When Valve first announced a sequel to their popular co-op FPS, Left 4 Dead, their was an uprising in the Steam community. Gamers were crying fowl, saying that Valve had broken their promises and their hearts.

Why isn’t this DLC? You PROMISED! They cried.

Some even started a boycott group on Steam that is currently over 30,000 strong. Never mind that the first random group member I clicked on has logged over fifty hours in Left 4 Dead 2, and the second random person I clicked on had over two-hundred hours in the main game and over eighty in the authoring tools (used for modding).

While I did spend a little time with the original, I never played it obsessively. In fact, I don’t think I’ve even tried every campaign, let alone finished them. Maybe that’s why the announcement of Left 4 Dead 2 didn’t get me up in arms. It might have something to do with being a console gamer or maybe I just don’t expect companies to do extra work on their games for no money, but the announcement of a full retail follow-up to a best selling game came as no shock to me.

Left 4 Dead 2 is best played with friends, even if you are playing couch co-op with a loved one and have two computer controlled characters. It is a game that was designed for the multiplayer experience; something Valve has had a lot of success with. While you can play solo with three PC companions, you are really missing out on what makes the game good.

The basics are the same as the original. You play as one of four survivors of the zombie infection (who are immune for some unknown reason) that have to fight their way to a safe house and ultimately attempt to get rescued at a big finale event. There are five campaigns with four separate sections, each with their own theme.There is the mall (a classic among zombie aficionados), a circus, the swamps, a huge rainstorm, and finally a parish. That might not sound like a lot of variety on the surface, but each area definitely has its own look and feel to it. Unlike the original, several parts now take place in the daylight, which somehow makes the horde even creepier.

Among the horde of regular zombies, each level now has it’s own “uncommon common” zombie type. These range from a Hazmat-suit-wearing enemy that is more resilient to weapons fire than to melee damage to a clown whose squeaky shoes will attract smaller hordes to your position. There are also a few new special infected, like the spitter, who shoots burning acid at your party, and the jockey who takes control of your character to try and run them into the horde.

If you have heard talk that this one is harder than the original, those reports were accurate. The AI has been ramped up so that the special infected will try to team up on your party, and also try to hit you with sneak attacks. They are also far more likely to show up in pairs this time around. The game’s famed AI Director, the system in place to adjust the difficulty based on how well you are doing, hates you. If you think you are having a really good run and things are going smoothly, that is the exact moment when it will smash you over the head with the proverbial hammer.

While the introduction of melee weapons sound like a small thing, it ends up adding a lot to the game. When you are surrounded, the enemies have a certain level of “stickiness” that prevents your character from running away. The more of them that are attacking you at a time, the stronger this becomes. The melee weapons are the most effective way I have found to take out multiple enemies at a time, and the best way to get out of these situations. Because of this, I find myself immediately replacing the starting pistol with them.

Left 4 Dead 2 provides a very fun co-op experience, and I really am enjoying most of the changes over the original. It may not quite be different enough for some players to justify the full retail price, especially if you were a hard-core player of the original. If you are looking for a game to play with your friends online or couch co-op, this may fit the bill. Just remember, that M rating is there for a reason, as the game does feature a lot of blood.

Tags: First Person Shooter, FPS, Left 4 Dead 2, PC, source engine, Valve, Xbox 360

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 3:30 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.