CS-Nation

Covering the future of Counter-Strike
left 4 dead - impressions
All Out Assault (continued)
Our team splits up even more once the adrenaline starts to kick in, and during epic moments like this, the adrenaline will kick in. The game will call upon all of your reflexes to make it past the final battle, especially on the harder difficulty modes that the game has to offer.

Overcome by the stream of enemies, our party slowly succumbs to death's icy grip. I try to revive a teammate that has fallen on a venting system off to the left of the helicopter pad. Unfortunately, I couldn't make the jump and quickly fell down to the level where the Infected were.

Coming from all angles, they struck quickly. I gave a few quick melee attacks to knock them back, after which I managed to put a few of the Infected down for the count with my shotgun. However, all the firepower left in my weapon could not possibly hold them all back. With their twisted fingers lashing out at me relentlessly, I had finally died. I entered a bleed out period and with no teammates left to revive myself or anyone else, our round came to a climactic close. There would be no rescue for any of the four survivors tonight.

Final Thoughts
It's been roughly 11 pages (including part 1) of this Left 4 Dead preview, all spurred by what was essentially a single scenario play-through. Did I really capture all that there is to offer in this game in this article? No, I did not. I wrote a great deal about my experience and the most notable parts of my playtime, but it's impossible to put into words just what this game is like.

The game will be different each time you play it, even if you play only one scenario. It's akin to playing through a single player title with the way the scenarios play out, how each scenario has its own mini plot line, and with how there are actual boss fights scattered throughout the levels. The Director did a very admirable job at knowing just when and where to pop in a fresh supply of Infected to battle against.

I can say that I had an absolute blast with the game. Take that statement for what you will. I've always been a fan of zombies and the survival horror genre, but the way everything comes together here (multiplayer, zombies, boss fights, teamwork, survival, and fun) really makes for a very special treat to fans of any of those areas.

I can't say that everything was perfect, or that I enjoyed everything in the game. There were some very glaring issues with this build that I tested on. The lengthy load times were just perplexing and there were some clipping issues, but I was assured that all would be remedied by the time this title was set to be released. Just when is this game coming out? I wish I knew a solid answer to that. Right now, it's slated for a "Summer 2008" release period for both the Xbox 360 and PC.

Also, I was not able to play as the Infected bosses at all. I would have loved to play as an Infected boss, but at the time of my visit the Infected side was apparently undergoing some changes, and no such opportunity was being offered to outside testers.

I hope you've enjoyed reading this article, and I hope it perhaps raised your interest in the title beyond what it already was. I'd like to thank everyone at Valve and Turtle Rock Studios for giving me a chance to play this title.



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