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As I walked by the Valve booth, the television sets in front of the Left 4 Dead booth were not fully occupied. This greatly confused me, so I stood and watched a trio of players lay waste to the impending undead horde since I was unsure if the available controller was broken. But when “Francis has been pinned!” popped up, I decided to risk it and dove for the control pad. I was willing to deal with the following consequences if the demo seat was vacant for a particular reason.

After all, if I didn’t try, I’d have Francis’ blood on my hands for the rest of my life.

So I grabbed the Xbox 360 controller and pumped shotgun shell after shotgun shell in to the mass of hungry zombies who had dogpiled poor Francis, and without so much as grazing the tattooed biker I had successfully saved his ass from certain death. The long haired bearded bloke to my left looked at me and nodded before quickly looking back to the screen to unload his remaining pistol rounds in to the face of the final monster, which promptly exploded in what can only be described as the most disgusting use of gore I have ever seen.

I audibly inform myself that “this is incredible” and make a mental note that I am to pre-order this four-player-cooperative shooter the second my plane touches down at home.

The Left 4 Dead demo is now surrounded in PAX attendees, and I’m excited to have launched for the chance to play when I did. Gasps, hoots and hollers are heard as my three teammates and I run as fast as we can for the roof to meet our extraction. A narrow hallway fills with speedy zombie folk who vomit all over Francis – who’s having another stroke of bad luck, apparently – but the team covers their entrance with dual pistols and evacuates the office with wounds and a low ammo count. Thankfully, a weapons shack on the roof contains a closet that houses a rack of M16s and we’re prepped and ready for the next wave of brilliant (even for zombies) AI enemies to flood our current keep.

Francis plays it risky and sticks to ground level while the female character I followed to higher ground cover him from above while fending off the most agile and acrobatic undead I’ve ever encountered. I empty clip after clip in to the unique faces of differently dressed deadites, but it isn’t enough to save Francis, who has once again been covered in chomp-happy reanimated humans. By the time the three of us have covered the ground, walls and air with zombie blood, Francis has been gobbled up.

He’s toast, as made evident by his “Fuck!” to my left. Obviously, going solo isn’t an option, which the other player immediately realized and climbed from the top of the weapon shack to my roof. Now there’s three of us watching an unrelenting and never ending mindless mass swarm towards us. The other mass to our rear lets out an “Aww…” in apparent pity for us.

The woman character leaps down to the front of the ladder we climbed to get to this safe haven like an idiot, and I feel obliged to play the rescue-hero once again. The third feels the same. With the three of us on ground level again, we’re eye to eye with an endless sea of undead who fall dead to our stream of M16 induced headshots. Since we’re in sync, our guns run dry before the “bosses” – hulking creatures who move slow and hurt hard – and the lady kicks the bucket. I’m alone, legitimately frightened and verbally calling for help to the remaining player to my right, who informs me that he has also fallen victim to the giant.

Seconds later, I am wounded and down, but am still able to aim. Before I can squeeze off a shot, however, I’m pinned and eaten alive.

Even the crisp controls, variety of weapons and verbal communication between the four of us wasn’t enough to keep us alive. We were outwitted by what must have been a hundred zombies in a swarm, and despite having been brutalized, I’m not the least bit angry.

Left 4 Dead was the best demo on the show floor at PAX, because it’s easily the best multiplayer I’ve ever experienced. The emotional connection between myself and three total strangers was strong enough to have each other belt out orders of the utmost importance without feeling like we had a “captain,” and with a fully realized ambiance, the game is horrifyingly freaky from start to finish.

How soon that finish comes depends on how smart you play. Trying to fly solo will only get you munched on, so stick close to your friends unless you want to bow out early. Left 4 Dead has become my personal most anticipated game of the year – if the interaction with these strangers was any indication, then by the time you get online with your friends there shouldn’t be any reason to play anything else.
Ever again.