It's Here
More of the same or something new. That was the question I asked myself as I glared at this game in Best Buy's aisles. Left 4 Dead took the zombie killing theme in a fresh direction with zombies that mobbed and kicked your ass like a gang beat down. "Infected" as they're called didn't slumber along draggin' their feet as they slowly inched toward you with hands raised in front of them like the classic zombies of yesteryear. Instead you have zombies climbing fences and swarming you like killer ants until they're in your face and literally stomping you into the ground. Adding Smokers, Hunters, Boomers and Tanks, Left 4 Dead re-invented zombie killing and many gamers agreed by purchasing and putting many hours into this game...myself included.
Now with Left 4 Dead 2 I was a little reserved. What could developer Valve do to get my attention and my 60 bucks? I'll tell you what they did. They kept the game play the same with a few tweaks. Now when a teammate is killed you can actually bring them back to life with the Defibrillator unit. Similar to Pain Pills, Adrenaline Shots give you a temporary boost in health and allows you to run faster, use items in half the time (reviving & rescuing teammates and healing). You can also run through zombies and not be slowed by their attacks. You can also give Adrenaline Shots to your friends just like Pain Pills.
New "Special Infected" have also been added to the game and really add more depth. One of my favorite additions is The Jockey. This little bugger lunges onto the shoulders and head of its victim, by doing this, he takes control of you and can lead you away from the team and off a cliff or into fire or other hazards. Then there's The Charger. This beast has one very large arm and one extremely small arm. He kinda looks like a smaller version of the Tank. Like his name, he charges at you, carrying you for 80 feet then he continuously slams you into the ground until you're dead or saved by a teammate. Remember The Boomer, well appears he has a female version of himself called The Spitter. While not as fat as he is, The Spitter spits acid at you that causes continuous damage until it fades. If she spits onto the ground and you walk through it, damage is taken until you're out of the green acid.
Online play is still as fun as you remembered in the first game and I clocked in many hours fighting these creatures of the not so living. Survival, Versus & Campaign have returned with the addition of Scavenge and Realism modes. Scavenge has you and 3 others (3 friends or 3 bots) finding fuel to put in your get away vehicle while 4 others play as infected trying to stop you. Realism is pretty much versus but infected must be shot in the head to be stopped. This is harder than you think.
Besides the weapons from before, a few new ones are adding along with melee weapons. Baseball bats, Katanas, Crow Bars and even a Guitar among others are among your arsenal. This gives the game a lot more variety and more ways to deal with the dead.
A new cast of selectable characters is the final touch and like it's predecessor voice acting is top notch. I'm sure you'll find a character that fits your infected killing desires.
Graphics in the game, although new, seem the same. They're all new locations and everything, but they seem like they came straight from part 1. Not bad though, but could have been better. Just a small gripe. Left 4 Dead 2 is pretty much an extension of part 1 instead of a true sequel. Not a bad game by any means but not the blockbuster I was looking for. This game will sell well and get good reviews, but for $60, more could have been done. I feel because it's so similar to part 1 this should have been priced at $49.99 or maybe even $39.99.
I give this game a solid 8. Everything from graphics, sound and gameplay are all well done. If you haven't already, check this out..you won't be disappointed.
More of the same or something new. That was the question I asked myself as I glared at this game in Best Buy's aisles. Left 4 Dead took the zombie killing theme in a fresh direction with zombies that mobbed and kicked your ass like a gang beat down. "Infected" as they're called didn't slumber along draggin' their feet as they slowly inched toward you with hands raised in front of them like the classic zombies of yesteryear. Instead you have zombies climbing fences and swarming you like killer ants until they're in your face and literally stomping you into the ground. Adding Smokers, Hunters, Boomers and Tanks, Left 4 Dead re-invented zombie killing and many gamers agreed by purchasing and putting many hours into this game...myself included.
Now with Left 4 Dead 2 I was a little reserved. What could developer Valve do to get my attention and my 60 bucks? I'll tell you what they did. They kept the game play the same with a few tweaks. Now when a teammate is killed you can actually bring them back to life with the Defibrillator unit. Similar to Pain Pills, Adrenaline Shots give you a temporary boost in health and allows you to run faster, use items in half the time (reviving & rescuing teammates and healing). You can also run through zombies and not be slowed by their attacks. You can also give Adrenaline Shots to your friends just like Pain Pills.
New "Special Infected" have also been added to the game and really add more depth. One of my favorite additions is The Jockey. This little bugger lunges onto the shoulders and head of its victim, by doing this, he takes control of you and can lead you away from the team and off a cliff or into fire or other hazards. Then there's The Charger. This beast has one very large arm and one extremely small arm. He kinda looks like a smaller version of the Tank. Like his name, he charges at you, carrying you for 80 feet then he continuously slams you into the ground until you're dead or saved by a teammate. Remember The Boomer, well appears he has a female version of himself called The Spitter. While not as fat as he is, The Spitter spits acid at you that causes continuous damage until it fades. If she spits onto the ground and you walk through it, damage is taken until you're out of the green acid.
Online play is still as fun as you remembered in the first game and I clocked in many hours fighting these creatures of the not so living. Survival, Versus & Campaign have returned with the addition of Scavenge and Realism modes. Scavenge has you and 3 others (3 friends or 3 bots) finding fuel to put in your get away vehicle while 4 others play as infected trying to stop you. Realism is pretty much versus but infected must be shot in the head to be stopped. This is harder than you think.
Besides the weapons from before, a few new ones are adding along with melee weapons. Baseball bats, Katanas, Crow Bars and even a Guitar among others are among your arsenal. This gives the game a lot more variety and more ways to deal with the dead.
A new cast of selectable characters is the final touch and like it's predecessor voice acting is top notch. I'm sure you'll find a character that fits your infected killing desires.
Graphics in the game, although new, seem the same. They're all new locations and everything, but they seem like they came straight from part 1. Not bad though, but could have been better. Just a small gripe. Left 4 Dead 2 is pretty much an extension of part 1 instead of a true sequel. Not a bad game by any means but not the blockbuster I was looking for. This game will sell well and get good reviews, but for $60, more could have been done. I feel because it's so similar to part 1 this should have been priced at $49.99 or maybe even $39.99.
I give this game a solid 8. Everything from graphics, sound and gameplay are all well done. If you haven't already, check this out..you won't be disappointed.
