Valve have fast become one of the most respected dev houses in the world and that reputation appears to be cemented further by the release of their latest gem, Left 4 Dead. Notorious for having vast periods between releases, when they do launch a title it is always a quality, polished game that often remains played for months after. Almost a community within itself, their software development kits are often released at the same time as their games so as to promote and encourage further development of their games by way of mods, maps and other game enhancements to their excellent titles that have a foundation built from realistic physics, ground breaking graphics and map design that is believable amongst their virtual environments.

Left 4 Dead continues this trend by wrapping a fast pace zombie apocalypse shooter within a game world that is terrifyingly real, if not believable, whilst including the single most important thing for long term playback value – co-op play.

I’ve been playing this game now since its launch day almost obsessively. Over Christmas I clocked up enough hours to embarrass me into not disclosing publicly the figure. As a fan of the Half Life series, the fast paced action sits perfectly between your FPS brain dead game such as Quakeworld or other death match titles and the more strategic titles such as Counter Strike Source. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that this offers far more strategic compensation that results in the apparently infinite replay value.

Versus mode is naturally the piece de resistance. By placing you and your team in the control of the enemy zombies, taking down an opposing team of survivors is a perversely satisfying experience. The first time my boomer vomited on an unsuspecting survivor, attracting my zombie hordes, I grinned so violently I think I scared myself.

With the community already in a frenzy with mods and upgrades, the game is guaranteed a prosperous life. I’ve already committed ridiculous hours to it and every new play brings new strategic considerations that continue to add replay value.

Best game I’ve played since the original Halo. I wish Valve all the success in continuing to provide us gamers with such awesome, quality titles.