Somewhere between fetching cola for a crazy old man, using a katana on zombie
clowns and fighting for your life on stage at a rock concert you'll realize
you're playing a comic book.
Valve took the creepy, somewhat depressing
tone of the original Left 4 Dead (L4D)and decided to go the route of Zombieland. Horror movies don't have to
be all about fear, they can be balanced by laughs and outlandish moments. Valve
infused the original L4D concept with
humor and fun; you get big action set pieces, an arsenal of unconventional
weapons and larger than life moments that would fit in perfectly in the frames
of a comic book.
The basic structure remains the same from the original game: you and three of
your fellow survivors have to move from safe room to safe room and fend off the
zombie horde while trying to escape with your life. This time, however, Valve
tweaked the formula a bit, making you perform mini-missions while fighting for
your life. Sometimes you'll collect a number of objects, other times you'll
retrieve something and return to your original starting point. Missions aren't
straight forward anymore and obstacles break up levels so that it's not all
about killing zombies and fighting off an incoming Tank or roaming Witch (that's
right... witches now don't just sit down and weep, they walk
about.)
There are far more weapons this time around and with the addition
of melee weapons, like axes, guitars and chainsaws, players will find creative
and disgusting ways to aim for the head. There's something sickly satisfying
about getting spit on by a Boomer, whipping out a chainsaw and waiting for
zombies to shred themselves on your blades.
While L4D's cast was typically dour with a chance of the funnies, L4D 2's is all about big personalities; like Southern redneck stereotype Ellis who tells stories at inopportune moments and is bound to be a fan favorite.
The game does have a few issues. Poor visual clues don't give you a great idea of where you need to go to next and if you're not paying attention to what your teammates are saying, you could miss an important clue in how to progress in a level. The computer A.I. didn't get a big upgrade in this version and if you're not playing with friends, you will be doing all the heavy lifting while the computer sits around ho-hum and sometimes leaves you for zombie dinner.
L4D 2 is sure to polarize fans of the original with its tone departure, but if you're not taking games too seriously, you're going to have a great time. A connected story, new multiplayer modes and options and dastardly new special infected show this is far more than an expansion pack; this is a more realized and better take on the L4D universe.
