Left 4 Dead Preview

Contrary to that, Survivors have different challenges. One of the available scenarios begins on a rooftop and you're armed with a single pistol. Close by is a table crammed with diverse weapons (shotguns and Uzis mostly), ammo, health kits and grenades. Each character class selects a chief weapon, on top of grabbing a med kit and a grenade-type weapon of their choice - actually, you choose between a Molotov cocktail or a pipe bomb. From here on, it's zombie-killing time. Collaborating with teammates, the players reach a checkpoint (marked by a red door), where the entire surviving group can recuperate and restock. After the checkpoint is reached, statistics and achievements are displayed and the following section of the map is loaded.

Never hurts to have some target practice.

Blow him out of the sky!

One of the most important aspects of L4D is a set of technologies the developers like to refer to as, The Director. It was designed to ensure that each scenario brings a unique experience. It's a system devised to keep an eye on the pace of the game, so, for instance, if Survivors have outmatched the Infected, the Director sends a bunch of Boss Infected into the fray. In other words, Survivors can never tell where and when the enemy will come from. The Director doesn't always play fair, mind you. When a single Survivor makes it to a checkpoint, he then has to blast his way through hordes of foes, to the next checkpoint. The trick is, The Director can easily throw the same number of enemies he would normally do when there are four Survivors still standing. It's up to the poor sap to fight alone and reach the next checkpoint in order to revive his teammates.

Speaking of the basic gameplay mechanics, the developer's firm intention is to separate Left 4 Dead from a majority of other multiplayer classic dominating the gaming scene - Doom, UT, Counter-Strike, etc. Unlike any of the mentioned shooters, this is co-op game and collaborating with friends is the only way to persevere.

Built on the latest version of Valve's Source engine, Left 4 Dead promises to do a fine job of conveying a visually up-to-date atmosphere. In addition to featuring fluent animation and detailed-looking character models, the game also strives towards a horror-like ambience, so you can expect plenty of gore and violence.

I've saved the best bit for the end. The PC version should hit stores this summer, with an X360 edition following. I'm sure this will please all PC-enthusiasts.

As for the Xbox 360, Turtle Rock is keen to see the game come to life via Xbox Live. We'll see how it all turns out in the end. They're also thinking of allowing both PC and X360 versions of the game to play together, but no additional news was revealed on that front so far. Sit tight, people, this could be a good one.