Left 4 Dead

Lights, camera, death! You and your friends are the nerve-wracked stars of Left 4 Dead, Valve's new first-person zombie-fest. Russ Fischer provides food for thought. Human food.

Great game. I've been playing this a lot lately.

One of the things I liked best about the game was that it de-emphasized the constant search for guns and weapons all too common in your standard FPS. You have either a shotgun, or an automatic weapon. There's the hunting rifle and some variations on assault weapons, but it's not like other games where special weapons get handed out like candy. The game really emphasizes team work both online and offline. That's something I don't usually see in a lot of shooter games. Usually, I spend my time online listening to 12 year-olds shout "powned you! powned you!" until I can take it any more. This was the first game I've played online where folks said "Thanks", or "Don't worry I've got him!". Not a lot of insults, just really good fun.

By the way, nobody seems to notice the little messages written on the walls in the safe houses. I thought those were a lot of fun just as a little element of realism. It really lent to the whole cinematic feel of the game.