Review – Left 4 Dead 2

Publisher: Valve
Developer: Valve
Platform(s):PC, Xbox 360

Rating: Mature 17+
ESRB Content Descriptors: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language

The Scoop: It was merely a year after the original Left 4 Dead launched when Valve announced Left 4 Dead 2. Naturally, fans cried foul, claiming that it was too early in the first game’s life-cycle to already develop a sequel. Personally, I welcomed the idea, believing Valve earned one time to have fun and push out a nonsensical cash-in. But the more people saw of Valve’s latest entry, the more it began to make more sense, and soon those silly haters retracted all the bad things they had to say about the game. Even I was astonished to see how well everything turned out.

The Setup: Ditching the urban setting of it’s predecessor in favor of the more rural south, Left 4 Dead 2 starts off with the introduction of the four new survivors – Coach, Rochelle, Nick, and the talkative Ellis. After getting left behind by the rescue chopper, the four decide to team up and lay waste to the horde of zombies that stand between them and safety. 

What’s Hot:

• Southern setting gives the Left 4 Dead universe some much needed color
• New survivors have more personality then the previous ones
• Melee weapons add a new dimension to the combat
• New special infected add to the difficulty in the campaigns substantially and are a lot of fun to play as in multiplayer, the Jockey being the highlight
• Scavenge multiplayer mode is a fun little diversion to the versus mode
• Being able to kill a zombie with a cricket bat should be in every videogame

What’s Not:

• Can’t help but feel that it’s all just frosting on an already delicious cake

Final Verdict: No matter what, killing zombies is always going to be a winning formula, and that remains true with Left 4 Dead 2. Although it still can come off as unnecessary, you’ll forget all of that when the body of Coach’s guitar comes into contact with the dripping jaw of a Spitter.