Developer: VALVE
Genre: First Person Shooter as Survivors and Anything from First Person Puker to Licker as the Infected
Release Date: November 18, 2008 Out now!
Multiplayer: Co-Op 2-4 players against the Computer, Up to 8 Players on Live (4 Survivors vs. 4 Infected)

Introduction:

The Nazi Zombies in the Endgame of COD World at War are going to have to step up their game if they want to get their hands on Braaaaaaaiiiins.  The sick and twisted minds at Valve, the masterminds that brought you Half-Life, Counter-Strike and the OG Online Game Team Fortress bring you a sick and twisted game we find worthy enough to share you a in depth review of the Online gameplay.

Story:

(1) Survivors
        Bill, Francis, Louis, and that bitch Zoey.  The whole city has turned infected and you're lucky enough to be one of the four survivors left in the city.  Don't get your hopes up though, it's kinda like going to bar right outside a military base where the male to female ratio is 500 to 1, same rules apply here, only it's zombies that are plentyful and you're one of the over weight girl that suddenly becomes attractive.  You have one goal while playing a Survivor, wanna take a guess....?  SURVIVE.  Yourself and your fellow survivors need to make it through a map of computer played Zombies (sometimes by in small packs, other times in hordes).  Get to the Safe room at the end of the map without dieing or allowing your team mates to die and you're safe...for awhile.

(2) Infected
        Boomer, Hunter, Smoker, or if you're lucky The Tank.  Just as the Survivors have an objective to stay alive, you have one, to make sure they don't.  Your character spawn is completely random, the hunter is the only infected character you will find multiple players portraying, every other one is a one per.  If you have ever been to a bar like the one mentioned above, you know that working together to take home one of those fat chicks wasn't in your priority...it's every man for himself right?  Well, unless you get a n00b Survivor that wonders off by himself you will need your infected team mates to help separate the team in order to have enough time to kill them. 

Gameplay:

(1) Survivors
        From the get go, you're in a safe room which is stocked with Machine Guns, Shotguns, Health Packs, and if you're lucky a pipe bomb or molotov cocktail.  The safe room is off limits to the infected until one of the survivors decides to open the door.  Once the door is open and you leave the safe room, the hunt is on.  As you make your way out of the safe room you will immediately come in contact with zombies which are played by NPC (Non Player Characters).  The Infected gamers can also attack you right out of the door, if they choose.   As you make your way through the map, there will be weapon "checkpoints" where you can stock up on ammo, heath pack, maybe a pipe bomb, or upgrade your weapon for a higher powered one like an M-16 or Auto Shotgun.  Throughout the map as you make your way towards the Safe room, you will be constantly attacked by Infected players and NPCs.  The good thing about sticking together as Survivors is usually you can take out an infected NPC with one shot, and the infected players usually go down just as fast.  The trick is not allowing an infected player to get a hold of you when your by yourself, because there is no way to defend yourself, a team mate must come to your rescue.  If you hear what sounds to be a crying girl, try to steer clear of that area.  The Witch is a NPC that will scratch your eyes out in a matter of seconds if you don't have a large amount of fire power aimed at her by you and your team mates.  The Survivors must have been fed steroids in their baby bottles because they have more than enough life to make it to the safe room.  Just as a cat has 9 lives, you have 2.  If your health bar trickles down to nothing you will fall down (Downed) with only your pistol as a weapon until a team mate comes back to revive you.  Once you're down you have a full health bar again but if you're not revived quickly you can count on an infected player pouncing on you in attempts to end your miserable little life.  Remember once an infected player has their man hands on you, you are pretty much helpless, unless it's a Boomer or Tank.   One helpful tool this game has to help you find your team mates if you get separated is the blue neon outline of your team mates that is seen through buildings.  Having a working mic is a must in this game, if your team mates are in a blood thrust rage and aren't paying attention to the Hunter who is scratching your eyes out, you're going to want to yell at him to save you.  If you're the type of gamer that enjoys the vibrations of a fully automatic weapon while turning a Zombie's head into a pink mist, then playing the Survivors is right up your alley.

