Those of us who pre-order Left 4 Dead via Valve's Steam service will be — like our console counterparts — playing the demo come next Thursday. Not tomorrow... next Thursday, Nov. 6, according to a release from the developer. That's a full five days before the demo goes live for the rest of humanity (Nov. 11), which is in turn a week before the game releases to retail (Nov. 18). Don't worry, we shan't be quizzing you about dates in the next reader exam.

The Left 4 Dead demo features single-player and co-op for up to four zombie holocaust survivors. As we've already informed you, the pre-order price shaves off a respectable 10%. Your call.

Send an email to Michael McWhertor, the author of this post, at .