Left 4 Dead Demo Forthcoming

Ever since I got my first hands-on taste of Left 4 Dead at E3, Valve's team-based zombie-murder simulator has shot to the top of my must-play list. The interdependence of the gritty archetypal characters; the surprisingly speedy ferocity of the zombie horde; and heck, even the last-stand action of killing as many zombies as you can armed with just a handgun when you're on death's door--this is basically my ideal for how a zombie game should feel.

You too can know the exhilarating terror of too many zombies and not enough bullets, hopefully sooner than later. According to an interview with Valve's Gabe Newell on VideoGamer.com, a demo of Left 4 Dead is in the works for both the PC and Xbox 360. The demo will feature both single-player and online co-op play, and while it's not yet decided what section of the game will be featured in the demo, Gabe mentions the Hospital level that's been shown off to the press already, which makes a certain amount of sense. Giving more people a chance to experience the panic of Left 4 Dead can only be a good thing, though my only concern is that the demo actually drops before the game's November 21 release date. Seriously, putting out demos after the game's already on shelves seems to miss the whole point.