Zombie Apocalypse, guns, and survivors. What more do you want? Well what about more guns, more zombies, and melee weapons to whet your appetite? Left 4 Dead 2 returns after a year of development from Valve, usually unheard of due to the companies known habit of “taking their sweet time” with making games. Does this sequel to last years zombie blasting thriller hold up to hype? Or is it the rehash everyone feared that the previous Left 4 Dead should have been?
Story
The game starts off with once again four heroes seeking shelter in a zombie outbreak; sorry “Infected” outbreak. Each level this time around has its own sequel, starting off with Dead Center and finishing in The Parish. Each scenario follows up after a specific level with interesting twists and turns in the process. This idea of actual level progression makes Left 4 Dead 2’s story feel more cohesive rather than setting players in parallel what if situations like in the first game. The characters include Nick, a savvy yet loudmouthed Showboat gambler and conman, Ellis, a young mechanic with a free spirit and heart and mind of a 8 year old, Rochelle, an average News Reporter stuck in a situation she’s never had experience in her life, and Coach, a middle aged southern native who oddly enough looks like Uncle Phil from the Fresh Prince of Bell Air.
Gameplay
The core concept in Left 4 Dead 2 remains the same. Grab weapons, a side arm, two recovery items, a grenade of some sort to toss, then finally head out the door and blow limbs off. This time around there’s much more for zombie killers with additional weapons and recovery items. Melee weapons include frying pans, bats, the beloved chainsaw and more. A new grenade class weapon in form of Bile jars filled with Boomer puke allow players to direct hordes at a specific location for a good period of time. Anyone caught within the green mess will be targeted for attack by their fellow zombies which makes trapping Tanks a hilarious yet sometimes effective game plan. And of course more guns which extends all weapons to almost 4 additional tiers for specific firearms. Defibrillators bring fallen survivors back to life while adrenaline shots gives a small health boost speeding them up on foot and allows them to preform objective tasks quicker. Uncommon zombies also show up in specific maps making them immune to certain attacks. Some are armor plated and only take damage from behind, while others lurk in the water throwing mud in your face blinding you temporarily. The on going joke about Ceda continues when players discover biohazard zombies. Yes that’s right, zombies in biohazard suits. The irony continues.
New crescendo moments that has players rush to turn off a horde attracting alarms or forcing players to push forward to a safehouse while battling an infinite spawn of rushing zombies. The brand new crescendo moments are welcome providing varied gameplay in each level, along with a few funny consequences for those achievement hunters out there. Some levels now provide objected based finales whether it be filling up a stock car and driving straight through the front door of a mall causing massive zombie roadkill to rushing across a bridge collapsing with players running for their lives in hopes of finding a sign of safety. There’s so much to say about Left 4 Dead 2’s gameplay that it would require at least 2 pages to explain it all. It really is a lot of content and I haven’t even gotten into the multiplayer part yet.
Presentation
Valve relies on once again on the Source engine which has proven time and time again that even though the its years old, it still pushes around great looking environments, solid animations, and my favorite, detailed gore. Dismemberment is especially present, making every shot or swing with an object leaving a specific mark on body parts. Brains and eyeballs explode, limbs are blown off and entrails dabble from the midsection from the poor undead. Weather and daylight changes overtime during the advancement of each level. One mentionable would be Heavy Rain where the level of course takes course in the rain. But as time starts to pass the drizzle becomes a full on flood slowing players down and makes them sigh in relief once they’re finally on dry land. Because of the diverse settings each level never feels like a rehash. Although Valve did claim that pathways change during every play through, I found it quite rare and barely noticeable. Every route is almost specific and linear, but there are definitely ways to find detours to the same destination. Expect a few surprises during your first play through on each level with easter eggs and complete setting changes.
Multiplayer
Left 4 Dead 2 introduces three new Special Infected classes in single player as adversaries, but whats more thrilling than to become a zombie of your own, hunting down lonely humans in hopes of eating their precious brains? The Charger runs straight through players like a linebacker picking up the first victim in line while he continues to pound them into the ground. The Spitter hocks up one hell of an acid loogie spraying an area with boiling green liquid that deals more damage over time. The Jockey lunges on top of players forcing his victims to move at his command while he picks at their heads. The classic zombies return with new reskins and sound effects making the combination of attack plans limitless. Of course each one of them still have their weaknesses, a zombie apocalypse may have started with one but ended up with an army. Utilizing each special zombie’s skills will have opponents wishing they never left the safehouse.
Survival mode returns allowing players to choose a map and point in which they make their last stand in hopes of setting time records. A new Realism mode adds even more difficulty to madmen who think Expert mode is a joke making special and common zombies much more threatening and follows one of the grand rules of zombie survival, shoot them in the head. Attacking zombies anywhere besides the head will merely slow them down and require more effort in order to take them down. This mode is seriously for the hardcore. Wimps should stay playing normal mode with the lights on. The new Scavenger mode is like an active capture the flag where the humans rush to fill up a generator with gasoline. The more gas fillups the more points scored. The Infected team must do what they can to stop the humans from scoring the best way they can, kill each one of them off one by one. Gameplay is much faster than that of Versus mode giving players more time as the Special Infected. So if you’re tired of waiting for a turn as the zombies, this is mode should suit your taste.
Conclusion
To wrap up the game up in a few words Left 4 Dead 2 is simply a bloodtastic coop experience. The common clipping and low frames per second rate still exist in this game, but rarely ruins the game’s experience. I’ve experienced moments of Tanks caught in invisible walls unable to struggle to bash our heads in while we hacked at him to death with frying pans and fire axes. If you don’t trust strangers to watch your back, I suggest finding three reliable friends even if it means buying an additional three copies. By no means does the game feel like a knock off to the first game, or something it should have been to begin with. If you’re in mood for mass genocide without the guilt of being considered a terrorist this is definitely worth picking up. Left 4 Dead 1 players may be able to pick up the similar gameplay quit easily, but its still a solid coop experience worthy to add to your library.
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