*Yeah this game was released a while ago, but better late than never right?*

Can I give you a hand?

Left 4 Dead 2 is a 2009 by Valve and a sequel to their 2008 modern classic, Left 4 Dead. Like the original, Left 4 Dead 2 is a cooperative first-person-shooter in which players take control of a group of survivors in a zombie apocalypse. But how does the zombie apocalypse stack up the second time around?

From a gameplay standpoint not a whole lot has changed. The controls work pretty much the same way they did in the original, and most of the gameplay mechanics work just as they did before. Though that isn’t to say there isn’t more to it this time around however. Extra depth has been added with things like new weapons (including melee weapons), new zombies and new modes of play.

The new weapons are fun, though most of the new guns are upgraded versions of the weaponry found in the original Left 4 Dead, though there are exceptions, like the grenade launcher. But truthfully, I think the melee weapons are a better addition to the game than the new ranged weapons. Don’t get me wrong, taking on hordes of zombies with anything is fun, but a part of me likes the simplicity of the original Left 4 Dead’s lineup of weapons, and the melee weapons retain that simplicity (while at the same time adding something new) while the new guns don’t quite deliver that same satisfaction (though when it comes to zombies, the shotgun was always the way to go anyway).

My personal favorite melee weapons are the baseball bat and the katana. With the baseball bat you’ll swing away at zombies Earthbound style, and with the katana you’ll slice through them like butter (although one has to wonder why there are so many katanas just lying around all over the place).

A new factor introduced in Left 4 Dead 2 is its stronger narrative. The first Left 4 Dead had different campaign levels, but each had a separate story of its own (well okay, the story was basically the same, just with different scenarios). In Left 4 Dead 2, all five campaign levels are a part of an overarching story.

Of course the story itself is basically what you would expect, but the connecting storyline does give the game an interesting flow, and it gives the characters a bit more dialogue opportunities.

The characters this time around include Nick, a smug con-artist, Rochelle, a reporter from a local television station, Ellis, a young and naive (and talkative)mechanic, and Coach, a portly high-school football coach (surprise!).

Of the four characters Coach is my favorite, and he ties with Bill from the original game as my favorite Left 4 Dead character. Although as a whole, I don’t think the new cast has that same delightful sense of zombie movie stereotypes as the original. Though Nick and Ellis are cool, I’m afraid to say Rochelle just seems to kind of be there. Her dialogue doesn’t stand out compared to the others, and her overall personality just doesn’t seem as well developed. Though Coach has plenty of cool to go around (and he bears a striking resemblance to Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air).

But on the flip side of things are the new “special infected” that have been added to the game. Along with the Boomers, the Smokers, the Hunters and the Tanks from the original game, three new playable zombies join the fray. They come in the forms of the Spitter, which spits (obviously) and bleeds some kind of acidic zombie goo to hinder the survivors. The Charger stampedes towards his enemies (stopping only when he hits a wall) and then there’s the ever helpful/annoying (depending on who’s team your currently playing on) Jokey, who leaps onto the backs of the survivors and can control their movements, which goes well with Spitters, Boomers, Tanks and any large swarm of zombies. The Jokey can even guide his victims off of ledges.

The new zombies add more depth and variety when playing in versus modes, and they compliment the old zombies instead of one-upping them. The old zombies all have their same attributes from the first game and all of them still just as fun to play as (which unfortunately means the Hunter is still considerably less fun to play as than the others). The witches also make a return in the campaign and versus modes. And new “wandering witches” add even more creepiness to the game.

Along with the returning campaign mode, versus mode (which is like campaign mode, except teams of players switch off between the survivors and the infected) and survival mode (in which players try to hold off waves and waves of zombies for as long as possible), there is a new mode in the form of scavenge mode, which is like a combination of versus mode and survival. Scavenge mode takes place in one section of any of the campaign levels and has the survivors trying to collect gas cans, while the zombies try to stop them. Like versus mode, scavenge has teams of players taking turns as the survivors and the infected. Scavenge mode can be fun, though I’m afraid it feels more tedious compared to the other modes.

There is also the added “realism” mode, which is an increased difficulty of any of the other modes to make it more “realistic.” Realism mode takes out some of the more video game-esque bonuses and makes for a more challenging experience.

I have to say, I grow tired of the first-person shooter genre. I think there’s just far too much of an abundance of them, and most of them, even a lot of the higher profile ones, aren’t anything special. Above all other genres, the first-person shooter confines itself to cliches, conventions and stereotypes. And yet, Valve always manages to create games first-person shooters that add something new to the table and always manage to leave me amazed. Fun factor aside, there are two main reasons why the Left 4 Dead games stand out for me.

Reason one is that Left 4 Dead isn’t just another zombie game, but it is a zombie movie turned into a video game. They are like interactive zombie films. Many video game companies try to aim for a more cinematic feel, but Valve is one of the only ones that successfully accomplishes it.

Reason two is Left 4 Dead’s primary focus on cooperative play, instead of competitive. Too many games, even ones that try for a cooperative feel, still have too much of an emphasis on having players try to outdo everyone else. If Left 4 Dead were made by anyone else, I would think it would be all about who could kill the most zombies, instead of working together to survive. It’s hard to think of another FPS that has such a well defined emphasis on co-op. Even the zombie players have to work together.

Unfortunately though, most people you play with online still seem to want to go on a glory run, but that is the fault of the gaming community, not the game itself (as are the majority of swearing and all of the offensive remarks). So Left 4 Dead, like every other game out there, is best played with people you know.

All in all, Left 4 Dead 2 is great fun, and a great sequel. It maintains the fun and personality of the original, and adds more to it. Though as I said before, I’m afraid the scavenge mode isn’t as good as the older modes, and not all of the new elements quite hold up to the standard. But the new special infected are all fun to play (as are the old ones…save the Hunter) and the melee weapons are great. The campaign levels are fun (though surprisingly, I think Dark Carnival might be my least favorite) and they are only made better with versus mode.

While it isn’t the freshest game to come out of the Valve canon (being similar to its predecessor from one year earlier and whatnot), it still is an extremely enjoyable game with plenty to offer. Another classic from Valve.

Ellis! Is now the best time?

(1 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10, rated)

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