The Left 4 Dead Series, the Exception to the Rule

First, some background... I like to engage in the video game playing when I have the free time, its a small past-time of mine. I'm a steadfast PS3 guy; I got one last Christmas and immediately fell in love with it. I find it to be a superior gaming console to the XBox 360, but that's a different post for a different day. Also, I've never been a big shooting games person, for whatever reason it didn't appeal to me, I don't know if it has to do with the idea of shooting and murdering people, a la Grand Theft Auto and the like, or if shooting just didn't appeal to me within itself. I've always been a sports gamer and then graduated to racing and fighting mostly. I've found an exception to these rules though, its the Left 4 Dead series, a Valve production.
The games are dope, I have no other way to describe it. They're suspenseful and keep you on the edge of your seat. In case you are unaware, the game is about 4 immune people trying to survive a zombie apocolypse when almost everyone around them is infected with a deadly disease that's turned them into murder-hungry zombies. Maybe part of the appeal is that I'm not shooting actual people, I'm shooting zombies in self defense, I don't know. As far as games though, its very much acclaimed, and with good reason.
There are 2 games in the series, the first was very good and the new one is mostly improved, but with no drastic changes. The highlight of the games is the wide array of weapons and how encorperating strategy into the game can bring your survival. The game is also great because it has responsive AI, it will respond to if you are doing really well or poorly, it will go for the kill with extra special infected or hordes of zombies when it sees the opportunity. Its almost like a momentum factor built in, or the game will keep you in check when it sees fit. Another quality is the similarity to a zombie-type movie that the games present themselves as, its an awesome element. Its believeable and awesome, and even encorperates proper music at critical points, that is also useful in the game for cluing the players in on what's coming next. So overall, the gameplay is fun and the changes coming from the AI make it really replayable and interesting each time you play, even after 10s or 100s of plays, and this goes for both games (the core of the 2 games is essentially the same, just with different storyline and features in each). The weapons and presentation are icing on the cake. The games are great, I recommend them very much if you have a 360 and are looking for something new to play and haven't checked them out. A couple of friends and I have burned quite a few hours fighting our way through the zombie apocolypse with these, and its well worth it.
Below is a brief gameplay video of Left 4 Dead 2, in several different chapters of the game. WARNING: LOTS OF ANIMATED BLOOD AND GORE.