Left 4 Dead 2 Review

Our current jam sounds oddly familiar.  We ran all the way up to the hotel’s roof, but we just didn’t make it in time.  The bastards took off in the chopper without us, but at least they graciously left behind some scraps for weapons.  Thanks!  Now we four survivors simply have to stroll down to the ground floor.  Easy, right?  Oh yeah, just follow the same routine: look in every room?  Check.  Pick up every resource we can carry?  Check.  Shoot our way through hundreds of mangy, freakin’ zombies?  Double check.  That’s right, in case you hadn’t noticed, it’s the zombie apocalypse, the same one you know and love.

Descending the hotel in Dead Center, the first campaign of Valve’s latest co-op FPS, Left 4 Dead 2, initially played a lot like the first game’s zombie-killing exploits of only a year ago.  Even with the difficulty cranked all the way to Expert, I had no problem doing some brutal zombie housekeeping.

I can perform zombie spinal surgery with this thing. Really.

In the past, I’ve been harassed by the powerful special infected in more ways than I could’ve imagined, and some ways I’d best keep to myself.  Hunters have pounced me, Smokers have French kissed and strangled me, and Boomers have vomited on me and attracted the zombie hordes.  I know better than to disturb the deceptively dangerous Witches now, and I’ve gotten killing the hulking Tanks down to a science.  After all I’ve seen, I think I can handle their new friends, the pummeling Chargers, the face-riding Jockeys, and the acid-spewing Spitters.  Needless to say, I plowed my way through to the hotel’s elevator with underlying feelings of déjà vu and disappointment.

Then I got in that elevator.  Smoke seeped in ominously while the survivors made their pleasantries.  At the bottom, the doors opened to a wall of flame.  Quickly, someone threw what was apparently a bottle of Boomer puke into the fire.  Before I could ask what he was doing, I let out a smile as dozens of infected hurled themselves to their own oblivion towards the putrid substance they so dearly craved.  Despite my character’s coughs, the dense, obscuring fumes, and the bright, engulfing flames, I barely made out the silhouette of my friend a few paces ahead and managed to follow him through the fiery maze.  In that moment, I finally found what I eagerly anticipated: an excitement to be alive in a dead world, a building of tension and adrenaline-fueled release, or, in other words, an incredible presentation.

Believe it or not, running through a burning, zombie-filled building actually made my day.

A total of 23 levels spanning five campaigns depict the survivors’ extensive journey from the burning hotel in Georgia through several toilsome, yet fantastically thrilling experiences that finally lead to their hope of evacuation in New Orleans, Louisiana.  If the first Left 4 Dead offered survivors a perfect way to unleash their sadistic zombie bloodlust that weaved countless individual anecdotes of heroic valor, the sequel not only improves the methods of zombie obliteration, but also surrounds them with simple, yet dramatic narrative.

“Every lady’s crazy” when the Coach’s not around,
but few will care for the other survivors.

Valve’s new implementation of a narrative throughout the campaigns presents some cause for concern.  The minimal plot goes a long way to connect the campaigns; however, it doesn’t fully differentiate Left 4 Dead 2 from the first game, and sometimes, in the case of the forgettable characters, it appears comparatively worse.  Don’t get me wrong, a closer examination of both the gameplay and the overall presentation shows how well Left 4 Dead 2 succeeds and supplants the first game, but I also believe it missed an opportunity to depict a tale of near Half-Life quality, which would clearly distinguish it as a unique, worthy new entry in the series.

As you make your way through the campaigns, the AI Director system is the essential force that binds your zombie-killing escapades.  Enhanced since the first game, it dynamically adjusts the difficulty and intensity of your fight to always challenge your group without overwhelming you.  Most importantly, the new Director does a spectacular job organizing Left 4 Dead 2’s new weapons, special infected, and level design changes throughout each campaign.

Many of the levels feature wide-ranging environments with multiple paths that give you a chance to explore and renew your experience with every play-through.  Not only must you stay alert for an impending horde attack at any time, but you must take heed of the path itself.  Sometimes you can trust your instincts and take any route; other times, you’ll find your favorite lines blocked by fences or other obstacles.

Humorous graffiti and dialogue make a welcome return.

For the most part, Valve did a remarkable job pushing their Source engine to create levels of such great size; regardless, the aging engine largely limits the game’s potential.  While Valve can shave off some of the rust to create nonlinear paths, the engine essentially forces them to set aside areas for level loading, and they in turn must construct generally linear checkpoints to ensure players reach those areas.  In a way, the linear structure helps Valve focus and enhance the fantastic presentation in every part of Left 4 Dead 2, but leaves to potential wonder how Valve could use a newer, more efficient game engine towards nonlinear campaigns with fewer constrictive level loads.  At least the shifts in the road that do occur, as determined by the Director, provide that always enticing degree of chaos that certainly keeps you aware of and immersed in the apocalyptic world.

Exploration and speed are keys to staying one step ahead of that chaos, and they frequently lead to salient discovery.  Throughout the campaigns, you’ll notice all sorts of charming surprises, such as the graffiti scrawled inside safe houses and Dark Carnival’s quirky minigames. Left 4 Dead 2’s impressive arsenal of weaponry also lies in certain locations scattered across levels, but you’ll need to search everywhere: the powerful bullet spraying M4s and AK-47s could be leagues away from the always popular auto-shotguns.  To an extent you’ll eventually learn where you can typically find weapons, but as with the changing pathways, the Director always refreshes the experience by shuffling the various weapons among those locations.

