A new Left 4 Dead web comic helps fill in the narrative blanks left empty by the videogame. The Sacrifice, released Tuesday by Valve, follows original Left 4 Dead survivors Lewis, Zoe, Francis and Bill.
The action kicks off during the farmhouse finale of Left 4 Dead's "Blood Harvest" campaign, with the zombie-slayers fighting off hordes of the infected while waiting for a military ATV to rescue them.
The early pages of The Sacrifice comic do a good job of capturing the frenetic action of the first-person shooter. Once the adrenaline fades and the pace slows down, the comic explores the moments between the missions.
One of the strengths of the Left 4 Dead games is that they don't rely too heavily on storytelling. They throw you into the action and force you to fight your way out a sticky situation. To be honest, I've never felt that the story needed any elaboration. The mystery makes the action feel that much more visceral. But I'm glad there's a comic to take on the narrative heavy lifting. I'd rather see this background material carried out here than crammed needlessly into the game.
The new comic is a lead-up to new Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 downloadable content, also called The Sacrifice, that comes out Oct. 5 for PC, Xbox 360 and Mac. During coming weeks, Valve will release additional chapters until the comic dovetails snugly with the plot of the new, playable add-on.
Image courtesy Valve
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