Left 4 Dead

these ai controlled buddies left me 4 dead many many times

They had me at Steelpole Bathtub in the commercial. The only above average ranking is because they crammed this entire game into the sequel. Going back doesn't hurt because there are a few differences.

/completed

The stripped-down approach is this game's greatest strength and greatest weakness: it encourages cooperation with the multiplayer and rewards mechanics but not necessarily replayability. It doesn't really rank among Valve's greats but it is worthy of note.

Not ruined in it's prime like 2 was in Straya, this was hella fun.

Excellent.

A truly unique feeling game that kept me entertained for hundreds of hours. One of the best cooperative experiences out there, trying to get from Point A to Point B while fighting through unrelenting zombie hordes. One of Valve's greatest titles.

There is a scene in the movie 'Stand By Me', where some kids are crossing a railroad bridge, when, would you believe their luck, a train arrives in the distance. One kid flips his head in super slow-motion and screams 'Traaaaaiiiin!'. I always emulate this in L4D, only I'm screaming 'Taaaaaank!'. It might not be in slow-mo, but the panic is one and the same.

For a very brief period of time, this was the most exciting thing I could do with 3 friends during an evening.

When you're playing with 3 other friends it's the best game to hoot and holler with. When you're playing with 3 idiots it's the worst game.

I've had plenty of good times with this game, even if I end up being the weak link in the chain.

Fun enough with friends.

I always thought having a teammate outright incapacitated by zombies until helped was way too heavy handed as a means of forcing cooperation.