There's no denying that the original "Left 4 Dead" hit the nail on the head with its fantastic blend of action, suspense, and co-operative play. And here we are just one short year later with a follow-up that Valve promises delivers much, much more: more locations, more weapons, more infected, and more variety is the name of the game in "Left 4 Dead 2." So does the core gameplay still shine with all the extra trimmings there hiding it from view?
The Basics
Players take on the role of one of four survivors -- immune to the infectious zombie outbreak that's left the world in turmoil -- who must fight there way across five campaigns, set throughout the southern United States. Along the way, they must collect weapons and ammo, fight off a number of new special infected zombies, and constantly watch each other's backs to make sure the party survives.
Meanwhile Valve's dynamic AI Director 2.0 sets the pace and tone of each encounter while controlling everything from weapon drops, enemy spawn points and population, as well as lighting and some basic level layout. You'll never play the same game twice.
The Highs
A Series of Peaks and Valleys
If you've ever seen a graph of a solid three-act story structure, you know that each act builds, dips briefly at the beginning of the following act, then increases the drama until the story reaches a climax and can reach no higher point. Well Valve, and their fantastic AI Director 2.0, are masters of this structure, but they do it dynamically, on the fly. Each campaign builds up tension and releases it at just the opportune moments. Whether you're collecting ammo before calling in the horde or screaming into your headset for a buddy to "get this damn Jockey off my head," there are nearly limitless opportunities for tension (and action) to swell up to greater heights.
Just when things start looking bad… a Tank will show up, you'll ride an elevator to the floor of a burning building, or a Witch will start sobbing in the distance. And that's all before you get to one of the five distinct finales the game that will have you running and gunning for your life.
More Stuff = More Opportunities
The original "Left 4 Dead" was an incredibly tight game that had a number of pieces (weapons, infected, or items like pills or medkits) that worked together very well. Unfortunately, there were just very few of those pieces. "Left 4 Dead 2" expands and builds upon each of those pieces wonderfully, providing many more opportunities for memorable moments to occur.
Adrenaline, as an alternative to pills, can provide players with a temporary speed boost to all their abilities. The Bile Bomb attracts nearby infected to attack its target. A defibrillator unit allows characters to revive dead comrades. All these options change up gameplay and make the never-ending joy of killing zombies all the more jubilant.
The Environment
I'm not going to say it’s the locations themselves, or the content of the locations that's so impressive in "Left 4 Dead 2," it's how those locations are presented to the player that really sets the bar high.
Throughout the course of any one campaign the day may shift into night, showcasing the varying grays and hues of light that take place during dusk. And the Heavy Rain campaign in particular -- where players must fetch gasoline and return to the starting location -- is possibly one of the greatest examples of how one location can evoke a tremendously different response from players under a different set of parameters. A slight drizzle morphs into a massive rainstorm where rain and wind literally beat the player back as they progress back through familiar territory, only this time it all seems less familiar.
Infectuous Infected
"Left 4 Dead 2" brings three new special infected types into the mix, and each has their own unique skill for splitting up the survivors. The Charger bowls through them, picking up a lone survivor and dragging them across the map until hitting up against a solid object. The Jockey grabs a survivor and steers them away from safety. And the Spitter can eject a ground-covering blast of acid that tears through health and forces the party to evacuate their current location. The sheer variety of these attacks keeps players on their toes while providing some excellent tactical opportunities for players working together as infected in either of the games adversarial modes.
Scavenger Mode
One of my biggest complaints about the first "Left 4 Dead" revolved around time. The game simply required too much time for me to casually drop in and play for a half-hour sitting. The new Scavenger Mode -- where two teams take turns trying to collect as many gas cans on a given map as possible -- is a wonderful, faster alternative to the game's campaign and versus modes. It packs all that "Left 4 Dead" punch into a much smaller serving.
From A**holes to Apples
Finally, thank you Valve. Thank you for somehow turning the most racist, hateful, and dickish of the internet community into team players interested in my well being. Maybe your game design is some form of subconscious suggestion, or maybe the will to survive a zombie outbreak is a common link between all of mankind, but "Left 4 Dead 2" changes people on Xbox Live. It changes them for the better.
The Lows
Single Player
While "Left 4 Dead 2" can be played solo with the aid of friendly AI, I cannot in any way recommend it. It's a neutered experience that feels empty without the relationships that develop when you play the game co-operatively with others. To make matters worse, the friendly AI serves as little more than a group of turrets wandering slowly after you at your heels. They never push forward, and they still don't make use of any of the grenades drops located throughout the game. One can't help but wish these guys were just a little smarter.
Zombies Amble, My Internet Connection Does Not
Over the course of this past pre-release weekend, I connected to a number of matches where I suffered from some terrible latency issues. Even a few matches that I started solo fell victim to an awful amount of lag. Exiting a match and starting a new one was typically all the work I needed to do to get a solid connection going, but I wish that wasn't the case. That said, this is most likely a problem that will disappear as Valve patches the game in the future.
Where's My Plane Crash Moment?
This may be petty given the breadth of the experience on offer, but not once did I ever come across a moment as cinematically visceral as the plane crash during the finale of Dead Air in the original "Left 4 Dead." That one moment has been seared into my gaming memory and I was shocked to discover that "Left 4 Dead 2" didn't capitalize on the success of that moment. Sure, jets soar overhead, the rain beats down on you, and you get to watch a tanker explode in the distance, but I never saw anything that prompted me to stop in my tracks and allow the moment to sink in like that scene in the original.
Final Word
"Left 4 Dead 2" bests the original "Left 4 Dead" in nearly every way.
Under all those blood and guts and carnage is a technical ballet, seamlessly integrating a variety of elements into one great performance that any fan of the original should not miss. It's not a major leap forward, but the new content and rich mechanics make this game a hard sell to pass up.
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