If you don’t grasp the appeal of cutting through the bloodied maws of zombie hordes (I pity you), Left 4 Dead 2 will do little to sway your misguided opinion of the macabre sub-genre. Despite some much-appreciated additions, this is very much the same FPS in a new city, not that I’m complaining by any measure. Four (lucky?) survivors must slog through the infected citizens congesting five scenarios. If you’re looking for a story, that’s about as deep as it gets. L4D2 is a pure action experience rooted in arcade-style replayability, and the difficulty that implies. Valve’s A.I. system, The Director, observes and adapts to every action. It doles out only enough medical supplies to keep you breathing, drops weaponry and ammo in changing locations, and replenishes the torrential waves of minions with tenacious brutality. The Director is the backbone of L4D2 that ensures your tenth experience is just as intense as the first.
Left 4 Dead 2 lures players through the streets of Savannah, backwoods swamps, lonely motels, and the most frightening carnival on Earth, to name a handful of locations. I found the maps in the original game adequate, but too claustrophobic. There was rarely a point when the path to the next safe room wasn’t clear. The maps of L4D2 are far more complex by comparison, with plenty of rooms to scour for supplies and moderately diverging paths to the objectives. Players ought to feel panicked and lost at every given opportunity. This is a zombie invasion after all. Valve pulls off the feat perfectly with blinding hurricanes, labyrinthine swamps, and plenty of dead ends. L4D2 forces players to adapt to the movements of the shifting hordes and strategize with haste. One aspect that might bother some people is the introduction of daylight to multiple levels. It makes sense when you think about it.
I would certainly prefer to travel by day during an apocalypse. Still, the sections of daylight lack the atmospheric punch of darkness. By far, the upgraded arsenal is my favorite addition to the series. The first game didn’t offer many options. If you preferred automatic firearms, you picked up the sub-machinegun and upgraded to the assault rifle later. Now, you can load up with a silenced sub-machinegun, M-16, AK-47, or a combat rifle, and the differences go beyond cosmetic. Shotguns and handguns received the same treatment and scoped rifles are more functional with quicker rates of fire. You can even equip many weapons with laser sights, explosive ammunition, and incendiary rounds. Best of all are the melee weapons. Swords, frying pans, guitars that slam with a twang, and baseball bats are vicious tools of the trade. There is even a crowbar for your Freeman fantasies, or a cricket bat if Shaun is more your type.