You must search for your favorite gun, except when you find the ridiculously stocked gun shop.

What’s that? You want a katana, too? Sure! But beware, your  friends won’t like being human sushi very much.  In lower co-op difficulties and multiplayer modes, you can use melee weapons to viscerally bludgeon and slice zombies, but in the harder difficulties (the preferred way to play), you’ll see exactly how much you’re accidentally hitting your nearby buds.  Indeed, the survivors will often deal more damage to each other than the infected, so I personally wouldn’t be caught undead with the unwieldy melee weapons on Expert.

Your team’s weapons, health, and grenade load-out is revealing, as your ongoing decisions determine how much each individual’s weapons needs cohere with the needs of the group to prepare for anything.  The array of new items, including the limited stores of fire or explosive ammo and the speed-inducing adrenaline shots, expands the team’s contingency choices.  More so, I appreciate how your willingness (or unwillingness) to make item concessions for the good of the team can drastically affect overall teamwork performance.

Chargers: for the lopsided linebacker in all of us.

While the respawn closets of the first Left 4 Dead do make a return, big  thanks to Valve for finally giving us the defibrillator, an item that absolutely enriches the cooperative experience and provides a more meaningful and immediate way to resurrect our fallen comrades.

Besides their usefulness in Campaign mode, their electrifying importance surges even stronger in multiplayer modes, where, as respawn closets don’t come into play, you’ll gain a significant advantage whenever you defibrillate dead teammates back into the competition.  Just imagine how much they can change Survival mode alone: bringing dead friends back can make all the difference between a glorious last stand against the endless zombie hordes and a whimpering defeat.

In context of another much needed new element, I must scoff at my younger self’s naivety towards Left 4 Dead 2’s newest batch of mutated monstrosities.  Look at him up there in the third paragraph, all smug with his first impressions.  Despicable.  Seriously though, after playing through the campaigns, I now recognize the new zombies for their subversive, essential tactics.

Whether Chargers knock survivors asunder, Jockeys ride players far away from their friends, or Spitters send survivors scattering and panicking from pools of acid, they all force players to abandon safe strategies.  I can’t think of anything more boring or cheap than hiding in a closet until the madness ends, but we did it in Left 4 Dead because we wanted to win.  I’m glad the new special infected dare to light a fire under our asses, for their continuous pressure keeps us moving and brings us ongoing, unpredictable action.

It ain’t right, but it feels oh so good.

The new specials even improve Versus mode over the first game: the high health levels of the Chargers and Jockeys, compared to the low health of the older specials, give the infected team a subtly honed balance against the survivor team.  On the other hand, their divide-and-conquer attacks adversely render Survival mode, a co-op experience about gathering resources, hunkering down, and making a last stand against waves of zombies, absolutely worthless.  Until Valve reworks Survival to give us better ways to move around levels—by using, for instance, the same horde-then-Tank pattern of the campaign finales—don’t  bother with it.

As much I enjoyed the improved Versus mode, I spent a vast majority of my team multiplayer time in the extraordinary new Scavenge mode.  While the survivor team desperately tries to retrieve as many of the 16 scattered gas cans as possible within a time limit, the infected team lies in wait, brooding and strategizing.  Using the lifeblood in each can to refill and sustain the heartbeat of the central generator, the survivors replenish their countdown clock with additional time; however, a good Spitter, the queen of Scavenge, can use her acid to ignite gas cans and quickly spell the survivors’ doom.  Bold ventures of the survivors and coordinated strikes of the infected represent major risks, but the chance of huge payoff within the intense strategy makes Scavenge a must-play.

Even on its own, Scavenge makes Left 4 Dead 2 worth the price of admission.

After all the nuances of the co-op gameplay and the addictiveness of the multiplayer that keep me plunging buckets of hours into Left 4 Dead 2, I can trace all my enjoyment back to situations akin to Dead Center’s first elevator ride.  With the exception of Swamp Fever, a campaign as dreary as its muddy marshes, every campaign produces similar well-directed, unique spectacles that all build up to a veritable odyssey.

During the climactic “crescendo” events, Left 4 Dead 2 forces you to trigger the horde and run for your life, though you’ll love the rush of cutting through the endless torrents of zombies; and when you realize you’re also, for instance, successfully running the high tracks of a roller coaster, you’ll cherish the moment’s unbelievable awesomeness.  And specifically with Hard Rain, the way it flawlessly syncs the pitter-patter of drops in the escalating storm with your mounting anxiety will make you hard pressed to ever play a better campaign.

An impromptu duet opens for the survivors’ last big show.

Campaigns culminate in some of the best presented Left 4 Dead finales to date, where you’ll make the nerve-wracking, nonstop run to rescue in The Parish’s bridge or take down zombies while jamming to the guitar riffs in Dark Carnival’s rock concert.  That’s right, a rock concert finale!  I’ve never appreciated zombie-killing quite like I did during “The Midnight Ride.”  In spite of certain issues with the narrative and some disappointing levels, I can’t help but let the game repeatedly overwhelm me with its elaborate orchestrations.  So the next time I meet you at Left 4 Dead 2’s concert at the end of the world, I’ll make sure we decapitate our fair share of infected and, most importantly, we’ll enjoy the ride.