Review: Left 4 Dead 2

When Valve released Left 4 Dead last year fans far and wide praised it for its unique use of co-op and the insanely fun versus mode.  When Left 4 Dead 2 was announced at E3 2009 however the praise was anything but.  Despite the positive message Valve attempted to relay the game was met with harsh criticisms, attempted boycotts, and universal journalistic skepticism.  For Valve to meet a pre-set release date is something of a wonder, but to do it releasing a full retail title in just a year’s time is simply unheard of.  Many argue whether Left 4 Dead 2 is worthy of being released as a full game versus an expansion, so which side of the road is it?

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This Used to be a NICE Neighborhood!

With the saga of Bill, Zoe, Louis, and Francis over, four new unwilling survivors have stepped up to the plate to try to escape from the Infected horde.  However, this time, things have taken a turn for the worst.  Whereas the group from the original game was smack-dab in the middle of the horde, the new survivors are at the frontline of the spread of the infection with new mutations appearing and spreading quickly.

Our cast of characters is quite different from the previous four this time around but still manages to take on four stereotypical roles in the zombie genre.  Ellis, the youngest of the group, is a mechanic turned “zombie killing machine” from Atlanta with a passion for high-power weapons and things that smell.  Rochelle was a television producer who covered the infections advance into Atlanta before finding herself fleeing like everyone else.  Nick is a conman who broke into a clothing store and stole the best looking suit possible to ride out the zombie apocalypse in style.  Finally, there’s Coach, the religious high school football, er, coach with a passion for eating and getting into arguments with Nick.  Don’t bother asking for his real name; he never says.

The cast of characters this time around seem a bit more cohesive than the original four ever did as the first cast gave the impression that you were thrown into their lives sometime after they’ve met.  This time around the game has a stronger narrative and thus your first experience with them is just as they are meeting for the first time.  At the start of the first campaign, the survivors meet on top of a burning hotel as military helicopters take off without them.  The good news is that the dialogue is much stronger and far more ramped up than it was in the first game but at the same time you still miss hearing about what Francis hates and hearing Louis talk about his plans.

The question arises as to whether the first or second cast is better and unfortunately the second cast still resonates with this writer.  Sure, the dialogue is nowhere near as cohesive as it is in this title but there’s just something about the charm of the first cast as compared to the second.  That’s not to say that the new cast is bland; far from it.  Rather, the conversations are great.  Starting each chapter of a campaign usually leads to Ellis telling a story about him and his buddy Keith, a person who goes through far too many acts of stupidity to possibly exist.  Hearing Nick tease and make cynical comments can be hilarious and Coach’s sermons coinciding with his love for food is wonderful.  The odd-man-out here unfortunately is Rochelle, as she really doesn’t have much to say past the first campaign.

Goddamn You Jimmy Gibbs Jr!

The story of Left 4 Dead 2 takes place over the course of four to five chapters each.  Dead Center, the first campaign, takes place in Atlanta as the survivors flee to the local mall to hopefully get rescued.  When they get there however they find their own way out: a race car on display driven by local racing legend Jimmy Gibbs Jr.  The second campaign, Dark Carnival begins as they find a pileup on the highway south of town and are forced to abandon the vehicle, much to Nick’s cursing and Ellis’ sadness, and make their way on foot to an amusement park hoping to find transportation out of there.

The story from there progresses in a logical direction.  The chopper pilot who rescues them at the end of Dark Carnival gets infected and they crash to being the third campaign The Swamp.  The survivors eventually make it out of that jam on a boat and make their way to the forth campaign Hard Rain and eventually to New Orleans for The Parish, the final campaign of the game.  Each campaign is uniquely fun and different from the others present.

By far the most entertaining of all the campaigns is Hard Rain not only due to the impressive use of the Source engine but also due to it being specifically designed for unique backtracking, something that has never been incorporated in the series until now.  After the survivors are dropped off by a fisherman to fetch gas for the boat they find they forgot to bring along their bag of weapons and signal flares to get picked up.  As they make their way through the town a storm arrives and slowly turns into a strong squall.  The storm progresses from light to heavy as the campaign continues and beings to flood the town and players are forced to make their way back through the areas they played earlier that is now covered in water.  And if that isn’t enough for the survivors to deal with there are a large number of Witches in the sugar mill they have to pass through to reach the gas station as, evidently, they are naturally attracted to sugar.  Sugar, spice, and everything nice?  I don’t think so.

