Left 4 Dead Redefines What Co-Op Modes Should Be

It might be a bit hard (read: very hard) to wait for Half-Life 2: Episode Three to surface, but Valve hasn’t been slack in delivering updates to their current games to give us something to do. To help make us forget HL2 for a while longer, they just released a brand-new title called Left 4 Dead that furthers their stance on just how important multi-player gaming is.

With L4D, they took things to the next level. While some games offer co-op gameplay as an option, Valve encourages it to such a great degree, that the single-player campaign is highly discouraged by all of the reviews I’ve seen so far. Ars Technica is one such site to take a look at the game, and overall, “Left 4 Dead was a game that was made with love” just about says it all.

Their review puts the game in a great light, noting that the Source engine still has what it takes to deliver a great-looking experience, the audio looks (or sounds) to be top-rate, and despite the fact that the game is short, the replayability is high, which is something I’ve read in every review I’ve taken a look at. Overall, Valve has a winner on their hands, and I only wish I had time to play it now.

It’s surprising that a game that only has five to six hours of content has been made infinitely replayable via the AI that mixes things up. Every time I step into a level I move slowly and cautiously; you never know what you’re going to see around the corner. The camraderie that comes with playing with good friends and defending their characters is also a big draw; you’ll be recounting the stories of your exploits to bored wives and girlfriends for the next few months.