Crazy Gamers Podcast

Image by vampcast via Flickr

November 25th, 2009 — crazygamers

Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360, PC)



Fun Factor: 5/5



Regardless of whether you believe the idea of Left 4 Dead 2 to feel like an expansion, (it’s really not, for the record) the game capitalizes on the same core, fundamental zombie decimating game play as its predecessor, while simultaneously incorporating new incentives to participate in what is the defining experience of the undead apocalypse. Fans of Valve’s original 2008 FPS have everything they admired offered here once again, and will find endless hours of enjoyable destruction across a variety of approaches. The unarguably ubiquitous flood of zombie-centric games has, in the opinion of many, become rather rote and annoying. However, I firmly believe that while this is true to an extent, nobody makes killing zombies as fun and exhilarating as Valve, so if you’re going to play one game in an attempt to satiate the dismemberment of walking corpses, you should play Left 4 Dead.



Everything that made the first game so satisfying is still present. Left 4 Dead 2 is likewise ridiculously fast-paced and frantic, with only two specific moments that I can think of where the enemy AI allows the player to catch their breath (during safe house transitions, and prior to initiating the climatic crescendo battles.) Other than that, you’re up to your neck in blood, gore, spit, bile, and all around visceral chaos. I’ll elaborate in the latter sections, as there’s minimal discourse to articulate upon here. To put it bluntly, this game is a blast and it’s not difficult to weigh whether or not this is for you. If you played the first installment, gear up for another wild ride. If you haven’t, and anything in these two paragraphs sounds remotely appealing to you, then you probably won’t be disappointed.





“Replay” Ability: 5/5



This is the area of evaluation where Left 4 Dead 2 matches up nicely with its counterpart. The first game was critically acclaimed in general, and presented 4 beefy campaigns to plod through, whether it was solo or with a co-op buddy, in addition to the online Versus mode (eventually made accessible to all 4 campaigns via the Survival pack DLC) and the aforementioned Survival mode itself, Left 4 Dead’s version of a Horde-esque experience that is self-explanatory. All of the above are back once again (worth noting that Versus is available for all campaigns out of the box, and there’s actually 5 campaigns this time, in addition to Survival being offered from the get-go as opposed to waiting for DLC) in addition to the new inclusions: Scavenge Mode and Realism Mode. I don’t feel it necessary to insult your intelligence by delving into an explanation of the modes you’re already familiar with. Just know that they bring the same amount of intensity and multiplayer excitement that you’re used to, only with a whopping 23 new boards to explore, the 4 new characters (Coach, Nick, Ellis, and Rochelle), and the new enemies, melee weapons, items, and other random innovations I’ll explain later.



I admittedly have not delved into Realism Mode, but it is targeted at higher skilled players seeking further challenge beyond what the Expert difficulty mode presents. The “glowing” effect of all items found in the environment is disabled, requiring the player to locate objects of interest without the game holding their hand. Meanwhile, all “hints” which normally point players in the right direction (i.e. towards safe houses or objective driven contextual interactions) are removed, and teammates will no longer glow indicating their current position. Basically, this will cater to one of two types of players: those who play Left 4 Dead as a religion and are that good, or those who have masochistic tendencies and enjoy receiving voracious sodomy courtesy of the infected.



Scavenge Mode, to be brief, is simply awesome and is the best new inclusion to the game’s multiplayer component. It is set up to mirror Versus mode, with two teams in opposition of each other, only unlike Versus the matches are designed to achieve brevity. Most matches will only last 5-10 minutes, and involve a team of survivors racing against the clock to acquire gas cans scattered around the level they can use to power a generator. Obviously the enemy infected players will do their best to thwart this, and the teams switch sides every round. The team that obtains the most gas cans in a given round will win, and the best 2 out of 3 will take the victory. I played this with strangers on the Xbox 360 (with my mic conveniently muted) and experienced no difficulty in pursuing my objectives. I had no trouble with latency and the game replaces any sudden quitters with bots, creating a smooth and balanced arena for online engagement.





Emotional Investment/Worth Playing?: 4/5



Left 4 Dead is not the type of game that was built to lean on narrative, so what you see is what you get with this. I think it is stellar from the perspective that sometimes you want to turn your brain off and just play a video game, and this game is cathartic to no end. It’s escapism, it’s a release of tension, and it’s an unholy display of gratuitous violence you are permitted to unleash that few other games can match as far as the level of intensity. Valve continues its interesting method of shedding light on the explanation of events surrounding the zombie outbreak, as safe room walls are covered in comments left by various anonymous survivors who previously passed through given areas. Other than this, a story isn’t really being told, but it’s not supposed to be. All you need to know is you’re in a fight for survival, and if you’re not up to par you’ll be turned into a zombie. In general I don’t see it decreasing the value of the game, because it does a lot of things very well; the new inclusions are spectacularly presented. However, I can see certain players eventually experiencing overkill, mind the pun, especially those who are less inclined to dive into multiplayer. Besides this, a bevy of incredible games were released this year, and Left 4 Dead 2 is arguably less compelling in comparison to some of the truly mind blowing characteristics displayed in other options on the market.





