Developed By: Valve Software
Available on: Xbox 360 and PC/MAC
Reviewed on the PC
BRAAAAAAAAINS….
Everyone loves zombies. How could you not, they’re cute and cuddly and want nothing more then to rip you limp from limp whilst sucking the sinew from your bones. Ok well maybe not the former but everyone loves them for the later, so what can Valve Software bring to the zombie table that hasn’t been done time and time again?
Those familiar with the first game wont be socked the second time around. Outside of four new characters, new locations, some new weapons and a few new modes, the game is, for all intensive purposes, the same. Run forward and shoot zombies in the face. Some may see this as bad but hey, if it’s not broke… For the uninitiated, what Left 4 Dead is, is a four player co-op zombie slaughter fest that takes place over five “films” or campaigns. Each campaign, about 45 to 75 minutes in length depending on difficulty setting and teamwork, it‘s presented as a movie with the ending showing your stats in a film credit style. Each film is broken up into four to five levels, depending on the campaign, each ending in a stand off where you have to wait for a rescue vehicle. The director system, which Valve instituted brilliantly in the first game, is back in full effect. This time, not only will it randomly generate zombies and re-arrange items, it will also rearrange your path so that you don’t take the same route every time you play a level. It works better then the first, adding more lulls in the action, building tension for when the horde is going to strike, while also adding flood moments that will throw endless amounts of zombies at you until you perform a specific action. One level has you running across a roller coaster to get to the end and turn it off while another has you racing through several levels of a mall to cut power to the alarm system. Each “panic” event is extremely intense and satisfying as you hack off zombie heads with the new melee weapons.
One of the simplest yet most satisfying additions to the game are hand held weapons, like baseball bats, police batons, or the ever trusty chainsaw. Combine this with the amazing freeform zombie destruction system and it’s a treat seeing your weapons rip chunks out of the undead to expose their gory innards. This isn’t like Dead Space where you can only hack of limbs; you can blow specific chunks out of each zombie to a level never before seen in games. Each ghoul this time around is fitted with an internal skeleton, so when you wind up and swing for the fences or unload your new shiny AK-47 into them, they splinter apart like rotten fruit exposing their goods; similar to the dynamic destruction to the environment seen in John Woo’s Stranglehold, or Red Faction Guerrilla. I myself, am a gore hound, growing up on horror films and Mortal Kombat will do that to you, and L4D2 delivers 110% in that department.
The extra beef Valve added to the Source Engine, with their dynamic body destruction to their AI directed level generator is great, but being that it is six years old now, it’s starting to show its age a bit. Although the game does look good with its spooky dark lighting and some the best character models in the biz, the environments can get a little drab in spots. There are some cool overlay effects like when you get hit with boomer bile, or are an inch from death and are seeing nothing but grey, but L4D2 doesn’t do anything that every other games doesn’t already do. The plus side is it runs great on a wide variety of systems, but the down side is it’s not going toe to toe with games like Crysis or Dead Space any time soon. Also in classic Valve fashion, there are no cut scenes. This can be looked at as both good and bad. I like that they weave the story into the environments, from the survivor notes in the safe rooms to the lone body covered in a sheet just out side of it, but in 2009 I expect a little more in the cinematic department. Outside of the great opening movie there is none of this in the game. Seeing how they present this to be a “movie” experience I would like to of had at least one at the end of each chapter; sometime at the end to give you a reward for surviving the brutal creatures would have been nice.
This time around they have the same boss creatures from the first, the hunter, witch, boomer, smoker and tank but they added a few more to break up the flow of the game, as well as add a new layer of challenge. The new jockey is a little shit that jumps on your back and rides you around, removing all control until a team mate shoots it off of you. This can be extremely deadly when combined with the new spitter who shoots out a toxic green slime that burns anyone who touches it. Add in the charger who rams and pounds anything in its path, and that’s one nasty bunch that’ll fuck up your party. The classic boss infected work the same way as before but have a new look to match the New Orleans setting.
There is one thing that all Valve games do great, and with no exception here, and that is the setting. You feel like you’re in the south. From the Bourbon Street inspired streets to the mucky swamps, this is “Naw-lins.” No two environments feel the same yet they all mesh so well to give you this authentic southern feel like no other game. A lot of games do great atmosphere, but the variety is always a problem; that’s not the case here. Also with Valves amazing community support there are tons of user maps as well as great, free, dlc maps to pick up.
Aside from the story, there is also a ton of competitive multiplayer modes. There is your, not so standard, verses mode where four people play as the survivors and four play as the special infected and you see who can last the longest on each level of a campaign. In survival you have to hold out as long as you can against the never ending horde of flesh eaters. In the new scavenge mode you have to collect gas to fill generators. Each is a new experience and new challenge that is very different from your standard fps online experience. Throw in the ability to control the infected and you have yourself something that never gets old.
If you loved the first one, you will love this one. Yeah, some may see it as a glorified map pack, but it’s not. They add a lot of new features, modes and game tweaks that it feels fresh. Also after spending just five minutes with this, it’s hard to go back to the first one. The characters are funny and engaging, it’s a great co-op experience, and even playing by yourself is a blast, even though the AI bots aren’t the smartest. For zombie fans or just horror fans in general this is a no brain… nope, not going there, it’s a must buy.
Story: 6 -- Gameplay: 9.5 -- Graphics: 8
Sound: 9 -- Replay: 9 -- Fun factor: 10
Overall (not an average): 9.0 out of 10
-TuxedoKatsJoe
No comments:
Post a Comment