white noise

(Sorry ’bout the Photoshop above – I could not resist!)
The game “Left 4 Dead” was released last week following up recent Valve hits like Team Fortress and Portal. Do you dig zombie flicks? Do you like games where you run around like a maniac throwing molotovs and racking up headshots? If you answered yes, this game is one you can’t miss.

The gameplay itself is pretty standard FPS. In fact, a little simple really. As a lowly survivor in the zom-pocalypse you don’t have racks of different weapons on you. There aren’t tons of powerups and armor upgrades littering the map. No, this is running and gunning in the simplest form.

Where things really shine is in the inventive multiplayer modes. In one variation you can play through survivial campaigns as a 4 person co-op. The interaction between players is tight as you fight your way through undead hordes and includes some new tricks like healing teammates. Even though there only four campaigns and the maps are pretty linear, the AI does a good job of randomization. The bar is raised even further in multiplayer “versus” mode. In this case two teams of 4 face off in a campaign with each alternating between the roles of survivors and infecteds. It’s essentially a 4v4 team deathmatch with a neat twist. The survivor team races to complete each map, while the zombie team tries to stop them. Though the zombie team doesn’t have firearms, each has their own special ability to deal out damage. They also have the help of hundreds of lowly AI zombies, and can occasionally spawn as a super-zombie “Tank”. From the games I’ve played, the two very different teams seem actually very well balenced. If you pick it up, hit me up on Steam, I’ll show you my boom stick.