I <3 Fast Zombies

I'm glad that zombies have finally evolved. I could never take the slow ones seriously, even when I was a little kid and they were something I was supposed to be afraid of. I do recall a time around age five or six when I developed a fear of skeletons though. An older kid had advised me to carry a stick with me when I was outside at night, in case one should attack me; something in his tone convinced me that such occurrences were not uncommon. Were I to be confronted by a hostile skeleton, the stick was to be used to poke through an empty eye socket and into the brain. See, that's how you kill a skeleton.

I've really been enjoying Left 4 Dead, though not in the way one might expect. What you've got are four characters -- a biker, a Vietnam vet, an office manager, and a college girl -- making their way from one place to another (ostensibly a safer one, but it hardly ever seems to work out that way) through hordes of screaming infected locals. The thing that really sets the game apart from others is its revolutionary "AI Director" -- essentially a computer program that generates the enemies in the game based on how well you play, ensuring a challenge for players of any skill level. What you end up with is really an interactive modern zombie-flick that turns out differently every time you play. In case you haven't realized, that is awesome.

As exciting as the zombie-shooting is, the game is unmistakably designed to be taken on with friends working together as the four survivors. I find myself having a fine time on my own but what really gets me psyched is imagining how the scenarios I've found myself in will play out with live companions. Tyler picked the game up today so I anticipate getting to try it out online with him within the week. I expect we'll both have stories to tell afterward.

It's funny that I'm having more fun with how I believe the game will change when played with others than I am with the game itself. And really, who doesn't occasionally fantasize about living in a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested world? You're smart, you could survive, and you wouldn't have to deal with your stupid job or jerks on the Metro anymore.

Yeah, I'm pretty tired of my job.