Left 4 Dead

This was quite the suprise hit when it was released near the end of 2008. With it's unique approach to team shooters it cut quite a reputation in the genre!

This shooter focuses heavily on teamwork and you'll need it if you want to survive , you just can't go rambo solo on this game and expect to be a one man army, because it ain't going to happen without your friends to bail you out.

You could play single player with computer AIs as your allies but it just isn't as fun.

This game has to be played online to be truly appreciated . None of the shooters mentioned above, come close to the appreciation of looking out for team mates as this game emphasises.

Online it's a 4 vs 4 team battle , although that description in itself doesn't clearly describe it.
Basically it's humans/ survivors vs Zombies / Infected.

It's guns and caution vs stealth and cunning really.

Humans have weapons ( including firearms and explosives ) , health kits , lots of health and can revive/heal each other ( If given the chance and the right equipment.

Zombies have low health , respawning , special abilities which incapacitate a human victim ( Which then he/she NEEDS the help of a team mate to escape from them ) and an army of support zombies which deal light damage to the humans , although can't truly be controlled.

The humans goal is to travel from point A to point B. ( Represented by Zombie Proof Safe Rooms )
The zombies goal is to kill all of them before they reach the target destination.

The main play style of the humans is to cover each others backs especially at crucial moments like when you ally has been caught by a zombie special move that makes them unable to fight back or when they want to heal themselves.
Looking out for each other is key to your survival .... being selfish and a glory hog will get you killed. The zombie players will most likely single out the one who tries to lone wolf and who is far away from the rest of the team. So humans stick together if you want to make it.

As for the undead, your game plan is more about stealth, cunning and mounting co-ordinated strikes to disable multiple targets to maximise your damage inflicted towards the human party.
The zombie team on the whole has very fragile health ( But has unlimited respawning to compensate ). If you do not make an effort to sneak up on an opponent or hide until the time is right, you won't last a second in the sights of human gunfire.
You can not take on the humans in a frontal assault and as zombies most have no long range methods of inflicting damage ... so patience and timing is key.
There are 4 kinds of zombie you can play as.
The 3 main ones are the hunter whose specialty is a long range pouncing attack that can incapacitate and damage a target human heavily , the smoker whose long range tongue attack can disable and drag a human in for the kill and the Boomer whose mid range vomit attack attracts hordes of computer controlled ally zombies to attack the unfortunate drenched victim.

Both teams are fun to play. As a human you will feel heroic pride when you save an ally from certain death or bask in evil glee when your stalker tactics have paid off with a successful kill as a zombie.

But for both sides team work is vital ! And this unbreakable element is what makes this game great and stand out among the rest of the 360 shooters !

This game has tons of replay value also !
One thing that makes this game really special is the random spawning of enemies. So no two playthroughs of a campaign are the same. There are can be like a hundred zombies on the screen with no slowdown. The Computer intelligence for enemies can be quite cunning / catch you by surprise too if you're playing on your own.

The controls of the game are fast, simple and responsive. A pitfall many games developers just make mistakes in nowadays still.

Technically this game has no real story besides the opening cinematic and character dialogue. But there are no FMVs, cinematics or cut scenes that make you stop the gameplay for a minute. This game is all gameplay just like the good old days.
At first I was very disappointed that there was no story sequences , but now I see it was a very good decision because now I'm just having zombie blasting fun instead.

The guns in this game could have been more varied but don't really need to be , since most weapons will kill the majority of enemies in an instant. There is more difference in the variety of explosives and flammables than there is the guns to be honest.

So in summary if you like a good single campaign with an immersive story this probably isn't the game for you. ( There are 4 short campaigns separated into 5 chapters each. Each Campaign will probably take you around an hour to get through )
If you'd like to play a decent multi player team battle with a difference you might want to give this a try. But playing as humans vs Zombies means it's not the same rules for both sides. So you'll have to learn to keep an open mind in order to enjoy what it has to offer.
If you like online co-op ..... get this game ! This is one one of the best co-op games in a long time.

