Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

40 to 100 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Immersive"

Release- 11/17/09

Platforms- 360, PC

Gamespot Score- 9.0

Following the success of the zombie fighting hit Left 4 Dead, Valve worked quickly to create a sequel that would improve on an already near perfect formula. Upon hearing the news of the sequel, fans emotions ranged from excitement to anger over it happening so soon. But you must be crazy to think that this sequel isn't every bit as good as Left 4 Dead with more Zombies, more weapons, and more fun to be had with friends.

In Left 4 Dead 2, you play as one of four survivors. Rochelle, a reporter, Nick, a con man, Ellis, a mechanic, and Coach who is a....well.....Coach.The four were brought together by nothing but chance and now they must work together to survive.

As you battle the undead horde, you will be confronted with several special infected.

Charger- crashes into a player and slams them into the ground until another survivor kills it.

Spitter- shoots a pool of acid at the ground that damages survivors while they stand in it.

Jockey- rides and steers the survivors doing damage as he is on them. Can also steer you into hazards.

Hunter- agile zombie who pounces on a player and tears them apart until another survivor intervenes.

Smoker- grabs a player with its tounge and drags them to it. Does damage when the survivor is all the way to it.

Boomer- vomits on survivors which draws all common zombies to the affected survivor. Also covers nearby survivors when killed.

Witch- potential instant kill if startled by a survivor. It is best to try and leave them alone.

Tank- strong, hulking monster that acts as a boss fight. All survivor must wotk together to bring it down.

There are initially five compains to choose from. What separates these campains from those in L4D is that they run together as if they are a coherant story. For example, you finish the first campain in a racecar and you start the second compain by that sam racecar. Another difference that isn't very enjoyable is the inclusion of gas tank finales which have you finding gas tanks to fill up a generator or something. I think alot of people agree with me when I say that I prefer the traditional formula of defense while waiting for rescue. Luckily, only a few campains require this method and the campains that still use the defense sequence are amazing. One that stood out was the end of Dark Carnival which has you using a rock concert light show to signal a chopper.

When it comes down to weapons, few games are able to match a plaer's ****like Left 4 Dead 2. Say you like to get up close and personal with enemies. Then choose one of the shotguns. Or maybe you like hand to hand combat. Take your pick of the brand new melee weapons. You may even like total destruction. Then the grenade launcher is for you. Or do you want to hang back and have accuracy on your side. Then just take a rifle.

Now on to Left 4 Dead 2's many game options. Single player is what you'd expect. It's just you and three NPC'S. Another option allows you to play with up to three friends and fight through one of the campains. Or you could take it a step further and try realism which takes the difficulty to the next level giving veterans a more challenging experience. Wersus mode allows two teams of four to take take turns playing athe survivors or the special infected where survivors fight to the safe room and special infected try to stop them. Mutation mode changes every week. It consists of modified game modes like realism versus of Taaaank! Where every special infected is a tank. Some have even become permanant game types like realism versus.

Final Bite-Looking for a game for you and your friends to play? Lock yourselves in your rooms for a few weeks straight and have one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences around.

Gamer Shark Score- 10/10