I've talked a lot about why Left 4 Dead 2 is a fun game, but today I feel like discussing why it is so particularly good at cooperative gameplay. There's a difference between having fun in a co-op game, and being able to execute strategies that may be complicated, but ultimately pay off. Some games, such as the Lego and New Super Mario Bros. games, offer only the former option. Even Borderlands, as fun as it is, didn't ever feel it benefited from co-op outside of being crazy and rampant with others. Sure, being with other people can augment an experience, but the Left 4 Dead series has taken cooperative gameplay to heights we didn't think plausible. There may be a steep learning curve in place, but because you're able to get into the game and have fun with complete newbies, Left 4 Dead succeeds as a cooperative series.
Let's make some noise together. Er, actually, no, keep quiet.
While I think Left 4 Dead 2 is the better game overall, and it was made by Valve, Turtle Rock Studios laid MUCH of the groundwork in the original title. The premise of the series is simple; four characters must travel from one end of a level to the other, where a saferoom is located. The levels are put together in campaigns, with the end of a campaign having some form of rescue for the survivors that ultimately links into the start of another campaign. Along the way, the survivors must work together to fend off the Infected, which come in two forms; the Common Infected, which are normal humans who have lost their higher brain functioning, gained increased strength, and are driven by a highly aggressive nature. They aren't zombies; instead of trying to bite you, they'll pummel and kick you, purely out of aggression. Besides the Common are the Special Infected, which include the Boomer, Smoker, Hunter, Tank, and Witch, with the Charger, Spitter, and Jockey being introduced in Left 4 Dead 2. Most modes have the players play as the survivors, but there are Versus and Scavenge, that let a team of survivors take on a group of Special Infected controlled by human players instead of AI.
There are several systems in place that augment the cooperative experience of Left 4 Dead. First of all, the survivors aren't defined as being "the tank" or "the soldier"; every character has the same heath and abilities as the other three. While this works for some games like Borderlands, I think that it would have hurt Left 4 Dead had it been implemented. Some characters are favored more than others, and this would have severely limited the adaptability of the team. Some players are more adapt with certain weapons, so they use those. A team can opt to have one character as a dedicated sniper, but they don't need to; each player can use what works for them. Some weapon combinations aren't always preferable, but the fact that anyone can use anything will eliminate some bickering over who gets to be what class, etc.
Health is finite throughout a level, but it's balanced for the survivors. The Director, the behind-the-scenes AI that regulates the game, will place enough health throughout the level to give the survivors a chance, but also enough enemies to give them a challenge. Something that's also helpful is that health can be shared between everyone. If another survivor doesn't have pills or adrenaline, you're able to give them yours if they need it. Health kits can be used to heal yourself, or others; having no dedicated healer eliminates being dependent on one teammate, or the need to protect them. Again, any player can fit any role they please. Of course, there is always the potential for a player to choose to not share their excess items; this can be a problem, but ultimately those players will be checked by the others not helping them in their time of need.
The level design of the campaigns is also an integral part of making the game work well for co-op. One place that came to me immediately was a point in the third level of Dark Carnival. Inside the tunnel of love's maintenance room, there's a hole in the floor that requires the survivors to jump down, with no way of returning. Little moments like these make cooperation necessary; if someone gets caught by a Smoker before they fall, someone needs to be there to save them. Sure, they can be saved in a rescue closet later, but by then the team may be hurting too much. Just losing one character can destroy a team. Usually, the Director has either two or three incapacitators out (in the original Left 4 Dead, this usually meant two Hunters), and one or two passive Special Infected. If one survivor is down, and then a Boomer attacks the remaining three, it can be game over; a Hunter could pounce one of the three, and a Spitter could leave a nasty acid puddle that the survivors are unaware of, leading to unintentional health loss and possible incapacitation.
