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Resident
LEFT 4 DEAD HYPE THREAD
RELEASE DATE- NOVEMEBER 18 (World Wide Steam Release)
VALVE
HORROR FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER
PC/360 1-4 Player Cooperative/1-8 Player Versus
HYPE LEVEL: AAA
The Official System Requirements
- OS: Windows Vista, XP or 2000
- CPU: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 or AMD64X2 (or higher)
- RAM: 1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista
- DISC DRIVE: DVD-ROM Drive
- HARD DRIVE: At least 7.5 GB of free space
- VIDEO: Direct X 9 compatible video card (Video card must be 256 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9-compatible with support for pixel shader 2.0)
- SOUND: Direct X9.0c compatible sound card
Left 4 Dead pits four human playable or AI controlled survivors of an apocalyptic pandemic against hordes of aggressive "Infected". The Survivors' goal is to help each other make it through various scenarios to safety. The Infected are controlled by an AI that dynamically balances difficulty and mood depending on the players' progress and situation. In an alternate game mode, human players can control up to four mutated Boss Infected with special abilities and cooperate to stop the Survivor players.
The expected release date for Left 4 Dead is November 18, 2008 in the United States and November 21, 2008 in Europe to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the release of Half-Life. A five minute trailer was released on Halloween.
Gameplay
Left 4 Dead is played in first-person perspective, where up to four players take control of the four main characters of the game; the "Survivors". If four human players are not available to play, the Survivors can also be AI-controlled bots. They play through the levels fighting off the Infected, which are humans who have been infected with a mysterious disease.
The game is focused on cooperation and team play; colored outlines are visible through walls to help players stick together and coordinate their movement, and Survivors can be knocked down by the Infected and only helped up by another player. If a teammate is downed after being helped up twice, without tending to his wounds in between, the player is out and must wait 60 seconds before respawning.
Certain "Boss Infected" also command special attacks, such as a Hunter's pin, which requires assistance from a teammate to get out of. Survivors can also share first-aid kits and help each other heal. Left 4 Dead has full friendly fire that cannot be switched off, increasing the need for caution around other Survivors.
The Survivors communicate by automated voice commands that are accessed by quick menus, and some will also sound off automatically when doing such things as reloading or spotting Infected. Over 1000 unique lines have been recorded for each Survivor.[4] Additional communication of player actions is conveyed through character lights. Also, weapon-mounted flashlights and muzzle flashes help the players in determining whether their companions are shooting, performing melee attacks, reloading or moving. Due to control issues and to the fact that players will invariably be using a LIVE headset, the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead will omit the quick phrases feature.
The game is experienced through four scenarios that take place in various urban and rural locales, such as a hospital, an airport and a murky countryside. Each scenario is divided into several shorter sections marked by safehouse checkpoints, where players can heal, re-arm, calm their nerves, save their progress and retrieve players who were killed. The levels are neither linear nor completely open-ended or free-roaming. There are a number of alternate routes to follow with more supplies and alternate objectives. At the end of each scenario, the players must defend a position from an onslaught of Infected until rescue arrives.[4] Each scenario lasts between 45 and 75 minutes.
AI and the Director
The artificial intelligence of Left 4 Dead features a dynamic system for game dramatics, pacing, and difficulty called the "Director." Instead of set spawn points for enemies, the Director places enemies in varying positions and numbers based upon each player's current situation, status, skill and location, creating a new experience each playthrough.The Director also creates mood and tension with emotional cues such as visual effects, dynamic music and character communication.
Versus mode
In the deathmatch Versus mode, four additional players can take control of powerful Infected with unique abilities, amongst the other AI-controlled Infected. The playable Infected numbers are limited so players must select their preferred Infected and wait for it to spawn, with the Tank as the exception, it being able to only spawn a few times in each scenario. The Infected have the ability to see Survivors through the walls at a certain range if the Survivors are running, have the flashlight on, or are talking. The Infected can also see in the dark, unlike the Survivors. Infected spawn ahead of the Survivors and can, if they stay still, see a marker for their likely path of advance so they can set up ambushes. Throughout levels, Infected-only ways up buildings are marked with symbols. These can be climbed and used for ambushes, especially with the Infected immunity to falling damage.
