The crew and I have been playing the demo for Left 4 Dead last week and, at least from my point of view, I feel that this is going to keep us all quite entertained for a long time. I’m super excited to try out the versus mode and play as the undead. I’ve been longing for a really unique versus mode since Spy vs Merc in Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Hopefully Survivor vs Horde will fill that void in my heart until Ubisoft remembers how to make a proper Spy vs Merc again in Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Anyway, I would assume that most of our readers are quite versed in the game by now, but if you are one of the, er, unversed, then I recommend you hit this video interviewing with the producer. Some of the video in that clip is a bit dated, but the general concept of the game is still the same: teamwork, teamwork, teamwork.

The teamwork concept has been done before in the past with games like Zelda 4 Swords and Conflict Desert Storm, but it wasn't as crucial to work together. 4 Swords in particular was an exercise is frustration for me as the MNC's individual personalities tend to lead to chaos rather than order when playing co-op style games. Being the self appointed leader of the MNC, and a self admitted control freak, I find it frustrating to complete an area of a game when I can't get the guys to stop throwing each other into bottomless pits or waiting for that one Link to finish cutting every piece of fucking grass on the screen. Sadly, I ended up finishing 4 Swords by myself when they weren't around, which was not the most popular move I ever made amongst the group. Problem is, I'd still have no idea how the game ended if I didn't run it solo. Seriously, the guys got consumed by Force Gem fever.

Now if a player decides to run off on his/her own, they are going to get overrun by the undead or pinned to the ground by a hunter. Once they're dead, they have to wait to respawn in a locked room that the other players have to open. In addition, if a guy isn't playing right, the other players can call a vote and kick the offending player out of the game. I love the voting concept as I know that the 14 year old Xbox Live kids will be out there in droves waiting to screw up the idea of the game. The conversation will probably go something like this:

Me: "Hey yourmom6969, stop shooting me"

Kid: "Whatever, you got in my way. I’m trying to get my zombie killing achievement."

Me: "Wait, you sound pretty young. How old are you?"

Kid: "Old enough to screw your mom. HAHAHA!"

Me: "My God, you sound like you are 13."

Kid: "Hell no! I’ll be 15 in like 8 months."

Me: "Hold up, how are you playing this?"

Kid: "Duh, on my 360! HAHAHA!"

Me: "No, I mean that this game is rated M, so it shouldn’t be played by people under 17."

Kid: "Your mom bought it for me. HAHAHA!"

Me: "I weep for the future."

Kid: "Your a cry ba—Hey! Help! I’ve been pinned! Get this zombie off me!"

Me: "How can I? You ran halfway across the map."

Kid: "Hurry up! If I die I’m going to lose my score!”

Me: "Looks like I’m not going to make it in time. But, on the plus side, I’ll get that first aid kit you’re carrying."

Kid: "You guys are gay. I’m leaving."

Me: "Tell my mom I said hi."

Wednesday can’t get here fast enough. If anyone wants to play, add MNC Dover to your friends list. See you online!

- Dover

Along with my fellow crew mates, frequent readers of this site can attest to my mounting and ever-expanding backlog of game titles, awash in failed intention and smeared with silent shame. I still have an unopened copy of Harvest Moon bought in 1998 that I always meant to get around to playing. I think that my turnaround time on Gears of War 2, comparatively, has been downright speedy.

Dexter and I (and briefly Beau) threw down on a couple waves of Horde mode, and I came away fully convinced that this is a game worth buying. Simple, bite-sized gaming chunks set in fairly small but packed arenas suit my style of play just fine. Apparently, Gears also has bookoo multiplayer and single player modes atop that already tempting package. That, kids, is what we call "value".

I will also concur with Dover’s assertion of Left 4 Dead, but Valve cranking out quality experiences (or Turtle Rock via Valve in this case) has become so commonplace that anything less than stellar would be surprising. Still, quality is always worth rewarding. Consider it bought. The MNC is picking up 360 copies because everyone’s PC is not up to snuff, but retail and Steam copies also see a simultaneous release.

Did I ever mention Dokapon Kingdom? That was clearly an insane oversight. On a system renowned for easy play party titles, this one manages to carve out its own memorable niche. A few days back, I played it with some traditionally non-gaming friends of mine, and I cannot remember the last time I had so much fun (a clichéd phrase, I know). The game relies on its own cleverness and scenario development to draw out the player’s personalities, and "story-worthy" gameplay usually results.

- Irving