Left 4 Dead

http://www.l4d.com/

It's a 4-player co-op zombie shooter.  There's also a versus mode where you can play as zombie bosses vs. the four "survivors"

I preordered, so I'm already in the demo (demo releases for everyone else on Nov. 11 and the full game releases Nov. 18), but this would be great to play with folks I know.  My steam ID is Thundertwig, in-game name Polonius.

Anyone interested in playing?

I will definately be playing.

I'll wait and see how it is when it comes out. Be sure to share a review. I've got Fallout 3 and Fable 2 (as well as Warhammer) in the queue, so I'm not looking for a new game just right now.

If it's good, I'll pick it up, though.

I'm playing the demo of this at the moment, along with Fallout 3.  Fallout 3 is, of course, a much more immersive gaming experience than l4d will ever be.  The upside of this, is that l4d is that quick zombie-massacring fix that everyone needs at one time or another.

The atmosphere of the game is great, with lots of ambient noise to freak you out when you're gaming at 2:00am with surround sound speakers (or decent headphones).  The co-op portion is nice so far because you don't generally get TK-ing a-holes (though they do exist), and pretty much any of the specialized zombies you encounter will require the assistance of your teammates to bail you out and save your soon-to-be-eaten rear.

Overall, it isn't "how many shots does it take to kill a zombie," but "how many zombies can I kill before I run out of bullets and get eaten alive."  Most things drop in one well-placed shot from a rifle or shotgun blast, though the sheer numbers are what get you in the end.  Also, nothing like being completely disoriented and being eaten alive while you're lying on the ground hoping that your teammates aren't in the same position.

By the way, the Left 4 Dead demo (even for those without preorders) released today, so if you're intrigued I'd encourage you to check it out.

Of note, L4D is hard.  Especially on Expert.  And it's a lot more fun with people you know (like most of the internet).  So hopefully some of you guys will play and we can get a group going sometime.

If anyone wants to try a particular night, I'd be glad to see if we can get a 4-man going.

I'll probably try to DL it it when I get home tonight, so I might be up for it if anyone else is around. Meet in the Tribunal vent?

I really enjoy this game, so far. I dunno if it's worth $45, but I would definitely pay $25-30 for it. I'm not sure, based on what it offers, why it's selling for a full-price game. Expert mode is really challenging and I enjoy how they switch the AI around every time you do it. It's fun blasting zombies in the face... especially if you're a horror freak like me.

Even though I think it's a tad overpriced, I might still pick it up.

-L-

I think "vs. mode" will add some depth, but yeah, I can't figure out why they're charging $45 for this (my theory is that most of it's on advertising, since they're doing something like a $10 million campaign;  think Valve's trying to go mainstream and using this as a vehicle).  I bought it anyway, just because Valve's built plenty of good faith with TF2, Portal, and Half-Life2, so even if it's a bit much I don't mind supporting the company.

Who else has bought it?

I'm going to be buying it on release, just not from Steam.  I like to have the discs available.  I like the effort they've put in to play to the emotions of the players.  The film grain filter, the Director controlled music, spawns, etc., it's all done to really up the tension.  The demo is very short, but I'm having a lot of fun.  Normal mode was pretty boring, honestly, but I started playing in Advanced mode last night, and that was great.  It was a challenge, but not impossible.  I've also found that the more difficult the game gets, the better people seem to work together, or at least the quality of the players is better. 

If you go to www.left4dead411.com, they have some pretty cool videos there, including a preview of the Death Toll "movie".

I loved it enough to buy a copy on steam. It's pre-downloaded, just awaiting unlock. I've had a lot of fun with it and have enjoyed pretty much every steam title they've produced.

If you aren't part of the Tribunal steam clan, let me know. I can add you next time I'm on.

-L-

Also, a versus mode preview:

http://www.left4dead411.com/left-4-dead-versus-preview-1

I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this after playing the demo the last few days. The AI Director keeps things fresh each game even though we only had two downsized maps to play through. The co-op play feels right for this game and is really fun, and the versus mode should be great too.

I'm likely to pick this up tomorrow evening.

Ok. On Steam, add 'endorphiend'. I'll get you on my list and into the steam guild if you're not there.

Versus mode is killer fun, keeping me up way too late playing!

Versus mode is incredibile. It's so, so addictive.