Award system
Left 4 Dead will include Steam's achievement system, recording players' accomplishments and mishaps. Part of the intent of this system is to help players to avoid griefers and to find teammates with more experience. The Xbox 360 version will feature 50 official achievements that differ from Steam's achievement system.
Xbox 360 version
The Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead has the same game modes as the PC version. The game supports split screen and system link play. Players can mix split screen and online play in the same game.A new matchmaking system is also included for online play.
Valve will run dedicated servers on Xbox Live for Left 4 Dead.
Characters
The final design of the Survivors. Left to right: Francis, Bill, Zoey, Louis.
The Survivors (original design). Left to right: Louis, Francis, Zoey, Bill.
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The Survivors
There are four playable human characters in the game (hence the "4" in the title). Each player is randomly assigned a character upon joining the server and each character has the same abilities and may use the same weapons.
Louis is a young businessman in a shirt and tie. Francis is a tattoo-covered biker. Zoey is a young woman from a wealthy family. Bill is an older Green Beret Vietnam veteran.
Survivors are armed with various firearms divided into two tiers. The first tier is available for everyone to select from when the scenario starts, in addition to the one or two Springfield Armory GI .45 pistols all Survivors always carry. Weapons in the second tier can be found throughout the maps and at the end of the scenario, just before the final fight. The second tier, in addition to having a wider variety of weapons, also provides weapons that fulfill the same role as first tier weapons but are inherently better, such as replacing the Uzi submachine gun with the M16A3 assault rifle. In addition to firearms, Survivors can also carry a Molotov cocktail or a pipe bomb. The pistols are the only weapon that Survivors can use when they are knocked down by the Infected. All weapons and any other item the Survivor holds can be used to make a close range melee attack. This attack can push targets back to make space, push fellow Survivors or to gain time to reload. A one hit kill can be performed by a bash if the Infected is unaware of the attacking Survivor. In addition to these weapons, machine guns
can be found mounted in defensible positions in some areas of the game.
The Infected
The Infected are Left 4 Dead's foe of the Survivors, and they are partly inspired by the infected from the 2002 film 28 Days Later. The Infected, as opposed to the slow, shuffling zombies associated with Night of the Living Dead or Half-Life, are fast and agile, creating quite a formidable foe. They can be dealt with easily on their own, but in great numbers are difficult to defeat. In addition, there are five mutated Infected who have their own special mutant abilities and are more powerful than the regular Infected.
- The Boomer is a hugely obese Infected that can spew projectile vomit at the Survivors, blinding them and attracting swarms of nearby Infected to them. Boomers blow up when they die, spraying nearby Survivors with blood that also attracts the Infected.
- The Hunter is an agile Infected who can climb walls and jump over rooftops, similar to I Am Legend Infected and Half-Life 2's Fast Zombie. Crouching for some time gives the Hunter access to a powerful pounce attack that pins a Survivor down until the Hunter is knocked off.
- The Smoker has a long, whip-like tongue that can strangle Survivors and drag them away from their team mates, similar to Half-Life's Barnacle and Resident Evil's Licker. When in danger, it can leave a haze of black smoke, distorting the Survivors' vision.
- The Tank, a huge, muscular but noisy Infected, is capable of throwing large items - such as cars - or blocks of concrete. The Tank can take a large amount of damage before dying and can deal a lot of damage. Also, the tank has a "Frustration Meter" which means that control will be taken away from a human player if the Tank does not engage the survivors for a certain time.
- The Witch is the only mutant Infected that cannot be played by human players and appears in all difficulty modes.[They are normally passive and can be avoided by careful players, but flashlight beams, physical contact, and loud sounds such as gunfire or car alarms in their vicinity rouses them. Witches can strike a Survivor down in one hit and can take a large amount of damage.
