Left4Dead Demo Impressions
Publisher: Valve
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360

There’s a credit crunch on, so we’re told, and it’s forcing everyone to be perhaps a little more frugal than they might have otherwise been. So, y’know, it’s OK. Nobody holds it against you that you didn’t just blindly pre-order Left4Dead already, securing early access to the demo.

Really, it’s…well, not exactly fine, but certainly forgiveable.

With the early access demo now available, the servers are overflowing with fans of the new co-op zombie shooter from the makers of the Half-Life series, and that means we’ve finally been able to get serious time clocked up with the game.

Thus, here are our impressions for those of you who still have another week or so before the demo becomes truly public – those wily few who insist on trying before buying. Another little taster before the demo goes utterly free on Tuesday, a week before the official launch.

Story:
The demo itself picks up exactly where the introduction video ends, with the four main characters atop an apartment building in a nameless city. They’ve just heard an emergency broadcast telling them to head for Mercy Hospital where survivors of this 28 Days Later-style outbreak are being evacuated and they’ve chosen to head there through the subways.

As plans go, heading into pitchblack tunnels perhaps isn’t the best approach in the case of a zombie apocalypse, but we doubt that these character have put as much planning into it as we (in the office) clearly have.

It’s here that the players step in, each one choosing which character they want to be. There’s Zoey, the pistol-wielding girl, Bill the gruff old General, Francis the shotgun-happy biker and Louis…who has the red on him.

Unfortunately, there are a few flies in the ointment already and though Valve is reportedly responding to user feedback and improving the server browsing system, the version that’s currently available isn’t great. The Left4Dead server searching system is…unique.

Basically, there is no server browser. How it works is that you choose whether you want to play with your Steam friends or just online with other people and then the game will either show you a friends list or matchmake you straight away. The searching system is actually quite good, prioritising dedicated servers and checking based on player abilities, ping and even what territory the players are in.

Granted, it’d be nice to put more filters into this and tell the system to only connect you to people who do or don’t have microphones for example, but you can’t have everything. Yet.

The main issue with this though is that, if you’re only interested in starting a LAN match then there’s currently no way to stop the game searching for an online, dedicated match – but, again, Valve is supposed to be working on a solution as we speak. The way they test games and listen to gamers is one of the things that have made them such a great developer.

Gameplay:

Once you’re in and playing it though, all of these issues are forgotten. The demo only covers the first level and a half of the first campaign, each of which is made of five levels and of which there are four in total, so it’s over fairly quickly but still…

The in-game experience is polished to a fine, almost blinding finish – both in terms of the actual gameplay and the player connections.

There are all sorts of little things that have been added in to make the game streamlined. For example, if you’re playing a game and leave the PC alone for a minute or two then the AI will step in to stop you slowing everyone else down. You’ll be bumped from Survivor to Spectator and the computer will take over your character.

Normally, that might be annoying – but with just the press of a button you can step back in and resume control again. It’s a great feature. It stops your place from being stolen by a new player, but also stops you slowing down other players.

The actual gameplay itself is as fluid as you could hope. All the players start on the roof where, just like at the start of every level, there’s a cache of weapons and supplies. There are basic weapons here and it’s clear that someone has come through here before – a copy of the US Army Survival Guide is left open on the table. Grab your weapons, first aid and get ready.

There are several routes to the subway though they are stay close to each other. Here in the first level of the game you have to start by getting down to street level, but you can do it by crashing through windows, taking the stairs or just jumping from the roof if you want.

As you move around, you’ll fend off the zombies and collect new supplies at randomly placed caches. You can grab aspirin from medicine cabinets for a temporary health boost, or snag a pipe bomb from the arsenal of a now-deceased militant.

One thing you can’t do is expect to play the same game every time though, as Valve’s AI Director is constantly moving in the background to make the game slightly different. It monitors how you move, your ammo supplies and how fast you are going to create a new fight every time, the zombies disappearing and swarming in waves and crescendos.

To be totally fair, the game isn’t totally different every time you play as no matter what you are doing you are always reacting to a certain type of situation, but it’s thrilling to see how that situation can change. Even with hardened players there are moments of panic and terror when an ally accidentally sets off a car alarm with a stray bullet and the swarm start pushing in on you. It’s then a measure of how quick you lose a friend, as the rest the team start shouting at the unfortunate individual while simultaneously cussing and swearing at the hoard.

A lot of that panic comes from the fact that Valve has built a lot more variation into the difficulty system than ever before. In past Valve games even the Hard setting has been too easy for experienced players, but Left4Dead is a lot more varied. The Expert mode requires a lot of communication and tactical thought from players – and speed too, as waiting just gives the AI Director more time to work.

Unlike other games, like Counterstrike where experienced players tend not to communicate constantly as they already know all the levels and fire-lines, Left4Dead requires a lot of co-operation. When one of your allies gets pinned down by a Hunter zombie then you need to know who is going to knock the beast off and who’ll cover your back. You need to know who has the shotgun, who has the molotov cocktail – and which one of you is going to be stupid enough to leave your torch on when you hear the gentle sobbing of a hiding Witch zombie.

Brrr, Witch zombies give us the willies. Totally passive but utterly spooky, they’ll lie there on their own and cry for the most part – but if you startle one with an errant bullet or by getting too close then they’ll go through your health faster than a pissed ex-girlfriend. Again; brrr.

Conclusions:

Tactical thought isn’t the only thing you’ll need though – you’ll need to know the mechanics of the game as well, which is more important than you’d think.

For example; friendly fire is always on and cannot be turned off, ever. In terms of the game that’s an important thing as it means you’ll have to co-ordinate yourself when you try to hold off against a stream of enemies as they break down the door.

It also means that when your ally gets pinned down by a Hunter, a type of infected that pounces huge distances and pummels allies when it is on top of them, you’ll have to remember to charge at it instead of try and shoot it with your shotgun. The best tactic is to run up and whack it to the floor with a melee attack – not only will it incapacitate the zombie, but melee attacks can’t hurt your allies.

The interface comes in and plays a huge role in the tactics behind each decision, telling you at the bottom of the screen not only how much health each player has, but also what supplies they are carrying. If you’re getting hammered by a swarm of zombies then you’ll know to protect the person carrying the pipe bomb first – the loud beeping they give before exploding will attract all nearby infected, buying you time to reload.

Left4Dead isn’t perfect – we can see that much from the demo already – but it’s a whole ton of fun. Still, if Valve can fix the server browsing and bring the LAN options more in line with gamer expectations and if the community gets behind the game as fast as we expect them too then Left4Dead looks to be an utter stonker of a game.

And now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to go play it again. And again. And again.

The public demo for Left4Dead becomes available for those who haven’t pre-ordered the game on November 11th. The full game then gets released on November 18th, at which point the demo is taken offline.