Our favorite zombie-apocalypse co-op game returns to bring four new protagonists to a completely new location with new weapons and special infected. Can it possibly be a legitimate sequel to a rather successful and incredibly infectious Left4Dead?

Gameplay

Hot on the heels of Left4Dead, Left4Dead2 (here on referred to as L4D2) reminds all of us why zombie survival games, when done right, have a special place in our gamer hearts: because it’s incredibly fun. L4D2 takes the proven formula of cooperative gameplay and adds more deliciously sinful goodness that makes it almost criminal to enjoy.

The core gameplay of L4D2 hasn’t changed; you are one of four survivors that must push past the zombie horde and make it to the safe house or finale escape point. L4D2 changes the setting to the southeastern region of the U.S., from Savannah to the bayou country of Georgia to the French Quarter in New Orleans. This comes with a slew of new experiences, with dark dank swamps and creepy carnivals that could possibly leave you scarred.

As one of four new survivors, you must work with your group to make it to the end. In no way are you able to make it by yourself from beginning to end unless you are exceptionally skilled and lucky. As you make your way to safe houses you will come up against infected zombies and special infected that will one way or another have you depend on another to survive. It is with these special infected that not encourage the team play, but force it. For example, there are special infected that will grapple or tackle the player that require another player to get it off of them.

New in L4D2 for your fight are melee weapons. While you still have a melee option for your weapons, there is now a cool down period after using the melee too much. The new melee weapons don’t have a cool down for their main attack and of course have unlimited ammo. You can bash in heads with a cricket bat, a guitar, or lop off heads with a samurai sword and fire axes. In case you were wondering, yes the guitar makes a “KABONG” noise when you hit a zombie with it.

L4D2 also brings us some the classic weapons we had from L4D along with new models of weapons. There are also some new weapons such as a grenade launcher, which is quite useful for large group of zombies, however, it is dangerous at close range to yourself and your teammates! There is also new equipment that aids the survivors more than just med kits and pills. The defibrillator will bring back dead players from where they were killed, negating the need to hope that you’ll be able to rescue them later on in the level. Boomer bile is also available in order to have zombies attack another target, such as an uncommon infected or another player (if you’re inclined). This works just like the pipe bomb but minus the explosion effect. Players will also notice that you can equip ammo that can be explosive or flammable, giving them an upper hand in those tough moments when regular ammunition isn’t going to cut it.

L4D2 stays on the giving train and hands us two new modes of gameplay. We are presented with Scavenge and Realism mode. Scavenge mode will challenge players to collect a certain number of gas cans to power a generator or a car. This is a four vs. four affair, played in three rounds with the victor collecting the most cans and winning the best of the three. This is a welcome change of pace from just trying to complete the campaign missions while facing against four other players and definitely encourages strong teamwork as well as a great plan. Trying to gather more cans than the other team really makes it a desperate struggle, more so when you got zombies all around you.

Realism mode is just that, with some features removed without increasing the difficulty. Players that die can only be brought back with a defibrillator and teammate’s silhouettes are no longer visible. Zombies are tougher to take down, they go down with a shot to a head and body shots need more work. This makes every surge of zombies a terrifying ordeal as you got to be accurate with your shots as well as depend on your teammates.

Speaking of teammates, the collection of survivors you play as are just as eccentric and unique as the original group from L4D. There’s Ellis, a scrawny NASCAR fan with a penchant for long stories that usually prompt one of the other survivors to stop him, Nick, a slick talker in a suit straight out of Miami Vice, Coach, a robust and gentle gym teacher, and Rochelle, the sassy and smart woman of the bunch. From time to time you’ll hear them talk about their situation or plans, complete with their accents and mannerisms.

With new teammates also comes new special infected. The Spitter is one that can spit acid over a distance and when killed, sprays more acid. In this regard she is the cousin of the Boomer, minus her bile bringing more zombies. Instead this gives the special infected a dangerous addition to their team. While the survivors only had to worry about getting pounced or rammed, the Spitter is able to cause them damage from a distance. Used in combination with a Hunter to pin a survivor in the acid, it can be exceptionally deadly.
The Jockey is a creepy special infected that is scrawny and quick. Instead of pouncing and pinning you like a Hunter would, the Jockey is able to control a survivor to make them move to where they please. During this time the survivor is completely helpless, unable to move or shoot, but won’t take damage…until the Jockey moves them into harm. It is quite satisfying to bring a survivor away from their teammates and into a zombie horde in towards a Witch.

Last but the very least is the Charger. Looking like and acting like the Tank’s little brother, the Charger can bowl over survivors with a terrible charge. If any survivor happens to be in his way, he will grapple them and start pounding them into the ground repeatedly until he is killed. He isn’t as tough as a Tank, but should prompt just as much fear as one.

These new special infected help change the tempo of L4D2 with a change of tactics to deal with the new infected. It also makes L4D2 a fresh and new experience rather than feeling like an add-on. You will also probably notice some new common infected with special abilities, like riot gear-equipped zombies that are tougher to kill, mudmen that swim in swampy waters and hazmat-wearing scientists that are immune to fire.

Aiding the new infected is the AI Director 2.0. Improved more so than the previous in L4D, the new AI Director will change enemy population, customize the level layout and music and effects to make each experience a new one. This is based on your team’s performance, so as you get better, the AI Director will make things more difficult. I didn’t really notice any real level layout changes but the new effects and lighting would change subtly to reflect how I was doing. I realize it doesn’t need to be up there in your face and in a way it plays with your mind that there is a “brain” out there watching you, judging you and throwing kinks in your system to challenge you.

The controls haven’t changed much and for those that were familiar with L4D will not have to worry about any new functions to get used to. While I had started out playing L4D on the PC and then moved to the Xbox 360 for L4D2 and it took some getting used to, after a while the control wasn’t much of an issue. Analog joysticks allow for easier movement and able to help maintain a pace has that advantage over a PC keyboard.

Graphics

L4D2’s graphics haven’t changed much over the original L4D. While the locations and zombies may be different, there are some new little touches that improve the visual quality. There are slight blurs for fast action and movements and the zombies are more varied so that you won’t feel like you’re facing the same ones over and over. The idea that not much has changed visually isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the original L4D was a beautiful game that captured the feel and look of a city amidst a zombie apocalypse. The Xbox 360 can handle this zombie carnage pretty well, although you’ll see some corpses disappear in front of you after a while. This is its effort to maintain a high frame rate for those high intensity moments. Overall, the engine for L4D2 is still a solid one.

Sound

L4D2 is a game that relies on visual and audible cues to help the survivors make it to the end. Each special infected make a certain noise that will clue you in on their presence. While not much has changed from the original L4D in terms of sound effects, the music has changed to reflect the southern atmosphere. When a horde arrives or for a panic event, you’ll get music that is tinged with banjo and violin in southern style. This is a nice touch as you won’t feel like everything from L4D was just ported over to a new title. The dialogue between survivors is pretty good as well, as it is more natural and flowing.

PlasmaFactor

Is L4D2 a necessary title? Could all of this be done in an add-on? I think not. There are new features and enemies to face as well as a new AI Director. The new game modes alone are worth it. The game is huge enough to give you hours upon hours of entertainment and that’s just in the Campaign. Digging into Scavenge, Realism and Versus can extend your experience multifold.

Conclusion

There is almost no reason to not get L4D2 if you were a fan of L4D. You’re shooting up zombies in the southern United States and with the addition of a chainsaw to your armory, it has never been so satisfying.