Of course, there are several means of communication that the game has in place, in case of any dangers that other players aren't aware of. Besides the voice and chat functions, there are also verbal cues let out by the survivors themselves. This feature is critical, because sometimes some survivors will be at a place where they are able to see something dangerous, but the others aren't. Upon seeing really any Special Infected, a survivor will call out to the others with "WITCH!", "BOOMER!", or something along the lines of "Green thing!". Small audio tunes are also put in place as warnings, helping the characters all stay alert and aware of each others' condition. The auto-speak is also true for weapons, throwables, ammunition, and health items, as well as certain hazards in the environment. Those environmental musings also make the game feel more natural, like the characters are working together; something as simple as "we can get down here" just makes the characters feel like a team, and thus you feel like you're on a team with the people you're playing with. The audio cues can also be used whenever players want, too; there are two radial menus assigned to the Z and X keys, and moving the mouse in one of eight directions will allow the character to call something out. The default ones have things like "Ready!" and "I'll follow you!", but there are mods online that let you customize them to include things like "TAAAANK!" and such.
Let's make some noise...as in, screaming.
In modes involving a survivor team and an Infected team, things become more complicated than just "you crown the Witch!"; however, it's in these modes that the game truly shines. If one of the teams doesn't cooperate together, than the other is almost certain to dominate them. Smart Infected will prey on lagging survivors not being watched by their group, which can then we a set up for a great attack. Envision this, for example; a lagging survivor is pulled back by a Smoker, who scratches away at their health. A Boomer spawns and gets the one or two Survivors that have come back to rescue the smoked one. Finally, a Jockey or Hunter gets the one who rushed ahead a bit, and is now coming back to stay with the group. It's attacks like these that put in and to a group in seconds, or at least, devastate them enough to force them to use all their available health items. Simply put, coordination is key.
I mentioned before how the level design was pretty important; well, in Versus, it's even moreso. On the first level of Dead Center, Smokers can snag survivors from the floor below to pull them off a ledge, where they need to be rescued by someone else. While the survivors scramble to try and get them up, a Spitter can inflict massive damage by getting a good spit right in the middle of them, and a Charger can take the opportunity to knock one survivor off the roof for an instant kill. This may sound like the Infected have it easy, but that's not the case; if just one of the Infected fails, the other two or three are now the focus, which means the survivors are more coordinated and alert of them. Part of the Infected's success is really creating confusion; who's being attacked, and who do I save first? However, once all the Infected are down, the survivors can easily plow through the Common Infected to gain significant ground. This can hurt the Infected's morale, as well as cause them to lose a good attack opportunity. Nowadays, veteran players will say "set up at the window", or something specific. Losing the ability to get a team at a choke point can lead to losing an entire round.
Just like straggling players hurt an entire team, so do failed attacks by the Infected, especially when they're not coordinated. One Infected, thinking they can just attack the survivors alone, may spawn and try to attack, only to die immediately. Why did they die so fast? It was four versus one; they stood no chance, and had no back-up. This creates problems later because when the other three Infected are ready to spawn and attack, they're missing an ally, which could help them at a key time; what if that ally is a Boomer that can cause confusion, or a Charger that could scatter the team? The Infected need to coordinate their attacks not only to make them effective, but also to eliminate wasted ones; attacking alone will almost always do nothing helpful.
In Scavenge mode, cooperative actions are so necessary that not doing one can result in being vote kicked automatically. This is true for both sides; sure, this deters some players from actually engaging in the mode, but it does enforce the idea that, to do well, you can't play the game like it's Borderlands, or Resident Evil 5; you NEED to cooperate. If one character is throwing cans up, and two others are covering them, what should you be doing? Pouring them into the generator, of course! Leaving them alone makes them vulnerable to be burned by a Spitter, and will result in your chastisement. Conversely, if there's one player who's caught by your ally Smoker on a part of the map with a death pit, and you're a Charger, what should you do? Charge them off into the pit for an instant kill! Wasting a Charger is almost always a guaranteed vote kick, because Chargers are rare and often necessary to win matches.
Ultimately, what makes Left 4 Dead so great as a cooperative game is that it doesn't make cooperative actions beneficial; it makes them necessary. Working with others to achieve success reinforces the idea of cooperation even more, and made me want to go back. The satisfaction from working together with complete strangers is actually pretty great. Well, that's all I've got for today; share your thoughts on how the series excels (or doesn't...but preferably does..) below!
Peace.