The Escapist 2008 Holiday Buyer's Guide

The Escapist Holiday Buyers' Guide: Social Gamer

Left 4 Dead (PC, Xbox 360)

We get it. Enough with the zombies already. We've every possible variety in every imaginable scenario - global pandemics, mind-controlled Spaniards, walking dead from the North Pole. Hell, we've typed the bastards to death. What unexplored ground could possibly be left?

Plenty, it turns out. Leave it to the Best Game Developer in the World to pinpoint the one facet of the zombie mythos that videogames haven't covered: the feeling that "we're in this together." Nearly every aspect of Left 4 Dead's gameplay has this communal objective in mind. Lose track of your teammates, and you're one roving horde away from dying a slow, painful death. Forget to heal the guy limping behind` you, and your odds of survival drop by half. Fail to warn your teammates about that creepy J-Horror-looking girl in the next corridor, and someone's going to get their face mauled. Valve has somehow managed to take distill everything that is pure and good about cooperative gameplay (communication, spontaneity, altruism) and leave behind all the bullshit (pissing contests, loot squabbles, dead weight). If a game can get the typical Xbox Live mouthbreathers to work toward a common goal, it doesn't just deserve a spot on this list - it deserves the goddamn Nobel Peace Prize.

Tomorrow: The cream of the crop, for the refined gaming palate of the Connoisseur.

For an overview of our 2008 Buyer's Guide, click here.