In preparation for writing this look back on Left 4 Dead I booted up my PC version of the game and went a round in each of the game's three modes, since I haven't spent a lot of time with the game since about February due to starting a new job, other releases, and so on.

Consider me surprised then to be writing this article hours behind schedule. Left 4 Dead is still just as fun as it was last November when it was released.

The general opinion on Left 4 Dead was that the co-op experience is extraordinary, and that Valve's "Director AI" had succeeded in creating tense, but fair situations that change with each playthrough. People praised the quality of the scenarios and the practical need for teamwork, with death always an immediate possibility, if just one link in the chain of your plans falls apart. A lack of content and poor story were the chief complaints among reviewers. Almost every opinion on the game was overwhelmingly positive at the time, and it was one of last year's most talked about games.

(The use of the Left hand was a last minute decision, leaving the right hand in some of the earlier-produced ad materials.)

Left 4 Dead also recieved a significant advertising campaign, including magazine, billboard, and even several TV ads highlighting the hectic pace and cooperative elements. Valve surely realized the opporunity to push out to new markets with an original title and an appealing premise. A not-so- subtle visual pun accompanied with an unusual color scheme really helped the title stand out both in store and in advertising. It seems to have worked, as the title enjoyed December and January at the top of the NPD's list of best selling game software on 360, and is almost always a the top of Steam sales charts. To date, the game has over 2.5million copies sold, not including digitally purchased copies on steam.
A major update for L4D came late april, adding new campaigns for the still-popular versus mode, and an entirely new campaign for the also new Survival mode. Getting together 4 friends to tackle the campaigns isn't always easy, nor do you always have an hour or two to burn on an entire campaign. The survival mode pits the survivors against increasingly large hordes of infected and boss infected as long as they can keep firing. Unlike the swift pace of the other modes, Survival forces you to bear down and eliminate every infected you see. These typically 10-15 minute matches keep all of the tasty co-op elements of the main game without requiring the time investment. The brief sessions also enourage that "One More Try" to get a better survival time. It's a significant addition to the game and even more impressive considering it's totally free.

There's been no announcements yet on future add-on packs, but TF2 just recieved its biggest update yet and that game is nearing a year and a half old, so expect the same attention -

                                     Page: 1. 2 .3. >>