The storm in Hard Rain is most likely one of the coolest uses of the Source engine to date.  After the first two chapters of Hard Rain have been completed and the survivors are on their way back to their drop-off point, the storm takes a turn for the worse.  At random times from there on the storm has a series of microbursts in which the wind and rain suddenly pick-up, dropping visibility to just a few feet in front of you.  It is during these moments that the storm is so loud that you can’t hear much else unless you are in a shelter.  And, in due fashion to help set the mood for the moment, the AI Director usually spawns a horde when the microburst occurs.  These are some of the tensest moments in the entire game and will have most players scrambling for cover as the horde comes from all directions and often makes the player jump.

In the end though the game’s story is just as uninformative as the previous one was; sure you get to see more about how the US is dealing with the infection based on the locations you visit but in the end you still aren’t satisfied narrative-wise.  Valve, when you eventually release Left 4 Dead 3, please give us more story!

That Ain't Right for a Man to be Ridden Like That

The survivors have a lot cut out for them this time around far beyond what Left 4 Dead 1’s cast had to deal with.  As the Infected’s numbers grow new strains of mutation have begun to pop-up and are just as imposing as the classic Hunter, Smoker, Boomer, Witch, and Tank were previously, if not more so.  Three new special Infected have joined the ranks as well as what are called “uncommon” common Infected.  Each new special Infected is designed specifically to address issues players had in both co-op and versus modes of the previous games.

First off we have the Charger.  The Charger is Valve’s answer to the common survivor tactic of bunching up together.  Designed to look like something out of The Hills Have Eyes, the Charger has a heavily mutated and strengthened right arm and has the health of a mini-Tank.  The Charger’s attack is, well, a charge, as it sprints forward in a straight line, grabs a survivor and knocks others in his path into the air before coming to a stop and relentlessly pounding the hapless victim into the ground with his overgrown arm.  The Charger is an excellent way to instantly separate the survivors even if it fails to actually grab one, opening up an opportunity for the rest of the infected to take them out.

Next up is the Spitter.  This lovely creation is a hillbilly “trophy wife” whose appearance is something that you unfortunately have to look at.  The Spitter is very similar to the Boomer in approach but at the same time is quite different.  She has the ability to spray acid onto the ground and create an area-of-effect that quickly diminishes the survivor’s health.  The Spitter was developed to help prevent corner-camping that many players are prone to doing and is very useful when used in conjunction with the other infected for a coordinated attack.

Finally, there’s the weirdest of the new specials: the Jockey.  Not unlike a hunched-over Gollum, the Jockey laughs like a sick maniac as it approaches you and jumps on your back.  Yes, it jumps on the player’s back not unlike the proverbial monkey.  Once on you he steers you against your will in whatever direction the AI Director or the opposing team player wills; usually it means you are going for a ride into either a pool of Spitter acid or perhaps off a cliff or rooftop.  What he does on the player’s back is very questionable as the dialogue for the survivors state that they think that explicit acts are taking place.  Sure, steering you into danger is bad enough but whatever he’s doing while attached to the back of a survivor’s head is definitely not good.

In addition to these new threats are the “uncommon” common Infected.  These are regular Infected with special attributes that are unique to the scenario you are playing in.  For example, in Dead Center you will find Infected CEDA (this game’s combination of the CDC and FIMA) that wear large hazmat suits and thus can’t be lit on fire.  Riot zombies wear bulletproof armor and thus must be killed from behind.  There are a few others but the clear highlight of them all is the infected clown.  Yes, that’s right, it had to be a goddamn clown.  This uncommon Infected wear squeaky shoes and the classic red nose and will attracts the horde with the more noise it causes.  They’re both laughable and loveable.

If We Find a Burger Tank Around Here I’ma One Man Cheeseburger Apocalypse!

To help the survivors out the game gives you access to new weaponry and increases the much needed variety from the first game.  In addition to the returning weapons from the first game you will also find AK-47s, SCAR-Hs, SPAS-12s, grenade launchers (like the one used by the Governator in Terminator 2), and new sniper rifles.  You’ll also find magnum pistols on the ground to augment your secondary slot.  Each weapon is different from the other and has both a different fire rate and accuracy.  You’ll quickly find yourself picking a favorite after your first campaign.

Standard guns aren’t a singular addition however; players can modify their weapons by finding enhanced ammunition boxes and attachable laser sights for better accuracy.  The ammo boxes come in two varieties: flammable and explosive.  Fire ammo will light almost anything on fire and the explosive ammo causes area damage and can stun the special Infected.  These ammo packs are deployable at any time though you’ll have to sacrifice your health kit slot in order to take them with you.  Players will also find chest defibrillators every once in a while that can be used to bring a dead survivor back from the brink with half health.

