This was a big week for video games in terms of ramping up for the summer. In addition to many of the big name games for the fall, Valve (and EA) were showing off Left 4 Dead (PC version, though an XBox 360 version is planned as well).

Based on being able to play the game, several sites have "hands-on" reviews up, almost unanimously positive. Perhaps the tag-line that will stay with the game is from Gametap, which suggests that L4D should be renamed, "Oh S***, The Game."

Other comments on the game included:

"...it was exhilarating to blast through zombies and come back from the brink of death again and again as my teammates came to save me." - Wired

". . . one thing I couldn't help but notice was that while every other game's station was shut down or left alone in the drunken lateness of the hour, Left 4 Dead retained the largest clot of observers -- and eventually, the only clot. Everyone liked this thing. They were crowding it after the bar closed -- and that says a lot." - 1Up

"The balance of the game perfectly matches the feel of most zombie movies and we tended to die when we strayed from the unspoken rules of a zombie flick. Never separate, never slow down, and conserve your ammo." - Kotaku

Other sites with impressions include Joystiq, MTV & Gamespot has a recent video interview with Doug Lombardi of Valve.

L4D has nearly replaced Gears 2 as my most anticipated game of the year. About the only thing Valve could do at this point to make me more excited about the game would be to announce that it was part of The Green Box which included Half-Life 2: Episode 3.

Anyone else excited for Left 4 Dead?