Left4Dead pushes co-op play to the fore

Valve (the makers of Half life) launched the rather excellent Left4Dead a few months back and now I have had a few sessions on it I can confirm I am rather pleased with it.

Only available on Valve's network Steam, L4D is a fast paced FPS set in a zombie infested survivor scenario. The main gut of the game is split into four campaigns and take around an hour to complete. You have the aid of three other companions to help you make your escape from the massing hordes onto a suitable vehicle such as a helicopter or boat.

"Get Thee back Satan!"

I was not particularly impressed with the game initially as I made the mistake of choosing single player (creating your companions as AI controlled). But playing solo is not what this game is all about and to Valve's credit L4D is almost entirely based on co-operative play. At the time of writing the servers are still quite active, so if you are a bit of a Billy-No-Mates like me you can easily find a game of like-minded players to join, though you may find yourself in the middle of a campaign and so end up with less score.

But L4D is best played with your mates as I discovered last week. The in-game voice chat makes communication a doddle and you won't have time to argue as you will be too busy fending off the zombies and saving each other's necks. Every game plays out slightly different too, as the zombies have a number of different places where they can spring from, designed of course to scare the shit out of you!

All things considered, it's a perfect hour of entertainment if you can round up some mates.