I've got a soft-spot for the Undead. Not only are they completely objectified in today's pop culture, but they've also been the scapegoat for the end of the world time and time again. Let us not forget that they were just like us at one time, and were it not for this oppressive cast system of living vs. non-living, we might be more understanding of them and their plight.
However, the one objection I have to zombies is the fact that they will not stop until they eat my brain. As such, I have no choice but to shotgun them in the face.
Best thought of as "28 Days Later: The Game," "Left 4 Dead's" premise is simple: You and three other friends are the last survivors of an infected city teaming with hordes of brain-eaters. Thousands in fact. And they just keep coming. You and your posse have to get from one end of the city to the other in order to be rescued, along the way there are safe houses that give you a short respite, ammo, and health kits before having to venture out again.
Also along the way to safety is the zombie apocalypse and there is no escape from the swarm without serious teamwork and lots of bullets. Although the routes to the safe-houses and the progression through each level is linear and unchanging, the implementation of Valve's "AI Director" dynamically changes the enemies' spawn-points, difficulty, type, and volume depending on how well or how poorly the team is doing. This means that as the team works together more cohesively, the number of enemies, frequency of attacks, and difficulty of attack will change on the fly. In addition, the location of weapons, health kits, and ammo will change dynamically with each game- so players can't just plan on making it to a certain room where a Molotov cocktail will be, because it may not be there at all.
Given how well the "AI Director" adjusts difficulty on the fly, and the fact that "L4D" was built from the ground-up to be a cooperative experience, straying outside of the group is guaranteed to get you overwhelmed by zombies, knocked down, and have to be rescued by your teammates. If you go unaided too long, you will die and respawn in a closet somewhere in the level for your friends to find and free you. But if you've been a jerk to your teammates, hording all of the health packs and ammo to yourself, they could just leave you in the closet to rot.
Though you can play the game solo and have the computer control, rather competently, the other three characters, "L4D" is really meant to be enjoyed communally. Split-screen play between two players on the same couch is good, but four-players over Xbox Live is ideal (or through Valve's "Steam" gaming service on PC). Despite how completely satisfying this game is, and the promise of more downloadable levels on the way, if you are not someone who games online, it may be better to pass on this title until it drops in price.
For all others: this is a can't miss title.
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