A First Person Shooter full of gore and tension, and one that puts a lot of emphasis on teamwork and cooperation.
It is the Zombie Apocalypse game pulled straight out of my dreams. One that brings with it all of the emotions ever felt in some of the best zombie movies. In my opinion, it felt inspired mostly by films like "Dawn of the Dead". It's about four ordinary folk from Louisiana that are left for dead (haha...) after missing their evacuation point. It is a game that puts a huge emphasis on teamwork and cooperation. That is why when you play it with friends it becomes much more enjoyable than you and three AI controlled dummies.
Your character is easy to move and controls are tight. Everything you'd expect from a Valve game. Apart from that, there's an enormous amount of weapons in this game. And from that enormous amount, there is an incredible variety of different weapons. There are pistols, automatic weapons of all kinds, shotguns, both pump-action and semi-automatic, a sniper/assault rifle and most importantly of all, a large array of melee weapons which were apparently not available in the first installment. Shooting is happily responsive and weapons are easy to handle. Even the melee weapons work and I was shocked at how fun it is. Apart from all that, many of the most interesting aspects of L4D2's gameplay is how much you depend on your teammates. One of many examples is how no matter how good of a shooter you are, you're a goner if attacked by jockeys, smokers, chargers or hunters. They're all special undead that pin you down in their own special ways and keep you down till you're dead. The only way to get one off of you is with assistance from one of your team members. Anyone trying to play hero or the lone wolf with this game will be terribly scorned by how fast they'll find themselves dead.
As for visuals, not only are the weapons great, but they look great and have a nice way of reacting when used on enemies. Shotguns blow holes in zombies when aimed just about anywhere. Automatic weapons can punish them and fly limbs off of them. And the melee weapons are the most satisfying. The chainsaw rips through just about anything. The machete quenches your blood thirst by slicing through multiple zombies in one swipe, great for getting through the hordes. The amount of blood is immense and it is constantly being sprayed all over you as if you're in some Quentin Tarantino film. Also, the lighting effects among other things are incredible. It all really helps build tension. One of my favorite things about the game is its attention to detail, not only in the locations and stuff, but the character models. Even their facial expressions are well done.
Voice acting is well done and although there isn't much story to be told apart from "Here are some zombies" (as quoted by Yahtzee), and an obvious straight out of Dawn of the Dead storyline (maybe done intentionally for parody reasons), some of the best dialogues are found in the cozy between moments. Those would be, any moments you weren't bombarded by hordes and hordes of zombies. One example is a conversation between Coach and a guy through an intercom about their current situation and if they had been in contact with any zombies lately. They're a very charming quartet and I had already grown to like them by the second campaign in which I insisted on playing as Ellis.
I didn't delve much into the other game modes but I do know for certain that the campaign mode made it all worth while. Realism Mode is also very interesting although a little too punishing for my taste, considering it is a mode in which all markers showing where your teammates and supplies are, are taken out. So, for example, when a special undead drags one of your teammates to the other end of the mall, you probably won't notice right away as you would've in the normal campaign.
To close up this review, I would just like to say that not only is this a very good zombie game and an outstanding first person shooter, it is also a spectacular multiplayer game that will most likely strengthen a lot of friendships (or break them) with its insistence on Co-Op. That is something that many games these days are missing. Good and lasting gameplay that brings gamers together while they play. I'm very happy to say that Left 4 Dead 2 filled that gaping hole in my lonely heart with chunks of undead zombie parts. All, figuratively speaking.