Left 4 Dead is a game that defies what you think it should be: a short, mediocre shooter with a bunch of zombies. But, despite the simple concept of the game, it has this special "it" factor about it that makes it a great game, and an ultimate party game for you and a few friends.

Explaining what makes L4D so good, is rather difficult. It doesn't really offer anything innovative as far as shooter controls or concepts. There aren't a lot of weapons. There are not a lot of characters to choose from. The graphics are only OK. There are only 4 chapters to play through, and the campaign is not very long. So, from that list, you could wonder what it is about this game that is just so special.

Well, with everything the game lacks, it makes up for it in fun. And that fun comes from having 4 Live buddies (or system link friends) to share the experience with. Its obvious that this game is meant for co-op play. Teamwork is essential, and you have to work with your friends in order survive your last stand moments as your team waits for the evac vehicle to pick you up.

While 4 chapters doesn't seem like enough, the game makes every experience different from the last if you decide to replay. The majority of the time, the games AI director will be pretty random with boss placements and large horde attacks. Depending on how well you or your team are doing, the Director seems to scale things accordingly, making survival tougher or easier for you and your friends.

When a game relies so much on teamwork and cooperation, it can be be problematic depending on your circumstances. If you're playing with friends that you know will stick with you to the end, then all is fine. But playing with random strangers over live can be hit or miss at times. You may occasionally come across a group that's willing to work together, but there are also times that you will find people that like to Rambo their way through the game and do their own thing. This of course leaves you and/or your teammates at a disadvantage and makes it harder to clear through a chapter.

Also, be aware that you will also come across people without mics in online games, which of course makes it hard to communicate things properly. Of course, there is a way boot people who are less helpful or just annoying, and the game will let bots take over until someone else jumps in. Although the bots are helpful at times, they tend to have a mind of their own in crucial moments.

The single player is pretty much the same game as the online co-op. But if you have a Live connection, there really isn't much of a need to go through that unless you just want to play alone. Of course, doing so will take away half of the fun this game provides. On the other hand, for a change of pace, there is the online versus mode which allows you to play as the survivors, or as the infected. As the infected, your job is to wear down the survivor team and keep them from making out in one piece. Its a nice adittion to the game, and should offer some more funny moments between friends.

Overall, L4D is a game that has the potential somehow suck you in and keep you coming back for more. Its not full of content, and its not the longest game in the world. And there are people who will be turned off by paying 60 bucks for this type of game. However, if you have a gold subscription to Xbox Live, you owe to yourself to play this game with a group of friends, even if you have to rent it. You'll at least be able to get some enjoyment out of it, and should come away with a satisfying good time and great stories of how you survived.

Left4dead is the most recent release from Valve, in which you three other players are given the seemingly simple task of survival. With 4 classes of weaponry, 2 types of healing items, and 3 other companions, it seems like an easy task, eh? Determined to give us a hard time, Left4Dead employs the AI Director, an omnipotent artificial intelligence God who gauges how well you and your partners happen to be doing and changes the environment from there. From the placement of ammo, weapons and health, to the number and level of zombies bring throw your way. The normal zombies can sidle their way towards you like the original Night of the Living Dead zombies, or the extremely fast zombies of the remake of Dawn of the dead, and they swarm over you with twice the ferocity. Every so often the AI director will place "boss zombies", which are essentially like the uber zombies of the Resident Evil series, each with their own quirks and specialties. And make no mistake, if you seem to be doing better than you should, the Director isn't averse to cheating as they'll have zombies break through the drywall or bosses explode from the ceiling if they have to.

It's precisely this feature that sets Left4Dead apart from the rest of the competition, in that it is completely unpredictable, and every play through will be unbearably different. To vary it even more, you have the four different characters, with the possibility of four player online cooperative, or 2 player local play. And this is where the game shines, playing a game with 3 other strangers. You begin to take on the characters yourself, and your choices have far more weight here than in games like Fable II, which tout that ability as a main gameplay aspect. If you don't give the health to Bill, he might not be able to help you fight against the Tank. Will that shotgun come in handy against the hordes, or is the M-16 the last word in zombie eradication? When it comes down to four people asking these questions, it becomes an interesting experience, to say the least.

But of course, if you don't have any friends, the AI for the survivors is still great. The only problem here is that your comrades can and will fluctuate heroic leads, to brainless zombies themselves. Despite this, they're generally helpful (if not a little too passive), and will rush to save and help you when the need be. They actually remind me of my dog from Fable II, or maybe even Epona from Ocarina of time.

I also dabbled in multiplayer, but it still follows the same formula as the campaign, except now you have the ability to play as the boss zombies as well. There are two teams, each trying complete their campaign, and then stop the opposite team from doing the same. It goes in a pattern of playing one level as the survivors, and one as the zombies. I'll admit, that it is engaging and interesting at first, but I'll honestly not play it again after this.

My biggest issue is that there are only 4 campaigns in co-op (only two levels available for multiplayer), and though varied and interesting, still become a little stale after a few play-throughs. I'm sure we'll see some new DLC soon, but I would have liked at least 6 different campaigns to start. I'm also not wild about the audio. The voice overs are great, actually, but get boring after some extended play. Also, I've never been crazy about Valve's choice of music, which is admittedly better than the techno-nonsense in the Half-Life series, but not great enough to compel me not to turn on custom soundtracks.

Besides all this, I highly recommend the game to all Xbox and PC gamers, and I personally think it's a wonderful game to bring your girlfriends (or boyfriends) into video gaming, if not also a great party game. Take Gears II out of the disc tray for a moment, and give this a try, you won't be dissapointed.

I started playing this game in the evening and it scared the sheet out of me. The zombies came from every direction and in hordes. One thing, if it says some cars have alarms that means don't shoot them. It attracts every zombie even close. It is freakin' awesome go play it.

I am a beta tester. When I got this game I was..... 1st Gotcha MotherF**kers This game is gonna suck c*ck and you f**king know it, anyway that is why I will love it.