When Left 4 Dead 2 was first announced I was surprised, but I wasn’t one of the people planning to boycott the game. Yes, it caught me off guard, but I was excited none-the-less.
In my opinion the original L4D was too short and not worth the $60. Yes, it was a really fun game but I didn’t think it was a $60 game. Especially if you never play the multiplayer modes. I completed L4D2’s campaign yesterday and unlike the first I felt the campaign actually had a nice length to it. I was very satisfied. At first I felt like the game was too hard and I wasn’t having much fun because it didn’t feel like anything new to me, just shoot the zombies like always. I was playing through it with my wife and we both agreed that it was really frustrating and difficult. This is because the emphasis of “work as a team” is really enforced in the sequel. It’s not as easy as the first, where you can run ahead and finish the level without having to work for it. This was annoying at first but once I accepted the fact that I needed to stay close to my team I started to really enjoy the difficulty.
Another thing that took me time to appreciate was the melee weapons. I didn’t plan on using them but about halfway through I got the samurai sword and the machete. With these melee weapons I came up with the strategy of backing myself into a corner and just slicing all zombies that came up to me. Melee weapons are a huge addition to the game. I found myself using them more than my shotgun. They made everything a lot easier. All you have to do is run up to a zombie and slice rather than try and aim for each individual zombie with your gun, specifically the shotgun. The game felt totally different once I learned to appreciate the melee weapons. I became a zombie slaying ninja assassin running through hordes of zombies without breaking a sweat. This didn’t feel like the original game at all, but it was still a lot of fun if not better.
Left 4 Dead 2 brings a lot to the table especially with the new special infected. My least favorite addition has to be the Jockey as I found him to be the most annoying. He often took you away from the crowd and made it hard for them to save you. I do however like the addition of the Spitter, the green slime spewing beauty.
Another thing I liked about the game was the addition of new items such as the boomer bile vial that you can throw on anything to attract zombies to it. You also have special explosive ammo and a defibrillator kit that lets you revive dead teammates. In addition to the pills you have a adrenaline shot that boosts health and agility.
Overall Left 4 Dead 2 is a very satisfying experience. My fingers are still crossed that they will somehow incorporate both the original and this one into one game so that you don’t have to switch between the two. With the recent announcement of a new DLC campaign I am hoping that Valve will continue to support L4D2 and make it something that I can keep coming back to for a while.
Check out my video review of the game below:
For more Zombie action check out Act 1 and Act 2 of our Left 4 Dead parody.
