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Left 4 Dead* is a fantastic game full of nuanced combat, intricately details and an eerie atmosphere. But it's not the zombie apocalypse I had in mind.
I'm a huge fan of zombie horror. My favorite films include everything from George Romero's classic Cold War allegory Night of the Living Dead to Lucio Fulci's Italian zombie-on-shark horror fest Zombi.
Over the last two weeks I've been re-reading every issue of Robert Kirkman's survival horror comic book The Walking Dead. The month before that I re-read Max Brooks' World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide.
Just a few moments ago I added every obscure zombie flick in Netflix's vast catalog to my queue, from the Japanese martial arts/horror epic Versus to B-grade trash cinema like Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave.
All of this was an effort to psych myself up for this PC and Xbox 360 game that I hoped would be the best simulation of a zombie apocalypse since Dead Rising.
That game embodied everything that a zombie apocalypse should be: Feelings of desperate solitude, impossible odds and morbidity to spare.
Left 4 Dead, on the other hand, disappointed my inner zombiephile: Despite the positive reviews, it feels like a Half-Life mod, not the virtual undead rebellion I was hoping for.
Key to the game's offenses are the zombies themselves. I applaud Valve's effort to offer players a chance to play as The Other, but dammit, zombies do not run. Not only do the lowliest denizens of Dead sprint like Olympic athletes, but you have creatures more suited to appearing as end-level bosses in an id Software shooter mucking up the atmosphere with their bulk and seemingly magical abilities.
The use of a traditional zombie to create an impending sense of dread only works when the zombies are somewhat human. Alone they pose very little threat, but in groups the terror becomes not of reanimation and sharp, biting teeth, but of the dangers of mob mentality.
Romero knew this, and almost single-handedly birthed the entire zombie horror genre around that concept. His creatures could barely shamble, but placing his protagonists in a desolate setting surrounded by thousands of entities who are all operating toward a single, macabre goal turns a handful of cheap jump-scares into a fight for survival where your greatest enemy is the fear and hatred we all harbor for our fellow man.
It was definitely much simpler for Valve to craft a game where the enemies are essentially hyperactive dogs, but it also seems like a cheap out for a developer who should be held to a higher standard, based on the cinematic success of their previous games.
And while I'm complaining: When did Valve decide that it was reasonable to release half a game packaged as a full title? Left 4 Dead has fewer single-player options than Unreal Tournament 2004, a game whose solo modes were simply training ground for its online multiplayer aspect.
I'm not saying Left 4 Dead isn't good. It's definitely my new favorite online shooter, but am I the only one left wishing for a true single-player campaign complete with a story that's up to the standards of Half-Life?
Those who crave a quality multiplayer shooter will certainly find it in Dead. As for me, I guess I'm going to have to content myself with Dead Rising until someone finally decides to create a true zombie title to satiate my need to rage against the end of the world.
Image courtesy Valve Software
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