As you might of heard in Aeropodcast #57, I have been middle of the road for Left 4 Dead up to this point.  I thought it was a neat concept, but it just was not a game that had grabbed my interest.  After talking to Julian Murdoch, Fourhman and Jeremy, I decided to get the public demo off of Steam as soon as I got a chance to do so.  After spending about two hours with the demo in four player mode online, I am sold on the game.

So what changed my mind, and got me off of the fence on Left 4 Dead.  Primarily, it is the team play that really sells the game.  Left 4 Dead can be played in a single player mode, but I found that playing it by yourself is rather dull.  The AI is good, but nothing spectacular.  But when you get four players into a game of Left 4 Dead, you get a new, fresh experience.  One time I played, I had a great team, with all of us calling out enemies, and coordinating our movements.  As a matter of fact, most of my games were like this, with everyone getting in line and working together as a team.  In one game this did not happen, and we were slaughtered because of it.

One other thing that popped into my head as I played Left 4 Dead, was the fact that the Source engine is four years old now, and still kicking along, looking as great as always.  Left 4 Dead looks to tweak the engine a bit, but Valve has created a special engine, that runs great and delivers on a great gaming experience.

All was not perfect.  I had two lockups with the demo, and there are some collision issues here and there.  I am sure the code will smooth out with the final release, but game locking bugs are a scary thought this close to release.

Check out the demo if you have not already.  It is now publicly available on both Steam and the Xbox Live Marketplace.  If you are looking for a fourth, find me on Steam.  I am always looking to take out a few members of the zombie nation.