Left 4 Dead Demo Review
As the demo comes to a close, many people are left wondering what is going to be in the full version. Fortunately, the full game will be released at the same time that the demo closes. A lot of issues that come with most demos can be solved shortly after the full game opens, and this review's purpose is to address them.
The characters in L4D have a good bit of depth in them. In singleplayer, the characters frequently communicate with each other and help each other out by giving each other health and protecting each other when they get attacked by zombies. However, the characters can only be so deep as very little story has been given to players during the demo. The characters themselves are easily recognizable from the zombies. I would, however, like to see some zombies with similar clothing to the humans so the game goes away from the 'click and kill' type to the 'aim, click, and kill' type.
L4D's AI Director suprised me a few times. When I first started playing, I was intrigued by the random zombie spawns and random weapon locations; however, the more I played through the game the more I realized that the spawn locations are not truly random. From what I've seen, the AI director spawns zombies and items in one of multiple locations. When I first read about the AI director, I was under the assumption that zombies and items would be able to spawn ANYWHERE on the map. I've memorized the locations of where weapons can spawn, which is disappointing. I was pleasantly surprised, though, at a few 'quirks' in the AI director. In one of my playthroughs, I found a medkit hiding behind a box near the entrance to the saferoom on the Apartments level.
The maps themselves are well designed. Both the Subway and Apartments level provide an excellent contrast between open space and narrow chokepoints, which means that the team's playstyle needs to be able to adjust quickly or they'll be overtaken by the zombies. I was a bit disappointed in not finding a Tank on the apartments level, but I'm not too worried about it.
Some of the weapons need to be adjusted a lot. The Uzi, shotgun, and rifle seem well-balanced. My issue is with the Autoshotgun and the hunting rifle. The autoshotgun is far too powerful for the amount of bullets it has and the rate of fire. The hunting rifle is able to fire way too fast. My suggestion for the autoshotgun is to either reduce its firing rate, reduce its damage, or lower the amount of bullets per reload. The dual pistols seem a bit too powerful as well; I suggest a slight damage reduction.
The boss zombies scale well throught the difficulty changes; however, the regular zombies never seem to get stronger. Yes, they do more damage to you on higher levels, but it serves no purpose when your autoshotgun can take out an entire swarm of them in three seconds. Perhaps more health for regular zombies on the higher levels?
Multiplayer works well and provides a huge contrast between singleplayer. Of course, a player's experience will be dependent on the level of the game and the skill of the player's teammates. Reiterating before, I believe zombies should be scaled up on the higher levels to provide a bigger challenge for higher-skilled players. With the higher scaling, teams would need to stick in tighter groups, which is already one of the focal points of the game.
I do have a few complaints and questions about the game. My main issue is players circumventing the apartments by jumping onto the air conditioners behind the spawn point. I also have a problem with people repeatedly pressing the weapon change and melee keys (some are calling it karate) to quickly dispatch the zombies. And for the question; is it a glitch to be able to reload while meleeing a zombie?
I know it's a demo and there will be issues. I'm just trying to address them. I honestly believe this game is Game of the Year material, it's just that the game is a little rough around the edges. I'd love to review the full game once it comes out if I could afford it.
Questions, comments, flames, and compliments should all be sent to jietai@live.com or contact me through Steam's friends list; my account name is ruaki.
As the demo comes to a close, many people are left wondering what is going to be in the full version. Fortunately, the full game will be released at the same time that the demo closes. A lot of issues that come with most demos can be solved shortly after the full game opens, and this review's purpose is to address them.
The characters in L4D have a good bit of depth in them. In singleplayer, the characters frequently communicate with each other and help each other out by giving each other health and protecting each other when they get attacked by zombies. However, the characters can only be so deep as very little story has been given to players during the demo. The characters themselves are easily recognizable from the zombies. I would, however, like to see some zombies with similar clothing to the humans so the game goes away from the 'click and kill' type to the 'aim, click, and kill' type.
L4D's AI Director suprised me a few times. When I first started playing, I was intrigued by the random zombie spawns and random weapon locations; however, the more I played through the game the more I realized that the spawn locations are not truly random. From what I've seen, the AI director spawns zombies and items in one of multiple locations. When I first read about the AI director, I was under the assumption that zombies and items would be able to spawn ANYWHERE on the map. I've memorized the locations of where weapons can spawn, which is disappointing. I was pleasantly surprised, though, at a few 'quirks' in the AI director. In one of my playthroughs, I found a medkit hiding behind a box near the entrance to the saferoom on the Apartments level.
The maps themselves are well designed. Both the Subway and Apartments level provide an excellent contrast between open space and narrow chokepoints, which means that the team's playstyle needs to be able to adjust quickly or they'll be overtaken by the zombies. I was a bit disappointed in not finding a Tank on the apartments level, but I'm not too worried about it.
Some of the weapons need to be adjusted a lot. The Uzi, shotgun, and rifle seem well-balanced. My issue is with the Autoshotgun and the hunting rifle. The autoshotgun is far too powerful for the amount of bullets it has and the rate of fire. The hunting rifle is able to fire way too fast. My suggestion for the autoshotgun is to either reduce its firing rate, reduce its damage, or lower the amount of bullets per reload. The dual pistols seem a bit too powerful as well; I suggest a slight damage reduction.
The boss zombies scale well throught the difficulty changes; however, the regular zombies never seem to get stronger. Yes, they do more damage to you on higher levels, but it serves no purpose when your autoshotgun can take out an entire swarm of them in three seconds. Perhaps more health for regular zombies on the higher levels?
Multiplayer works well and provides a huge contrast between singleplayer. Of course, a player's experience will be dependent on the level of the game and the skill of the player's teammates. Reiterating before, I believe zombies should be scaled up on the higher levels to provide a bigger challenge for higher-skilled players. With the higher scaling, teams would need to stick in tighter groups, which is already one of the focal points of the game.
I do have a few complaints and questions about the game. My main issue is players circumventing the apartments by jumping onto the air conditioners behind the spawn point. I also have a problem with people repeatedly pressing the weapon change and melee keys (some are calling it karate) to quickly dispatch the zombies. And for the question; is it a glitch to be able to reload while meleeing a zombie?
I know it's a demo and there will be issues. I'm just trying to address them. I honestly believe this game is Game of the Year material, it's just that the game is a little rough around the edges. I'd love to review the full game once it comes out if I could afford it.
Questions, comments, flames, and compliments should all be sent to jietai@live.com or contact me through Steam's friends list; my account name is ruaki.
