Anyone who is a fan of George Romero zombie films or even 28 Days/Weeks Later needs to check out the demo they just released of this game. It should be out on the 360 as well as PC, and is one of the best "zombie games" I've played in a long time. In fact, I think it's the best one since "Zombies Ate My Neighbors!" on Sega Genesis/Super Nintendo, albeit the fact that that game was much more cartoonish.
Left 4 Dead is, essentially, a multiplayer co-operative-based first person shooter in which you and a squad of three others (either player or AI-controlled) move from location to location while being attacked and ambushed by zombies of all types. The key points that make this game stand out from the rest are the teamwork required and the innovative artificial intelligence.
Teamwork is important in more ways than one. Here are just some of the ways:
> Giving one another healthkits, etc.
> Reviving teammates or helping pull them up off ledges they've fallen over
> Saving them from zombies that sometimes pin them to the ground or even snatch them with tentacle-like ropes and start to pull them in to be eaten!
The artifical intelligence is very cool and helps make the game different every time you play it. There is an "A.I. Director" that will actually populate the world with zombies at specific locations, and even unleash zombie horde attacks depending on the status and locations of the players. Just as an example: During one play-through, I went downstairs to the first room in the apartments and found myself ambushed by a large group of zombies who broke down a wall to get to me. When I replayed the same segment, the wall never came down and the group of zombies was not present at that same spot! This aspect of the zombie placement/attack methods will keep you on your toes!
Finally, here is a video I recorded showing the game in action: (PC version)
As you can see in the video, it is important to grab items such as health kits and even additional weapons (molotov cocktails as just one example) to aid with your survival and to also help teammates. Unfortunately, I was the only one using a mic and one of our guys even left us midway through the battle, leaving an AI "bot" in his place. This video does a poor job at showing the essence of teamwork, but when you are in a match with three other guys who are using their mics and helping keep the team together, the experience is much more satisfying and thrilling.
But it doesn't stop there.
In the final version of the game, there will also be a "Versus Mode" in which some players control the survivors, while others actually play as the zombies and plot attacks to try and kill off the survivors. I can't wait to try out this mode and to see how it will work on both ends. (How will the zombie/zombie controller players act? What types of attacks will they plan? How will the survivors react? Will they stick together like in the main game mode?)
With that said, I can only say one thing: Play this game! It's a blast.
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