Genre: First-Person Shooter
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Valve Software
Release Date: November 17, 2009

When Left 4 Dead 2 was announced at Microsoft's press conference last week, cheers went up from the crowd to celebrate the arrival of the sequel to the phenomenally successful zombie-smasher on the Xbox 360 as an exclusive title. It turns out that exclusivity had only extended as far as the console space because on the first day of E3, I managed to get a taste of the gory zombie-slayer on the PC.

A mission from the main campaign was available, and this

Left 4 Dead, developed by Counter-Strike makers Turtle Rock Studios, is a co-operative multiplayer action game, using the Source Engine, and also introducing Turtle Rock's v2.0 A.I. technology. Originally slated for late 2007, delayed until Q1 2008, then rescheduled for Aug./Sept., in a recent interview Valve's Doug Lombardi revealed that while the game is basically complete it will now launch simultaneously on Xbox 360 and PC in November 2008.

At last week's EA pre-E3 event, EA revealed the game is currently scheduled for November 4, 2008.

"By leveraging its industry-leading AI technology and years of Counter-Strike development experience, Turtle Rock is building upon the elements that make Counter-Strike successful and applying them to Left 4 Dead," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "What Counter-Strike did for multiplayer action games, Left 4 Dead will do for co-op games."

Left 4 Dead is built atop the most advanced version of the Source Engine and introduces version 2 of Turtle Rock's artificial intelligence (A.I.) technology.

Left 4 Dead is now scheduled for Aug./Sept. 2008.

Genre: Action/Horror
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Valve
Release Date: November 4, 2008

I came back from an EA event last year raving about Left 4 Dead. Using the Source engine, it creates the kind of zombie apocalypse that a lot of gamers, including myself, have been looking for. You're set down in the middle of a massive horde of fast-moving, angry zombies and left on your own.

You and three of your friends, using limited resources, must shoot your way through an undead-choked environment to (increasingly dubious) safety. You can carry one large gun, up to two pistols,