All in all this is full on zombie blasting fun with excellent online co-op, which is probably the freshest multi player in a shooter in a long time. No story, full gameplay.
If shooters are your thing , you should give this one a try. It can hold it's own with the best of them and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Left 4 Dead is a game created by the makers of Half-life and Team Fortress, Valve. Left 4 Dead is your basic infection zombie game; you play as one of four survivors with the simple aim of the game being `Get out alive'.

This game doesn't require you to run through the whole level shooting zombies left, right and centre, it requires you to plan your route, and it makes you think, "Will it be safe for me if I go this way?"

Enter The AI Director, here we have a piece of genius, whenever you start up a game on Left 4 Dead, the AI Director will plan your game play as you're playing! That means that you may be wandering through a deserted multi-story car park only to be faced with a great heap of muscle called a Tank, but on your second time round, you may find that the car park is jam packed with zombies, or you could get a Witch!

There are 5 types of `special' zombies in Left 4 Dead, these are:
* Boomer - Big sack of sick, if you get near one of these, they'll heave all their guts all over you, attracting a horde.
* Smoker - Easily identifiable by its loud coughing, the Smoker is able to drag you great distances before constricting and attacking you.
* Hunter - A dark character, usually found in the shadows, making massive leaps towards its prey, landing on them and pinning them down whilst it attacks them.
* Tank - Probably the strongest zombie of all, if you're unlucky to run into one, your best bet is to run backwards whilst shooting it or else it will be able to whack you great distances before pummelling you to a fine pulp.
* Witch - Don't be fooled by her looks or her crying. She's one mean machine. If you get to close or accidently hit her with a stray bullet you'll know soon enough, she can outrun you and then push you over and claw you to death. But don't worry, she'll growl at you if you're getting too close, letting you know when to back off!

There are of course some normal zombies, easy to kill, stress relieving zombies, great for shooting. But beware, if you make a cars alarm go off or create a loud noise, they'll come in there hundreds to attack you, this is where they're strongest!

A lot of thought has gone into this game, and it shows, the clever use of lighting and eerie music. Take for instance; as you get closer and closer to a witch, the music will get louder and louder. The graphics aren't amazing, but they don't need to be, as long as the game play is good, who cares about super high-quality graphics.

This game is a must-have if you are looking for fun game to play with friends, unfortunately, the game lets itself down in the single-player department, don't get me wrong, the single-player part of the game is great, but can get boring with time.

Multi-player is great, you get to think about your next plan with your friends; you get to interact with other characters instead of AI. When playing with friends, it sort of brings shows you another side to Left 4 Dead, it almost puts your and your friends into the game, it's like you're fighting for your life... Great!

Overall, I think Left 4 Dead deserves a high 9. Its fun, its fast and best of all, it has guns!

This game is easily one of the best zombie games around for the zombie-lover in your life. In mine, it is my Fiance, I bought him this as a Christmas present back in 2009 & it is still one of his most-played games! The game is so addictive that even I have become a zombie-killing gamer!

The storyline is pretty simple, 4 survivors battling their way through a city against a horde of starving zombies from safe room to safe room. The 4 survivors can be played by 4 of you locally on the same console or the 'vacant' players can be AI. As another reviewer has mentioned, the AI is sometimes a little trigger happy & can startle 'witches', this is especially annoying when trying to make it through a chapter without startling one for an achievement! There are also other types of special zombies - Smokers who drag you away from your team mates with their tongues, Boomers who vomit on you attracting hordes of zombies & Hunters who pounce on you, pinning you to the ground until you are saved by a team mate or killed. This makes for rather interesting play & you will soon begin to recognise each special's sound!

Although the campaign is quite short, this game has great re-playability in that there are many different approaches & strategies you can go for, this ensures it is never tedious when replaying to gain achievements or even just for fun which is a great bonus for the game. I would recommend this for the zombie-lover in your life!