What is Left 4 Dead?
Left 4 Dead is a multiplayer co-operative survival horror shooter currently in development by Valve Software. Like other current Valve titles it is based on the Source engine and will be released for the PC and Xbox 360 in late summer 2008.
The game is for 1-8 players with four spots on each 'side' that are both controlled by AI or human players. You can go for the full on 4 vs. AI or a 4 vs. 4 with real players on both sides. If you feel brave you could always go lone-ranger against the AI hordes! You have the choice of playing as one of four survivors of an apocalyptic pandemic against hordes of Infected zombies. The regular Infected are controlled by the game AI, while human players can control up to four mutated Infected with special abilities. The goal of Left 4 Dead for the Survivors is to help each other make it through a level to safety. Infected players must stop them before they do. It will be a battle for survival…or for brains. You will chose which.
Story
A new and highly virulent strain of the rabies virus emerges and spreads through the human population with frightening speed. The pandemic's victims become grotesquely disfigured, wildly violent psychopaths, attacking the uninfected on sight. One of the "lucky" few apparently immune to the sickness, you, unfortunately, are also trapped in a city crawling with thousands of the bloodthirsty infected. Alone, you're dead. But together with a handful of fellow survivors, you might just fight your way to safety.
Gameplay
The initial game release version will have four scenarios with around five maps each. The maps take place in various urban and rural locations, including a hospital, cornfield, airport, and countryside. In each map the survivors move from safehouse to safehouse, indicated by a red door, where the players get a save point and those who have died earlier in the level will return. The last map will have the players defending their position from a final onslaught of the infected until their rescue vehicle arrives. Each scenario lasts between 45 and 75 minutes.
The Survivors
There are four playable human characters in the game, each with a different and unique appearance. Each player is randomly assigned a character when they join the server and each character has the same abilities and may use the same weapons.
The Infected
The regular Infected zombies you'll encounter are controlled by a central AI 'director' of sorts which manages the flow of undead monsters on the fly. These are just regular AI controlled people that have fallen victim to the rabies pandemic. There are also four mutated Infected that have special abilities and are more powerful then the regular Infected. These four are playable by anyone.
The Infected do not have conventional weapons, instead they rely on melee attacks and special abilities.
Development
Left 4 Dead was formerly in development by Turtle Rock Studios, which was a separate company whose work included Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and the Xbox version of Counter-Strike. On January 10th, 2008, Valve acquired Turtle Rock Studios, absorbing the company. Left 4 Dead will be released for the PC and Xbox 360 in late summer 2008.
Left 4 Dead is a multiplayer co-operative survival horror shooter currently in development by Valve Software. Like other current Valve titles it is based on the Source engine and will be released for the PC and Xbox 360 in late summer 2008.
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The game is for 1-8 players with four spots on each 'side' that are both controlled by AI or human players. You can go for the full on 4 vs. AI or a 4 vs. 4 with real players on both sides. If you feel brave you could always go lone-ranger against the AI hordes! You have the choice of playing as one of four survivors of an apocalyptic pandemic against hordes of Infected zombies. The regular Infected are controlled by the game AI, while human players can control up to four mutated Infected with special abilities. The goal of Left 4 Dead for the Survivors is to help each other make it through a level to safety. Infected players must stop them before they do. It will be a battle for survival…or for brains. You will chose which.
Story
A new and highly virulent strain of the rabies virus emerges and spreads through the human population with frightening speed. The pandemic's victims become grotesquely disfigured, wildly violent psychopaths, attacking the uninfected on sight. One of the "lucky" few apparently immune to the sickness, you, unfortunately, are also trapped in a city crawling with thousands of the bloodthirsty infected. Alone, you're dead. But together with a handful of fellow survivors, you might just fight your way to safety.
Gameplay
The initial game release version will have four scenarios with around five maps each. The maps take place in various urban and rural locations, including a hospital, cornfield, airport, and countryside. In each map the survivors move from safehouse to safehouse, indicated by a red door, where the players get a save point and those who have died earlier in the level will return. The last map will have the players defending their position from a final onslaught of the infected until their rescue vehicle arrives. Each scenario lasts between 45 and 75 minutes.
The Survivors
There are four playable human characters in the game, each with a different and unique appearance. Each player is randomly assigned a character when they join the server and each character has the same abilities and may use the same weapons.
- Francis - The tattoo-covered biker
- Zoey - The teenage daughter of a wealthy family
- Bill - A Vietnam veteran
- Louis - An assistant manager at a local retail electronics chain store
The Infected
The regular Infected zombies you'll encounter are controlled by a central AI 'director' of sorts which manages the flow of undead monsters on the fly. These are just regular AI controlled people that have fallen victim to the rabies pandemic. There are also four mutated Infected that have special abilities and are more powerful then the regular Infected. These four are playable by anyone.
- The Tank – A giant beast overturning cars and throwing concrete slabs
- The Smoker – A creature with a whip-tongue able to grab the 'Survivors' for devouring
- The Boomer – An obese 'Infected' who vomits and explodes upon death... yuck
- The Hunter – An acrobatic roof jumping son of a gun
The Infected do not have conventional weapons, instead they rely on melee attacks and special abilities.
Development
Left 4 Dead was formerly in development by Turtle Rock Studios, which was a separate company whose work included Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and the Xbox version of Counter-Strike. On January 10th, 2008, Valve acquired Turtle Rock Studios, absorbing the company. Left 4 Dead will be released for the PC and Xbox 360 in late summer 2008.