Polish/Quality/Presentation: 4.5/5



I’ve always been a fan of Valve’s Source engine, and although it’s not as visually striking as some of the other recent releases, it has definitely been tweaked, and the results are gruesome. The added detail to dismemberment is substantial, and makes the game a hell of a lot messier and more realistic. I can almost see why Australia made such a huge fuss and subsequently banned the game, as it is near the top of the list as far as violent and disturbing games are concerned. You can literally shoot zombies in the midsection with high caliber weapons that will utterly perforate them, enabling you to see through the newly created, gaping hole in their anatomy. Other enemies running into your crosshairs will be crudely eviscerated, and entrails will stretch across the ground as they meet their fate. It really raises the bar compared to the first game, and the visuals are excellent, just maybe not quite as impressive after everyone has seen games like Uncharted 2.



The voice acting for the new characters is competent, with the trademark humor we’ve come to expect from Valve, and the music is decent enough although it has been altered slightly with a Southern twist to reflect the change in setting of the game (down south with a portion taking place in New Orleans.) I thought it was fine, but it’s less impactful from the first game by far because it’s less menacing than before; it’s just kind of…there.



One drastic difference compared to the original Left 4 Dead is the ass pounding, unforgiving difficulty leveling. I’ve seen a lot of other reviewers mention this only to get flamed afterwards for “sucking at the game,” so I’m not going to assert that it hinders the game at all. Personally, it doesn’t bother me that much, but it’s worth pointing out because I can see it deterring some. It’s borderline frustrating sometimes, playing with a co-op buddy on Normal, after having played the first game at length and both parties being avid gamers in general, and getting stomped by the infected 3 times in a row before making it to the 5th part of the campaign. Then you start over from the beginning of the level, so they’re not messing around. It definitely keeps you on your toes, and I even turned it down to Easy just to experiment, and that felt like Normal from the first game!



Valve achieves lots and lots of enemies on screen, and there’s so much going on at times that the frame rate noticeably drops. Nothing crucial, but a recognizable annoyance that found me taking a few cheap shots from zombies I had attempted to avoid but the game decided to chug a little and it threw me off balance. The level design, while extremely well done and interesting, is a bit questionable at times. One board on the Dark Carnival campaign drops the players down a sloped incline into the swamp below, and if you end up getting restrained by a special infected after your teammates/AI have already descended, the level geometry does not allow them to climb the hill to save you. This only happened on one occasion, and like my other gripes it’s not game-breaking, just mildly irritating. All in all, the game doesn’t feel rushed and by no means should it be accused of being an overpriced expansion.





Innovation/Creativity: 5/5





Since I’m tired of typing and you’re tired of reading, here’s a list of things Left 4 Dead 2 has added to the original experience:



-4 new characters

-Melee weapons (axe, chainsaw, baseball bat, cricket bat, crowbar, machete, katana, frying pan, nightstick, electric guitar)

-All new campaigns, maps

-2 new modes

-New special infected (Jockey, Spitter, Charger)

-New uncommon infected (clowns, construction workers, police, hazmat, mud men)

-Environmental effects (smoke/fire in a burning building, torrential hurricane conditions)

-Unique mini games (winning the gnome and carrying him around, plus other carnival games in Dark Carnival)

-New items (defibrillator, adrenaline, incendiary ammunition, Boomer bile)

-A vast assortment of new guns, I’d estimate at least 8-12 , maybe more plus the originals



Killing zombies isn’t exactly ground-breaking territory, but if the wheel isn’t broken, why try to reinvent it? That would be silly. Instead, you just strive to make it better, and that is exactly what Valve has done with Left 4 Dead 2. In general, it isn’t mind-blowing brilliance, but when juxtaposed with the original, it is fully deserving of the 5 stars.





Consensus/Final Score: 4.5/5



If you enjoy killing zombies and multiplayer experiences, and certainly if you played and enjoyed Left 4 Dead, definitely buy this sequel or at least put it on your holiday wish list. It’s a commendable follow-up, and a devilishly messy good time.



BEATZ