Left 4 Dead 2: Review

What's the best way to celebrate Christmas? In a straw poll of my friends most of us agreed that turkey was best, followed shortly by averting a zombie apocalypse (considering that a few of my friends have genuine zombie survival plans, this was hardly surprising). Many people must've agreed though because Left 4 Dead 2 was one of the top selling games this Christmas.

To the game then!

L4D2 is very similar to the original and I for one applaud that. The first Left 4 Dead was genius in that it took the part we really wanted to do (ie- ruthlessly slay the undead) and that's all you had to do, aside from the odd very simple puzzle element- none of the press x to not die events that are so common these days (Resident Evil 5- I'm looking at you!)

L4D2 does add some new aspects too though, mainly in the form of melee weapons of varying usefulness and a couple of shiny new monsters. There are five full campaigns hitting four new unlucky suckers (still in the format of two interesting male characters then a token black guy and a token woman- which is my only real problem with the characters. Give the minorities better representation Valve!).

Game play

First and foremost- this is way better than the original. The characters are better, the fighting is better, and the game is harder. But not harder in an off putting way though, harder in a way which makes you just want to kick ass. Plus the game is actually intelligent, in that if you seem to be struggling your path of progression can actually change to adapt to your skill level - so repeat plays can even yield a completely different experience increasing the playability.

Let's talk weapons. You have the usual handgun, and you can find shotguns and machine guns and the usual. So much, so same as all zombie games. But wait until you find the grenade launcher! It pretty much obliterates everything. Sometimes including your team mates (yeah I'm not good with the friendly fire…). Don't use it in an area with lots of other flammable things like the propane tanks!

The melee weapons are the big new thing about L4D2. Whopping the undead with a guitar is surprisingly gleeful, although I must admit the fun of hacking and slashing your way through the hoard does wear off slightly, and you'll probably find yourself switching back to your gun often. By far my favourite is the chainsaw. Especially when used again the witches. They were the one special zombie which caused me no end of deaths in the original L4D, so the satisfaction of bringing one down alone in five seconds flat is immeasurable!

The special zombies are much more common in the sequel (or at least I noticed them more). The new ones are Spitters, who spew out pools of acid which are deathly if you wade into one; Jockeys, which take control of your movement; and Chargers, who are like mini tanks but much, much easier. Of course, the witches and tanks are still there in full force, along with the Boomers, Hunters and Smokers ready to squish you at a moments notice if you're trapped away from your team mates.

Speaking of: L4D2 is very much a co-op game, and is really at its most enjoyable when played with a friend (or three). Team work really is essential when the zombies start swarming you, and to help you find ammunition and all the good weapons. It's encouraged further with the addition of a defibrillator kit to revive dying team mates, plus rooms which you have to locate to revive dead team mates (and there's nothing as annoying as sitting back while your team mates refuse to find the door because they're on a roll).

Mind you, all that team mate stuff goes out the door in the online versus games, when four of you are the survivors and four of you are trying to annihilate them ruthlessly. Probably better played with strangers, since you will fall out. A lot. Especially when they start teaming up on the weak one. Which is usually me.

A little note about the AI characters here. They're crap. I wouldn't like to play the game solo because the AI characters have stopped being as good as they were in the original and started being incredibly dumb. They'll revive and heal you sometimes, but I found they shoot less and get hurt more and sometimes even leave you to die while they go off and save their own sorry asses. And that's just not cool. The AI is the only thing about the game where the original L4D has the edge.

As well as Versus and Campaign mode, you can also play Survival and Scavenge, which are shorter and more competitive (if you can get more competitive than Versus). Survival sees you battling to stay alive for as long as possible against swarming hoards, and with no chance of escape it really does come down to who lasts the longest. Great way to get used to using the weapons, but it does get a little old quickly. Scavenge mode has more replayability, as you can play as survivors trying to collect gas tanks to fill up a generator and thus add time to live to a rapidly dwindling clock, or as the infected trying to stop them. First to three wins. Again, you'll probably fall out by the end. But in a fun way.

Overall, the game is very easy to play and anyone looking to start gaming or get a friend or significant other into gaming could do worse, since its pretty simple to pick up, but the teamwork elements means that weaker players are supported by the stronger players rather than feel like they're hindering them. My only slight problem was the 180 degree spin. On the Xbox 360 version at least you spin a half circle when you hit the bumper buttons.  This gets really annoying. Useful if you need to move quickly while you're being attacked from behind I'm sure, but less good when you accidentally hit it during combat with something big and nasty. In fact, it's infuriating, and may or may not have caused a hissy fit at one point.

But if my only problem is a spinny button thing which I probably only wack because I have a girly tendency to flail when attacked by large groups, then that's a game I'll be recommending. If you liked the original, you'll like this even better - it's a much more rounded game and although the same could've probably been achieved with a couple of expansion packs, that wouldn't have been half as satisfying. If you're new to the series then buy this instead of the first one- it just won't seem as good once you've played the sequel.

The Round Up

Game play - 9/10
Graphics - 8/10 (because of the increased gore, including a lovely blood splattered screen when you crack heads with the melee weapons!)
Replayability - 9/10 (especially with the list of achievements available for the Xbox 360).

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