hagzor's Left 4 Dead 2 (PC) review

The zombies are back but its all a little underwhelming


Its been a busy time for Valve, In the space of only a year they brought out a squeal to game that just barely over a year old it self. It was an odd move by them considering how much time they normal put in there games. None the less Left For Dead 2 is here and whether you like it or not it seems the series is here to stay.
For the most part the gameplay is fairly unchanged. Its your the same modes you had before (plus a couple of new ones). One major difference is now there are melee weapons, for the most part they all handle the same par the chainsaw. For instance I haven't really felt much difference between the fire axe and the sword, they feel the same and they make a nice splatter when you hit a zombie. While the a nice addition I still feel the need to carry a handgun instead, this might simple be because they added a overpowered desert eagle into the game but who knows. Speaking of the weapons there a new number of them in L4D. The old guns come back but there some new ones to. The two that stick out most are the AK47 (which in my opinion is the best gun in the game), a desert assault rife and a number of new shotguns. Again nice additions and some people will have the favorites. On top there are some nice little bonus like laser sights and incendiary rounds which are nice small touches.

The game also looks a little better then last time. This in my opinion is because of the lighting effecting going on because most of the game is in daylight. I do like but it just doesn't give the same effect as when you play at night which again is personal opinion more then anything. The Campaigns pretty much follow how they went in the first game. You be playing 3 different chapters that will lead up to the final stand. There are some changes thought. Some of the final stands are different. For instance one makes you look for fuel to gas up a car (also a new gameplay mode). Again its still fairly unchanged but little things that make a level a lot harder such as a level that is filled with a number of witches and so on. Also there are the uncommon common infected. These a basically the normal zombies with a couple of difference such as one that are immune to fire and others that wear riot suits. I found them to be more of an annoyance more then anything but I guess they keep you on your feet.

Versus is a little different this time around, while the same rules apply as before. It mixed up a bit by the addition of 3 new zombies. First off is the Charger which is right now being debated whether its a zombie becoming a tank or a tank that didn't turn out so great. They are by far the strongest zombie and do the most damage putting you into the red with in 5 or 6 seconds if not dealt with. The next is the Jockey, its kind of a different take or the hunter it has a smaller pouch range but this time when it jumps on you it gain limited control over the human and is able to ride them like a horse. This can be useful when steering them off a high place or into a group of zombies. Last but not least is my new favorite the Spitter, this has changed the game the most especially in versus mode. Whats so cool about it is that is has a range attack in which they will spit a green acid on the floor which will hurt anyone that will stand in it. This makes is useful for people who like to stand in the same place and camp or just do some extra damage to guys that are already on the floor.


Even thought the zombies are a cool, they are much harder to use then the other zombies ( the spitter is fairly easy). Even then a lot of the use of the jockey and charger is to hope the humans will get into a spot that will be an advantage to you. The main problem is Novice players and public game will for the most part suck as I feel the game needs more teamwork then last and its unlikely you find it in public games. 


Lets move on to the new survivors, actually lets not because they suck, I mean they really unlikeable. Coach for the most part is ok,  I feel sorry for him to be stuck with the rest of these guys. Nick for the most part is the least of the worst be his crappy attitude and and just really being a jerk really doesn't make me care for him at all. Rochelle is a news reporter and yep she not Zoey, also she is really annoying. Last and so least is Ellis, this hillbilly is not only a jackass but an idiot as well, he's the kind of guy you know that shoots say at a bird really close to scare the shit of it and laugh and who clearly was dropped on his head many times a retarded infant. These guys are by far one of the worst things about L4D2. While I did say in the past the old ones were pretty generic, they were lovable which is why many or us long to hear bill say pills here again. 


While L4D2 is an improvement over the last game it just doesn't have the same appeal as its big brother had. The reason for this is because Left 4 Dead was a pretty original game and while it was lacking in the content department, it built on its fun versus modes and such which at point did get boring. Because L4D2 is kind of the same in a lot of ways the game lost its appeal quick. The new modes didn't really do anything impressive and just weren't as good a the versus mode. Add on the awful cast and in a look of way the game is a let down. But giving the time to turn around a sqeual so quickly is impressive while maybe in my opinion being to soon. 

Its going to be interesting to see were Valve will take the game next and what it will do with DLC. Again its so unlike them to make a game like this is such a short time. None the less its a game that does include a lot more, even so because it came so quickly I guess more then anything it was just underwhelming more then anything. Still it was worth it in the end to get Bills hat in TF2.


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