(2) Infected
        Regardless of what infected character you spawn as, you are going to want to work with your team mates to set up coordinated attacks against the survivors.  Since the Survivors have such a large amount of health, and the fact that one or two shot gun blasts will kill you, you need to team up and come up with a plan to get yourself some good human eats.  When (not if) you die, you have to wait apx 15 seconds to respawn.  To respawn, you can't be in the view of the Survivors, meaning go hide behind a rock or building out of the sight of the Survivors.  Besides working with your team mates, you can also plan your attacks around the Computer ran Zombie hordes or witch attacks.  The boomer is a great sacrifice character, if they can't see you because this fat ass just puked up green corndogs all over their face, you're more likely to have enough time to take out one of them.  The Infected can move around a lot more freely then the Survivors, you can even fall down elevator shafts or off cliffs without dieing.  Through out the map you will notice, yellow foot prints leading up a truck, or the side of a building.  These are climb points where infected players can climb up, might be on the bottom of that cliff you just fell down, or leading on top of a building where you can set up an ambush.  Depending on your personally, hunting is more fun then being hunted.  One good feature about L4D is the fact that after every map, you switch sides, Survivors play Infected, and Infected play Survivors.  

 Characters:
       

(1) Survivors
       
        Zoey - Funny how the whole town turns infected but somehow a 19 year old College student avoided crossing sides, must have been the Horror movies she watched on Saturday nights in the Dorm...hmmm.  One thing that's safe to say about Zoey, she's one tough bitch.  Besides her sex tapes that are turning up all over YouTube, Zoey is our least favorite character to play.

        Francis- Probably the coolest Survivor character to play, has some funny smart ass remarks from time to time.  A mix between that friend that always wants to start a fight when you're out drinking, and the bouncer that throws him out. 

        Bill - Charles in the tree!  This Vietnam Vet is the guy that still wears cammo 40 years after his first tour in Nam, but luckily for him it paid off when the Zombies took over.  Now he can blend into a bush, yay!

        Louis - Obama?  This guy was apparently an IT tech but I call bullshit, if this guy isn't Barrack Obama's video game twin, I don't know who is. 

Besides a couple of different lines from different characters, there is no difference or benefit to whatever Survivor you play. 
              

(2) Infected

    Hunter - My personal favorite infected character to play (other than the tank).  The hunter is the only class you will see multiple gamers playing at the same time...sometimes up to 3.  Before they turned infected, they must have had on their pumps because these bastards can jump.  To use the main attack you have to be in the crouching position.  If you happen to pounce on a Survivor from a distance you will inflict initial damage, short range pounces don't inflict the initial damage.  Once you pounce on one of the Survivors they are helpless unless another Survivors comes to their rescue.  If the Survivors are in a tight group, you can pounce on one of them making the rest stumble apart.  These character is one of the deadliest if you can get a Survivor all alone.

   Smoker - This guy brings a whole new meaning to foreplay.  His Primary Attack is his Tongue Snare which shoots just about halfway across the map and wraps around a Survivor and drags them away.  Great set up characters if you're on a good team you can be very useful in wrapping up one of the Survivors so the Hunters can do their dirty work.  Also fun to pull a Survivor off a roof top or over a cliff.

    Boomer - Get in my Belly!  This Fat Bastard is slow and fat, but he does upchuck green vomit, and I believe he ate Corn Dogs before he turned.  His Vomit blinds the Survivors if you can spray it on them, if you miss the recharge time is kind of slow so it might be best to run into the group of survivors and allow them to blow you half, creating the same affect as puking on them, and also attracts the horde to help inflict more damage.

The Tank - Badass MOFO in short.  If you ever wanted to kill all 4 Survivors by yourself then the tank if your character.  Randomly spawned when you get this bad boy your sure to do some damage.  He has the power to pull a concrete block out of any landscape, even the water...yeah this guy is badass.

Whatever Infected player you spawn as, you need to work together to use each characters little benefits to end the Survivors lives quick.

Wrap-Up: