The end is near again: Valve has unleashed Left 4 Dead for PC and Xbox 360, summoning yet another zombie apocalypse for beleaguered first-person shooter fans.

Tons of zombies and a creepy atmosphere? Check. Limited supplies and ammunition? Check. But things are quite a bit different here. Blurring the line between survival horror and cinema – right down to the kitschy movie posters and dynamically generated banter between characters – Left 4 Dead offers a decidedly new style of team-based zombie hunting.

Over the course of four campaigns with five maps each, four survivors must battle seemingly insurmountable odds – with the biggest barrier to success being how well everyone works together. My first hands-on with the game left me with bitter feelings toward my fellow man – perhaps we deserved this cruel fate after all, if we couldn't even move down a hallway without panicking and being ripped to shreds. But with the game's Tuesday release, I've had a change of heart.

While there is an offline, single-player option, chances are you'll want to take on zombies – or humans, if you're so inclined – online with friends and strangers. Left 4 Dead isn't your typical zombie frag-fest, so here are four rather important things to remember while you're prepping for battle.

1. 4 Heads Are Better Than None

You've never played a co-op game quite like this one. Whether you're a Survivor or one of the Infected, you're pretty much worthless without your teammates – their skill, and the entire team's ability to work together, will make the difference between standing tall in the face of adversity, and limping toward the finish line.

As a Survivor, your partners will be there to pick you up when you've been trampled, heal you if you've squandered your own supplies, and generally provide cover fire and support. There are few things worse than being pounced upon or helplessly dragged away, with your friends having gone on without you.

As the Boss Infected in Versus mode, your only chance at victory lies with getting the humans to split up – there's a hefty re-spawn time after each death, so working as a team is pivotal. Send your Boomer in first – the bile he vomits works as zombie bait, sending the NPC horde en masse to attack whatever is covered in his puke. Once those spineless humans are blinded and panicking, Hunters and Smokers will need to swarm in to divide and conquer.

2. Something Really Is Out to Get You

You'll study the maps, hone your aim, and your team will move like a well-oiled, monster-killing machine. At which point, the AI Director opens up that magical zombie faucet in the sky, overwhelming you until you escape, or break.

Dynamic, cinematic campaigns means that as you're wading through corpses, struggling to save ammo and stay alive, every shot you fire and every kill you make is being judged. Skilled players will be rewarded (or punished) with more encounters and greater challenges, while those struggling to survive will find their opposition a little tamer. This keeps the pace lively, without punishing players.

Each of Left 4 Dead's 20 maps will provide a different experience every time you play – there is no scripting, and there are no spawn points, just a perpetual torrent of zombies, tailored to your own skill and progress.

3. Keep Your Ears Peeled, or Something Will Do It for You

True to that cinematic vibe it hopes to establish, Left 4 Dead offers up quite a few audio cues to help give players a fighting chance. Characters issue alerts, letting each other know when ammo or weapons are nearby, or reminding friends to heal. There'll also be the occasional reminder to drop whatever it is you're fiddling around with and get moving, as zombies attack those who linger. The announcements can get kind of annoying – particularly after the hundredth time someone has announced they're reloading – but you'll usually be glad to know exactly what your team is up to while you're in full panic mode.

The music also plays a very important role in setting up that cinematic experience. The trill of a horn, a haunting choir or a sudden shift in the melody followed by an ominous quaking each signal that something very unfortunate is about to happen, so listen closely. And if you're not averse to voice chatting, get a mike – it can get kind of hard to type when you're trapped on the ground, firing stray rounds into a disorienting mass of necrotic flesh.

4. When in Doubt, Stay Calm and Run Like Hell

With the exception of sequences where you're specifically told to activate an object and then brace for impact, there is no "planning" in Left 4 Dead, and there are no climactic, scripted battles: The stronger Boss Infected arrive fairly regularly, at the Director's whim in Campaign mode or perpetually lurking as other players in Versus mode.

No, you're getting a genuine survival-horror experience: nursing wounds, scrounging for ammo and acknowledging that strategically making a break for it is usually better than getting slaughtered, especially when the enemy seems focused on a player that isn't you.

Yes, sometimes sacrifices must be made. After all, a team can still be victorious if at least one person survives – whether that means making it to the safe room, or reviving the wounded before they've died. So remember that Golden Horror-Flick Rule: You only have to outrun the slowest person you're with.

With keen senses, a steady hand and a little luck, you'll do yourself (and more importantly, your teammates) proud.

Images courtesy Valve

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