Fight together...or die alone. The zombie apocalypse continues more frenzied than before as the highly virulent strain of the rabies virus continues to spread throughout the human population with frightening speed. The virus kills humans and produces the "infected", a code name for zombies that want to eat your face off.
If you didn’t play the Valve’s award-winning Left 4 Dead then let’s give you a quick description; this isn’t like any other zombie-shooters you’ve played, this is no Resident Evil or Dead Rising with their clichéd, shambling zombies, in L4D2 the zombies can run. Fast. Think: 28 Days Later rather than Dawn of The Dead.
As in the first game you are one of the lucky few survivors who are apparently immune to the apocalyptic virus, and teamed up with 3 other new non-zombies you must co-operate to survive or die alone. Set in the Southern US (Georgia and Louisiana), there are 4 new characters; Coach (a chunky high-school football coach with a bad knee); Rochelle (a producer’s assistant caught up in the devastation while reporting on it for TV); Ellis (a laid-back good old country boy; and Nick (a gambler and conman). The story-arc cleverly connects each of the game's five campaigns together and ties the story up neatly at the end.
Coming from the makers of Half Life and Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead 2 is built around the latest version of Valve’s Source Engine, runs at a slick 60fps and allows you to move around quickly and smoothly. The hundreds of zombies attack in numbers and at speeds you won’t believe possible until you see it in action. The infected come in a range of shapes and sizes, some spit at you, some grab you and some just charge you and some (the aptly named Boomers) actually explode. New “special infected” include “The Charger”, a type that is mutated so it has an oversized arm and can run at you with great speed, knocking you on your arse and doing a lot of damage –even grappling you and body-slamming you into the ground. Spitters can project balls of acidic phlegm from long distances. Jockeys look hilarious until one jumps on you, at which point they “ride” you and steer you towards the largest group of nearby infected or environmental traps. Whatever the type they’re all extremely aggressive, fast and deadly – except the Witches; passive female infected who just stand silently and terrifyingly still, waiting to be awoken by any loud noises (like your gunfire). A Witch will attack whoever wakes her up and usually knocks them down in one hit.
The main new feature is the addition of melee weapons, which adds a whole new element to the gameplay and makes it a lot more fun. A baseball bat, crowbar, cricket bat, katana sword – even a chainsaw can be found and used to great effect. Gameplay consists of finding the “exit” or safe room in the level, and locations are quite linear, with just a few dead end offshoots to waste your time and add confusion. The game’s AI (known as the “Director”) monitors the game and alters the scenario dynamically to provide a challenge suited to the players’ ability as they progress. The Director can even change elements of the levels like the placement of walls and doors, the general layout of a map, the lighting and weather conditions, which can make each new session unique.
Left 4 Dead 2 can be played solo with you choosing which one of the 4 characters to play. The CPU takes control of the other three and does a meritorious job. It does its fair share of killing, providing support fire and healing you when you’re in trouble. As in the Call of Duty games though, the AI will always hang back and let you do the lion’s share of the damage, and always require you to lead the way to new areas. The AI characters won’t use their weapons too wisely either, failing to use grenades or fixed weapons like machine guns. The game is much better with a friend in the 2-player split screen mode but really comes alive on Xbox Live with 3 other players. The game demands teamwork at every turn and so it’s best played with old friends, although due to the nature of the game you’re likely to make some new ones just by playing it online. As I said, it’s a game that can be played alone, but if you do play it that way you’re really missing out. One of the best features of the co-op modes (both online and split-screen) is that they are pop-in/drop-out. This means that a friend can join mid-level and drop out at any time, with the AI taking control of their character – in fact the AI will even take control if they go away for a short time. This is a bit of genius on Valve’s part, especially given the addictive nature of the gameplay and the time games can take to play.
Left 4 Dead's “Versus multiplayer” mode pits two teams of players against each other, using the same locations and chapters as the mains story taking turns as either the survivors or special infected. It's brilliant fun to see the story from the other end of the gun and also to play the same levels through with (arguably) more intelligent and crafty zombies who can actually communicate and plan their bloodthirsty strategy. The final score is based on how much health each survivor has when they get to the end of each chapter times the number of survivors left alive. Once each chapter has been played through, the teams swap roles. A new addition is the “Scavenge” mode. “Survivor” players must try to collect and use as many of the gas canisters scattered around the new Scavenge-specific maps to maintain fuel in power generators, which extends the time the round lasts. “Infected” players obviously play to stop them at all costs. The game plays well online but clearly some people are suffering significant lag problems, an issue that was presumed to be the fault of Valve’s dedicated servers and appears to have been fixed. While I personally can’t complain some people I’ve played with claim they “can’t hit a thing” because they’re lagging so badly even after the update.
Visually the game really is still a “mixed bag”. The infected are well-animated but lack detail and the models are, unsurprisingly, badly overused. The 4 survivors are lavished with a bit more character but also skip and slide unrealistically about the place (particularly up and down stairs) as the game engine tries to position them to keep them where they’re supposed to be. The blood and gore effects are still rather simplistic compared to some games, with a fine mist of blood accounting for most of the gore and a few, identical and - again - overused blood splatter decals decorating the walls when you blast a zombie near one. The music is atmospheric and does a good job of warning the player about impending danger.
As with the original Left 4 Dead, this sequel is a funny one to plonk a score on. At times the speed and fluidity with which the game moves, the large number of enemies on screen and the incredibly hectic, gory and violent nature of the gameplay is so mesmerising that you’ll think it’s a surefire 10/10. At other times some dodgy AI, a graphical glitch or the fact that there's been very little added to make this a proper sequel will push the score way lower - it's definitely more of a "Left 4 Dead 1.5" than a true sequel. But I still love killing zombies, especially with a gang of mates, and L4D2 allows me to do that at a pace that most other games can only dream of, as to whether this kind of "data disc half-sequel" justifies another full price purchase is up to you - and your wallet.
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