Box Art
Game: Left 4 Dead 2
First Released: November 17, 2009, Windows
Developers: Valve Corp, Turtle Rock Studios
Platforms: Windows, Xbox 360, Mac OS X, Linux
Rated: M, for Blood, Gore, Intense Violence, and Language
First Released: November 17, 2009, Windows
Developers: Valve Corp, Turtle Rock Studios
Platforms: Windows, Xbox 360, Mac OS X, Linux
Rated: M, for Blood, Gore, Intense Violence, and Language
How I Came To Play This Game
Molotov ready
After playing the first Left 4 Dead, I always thought of it as a perfect game. I didn't believe it could possibly get any better. However, everyone I knew who played it kept telling me that Left 4 Dead 2 was better. I did buy the game, but I didn't play it right away. I had a whole line of games planned ahead for me to play, and I just added it to the end of the list. Over time, I kept figuring out things about the game. At first I didn't know what to think of them, but I hadn't played the game yet, so I couldn't judge. When I finally got around to playing it, I realized how much it was better than the first one. As soon as I started to play the sequel, the original game became obsolete.
Story
Tank attack
The game is set in the aftermath of a worldwide pandemic of an infectious disease known as the "Green Flu", which rapidly transforms humans into zombie-like creatures and mutated forms that demonstrate extreme aggression towards non-infected. Few humans are immune to the disease, still carrying the infection but showing no symptoms. The Civil Emergency and Defense Agency (CEDA) and the U.S. military create safe zones to attempt to evacuate as many American survivors as possible. Left 4 Dead 2 introduces four new Survivors—Coach, Ellis, Nick, and Rochelle, who are immune to the disease and have individual back stories that are provided through character dialogue. While the game is intended as a continuation of the original, occurring one week after the first game begins, Valve decided to create a new group of Survivors due to the change in location. Like the first game, the five campaigns in Left 4 Dead 2 are set across a story arc, set in the Southern United States, which starts in Savannah, Georgia, and ends in New Orleans, Louisiana. The four Survivors have to fight their way through hordes of Infected, using safehouses along the way to rest and recuperate in order to reach extraction points.
Pros And Cons
Story
Horde of "Zombies"
There isn't much to say about the story this time, because it is the exactly the same as the first one. Zombie apocalypse brought on by a disease. However, they take the story a little farther with the new survivors. I also like that the survivors from the first game meet them.
Characters
The new Survivors
Once again, the creators did a very good job designing the characters. They are from completely differen't backgrounds and it is still fun to watch them try to get along with each other. We have a football coach (Coach), a con artist (Nick), a news reporter assistant (Rochelle), and a mechanic (Ellis). Another interesting character named Keith is mentioned by Ellis many times, often involving Keith getting extremely hurt in an attempt to do something stupid. Another character named Virgil, a Cajun boat captain, pilots one of the rescue vehicles and stays as transport for three campaigns.
Gameplay
The Special Infected
The gameplay is exactly the same as the first game. The only changes are very minor. Five new Campaigns and three new game modes were added, Realism, Scavenge, and Mutations. Realism Mode plays a lot like the regular campaigns with some of the rules changed. You can no longer see players or items through walls, Witches kill in one hit regardless of difficulty, and bodyshots aren't as effective as headshots. Realism Mode is available for both Campaign Mode and Versus Mode. Scavenge Mode is based on the finale of the Dead Center campaign where you need to collect gas tanks to fule up a vehicle or generator. Like Versus Mode, there are two teams of Survivors and Infected. The goal of the Survivors is to completely fill up the generator with gas and the Infected try to stop them. Mutations are tweaks to the rules. Some may only allow you to use certain weapons, or maybe only one certain kind of enemy will appear. Some examples are "Chainsaw Massacre" where you can only use Chainsaws, "Healthpackalypse!" where no health items appear, and "Versus Survival" which combines elements from the Versus and Survival Modes. All of the Special Infected are given new looks, and three new ones are introduced. The Boomer and Witch also get a female version and wandering version repectively. The A.I. Director has been upgraded to the Director 2.0. Now the Director has the ability to control weather conditions, change the layout of the map, and reward players for taking harder routes with better weapons and other items.
Graphics
Charger attack
The graphics are pretty much exactly the same as they were in the first one. The game does run a lot smoother though. It does look better than the first one. The only major difference is that some campaigns take place during the daytime where the ones in the first game always took place at night.
Music
The music plays the same role in this game as the first game. It hasn't changed at all, but has been remixed. New music cues have also been added for the new special infected.
Releases
Left 4 Dead 2 was first released worldwide for Windows and Xbox 360 on November 17, 2009. One year later, it was released for the Mac OS X. Then it was ported to Linux computers in 2013.
Download Content
The Passing Poster
There were three DLCs for the game Left 4 Dead 2. The first one was called The Passing, released April 22, 2010, which takes place between the Dead Center and Dark Carnival campaigns. It shows the new survivors meeting the old survivors from the first game (minus Bill of course). The second one was called The Sacrifice, and was released for both Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 on October 5, 2010. The Left 4 Dead 2 version also included the No Mercy campaign from the first game, which was compatible with all the new weapons, enemies, items, and game modes of the second game. The third and final DLC was called Cold Stream and released July 24, 2012 for PC and August 1, 2012 for Xbox 360. This pack contained campaigns Crash Course, Death Toll, Dead Air, and Blood Harvest from the first game. It also include a non-canon fan-made campaign called Cold Stream which featured less calm spots and a crescendo event at the end of each chapter.
My Rating
I give this game a 12/10. Still not my favorite game, but it is the new game I will not hesitate to play with my friends.