Left 4 Dead 2 Review – “Enjoyable Flesh Wound”
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Left 4 Dead 2 - Review
uhhhh…eurgh. That would be the average sound of a walking zombie, well that’s what I have learnt from zombie media. It could be completely different when the apocalypse eventually does happen but for now we will have to deal with the Left 4 Dead franchise.
Left 4 Dead 2 is the sequel to 2008’s Left 4 Dead, you learn something everyday! Valve has gone about creating it for the Xbox360 and the PC while obviously leaving the PS3 hanging out to dry, but lets not get into that conversation.
So is Left 4 Dead 2 just a zombie flesh wound or is it an all out brutal attack?
5 Brand New Films for you to tackle
Story – 7
The story is played out across 5 brand new zombie ‘films’ (show above) which are set in locations all across the southern states of the USA. You will be visiting Savannah, Georgia and finally arriving at New Orleans for the games finale. Each film tales place in all new dark and dingy environments which really does make you feel that the campaign is really beginning to develop. You will be heading through swamps, visiting the tunnel of love and fighting off the horde from a big mansion. Although this game hasn’t been made to be a story driven thrill-ride, it attempts for you to become loyal friends with one of the new characters.
Badass crew number 2!
L4D2 has you playing as one of 4 new characters. Coach, a high school football coach; Ellis, a 23-year-old auto mechanic; Nick, a gambler and conman; and Rochelle, a news reporter. Each character is jam packed full of witty dialog and story. Each has their own little back story which you slowly begin to find out about throughout the game. The details only tend to come out of the people’s mouths when you stand around and do nothing, which is a real shame as the voice acting is one of the definite highlights of the game.
Obviously\Sadly don’t expect this to be the next video-game zombie novel because this is all about zombie killing and not having to think about it afterwards.
Gameplay – 9
Left 4 Dead 2 should be happily greeted into your living room and could easily become one of the family daily tasks, that’s only the case if your family are massive zombie fans or enjoy the cruelty against humans? By this I mean, this game is meant to be played with three of your mates (online or offline). This game will be completely different each time you play it, so we may not of picked up on some key experiences first time round!
It’s all about experiencing the game, especially during the massive crescendo zombie moments (‘When zombie hordes attack’). It’s all about the idea of playing through your favourite zombie style moments while being able to relate to the in-game characters to being one of your actual friends. Shouting at each other as one of them gets themselves into a little trouble with the undead, then commenting on how they should of stuck by you. It’s rather amazing to feel like a teacher in a zombie killing moment!
Our main single-player issue has to be the fact that they haven’t added that many new features to the films. Everything is all about getting from A to B, which is a little shameful as the game shows off a few new features in it’s first campaign Dead Centre. Dead Centre has you doing a little crazy escort mission regarding a crate of cola. It’s a nice little addition but sadly that’s the only time we saw anything like it in the game, a little gutting.
As if Zombies can get anymore ’special’?
I also found that getting totalled by one of the new Zombie Specials is somewhat satisfying! Welcome to the team: the Charger, the jockey and the spitter.
The Charger is basically a miniature version of the tank which runs in a straight line to take out it’s opponents. It goes about slamming them into the ground countless times.
The Jockey, is exactly what it says on the tin. It jumps onto your back and rides you about. The Jockey has been specifically made to split up the survivors as this is the only zombie special which can actually physically take you out of place.
Finally, the Spitter is the zombie version of a napalm user. It spits boiling hot ‘Zombie Goo’ onto a designated location (Preferably the ground) and will cause you heavy amounts of damage.
FAQ: How to kill Zombies?
Now, I’m no expert regarding zombie killing however I do know how to kill a zombie with a frying pan or even an Axe. Just push the zombie back and then lop his head off!
So yep, this time around you’ll be fighting the undead while wielding household appliances, sadly not quite yet (Hopefully to be added to L4D 3?). You can grab: an axe, katanna, nightstick, a cricket bat, machete and the best addition – the Chainsaw!
These will take the place of your handgun sidearm and can be used limitlessly, except for the chainsaw which has its own petrol gauge.
Multiplayer – 8
Welcome back to Valve’s Online Zombie Experience! The only place in the world where you can moan and be cheered for your acting skills.
Online Campaign, Versus and Survival mode return to the playing field. Now we welcome 2 brand new modes: Scavenge Mode and Realism Mode.
Realism Mode is near enough exactly what it says on the tin. You can jump into a online campaign session which will have all the glows turned off and the zombies will only fall to decent headshot kills. Having the glows turned off really means you have to stick together, if someone drops you won’t know where they are, so you’d better either talk to them or stick by them.
This mode is ideal for those 4 players who always play together.
Scavenge Mode is a fast paced frantic game mode which fits in rather nicely to your daily schedule of general Zombie Killing.
Scavenge Mode has you have 3 of your surviving buddies filling up a gas tank with petrol. 16 cans which have been spread across a map, high and low. You have 3 minutes initially to go and find the petrol and bring it back to fill up the tank, obviously it’s not that simple. The Zombies (shock-horror) are attempting to stop you and make sure you die, as quick as possible.
If your holding a petrol can after the time is up the game will go into overtime, then the world’s eyes turn to you, you are their saviour.
This is the mode which Left 4 Dead has been looking for. You can have a quick 20min match and within that time you’ve most probably caused a lot of bloodshed which has kept you entertained. We have a full video First Look coming up sometime this week.
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Details
Category: First Person Shooter
Age: 18 Years and above
Publisher: EA Games
Brain Splatters
- New awesome zombies and weaponry – a chainsaw for crying out loud!
- Director 2.0 deserves an Emmy.
- Scavenge mode is Gas Filling Fun!
Zombie Bites
- Not informed very well on the characters backgrounds.
- Linear campaign plot lines.
- Xbox360 lacks the legitimate modding community.
Overal Then
Left 4 Dead 2 is your perfect excuse for more zombie killing!
An overall satisfying experience plummeting a weapon across a zombies’ fragile face. This game has hours of content which will happily last you up to the Christmas season, either that or it should definitely be placed on your Zombie Christmas list!
Written & Reviewed By - Sam Clay
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