:o What’s this? Could it be that I am actually reviewing a NEW game. Yes thats right I have got Left 4 Dead 2 by Valve on the XBOX 360, a game to come out in December 2009. It is a zombie survival co-op game which plays as a first person shooter.

Story

The world is in chaos after a zombie apocalypse has torn through every country around the globe. There are very few people who are immune to the virus and a few who have mutated from it. In the little town of Savannah in America 4 survivors desperately try to signal for a helicopter from the top of a burning hotel, but to no avail. No they have to get out of the area before the whole building collapses.

And then the game starts, that is if you chose to do the campaigns in the right order. This game consists of 5 campaigns consisting of 4 or 5 levels each. Although the games are set in an order they can be completed in any order and can be played individually from the others. In a way the campaigns are treated as movies, consisting of a poster before playing the levels and credits at the end.

The 5 levels of the game are Dead Centre, set just after the outbreak in a mall in savannah. Dark Carnival is set shortly after this and shows the survivors trying to escape through a carnival, they are rescued by helicopter who turns into a zombie forcing the survivors to kill him and prompting the start of the 3rd campaign Swamp Fever. This campaign is set in a swampy area and ends in a shootout in a plantation area. They are rescued by boat but have to collect fuel for it in Hard Rain, a new twist on the A to B to C to D level design as it involves going from A to B to C to B again and finally back to A. However the dynamic environment with rain means the level changes. The game finishes with The Parish campaign, set in a suburban area of New Orleans and culminating with a mad dash across a massive bridge to safety.

There is also DLC coming out in Spring 2010 with a new campaign supposedly set between Dead Centre and Dark Carnival.

Gameplay

Left 4 Dead 2 is a mixture of multiple genres of games. The main genre would have to be Survival Horror as there are zombies and an ultimate aim to survive. Otehr genres include comedy with many visual and audio humours abundant within the game, FPS as many guns are used and played in first person shooter. Also it is a massive co-op game as it is impossible to survive without team-mates helping you out.

As with the first game there are a few game modes to choose from. Single Player and Campaign game modes simply follow through the story mode either with AI team mates or online help. There is also a twist on this game mode with Realism mode which makes the game harder by removing visual aids to explain where temamates are and conditions as well as game objectives.

Another twist on the campaign game mode is the versus mode which allows other players to control Special Infected zombies trying to prevent the survivors completing the campaign. Bascally it involves 2 teams competing for highest points and taking it in turns to play as the survivors. 2 Other games are the returning Survival mode, which asks how long 4 survivors can survive against hordes of zombies, and teh new scavenge mode which is a best of 3 round based game playing like versus with 2 teams (one zombie, one survivors) where survivors have to collect gas cans to fill a generator and zombies have to try and stop them/

Basic survivor gameplay is like an FPS by showing crosshairs and survivors using guns and melee weapons. Although there are 4 very different survivors to choose from they all handle and play exactly the same. Most gun weapons have a limited ammo supply that should be spared, however pistols somehow have unlimite and melee weapons never break, the chainsaw does run out though. There are other pickups too like health, adrenaline and grenades.

As for the zombies, there are 7 versions of zombie that can be human controlled, each with different skills and controls. There are 4 returning zombies from the first game. The hunter is a stealthy zombie that pounces on stragglers to trap them and start clawing at them. The hunter must be crouching to attack so movement and attacking is prohibited, however they can jump very far and fast. Smokers are zombies with long tongues who snag survivors towards themselves and attack them or strangle them. They have the advantage of a long range attack but a disadvantage that their tongue can break. The Boomer is a large zombie who attacks by throwing up on survivors, this not only impairs a survivors vision but also attracts other common infected to attack the survivors. The Tank is a huge mutated zombie boasting impressive power and health, its very difficult to take a tank down and alot of time. However there is usually only one tank a campaign and one zombie player is chosen to control them.

There are also 3 new special infected in the new game allowing new gameplay and tactics. The Charger is a zombie like half a tank, as in it has one massive arm the can smash and pound a survivor with high damage. They dont have too much health and are fairly slow normally but can charge with an impressive turn of pace. The Jockey is a small zombie that attaches itself to a survivors head and attempts to steer them into danger. Finally there is a spitter who attacks survivors with a noxious acid similar to the boomers bile, the spitter acid damages survivors over time and can cut off choke points and split an otherwise tight group.

Finally we have to take a mention of the AI director, that bastard who sits on his high pedastal and decides exactly how he wants the game to play out. This is a variation to ordinary scripted game and seems to be becoming a new fad in games design. The AI director will look at how players are reacting to the game and change stuff accordingly. For example if you are breezing through a campaign he will send out a tank to slow you down. If you are low on ammo he will hide a gun in an alley. And if you are dying and need health he will… send a tank at you. Now you know why he is a bastard.

Graphics

OK so Valve has never been a company to look for realism in their graphics but despite this, the game looks really good. There is a good range of zombie looks for all but the special infected so it doesnt look repetitive. Building and environment textures look supprisingly realistic and the blood adds more colour to a colourful but dark game. It has a good blend of all the things that make a good looking game.

But like most games it has its problems, mainly graphical glitches and collision problems are what I have noticed, such as a hunter pouncing to the side of you and still getting you or a charger running you into a wall and sending your character backwards only swinging your bodies ragdoll like features back for it to pummell you into the ground. Sometimes there also seems to be too much on the screen at one point and gives a feeling of crowding. Occasionally this can be good as it gives the atmosphere of the game with a feeling of claustrophobia. However when you begin to see graphical low points here it begins to really take away from what you see as brilliant, as you rush by it as fast as you can.

Longevity

With multiple game modes and many campaigns and levels you may think that this game has alot to offer, unfortunately i felt rather dissappointed by how quickly it began to get repetitive for me. Preety soon you would only be playing versus, scavenge and survival as the other game modes lose their touch. It begins to wear away as you play obsessives who know every choke point and tactic in the book.

The whole game had alot of promise to offer great co-operative gameplay that remained fun, and it would, if obsessive freaks and asses on the internet didnt ruin as with most game. It seems like the new DLC will add more to the game but I wouldnt lay the longetivity high on a game that relies on DLC to keep it players excited.

Saying that its the kind of game that you would need to play ion installments, rather than in one go, to keep the longetivity going, menaing thta you can pick up a new game to play, finish that, return to L4D2 and think “Oh, I forgot how much fun I had with this, I must get my friends together for a bit of 4v4″

So now its time for those crucial scores, well not as crucial as IGN’s maybe.

Story 9/10
Gameplay 10/10
Graphics 8/10
Longetivity 8/10

OVERALL 9/10

A brilliant game worthy of the first games sequal but we will we have to keep waiting for DLC to keep our interets?

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