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Left 4 Dead's special units are more like cartoon super-villains than horror monsters
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Valve's recent title, Left 4 Dead, has all the makings of a modern horror masterpiece. It features a ragtag group of survivors who find themselves grossly outnumbered as they make their way to safety through dark and treacherous territory, while facing overwhelming odds against a never-ending onslaught from the hordes of the recently risen dead. Sounds great, and as far as fun factor goes, it is. However, in the midst of all the killing and constant attacks, you find yourself wondering where the horror atmosphere went. Thats right about the time you get grabbed by a another Smoker and the realization sets in. The special units in Left 4 Dead are more like cartoon super-villains than horror monsters.
This would be fine if the rest of the game didn't try so hard to capture a horror-esque essence. Instead of fighting merely zombie hordes, Valve decided to throw in these special units to add flavor to the game. Thats understandable, but their presence completely changes the feel of the game. Instead of fighting the swarms of anonymous living dead we find ourselves becoming acquainted with sentient arch-villains. We learn the names of these enemies and begin to recognize their sounds and tactics before even seeing them. Since each special unit has only one model it feels as if you're fighting the same entity throughout the game instead of hordes of faceless undead. This causes the actual horde of zombies to become merely a back setting as your true fight is with these special units. This results in more of a comic book themed action adventure than anything close to horror.
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