Review: 'Left 4 Dead' is like a fun zombie movie

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BY AIMEE GREEN / Lincoln Journal Star

Zombies have always had a large presence in pop culture. Countless movies have been made about people trying to survive a zombie apocalypse.

There are plenty of zombie video games, too, but it’s not often the game so resembles the movies. “Left 4 Dead” plays just like a movie and is designed in four segments that represent B movies.

Put simply, “Left 4 Dead” is a ton of fun, and it’s largely because of four-player co-op.

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Grumpy, old guy Bill is one of four characters you can play as in "Left 4 Dead." (Electronic Arts)

When you start, you choose which of four characters you want to play. With three friends, you work together to make it through the zombie hordes from safe room to safe room. At the end of the “movie,” you’re rescued.

Zombies are everywhere, and they’re not just large, mindless groups. There are different types, and communicating with your friends and watching one another’s backs is key to survival.

As you blast your way through the “regular” zombies, you’ll know when the special ones are near because of the sounds. Boomers, for example, make a gurgling noise, while hunters shriek and witches cry.

Each of these zombies has its own attack. The boomers “vomit” on you, which blinds you and attracts the zombie horde. Hunters are super-fast and pin you to the ground. Smokers, meanwhile, have long tongues that pull teammates to their deaths.

The best part about “Left 4 Dead” is its “AI Director,” which adapts to how you’re doing and randomizes enemies. So if you’re doing poorly, attacks will let up a little. If you die and have to restart the section, you won’t come across the same enemies in the same places. This makes for a different experience each time.

You also can play online in a versus mode. This pits a team of four survivors against four zombies. Each section is played twice, with the roles reversing.

When you play as the zombies, you’re fairly easy to kill. When you die, you have a 20-second delay before you’re allowed to respawn as a special zombie. During this delay, you can watch the others play.

It’s harder than it sounds to make it through as a survivor. Even though the zombies die easily, the survivors have just one health pack apiece, and the zombies have the advantage of numbers. Overall, it’s well-balanced.

You can play “Left 4 Dead” by yourself, but it won’t be nearly as fun.

Who knew surviving a zombie apocalypse would be such a social experience?

I really liked “Mirror’s Edge.” As a game, it’s probably too straightforward and short. But for innovation, I enjoyed the heck out of it.

 “Mirror’s Edge” takes place in the future. The government controls everything, and society turns to runners, couriers who navigate rooftops, to deliver untraceable packages. The main character, Faith, is one such runner, and she finds herself in trouble when her sister is framed for a murder.

The runners are good at jumping over things, climbing and running fast. “Mirror’s Edge” is all about figuring out how to get from point A to point B in the shortest time while avoiding the authorities.

The game has an interesting style. The storytelling cut scenes remind me of those Esurance ads — cel-shaded and colorful. In actual gameplay, the style is a bit different. The city is done in just a few colors, white buildings with splashes of yellow and orange for signs. Meanwhile, things that Faith can use are a bright red.

What makes “Mirror’s Edge” stand out from similar titles (such as “Prince of Persia” or “Tomb Raider”) is its first-person perspective. Imagine jumping across rooftops, climbing pipes, diving and rolling — all from the character’s viewpoint. Arms and legs pop in and out of your vision as you move. For some players, it might cause motion sickness.

Faith’s movements are fluid and responsive, and the sound effects make it feel as if you’re really running around on top of the city. It’s exhilarating and immersive.

The down side, however, is related. Because of the limited vision and the game type, there’s a lot of trial and error. It’s easy to mistime a jump and fall to your death. Checkpoints are frequent, but you’ll often be repeating the same section over and over. It’s not because you don’t know what to do; you just can’t get the timing right.

While combat is OK — Faith can kick, punch and disarm attackers, then use their guns — it’s best avoided. A few spots require combat, and it can be frustrating. Faith is not a fighter and shouldn’t be forced to be.

The game is short and easy enough to finish on a rental, but other modes give it replay value. Time trial lets you play through each level sans enemies to find the fastest routes and compare your times to others online. You also can race against others’ ghosts to see the routes they’re taking. Speed run puts you back in the game with enemies and times your completion.

“Mirror’s Edge” isn’t perfect, but it’s beautiful to look at and fun to experience. At the very least, rent it.

Reach Aimee Green at 473-7326 or Aimee.Green@lee.net.