dead is scheduled for a later 2007 release. Hopefully it will carve out a nice little niche for itself amid the clamor of A-list titles. *Sigh* ... yet one more quality Xbox game to blow my hard-earned cash on. Woe is me...

Source: Left 4 Dead 411 via Destructoid