A number of subtle but significant changes ensure that this is still a highly impressive action game.
One's enjoyment of this online co-operative shooter is likely to depend on how they have played the original game. Those that have not experienced Valve's visualisation of a zombie apocalypse before will be blown away by one of the most competitive and unique online shooters in several years. Those who are veterans of the franchise will not find this to be as refreshing as the first game, but they will still be thoroughly impressed with the drastically increased amount of content and a number of subtle but significant changes that ensure that this is still a highly impressive action game. The game takes place over five campaigns, broken up into a series of chapters. As with the first game, players must navigate through these levels, killing zombie hordes and then prepare for a climax in the level, such as having to deliver a man's cola or turning off an alarm in a shopping mall. The amount of variety to the flavour of these levels is a large improvement over the first game. Where the first game was mostly set in the city, the sequel takes place over a vast number of locations including: city streets and alleyways, an amusement park with roller-coaster rides, a swamp filled with thick vegetation, a mill caught in a downpour and a hectic rush across a collapsing bridge. These levels also contain their own zombie character models too. The Carnival for example, contains a number of clowns whose squeaking noses attract other zombies. Likewise, the hotel contains CEDA zombie types in hazard suits that are resistant to fire.
To enforce the arch of the narrative in a stronger fashion than its predecessor, there is a greater sense of continuity between the levels throughout Left 4 Dead 2. The narrative is subtly underwritten and mostly projected through a number of visual clues. The placement of a number of smashed up cars for example, suggests the zombies attacked people along the freeway. Or the site of a number of shot up human bodies, suggests that the military were not taking any chances. One receives a much larger view of the affects of the zombie outbreak in this game. The new characters throughout the narrative are also as likable, if not more so, than the first game. The survivors here have not been as broadly written as they were in the first Left 4 Dead. Nick is a less of a caricature from a zombie movie than someone like Bill from the first game. There are more clues to his character that suggest ideas about his previous life. The look on his face when he sees a cash register open in the games first brilliant cinematic, suggests that he is a very shady and shifty character, even if it is never completely confirmed. Ellis is by far the best character from both games though, hilarious as the redneck. It with a great deal of irony that he suggests to Rochelle at the end of the first campaign: "try reading a book sometime". His references to the city of Atlantis, his apparent knowledge of tourist sites and his mechanical abilities imply that he is a lot smarter than most would suspect. Overall, the quality of the voice acting and the smart and very funny writing here is a tremendous asset to the game, poking fun at so many of the zombie clichés and conventions.
One of the most significant changes to this game is the size and shape of the levels. Not only are the majority of the chapters in Left 4 Dead 2 longer than in the original but they are also a lot more open as well. This is significant as it ensures that zombies can attack from all directions and prevents players from holding up in a corner together and mowing down enemies. The three new infected classes also compliment this change. The Charger, Jockey and Spitter have all been designed specifically to break up the survivors and prevent them from crowding together. The Charger is like a mini tank except that it can ram into survivors, knocking them over or into each other like dominoes. Once it has caught the player on the ground it will continue to pound them. The Jockey is a much smaller class but it is very quick and is capable of jumping up onto the shoulders of a survivor and dragging them over a cliff or into a horde. The Spitter also benefits from its ability to spit acid on the ground, which very quickly burns up the Survivors if they stand in it. It is with these classes that the smaller corridors are now a much greater danger than they were in the first game because of the threat of being pinned down. All three of the new Infected classes are fun, useful and exciting new additions that fulfill their tasks splendidly.
To ensure that the game is still balanced for the Survivors though, Valve has thankfully increased the number of weapons that can be found throughout the game. All of the old weapons have been retained but there are several new types of shotguns to be found, as well as two powerful new machine guns and a new sniper rifle. The feel of all the weapons overall is as solid as one could ask for from a First Person Shooter. The inclusion of melee weapons is one of the finest touches though. Frying pans, axes, katana swords, baseball bats and several others can be used to cut down waves of hording zombies. There is a striking sense of weight to each of these weapons most because of the excellent and meaty sound effects, and also because of the bloody dismemberment animations. Left 4 Dead 2 is indeed a very violent game because of the player's ability to lop off limbs, chop off heads and slash open bodies. It is gruesome but necessary in asserting the effectiveness of these melee weapons. Eventually with the rapid pace of the game, it becomes far less shocking.
Despite the inclusion of a single player mode this is most certainly a game that has been designed to be played with other people online. This is most obvious from the quality of the AI which is sadly very poor. Playing with the bot AI is often a very frustrating experience because they struggle to keep up with the player and regularly make both slow and poor decisions, which is disastrous in such a fast paced game, requiring quick thinking. The enemy AI is varies in quality too. While the special infected bot AI is again very poor, with Boomers standing out in the open waiting to be shot, the zombies themselves are still terrific. They will climb up to places, fight amongst themselves and try to swarm the players from all directions. They are very true to the most popular of zombie films. Playing online, one is best to share this game with friends rather than the general community. This is because the public community is largely intolerable, divided between those who are inexperienced and struggling with the tactics, those who are damning of their own or opposing teams and those who just don't seem to be that interested in playing but remain in the game. The concept of both Left 4 Dead games, with such an important emphasis on team play means that it can be either one of the most exciting online games or also one of the most frustrating at times.
Versus is largely the heart of the entire game as it is far more exciting and competitive than the standard campaign mode. Yet there are a number of other fun additions that will increase the lifespan of the game. Scavenger mode is like Versus in that two teams alternate between the Infected and the Survivor classes, except here one must use several gas tanks to fuel up something as quickly as possible before the clock ticks down. Survival is also a nice diversion where players must set up a series of traps and then unleash the horde and earn medals for surviving as long as possible. The only problem with this game mode is that it can take a great deal of time to set up for a small result. Realism mode removes a number of the game mechanics, such as colour coding, for those players interested in the most extreme and expert of playing styles. Overall, there is so much more content here than in the original game but if all of these modes and maps had been released in one game Left 4 Dead would been praised even stronger than it already was.
Left 4 Dead 2 is a great sequel because it retains such an interesting and fun concept and refines it with clever and more exciting level design, as well as challenging new enemies. The new Infected classes are a really smart inclusion that emphasise the importance of teamwork stronger than in the first game. It is also the quality of the writing, from the very funny dialogue to the interesting characterisation, which will ensure that the game continues to rein in players already well experienced with the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse.