Talk about way to make a sequel! Valve have not only improved on their previous image of a "zombie" holocaust but, leveled the playing field when it comes to multiplayer too.
Allow me to start with the Campaign.
The campaign portion of this game actually has a story along with a time-line unlike it's predecessor which was set entirely at night and didn't really keep any type of storyline (except for the Crash Course campaign which loosely followed the helicopter rescue from No Mercy).
The inclusion of the time-line in L4D2 allows the player to get a feeling of just how long these survivors have to keep going for salvation and makes the whole process of traveling from safe-room to safe-room a little more meaningful. These safe-room breaks however, also allow the passage of time within the game with the likes of Swamp Fever starting in the dead of night and as each chapter starts, eventually ending with the survivors making a break for it at dawn.
That's not to say that battling the horde of infected is any easier in the day as now it's possible to get the sun in your eyes right before walking into a witch.
Along with being blinded by the light, the new and improved A.I director (which does still have it's spazzy moments) can directly control the weather depending on how you are progressing through the return journey of Dead Rain.
Doing well? - Expect the director to spawn more infected, more frequently while also shifting you visibility from normal to the end of your gun.
You've died a couple of times huh? - Expect the director to feel sorry for you and allow an easier run with better visibility.
That being said, don't EVER expect an easy A to B run as there are now 3 new special infected to help combat the corner camp and kill everything tactic.
According to Valve, sitting in a corner and killing EVERYTHING before it even gets remotely close to you was not part of their survival plan as it made it feel like you were playing a game rather than playing to survive. With L4D2, Valve didn't want their new baby suffering the same fate and so, introduced the Charger, Spitter and Jockey.
To put it simply, these bad boys (and girl) are designed to split up close knit groups of veteran players as well as throw the odd spanner in the works. They do this in the following ways:
- Spitter - Looks a bit like your nan at your sister's wedding after she's had far too many glasses of port. Unlike you nan however, when she does decide to share her insides, the result is an almost florescent green high noxious acid. Believe me, being trapped in a small room when this hits the floor spells the end from even the best teams!
- Charger - He's a bit like the tank's little brother. Not really scary and easily avoided, the Charger proves his worth when it comes to narrow corridors and anything that has a very high, very fatal drop. The Charger doesn't give life to dead batteries, he charges like a bull at the nearest survivor carrying them away and in some cases, off a ledge to their death. On top of this, any other survivors hit AFTER the initial survivor is captured, are thrown like skittles in a bowling alley while also sustaining some damage.
- Jockey - Possibly my favorite after the Spitter. Looks like a jackal and has the bedside manner of a leech. His job is simple, grab a survivor and "steer" them into as many things that can hurt, maim and kill them as possible. Couple that with his maniacal laughter and the Jockey is probably the most fun special infected to be when everything is going tits up in versus.
However, with all these new enemies trying to eat my face, what do I have to murder them with? EASY, you have new weapons too... YAY!
The weapons, also containing the original six, now also include:
- Silenced Uzi
- Combat shotgun
- Sniper rifle (non bolt action unlike the hunting rifle)
- Grenade launcher
- Chrome shotgun
- AK47
- Combat rifle
- Desert Eagle
Sure, flicking the switch to "Rock 'n' Roll" and mowing down the waves of incoming infected is fun but, Valve have again said "NO! you must SURVIVE!" and limited the amount of random ammo piles you will find. This means that you no longer stick with your favorite weapon as soon, it will be out of precious life taking bullets and you will need to swap it out or have your face used as a flannel.
Alas, this does not mean that running out of ammo also means you'll soon be running out of life too.
Valve understand that if the time comes and we are fighting to survive, we WILL use anything to avoid ending up looking like roadkill and so, introduce melee weapons!! HURRAH!
Melee weapons come in the following forms:
- Axe
- Katana
- Guitar
- Cricket bat (Shaun of the Dead fans unite!)
- Crowbar (Half-life anyone?)
- Frying pan
- Machete
- Night stick / police baton
- Baseball bat (for those who pre-ordered from GAME or if you play with someone who did!)
- CHAINSAW :D (YES, A FRIKKEN CHAINSAW!)
Q. Talking of opponents, how's the multiplayer?
A. Awesome bi-atch!
Multi-player has evolved with Left 4 Dead - no longer is it a case of Deathmatch or CTF, it's more of a grudge match.
L4D saw "Reds" controls the survivors while "Blues" are controling the special infected. Reds must make it to the safe-room while Blues try to stop them getting there... if either Reds or Blues are successful in their mission, the sides are swapped and the hunters become the hunted (or which ever way you like it!).
L4D2 hasn't changed this format at all. Infected must still kill the survivors while survivors must... well survive! However, L4D scored you (as the survivor) based on how much health you had by the end of each section and the A.I. director was notorious for health pack placements.
A team who would play as survivors and struggle to get to the end without any health packs would find that their enemy, now playing as the survivors, would been awarded heath packs for walking into a wall. From first hand experience, this was incredibly annoying as they would be on their last legs and find a health pack meaning all of your work was for nothing up to that point.
L4D2's multiplayer has fixed that. You are now awarded for how long you survive rather than health and a full team making into a safe room with 1hp each will score the same as a team who made it there with 100hp. Also, as the infected, if you worked your nuts off and incapacitated their arses say... 8 times, you too will score points for each time they went down faster than a porn star.
Ok, it's not a lot (10 points per arse kicking) but, it's enough to keep the game balanced and should you actually kill them, you add to your losing score while they also score less allowing you to close the gap!
It's this new vision that has allowed a losing team to pull it back at the very end simply because one of them made it to the rescue vehicle, this I have experienced first hand! In theory, this should stem the flow of "Rage Quitters" but, without a ranking system, there will always be teams who would rather leave then face an honerable defeat.
Now I am singing L4D2's praises a little too much. In all it is a brilliant game but, as with everything, there are some downers.
When released (a week after CoD:MW2), Valve expected Infinity Ward's little monster to dominate the charts while L4D2 sat back and waited for the attention like it's little brother. However, it's little brother had attracted more attention then they had expected and as such, trying to play multi-player was a nightmare due to the overflow of players on the limited servers!
Valve were shocked and got to work straight away to correct this (I mean, what's the point of an awesome game if you can't play it?) and increased the capacity of the servers to make gaming possible even if not perfect. They also wanted to hear what the public were saying about their game this time and have recently announced a fix for faulty hit boxes and glitches that we have discovered for the end of the month along with better connections too!!
It seems that although L4D2 is far from perfect, Valve are prepared to not let it sit on the sideline and actually make it do some work.
However, didn't we hear this about the it's little brother? OK, we got a couple of fixes and the Crash Course campaign but, that was over the space of a year! PC owners had the better deal with L4D custom maps being featured all over the place from the public but X-Box 360 owners got nothing.
According to Valve, that is going to change. Independent, custom built campaigns should be announced for both formats and although 360 owners will be charged for the download of custom maps, any profit made will be given to the developer rather then Valve lining their pockets. What this means is that, 360 owners will be supporting those who can actually be bothered to make the game better as Microsoft refuse to simply give it away over the LIVE format.
Personally anything that makes a game better can only be good! I don't mind "donating" a couple of my hard earned pounds to thank someone for taking the time to improve my experience of an already great game!
As a personal recommendation, I would suggest you get this game. It's not perfect but, if Valve do deliver what they say they will, L4D2 could change the gaming industry rather than just the way games are played and would you want to be there when the public have a say on what a game should be made of?
Signing off,
-Brad
