In this review, we evade the witches in the PC/Steam game Left 4 Dead 2. We find out how well this FPS game plays as a sequel.
This game was released in 2009. It is the direct sequel to the game Left 4 Dead. That game also got reviewed here on Freezenet and got a positive score. So, it made sense to give this game a try.
Note that this game also was the subject of a first impression video. So, if you’d like to see the first 10 minutes of what we saw, you can also check that out.
The game follows (or happens at roughly the same time) the events of the previous game. In this game, you play as four new characters: Coach, Nick, Rochelle, and Ellis. It should be noted that you also meet up with three of the four characters from the previous game part way through. The game picks up when the four of them find themselves working their way through to a tall sky scraper. At the top is an evacuation centre. Coach complains about how they could put an evacuation on top of a sky scraper since they are running up several flights of stairs.
When they get to the top, they see the helicopters they thought would fly them to safety flying away. Dismayed, the survivors are then forced to make their way back down the building to find another way to get to safety. On the way down an elevator, they proceed to introduce each other, suggesting that they only just recently met.
A lot of mechanics from the previous game are carried over to the current game. This includes how health and items are managed as well as the HUD (Heads Up Display). Common infected enemies, the three special enemies, and the two “boss” enemies also make a return.
Perhaps what is more noticeable right away is the inclusion of a multitude of melee weapons. This includes a cricket bat, frying pan, katana, and even a chainsaw. These melee weapons generally take the place of the pistol slot when obtained. At first, it might seem strange why you would trade in a pistol for a melee weapon, but melee weapons can be surprisingly useful. It is especially useful when you get rushed by zombies and get completely surrounded. A few swings of the melee weapon can kill off a multitude of zombies all at once. With pistols, you’ll generally only be able to kill one at a time.
In addition to this are a few additional weapons. These include new machine guns, a silenced weapon, and a new magnum (can only hold one magnum at a time).
Probably the larger upgrade is the temporary upgrades you can obtain. The laser sight, for instance, increases the accuracy of weapons. You can also obtain round upgrades. The two round upgrades found in the game are fire bullets and explosive rounds. When you obtain either one of these, the ammo in the clip of your weapon is upgraded. While your accuracy drops a bit, the power increases. Once you reload, though, the upgrade is gone, so make sure you have a full clip before you pick these up. Just obtain the box, place on the ground, and let everyone get the upgrade.
The game also features a number of other upgrades. This includes new health items. One is the chest paddles which helps revive an incapacitated survivor. Another is an adrenaline shot which helps characters move faster for a brief period of time. Note that these items can take the place of the pills and health pack slot, so you need to decide which item is more important if you get the chance to pick and choose.
Another upgrade is the explosives. Previously, during the last game, players only had Molotov cocktails and pipe bombs. In this game, the arsenal includes that, and is expanded to have boomer puke as well. boomer puke will tag an enemy and cause the infected to attack that enemy.
In addition to this, there are also new enemies. One new enemy is the jockey that latches on to a survivor and causes them to move away from the safety of others. Another is the spitter which spits pools of acid that damages survivors. A charger will charge at a specific survivor, pinning them down and beating them to inflict maximum damage. There are other upgrades to the enemy list as well.
One new concept this game provides is the concept of retrieving gas cans to fill something up. This happens at the end of two missions. This certainly adds some variety where you are otherwise pressing a button, waiting for a period of time to pass, defending yourself against a constant onslaught of infected, then passing through a checkpoint after. While these objectives are certainly new, they can also be rather frustrating as well.
You have five campaigns to play through in the initial game. Other campaigns can be added including the campaigns from the previous Left 4 Dead game.
The game also features an array of multiplayer modes. The main focus is the cooperative play, but you can also play a single player game with AI bot controlled fellow survivors as well. Also, there are other modes of play that allow you to play as infected as well as survivors.
In a number of ways, this definitely represents an upgrade from the previous game. In other ways, this game also presents some of the same problems found in the previous game.
One problem this game does introduce is a higher difficulty curve. It seems like the developers anticipate that you should have played the previous game before playing this game. If you went straight into the sequel, this game might seem prohibitively difficult. So, experience from the previous game is partially required in order to make good use of this game.
A familiar problem with the game is the AI. The AI of your fellow survivors now have them conducting friendly fire more often. You take no damage and the game does not count AI friendly fire in any way. In addition to this, the AI bots will now be taking more damage, forcing you to come to the rescue more often. In short, their skill has decreased overall which adds to the game difficulty.
The clipping issues have increased over the previous game, but it can still be present from time to time.
An improvement in this game is definitely the map design. Previously, the maps often consisted a lot of streets, basic building layouts, tunnels, and paths. This game, however, features much more well realized locations. This includes swamp locations, full fledged malls, and other areas. The map design is so much of an improvement that it brings this game to a level I haven’t really seen too often since the SNES and N64 era. So, that gets a thumbs up from me.
Additionally, the arsenal and items upgrade gets a thumbs up from me. In fact, throughout my entire playthrough, although I’ve obtained these items on occasion, I never actually used an adrenaline shot or chest paddles. So, it’s more than possible to not use everything in the game thanks to the number of items increasing. Even the explosives you can find lying around has increased. You can even use firecrackers as a weapon.
Generally speaking, the improvements in this game does give players a reason to play this game after playing the previous game in the series. That increase in weapons, items, and enemies does give the game a boost in variety. Additionally, the new objectives also helps offer some much needed objective variety in the game. On the other side, the decreased effectiveness of AI bot controlled survivors is a disappointment. Also, the additional difficulty curve also didn’t help this game any. Still, it’s an overall good game worth playing.
Graphics have improved as well. The level of detail in the textures and models have improved to the point of realism which is certainly a cool thing to see. In addition to this, the settings have also improved very nicely with greater variety. There is even a new weather pattern effect added to the mix that really adds to the experience. Overall, this game is great on this front.
Audio is reasonable. Probably the weakest part of the game wound up being music. This is mainly because so much was taken from the previous game. In addition to this, what is new doesn’t really evolve much from the rest of the soundtrack. What picks up the slack by a fair bit is the voice acting. Whether it is the enemies on the map or the survivors, this aspect of the game is pretty much in top form. Sound effects work reasonably well too.
Overall, this is a pretty solid game. The map design and objectives have slightly improved. The arsenal of weapons and new items really add a lot to the game. There is also a nice new array of enemies to take down as well to give the game some better variety. Unfortunately, the AI is a bit worse in this game and some of the clipping issues persist. There is also the issue that this game has a steeper difficulty curve as well. Graphics are great and the audio is pretty decent. So, a solid game that gets a thumbs up from me.
Overall
Furthest point in game: Beat all five main campaigns.
General gameplay: 19/25
Replay value: 8/10
Graphics: 8/10
Audio: 3/5
Overall rating: 76%
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
