coRtALoS
-=[ Retired BF Admin ]=-
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-=[INTRODUCTION]=-
What the game lacks in back story, it makes up for in replayability. A system called "The Director" makes the placement of every zombie different each time you play through, including when your party wipes and needs to restart. While using the same tactic may work a majority of the time, the hardest difficulty settings are what really make the game exciting and challenging. Holding out in many fights take far more than a trigger finger. Strategy, backup planning, and keeping in radio contact with your teammates will determine your survivability.
Friendly Fire is another aspect of the game Steam has made permanently on. While shooting a teammate isn't much of a big deal on the first two difficulty settings, taking a single shot to the back by a shotgun can completely disable a fellow teammate, leaving your party exposed to zombie rushes.
The game is divided primarily into two different styles of play as described below:
-=[CAMPAIGN MODE]=-
- Playable as single or cooperative multiplayer.
- Available on 4 levels of difficulty.
- Up to 4 players can help each other through 4 different campaigns spanning 5 levels each (20 levels total).
The 4 campaigns take you across miles of terrain infested with zombies, many of which are laden with traps to lure a Horde Rush to you, or difficult terrain which can make sticking together challenging.
-=[VERSUS MODE]=-
- Multiplayer only.
- 2 players required, 8 player max.
- 2 full campaigns available for Versus Mode at the time of writing this post.
- Infected players play as special zombie classes.
-=[INFECTED CLASSES]=-
Boomer
![](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f351/cortalos/L4D/BoomerOrig2.jpg)
An extremely obese zombie with blisters and slime covering it's body. These zombies do their damage at close range. Once every (approximately) 30 seconds, you can spray bile on up to 4 nearby Survivors. This bile temporarily blinds players and attracts all nearby zombies to the victim. If no zombies are alive in the general area, they are spawned by the game and immediately charge their targets.
- In addition to their projectile vomit boomers explode when killed sparing the same vomit in all directions. The range is such that a melee hit should, generally, put them at a safe distance to be killed.
Hunter
![](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f351/cortalos/L4D/HunterOrig2.jpg)
These zombies are able to leap far distances to pounce on their target. Once a Survivor is pinned, they're unable to get away until a teammate shoots or shoves one off. They can be detected by their distinctive screams.
- Their pounce can be interrupted if you time a melee attack while they're in mid-air, about to pounce on to you.
- The farther you tackle a Survivor from when leaping at them, the more initial damage you do to them. Pouncing on top of a victim doesn't guarantee you'll injure them.
Smoker
![](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f351/cortalos/L4D/SmokerOrig2.jpg)
This type of zombie has a face covered in growths and boils. Their special attack allows them to use their elongated tongue to pull Survivors over a distance. The smoker has a distinctive cough and leaves a trail of spores wherever it goes, when killed it leaves a cloud of smoke clouding the Survivors' vision.
- Their tongue attack can be used to pull a Survivor out of a fortified area causing the Survivors to have to move to save the victim.
Tank
![](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f351/cortalos/L4D/TankOrig2.jpg)
You'll know when a Tank is coming, from their growls, the ground shaking, and their own music. Yes, they have their own music. If you took the hulk, colored him gray, and removed his lower jaw you'd be looking at a tank. With more health than any other zombie in the game a tank requires all the Survivors' attention to take down. The tank's attack is so powerful that it will knock the victim a few feet backward. It also can rip up huge pieces of the ground to throw at the Survivors, damaging them and stunning them.
- An effective strategy against the tank is to light it on fire and RUN! The fire will eventually kill it and if you aren't wounded tanks wont move any faster than you.
- As the tank remember Survivors only have to be incapacitated. There is little use in beating on an incapacitated Survivor while the rest are filling you with bullets. However if someone else is the tank and you can't slow down the other Survivors it is a decent strategy to finish off what the tank leaves behind.
Witch - (Non-Playable)
![](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f351/cortalos/L4D/WitchOrig2.jpg)
It looks like a crying little girl. Don't be fooled. While they have less health than a tank they can incapacitate, or on expert kill on their first hit. Thankfully most of the time they are avoidable. A witch will be set off by a Survivor making too much noise close by, being shot, or having a flashlight shined on her. You will know when a witch is close by from the eerie choral music that plays and her distinctive moans. Once the Witch kills whoever disturbed her she will run away and despawn.
- If you must fight a witch your best friend is distance. More time to do damage to her is critical if you want everyone to survive.
- Crouching (Ctrl) or walking (Shift) will allow you to sneak much closer to the witch without her noticing. Just don't stay too close for too long!
- This is the only special zombie in the game which cannot be controlled by human players.
Horde Rush - (Non-Playable)
![](http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f351/cortalos/L4D/hordefinal2.jpg)
These waves of Infected are spawned by a Boomer spraying Survivors, exploding on them, when the group stays in the same location for an extended period of time, or sometimes at random. This is just a large swarm of normal zombies which serve as a great distraction while your teammates pounce players separated in the confusion. These zombies can do dramatically more damage to Survivors that are tied up by a Smoker as well.
- Preceded by a distinctive horn in the distance, you'll soon learn to listen for this sound after getting caught by surprised by a wave of zombies.