Thursday 03 Dec 2009

These days it seems that no developer can release a sequel without some sort of outcry from the original’s fans. There is always a fine line between releasing a product that is too familiar to the old one, or too different to be called a sequel. Overstep this line either way and the fans will have online petitions and rage infested forum posts up in no time. Just look at Modern Warfare 2 and the PC community.

Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) was no exception. The fans of the first game felt cheated since the day the sequel was announced. They feared it would kill the original community and the developer would abandon any promised add-on packs. They even had dignitaries visit Valve to check up on progress and then declared that their concerns have been put to rest. This caused other members of the community to shout foul play and bribery. Let me state for the record that Left 4 Dead 2 is a worthy sequel, with enough brilliant new content to warrant a full release, and it is totally awesome! And that all boycotters are crybabies.

No zombies here!

I also need to clear up something that fooled a lot of people: The Left 4 Dead games are NOT full of zombies. That’s right. They are not the undead, they are simply humans infected with a type of incurable rabies rage virus. If you want a zombie shooter full of slow, cumbersome, stupid zombies, then look at Resident Evil 5. Here we serve you smart, fast creatures suffering from a terrible affliction. The infected are agile, can scale walls, fences and even large tanker trucks. They run around and can pounce on you when you least expect it. They are fearsome. And they hunt in packs.

In L4D2 the world is overrun by these infected and is set in the Southern parts of the US. The four campaigns play out over five missions each, all set in various colourful locations such as Bourbon Street, carnivals and shopping malls. Even though the game is a continuation of the first, four new survivors are introduced due to the change in location: we have Coach, a big high school football coach; Ellis, a very talkative mechanic; Nick, a gambling conman; and finally Rochelle, an ambitious television producer. Together these survivors must find a way to be rescued and escape the infected.

The campaign mode is designed to lead our survivors from one safe house to the next in order to ultimately reach an extraction point. In versus mode up to four human players can take control of the special infected and prevent the survivors from reaching safe houses or extraction points. Survival mode sees the survivors holed up in a single location, trying to survive as long as possible against horde after horde of infected. New to L4D2 is the Scavenge mode, a twisted take on capture the flag. It’s a 4-on-4 game where the survivors have to collect gas canisters around the level and return with them to a generator. Every canister extends the time the generator runs. The infected have to either stop the survivors or detonate the gas canisters themselves. Let the carnage begin!

Go Team Go!

The game is designed from the ground up to promote co-operative gameplay. The survivors need to stay together to remain survivors and not suddenly become the deceased. Playing in single player mode the AI takes over control of your team mates, but they are such dimwits that I do not recommend playing it this way. Ever. No really, it’s not worth it. They will stand in doorways blocking your exits, they will not have any idea where to go and will only follow you around. If you happen to be the lowest on health or ammo it’s simply your bad luck, you will have to lead anyway. They also use up all the health packs when they really don’t need it. You need real humans to open this game up to its fullest potential.

The team-play dynamic is more emphasized than before. Strolling off on your own will lead to your swift demise. When a buddy gets incapacitated he can still be revived by someone else. You can now also resuscitate them with a new defibrillator pack if they died. Nothing beats shouting “CLEAR!” and then shocking your buddy back to life. Otherwise you can still find them holed up in closets, but you will be without their eyes, guns and wits until you do. Another medical item that can stimulate your health bar is the adrenaline shot which is a short term fix, similar to the pills which still made its way into the sequel.

Many ways to skin an infected cat

According to the developers’ commentary which can be found on some of the levels, there are now 43 different ways to damage the infected. These include but are not limited to: shooting, burning, hitting, stabbing, slicing, dicing, mincing and blowing up. As with most sequels the game includes a bucket load of new weapons. New sniper rifles, military shotguns, desert eagles and more can now be found. You also get special incendiary ammo that will set everything alight. Players are still limited to two weapon slots at a time, and you can now swop out your pistols for a melee weapon. Swords, frying pans, axes, guitars and crickets bats are only some of the melee weapons on offer. They are slow, but very good at clearing the horde off your back.

The infected found around the different locations are now even more varied. Depending on the level you will get infected in hazmat suits which will make them immune to fire, or infected with riot gear that makes them invincible to weapons fire from the front. You also get more location specific infected, like clowns at the carnival. But it’s the Special Infected that really adds a twist to the gameplay. You still have the Smoker that can pull a survivor away from his buddies’ protection or the Hunter who will pounce on you and start ripping out your guts. The Boomer is still there and still has an upset tummy. The Tank makes a return and will terrify you as much as he ever has. The Witch also returns, but you can have multiple Witches per level, and she no longer sits in a spot waiting for you, she moves around!

Newly introduced is the Charger. No longer will you feel safe in a tunnel with two buddies covering each end. The charger will storm right through you and break up your happy party. The Spitter is one ugly lady who will spit luminous acidic boogers at survivor groups, and continue to do damage in the area the booger landed. Finally the Jockey will hop on survivors’ backs and lead them away from their buddies. Playing these new infected in versus mode really opens the game up more, with some hilarious situations that unfold.

I think, therefore I am

As with the first game, L4D2 includes an AI Director who, similar to a movie director, keeps the pace and flow of the game at a tense and fun level. With its new upgraded brain it is no longer limited to decide infected and item placement. It now also dynamically changes the layout of certain sections of the level. And it will reward you with special weapons if you choose the longer harder routes. It also forces you to change your weapons more often by leaving more weapons and less ammo piles. In L4D1 you sort of stuck to one gun through the entire campaign, but now you are forced to change to different weapons as soon as you run out of ammo. Changing weather, different level layouts and smart infected spawning ensures that no two sessions will ever play through the same way.

The game engine has also been updated. More limbs can be shot off, more ragdolls fly around after explosions and more bullet holes and wounds are visible on the infected. It’s very subtle and hardly noticeable, but going back to the original will highlight its older shortcomings. The game also has a few problems. Infected sometimes climb over invisible obstacles, and the shadowing problem that has existed in the engine since Half-Life 2 is still present where you can see objects’ shadows through other objects.

To PC or not to PC?

Having played L4D1 on the Xbox 360 and L4D2 on the PC, I can say that I still prefer the mouse and keyboard to a controller. Alas, the very nature of the PC is that it is played in seclusion. You get free add-on packs, and you find many online games to play in, but you are mostly still alone in a room. The atmosphere of playing L4D on 2 split-screen TV’s with 2 system linked Xbox 360’s in a dark room is still a far better experience than any other multiplayer game I have ever played. And the PC does not allow this with the same amount of ease and comfort. So if you have to make a choice, get the Xbox version.

I can spend many more hours detailing the intricacies of the gameplay, and list every cool moment of the game. I can spend pages writing about cool scenarios and funny occasions. But it will all just do one thing. It will confirm that you need this game. It is a worthy sequel that improved on a game I already considered perfect. At the very least it will help prepare you for the unavoidable apocalypse that will follow.

The good: Left 4 Dead, only so much better!
The bad: AI teammates – shoot them, but save a bullet for yourself.
The ugly: The Spitter – ugliest game character this side of Silent Hill!

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Contributor:	Oltman

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