I can't believe people don't see the potential of this game.
Yes you can play as the boss infected.
Here is my work-in progress hype thread.
LEFT 4 DEAD HYPE THREAD
RELEASE DATE- NOVEMEBER 18, 2008 (US) 21 (UK)
VALVE
HORROR FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER
PC/360
1-4 Player Cooperative/8 Player Versus
Video
Interview
WHAT IS IT?
Left 4 Dead is a first-person shooter being made by Valve (Developers of Half-Life). It pits four humans (referred to as survivors) against hordes of zombies (referred to as infected). The Infected are similar to the zombies seen in the film 28 Days Later.
Your allies may either be controlled by AI or other players. In addition to the common horde, there are 5 special bosses in Left 4 Dead: The fat Boomer whose vomit attracts infected to attack the unlucky victim; The Smoker who will strangle and suffocate his prey with his long tongue; The Hunter, who pounces and mauls on anyone unlucky enough to get in the way; The juggernaut like Tank; and the Witch, who appears to be defenseless, when in actuality should be avoided since she can kill players very quick.
The game is split up into four "movies" which are basically scenarios. Each "movie" contains 5 maps that players progress through until the finale. The total map count in Left 4 Dead is 20 (not including remixes for the versus mode).
The game is currently known to have two modes. One is a traditional co-op mode, where four players take over the role of the survivors and try to get from point A to point B alive. The other mode is pretty much the same deal; however four more players may take over the roles of the boss infected (Excluding the Witch) and prevent the Humans from reaching safety. Versus mode is for veterans, since the AI allows the Human Boss infected to spawn quicker than the AI Bosses in the traditional co-op mode.
WHY SHOULD I CARE?
THE AI DIRECTOR
The driving force in Left 4 Dead is referred to as the AI Director. The Director's influence is felt everywhere. Primarily it controls where and how many zombies spawn. It will react to how players are progressing through a map. If a team is doing well and cooperating; they can expect a much more dramatic experience meaning more infected attacking, and payoffs. If the team is doing bad (Shooting each other, or constantly getting hurt), then the game will be more forgiving. This does not mean Left 4 Dead is an easy game, if players expect to beat a map, they must work as a team. The director also has an influence over ammo placements outside of saferooms and is able to set the tone of the game by amplifying and changing the background music and post process effects. The main goal of the director is to adjust the pace of the game to create hills and valleys; resulting in moments of quiet suspense followed by adrenaline pounding action.
COOP EXPERIENCE
The game features Drop -In/Drop-Out support, meaning that if you start up a game by yourself, players can hop in and take control of an ai controlled survivor immediately. Likewise they can leave the game, and the ai will resume control.
Team work is vital to success in Left4Dead. Aside from the fact that more survivors means more guns shooting infected, there are situations in the game where the players must cooperate to save someone in jeopardy. Once a player reaches zero health in left4Dead, they fall to the floor. While on the floor, Players are unable to move, but they can still fire their weapons in a prone like position. These downed players only have a certain amount of time before they bleed out and die, but if another survivor comes and picks them up; they can continue to play. A player may only fall down three times, after that they die (Unless they use a health pack after being helped back up).
While the characters themselves possess no abilities that set them apart, the weapon load out that each team chooses will serve to give them specialty roles. The hunting rifle is useful to take down infected at a distance and is more suited for rural, open maps. Likewise, the hunting rifle is not the best choice in enclosed spaces, such as the hospital scenario. Every survivor is able to carry just one medkit at any given time, which may be used on themselves or their friends.
To encourage good sportsmanship, the game's ai monitors everyone's actions, and at each saferoom/check point, the game displays various stats. Such examples are who shot the most infected, killed the most infected, and healed the most teammates. On the other hand, the game will also display who did the most friendly fire damage (Friendly Fire is ALWAYS on). These stats are permanent like TF2, and players will easily be able to view these stats and see who is worth teaming up with or not. While in game, there is a voting system that is able to kick players out, and even block them from using explosive weapons like the pipe bomb if they are incapable of using it properly.
Boss infected all have special moves that either will kill a player or disable them unless their teammates help them out. The Hunter pounces on people, pinning them to the ground. The Smoker will strangle a victim with his tongue and can pull them away from the group. A survivor is covered in bile and their vision is blurred when a boomer either vomits on them or explodes in their vicinity, attracting infected to that survivor: leaving his teammates to protect him. And the Tank is able to easily kill survivors, able to toss chunks of debris, but if a team keeps their cool and focus, no one will die. The Witch, the only unplayable infected boss, can be heard crying from a distance. The Witch is usually laying down, and players must be careful not to aggravate her, or else she will get up and attack the nearest player. Depending on difficulty, this could mean a one hit kill. Getting too close, shining light on her, or firing near her is known to provoke her.
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To be continued.
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