The standard pipebomb and Molotov aren’t the only deployable weapons you’ll find this time around.  Valve added the Bile Bomb to both gross you out and be highly effective when used in the right context.  The Bile Bomb is basically a jar of Boomer vomit that attracts the horde to a specific location or a sprayed Infected or survivor.  It’s basically the survivor’s very own version of the Boomer’s attack but this time you can turn the tables on the Infected.  You will still have to deal with the common Infected once the effects of the Bile Bomb wear off but that’s far less a threat than the Tank that was hit with it.

You aren’t just going to find projectile weapons though; there are plenty of melee weapons strewn about to change up the pace significantly.  Players can pick up items such as axes, police batons, machetes and so much more to bash the Infected into tiny pieces.  And yes, a crowbar is present; after all this is a Valve title.  Even a chainsaw makes an appearance, though it’s use is limited to how much fuel it has.  These weapons take over the secondary slot and thus replace your pistol.  Is the trade off worth it?  With the right combination it definitely is but it has to work lest you find yourself without a long-range weapon when your buddy’s being ridden off into the distance by a Jockey.

Ellis, Sweetie, Can This Wait?

The five campaigns in the game are fun to play through cooperatively but the longevity of the game is in the competitive modes present.  Versus mode is back and better than ever with all five campaigns built from the ground-up for the mode unlike the previous game.  Survivor mode is still present and just as tense as it was last year.  However, the new highlight is the Scavenger mode.  Similar to Versus, Scavenger has players ground around a pre-determined level searching for gas cans to fill and power a generator; whichever team has the most cans wins.  This mode is immensely fun and well worth the time of those looking for a shorter Versus experience.

The other new mode available to players is a cooperative enhancement.  Do you find that expert difficulty isn’t as hard as it should be?  Then take on the Realism enhancement and see how well you fair!  With it activated, Realism causes the common Infected to be harder to kill, usually forcing you to headshot them or use melee weapons in order to save ammunition.  Weapons and ammo are much sparser with Realism active and players have to be much closer to items to pick them up.  Players are also not highlighted when they normally would be so sticking together is absolutely crucial.  Walk away for a few seconds and you’re probably dead right there.

Brains Come Out, Swamp Water Doesn't

A year later the Source engine is starting to show its age despite the fact that Left 4 Dead 2 is a definite graphical improvement.  The Infected are much more graphically detailed this time around and actually look like sick people rather than reanimated corpses in this game.  A contextual damage system has been added to the common Infected and allows for unique body deformation.  As such players will find them losing limbs and body parts in realistic manners.  It is quite gruesome to see them be chopped to pieces and still have them come at you.

There is a significant problem that is nigh unacceptable and often leave the player incredibly frustrated: the survivor AI.  The AI for the Infected, both common and special, is very smart and makes their best efforts to ruin your day but unfortunately so do the survivor AI.  Put bluntly, they’re dumb.  Amazingly dumb.  The AI probably has good intentions but is incredibly stupid in their approaches.  Standing in a pool of acid is painful enough but being forced to do so while an AI heals you with a medkit is outrageous.  More often than not if the player character is down the AI will go help the others and often help itself before getting to you.  They also heal you or themselves within seconds of their or your health dropping below 50%, wasting medkits like it is nobody’s business.

This writer remembers one frustrating scenario in which players must run across the tracks of a rollercoaster in Dark Carnival.  If the player does not stick to the AI like glue the end result is that they lag behind and are often incapacitated in just a handful of seconds.  On the fifth attempt this writer was hit by a Boomer and pounced by a Jockey leading to myself getting incapacitated.  The AI was a significant distance behind me on the course but I was holding my own with a pistol and shooting the occasional bunch of common; I was going to die soon if they didn’t arrive but I was doing ok.  However, halfway to me the straggler of the three goes down and the remaining two RUSH TO SAVE HIM INSTEAD OF ME.  I can understand this being done by a human player but for an AI to not place priority on already incapacitated players is a critical flaw that is entirely unacceptable.  Valve, I get the idea you are trying to provide a different experience with new finale events and such but your AI is dumb as dirt; fix it!

Dude, If We Had My Monster Truck We Could Drive Over All This!

Left 4 Dead 2 is a great enhancement that fans of the first title should be compelled to play.  While the AI is Darwinistically dumb and the Source engine now seems like a showgirl whose had a little too much plastic surgery, Left 4 Dead 2 is a great title that I still look forward to playing in the months to come.  Is it worth the $60 price point?  Maybe; give Valve a few more months to work out the kinks and drop some DLC and we’ll see.  Until then though you’ll have a solid multiplayer experience.