As I was first writing this post the entire thing consisted of one word written as big as this column width would allow:

Though that is entirely accurate of my feelings toward the game I have a conscience nagging at me saying that I should probably elaborate a little bit for you all. Besides, this game has been so damn high on my list of WANT NOW that it deserves more than just a single, perfect word. Read on to find out how the demo plays.

The demo let’s you try out both the online versions of the co-op campaign and a solo version of the campaign with AI-controlled teammates. The versus mode (where some people control some of the zombies) is not playable. I played through the solo campaign twice and both times it was a remarkably different experience though it was exactly the same level. The basic idea it to get from point A to point B alive. The maps were set up to give you a few different options of achieving that goal with a couple of gun and ammo stops spread out along the way. Each character can carry a heavy weapon with limited ammo (uzi, shotgun, assault rifle), pistols with infinite ammo (single or dual-wield), a health pack used to heal a teammate, a bottle of pills to give yourself a temporary health boost and a hand-held bomb (be it a molotov cocktail, pipe bomb or the like). You need to find a balance with the weapons since you need to conserve some of your ammo, but this game isn’t Resident Evil stingy with bullets.

What’s great about this game is that it is everything I’ve always wanted a zombie game to be. The zombies react exactly like I expect them to. One little foul up or separation from the team and you’ll find yourself flooded and overrun with undead. Sometimes they’re just aimlessly fumbling around, sometimes they’re above you ready to pounce, sometimes a huge group of them comes running around a corner. When that happens your adrenaline kicks in to overdrive and you just start firing and swatting as quickly as you can. Sometimes you’ll get pinned down and one of your teammates has a set amount of time to rescue you. You’ll also get messages if someone else is pinned giving you the chance to play hero.

There are also a few different types of zombies. “Normal” ones that mainly populate the world. Big fat ones (I have to apologize since I don’t remember exactly what each type is called in-game) that cover everything in a zombie-attracting goo when blown up. “Smokers” that have a long tongue that can grab you and pull you towards them but cause a distracting cloud of smoke when killed. There are also ones that seem to specialize in leaping at you from great distances. You’ll also encounter one “super zombie” in the demo that is a bit more powerful and takes a few more bullets to take down. All in all it makes for an interesting circumstance when they’re all attacking you at the same time.

What little I played of the game made me mark the calendar and consider taking a day off of work for launch. This is game is pure balls-to-the-wall FUN. I can’t wait to jump in with a group of friends and take this on, it’s the ultimate co-op game. You can be damn sure we’ll be talking about this game in a week or so when it finally releases. If you want to play the demo now be sure to preorder L4D on Steam and drop me a line or friend request so we can wreck house together.