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Gameplay : 9/10
Graphics : 9/10
Sound : 8/10
Value : 6/10

Left 4 Dead was announced to the public sometime ago, promising intense co-op gameplay as you fight to survive against the relentless AI director controlling 100's of zombies. For the most part it delivers this promise in true fashion, but lacks in variety and suffers from a terrible matchmaking client.

Left 4 Dead. 4 Survivors. 100's of Zombies. Guns. Go

Thats the basic premise of the whole game. 4 players take on the survivors ( Zoey, Francis, Bill and Louis ) as they try to make it through each campaign and get to safety at the end of each one. The game can be played on various difficulties, with expert being the hardest. If you plan to tackle expert, you may need to organize a team as it is seriously damn hard!, and random people may not cut it.

So during the 4 Campaigns, you will find various weapons such as a Hunting rifle, Automatic Shotgun, Molotov's and my personal favorite, the Pipe bomb which attracts all zombies on screen then blows them to shreds. Each Campaign is layered into different levels, each campaign could easily last about an hour each play depending on everyones skill level.

2 of the 4 Campaigns can be played in "Versus" mode, which is a heck load of fun. 4 Players take the roles of survivors, whilst another 4 takes the roles of the Special Infected. The special infected consists of a hunter who pounces and scratches at the survivors, A boomer who spews and attracts common infected, A Smoker who pulls and chokes the Survivors with his tongue And finally the Tank. A Gargantuan Beast that the survivors will have to team up on if they hope to survive against.
The Infected teams goal is simple, Stop the Survivors from finishing the level. There is a great teamwork element involved, as setting traps and ambushes is key to bring down the survivors.
Both teams takes turns until the distance you cover as a team is measured into points and then totaled into a final score.

The graphics in Left4Dead are not mind blowing, but the style and look are fantastic. Anyone familiar with the source engine will feel at home here, as objects in the half life games make some appearances here.
The lighting and film grain effects in this game are marvelous, alleyways and dark rooms have a sinister look to them, whilst luminous areas are a hint of where to go next.
Each characters facial expressions are unique and interesting, they really bring out each persons character and style. Common infected are greatly differed also, so you wont be fighting 20 "cop" zombies at once.
The environments differ from streets, to apartments and even an Air Port.
All are rendered beautifully, and it looks amazing in Full HD quality.

The Sound of Left4Dead is surprisingly quite good for a zombie survival game. All the infected have distinctive growls and hisses, and the special infected all have there unique noises, so you know what to expect around the corner just by listening. The music is heavily randomized depending on your experience. The music may be dim, but then suddenly a random chord is played - just to scare you. The soundtrack relies heavily on Dark Pianos and strings, and abit of modern bass strewn throughout.

The Value is what really brings Left4Dead down from the perfect Zombie Game. You are only given 4 Campaigns, and only 2 of them playable in versus! Though knowing valve there will be plenty of content down the line, but seriously, $100 for a product with 4 levels is quite Ridiculous. Maybe its best to wait, for valve to release new content and the price to drop before you pick up this game. But if your looking for a solid co-op zombie experience, look no further, Left4Dead is the Definitive Co-Op Zombie game, Or at least it will be when the contents released.