Left 4 Dead 2

Man, I love this game! This is one of those multiplayer games that I can't help but revisit every so often. And when I do, there goes my afternoon, because I'm instantly sucked back in and hooked! This was a great time to be a gamer. I bought this off the shelf for my Xbox 360 and eventually for my PC, the latter of which still has a very active community!

It's never too late to buy this one! Make the jump and prepare for some gory, deep-fried zombie fun with folks from around the world!

Left 4 Dead 2 is set one week after Left 4 Dead 1. In it, four strangers named Nick (a gambler and conman), Rochelle (A news producer), Coach (A health teacher and coach), and Ellis (a mechanic) team up to survive an outbreak of the "Green Flu" which causes people to behave like zombies (the Infected). There isn't just one type of Infected though. Here is all of them:

1. The Smoker- An Infected with a long tongue that can snatch survivors from a distance and constrict them.

2. The Boomer- A bloated Infected that can puke a bile on the survivors and attract a horde of Infected.

3. The Hunter- A hooded Infected that leaps long and high to pounce survivors and claw them to death.

4. The Tank- The biggest and baddest of the Infected that simply attacks with its strength and throws debris at the survivors.

5. The Spitter- This Infected spits and acid-goo that rules out the possibility of corner camping during crescendo events and if you stand in it too long it will kill you.

6. The Jockey- This Infected jumps on a survivor's head an steers them into danger.

7. The Charger- Another large Infected that charges at a survivor and pummels them into the ground.

8. The Witch- A crying Infected that if startled, will attack the Survivors.

9. The Common Infected- These are the normal Infected that you fight that will travel in "hordes".

10. The Uncommon Infected- These are types of Infected you only see on one map. They usually have varied abilities. For example: the Clowns on Dark Carnival attract hordes with their squeaky shoes.

The game is very fun with large improvements over the previous title. The game now has melee weapons to kill the Infected and a lot more guns. The variety of the maps is interesting and they are all connected, unlike the original Left 4 Dead.

The game is also more challenging. The bots aren't as good as they were in the first game is my only problem. Sometimes they will let you die or try to kill a Charger with pistols LOL. But overall the game is better than the first (which was my favorite game until I bought this one).

The multi-player is good. There is a new Scavenge mode, as well as a Realism mode, a versus mode and normal coop. Here is a breakdown of how the multi-player modes work:

1. Coop- Just you and a friend teaming up with two bots to survive a campaign.

2. Versus- A team of survivors trying to make it to rescue while a team of player controlled Infected tries to stop them.

3. Scavenge- The Survivor team tries to collect gas tanks to fuel up the rescue vehicle while the Infected team tries to kill them all before they can or cause as many gas drops as possible.

4. Realism- This mode is the same as campaigns except that you can't see the Survivor Halos (this causes you to have to stay together), the Witch can kill you instantly and the common/uncommon Infected take less damage to the body and cause you to have to shoot them in the head.

The only game types I've played are coop, Realism, Versus and the normal campaign. The Realism mode is a nice tough. Very challenging and causes you to work together more to survive, it makes the game feel less like 28 Days Later and more like the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead.

The game is great. I highly recommend it to fans of the first game.

10/10

Three or four weeks after the outbreak began(depending on the source you go by), the optimistic rescue attempt(the government's response increases over the course of this) leaves some standing on the rooftop, looking at the helicopters flying away, and realize they have to take things into their own hands. Nick(a gambler and small-time hustler), Ellis(chatty and upbeat young mechanic), Rochelle(low-level employee of local TV station) and Coach(overweight African-American who trains high school football) will have to make their way from Savannah, Georgia to New Orleans(this really captures the flavor of The South, in aforementioned characters who have personality without being obnoxious, the fast-paced if lighter score, the areas, etc.) in search of a safe place to stay.

They will move through a carnival(clowns! Honk their noses, take 'em out to stop their squeaky shoes from attracting more!), swamp, a deep forest(did I mention that this has some levels that take place during daytime? This creates a stronger contrast between the brightly lit outdoors and the pitch black deepest inside areas - plus, running around, with the undead around, in the sun? That's just plain creepy), a mall, a cemetery(much bigger than the other one, and it's too obvious to not do... sure, they don't unearth themselves, still), a huge cornfield(look above to spot a sign on a building to see if you're even going the right way!), small towns, and, where the FX enhance the atmosphere, with the slight increase in continuity and/or story not locking it in place(the AI Director 2.0 will keep you guessing, changing things like weather, objects and paths depending on what you are or aren't doing, it still feels alive and is endlessly replayable), rather making it have an impact - Hard Rain is a *journey*, as you make your way from a vehicle, to gather gas, and all the way back, as the downpour grows terrifyingly, hampering visibility and even making it difficult to hear if danger is near. And right where they start? Atop a hotel. Which is partially on fire. Smoke obscures the view, flames block the path as debris did before.

In total we have 7 new campaigns, for half to a full hour per, with 3-5 parts each. The 6 of the original return, and with all the new content and variety, this won't wear out its welcome anytime soon. I don't know why not all 20 Survival(and that can now be played with a team controlling the Smoker, Hunter, etc.! Swap places, beat the other guys' time) stages return... only 4, from The Sacrifice and No Mercy(so not even all of them), and they're joined by 13 new. The one new mode has 16 total, 9 for this and 7 from the '07 ones(not just the same): Scavenge. Gather the 21 gas cans and fill the generator. Timed, so don't dawdle, and if too long passes with you not getting further, that's it. The other team will have tried to prevent you from getting them all, and will have to top your score, however high or low, to win. This is distinct from regular Vs. - everything in this complements, fits, doesn't replace and doesn't rehash - in that there's always a rush, it's in a single small area, and that camping is not an option.

In fact, that does seem to be a priority with this, preventing that, the death of all creative approaches to online shooters. The aforementioned is also present in regular play, as one of the two new crescendo event types - refuel something or otherwise transport one or more items from one place to another before you can proceed, with the final one being the Gauntlet, where you have to get from points A to B - and you'd better be ready, because it's a relatively tight corridor, it's far, and you have to keep moving(once you get there, it has either the end, or the button to turn off an alarm that keeps luring foes in). These make it vital to take an active part in these climax-like portions, and one that, like when making your way forward in general, may be unique; how many will transport the important thing(which prevents whoever is carrying one from attacking... and if dropped, they are volatile, this is gasoline we're talking about), how many, if any, will cover them? And if you're almost there, should you turn back to help if needed, or come back after securing victory?

Further keeping you on your feet when taking on the role of one of the humans are the three new Special Infected, all of them filling niches and mending holes in their side's tactics. The Spitter has a projectile that does splash damage, has good range and who won't be immobilized from using it. Don't stand so close to me! That goes for The Charger, as well - a faster, less armored version of The Tank, he'll bowl right through all four of them, sending them in different directions, grabbing one, and rushing further, until he hits a vertical surface. Or goes right off an edge(if he doesn't, he'll pound the one he got into the ground until they die, or he does, at the hand of the others). The Jockey steers the person he's on the back of away, and possibly into something that'll hurt 'em... like one of the many, and no longer always stationary, Witches.

While the arsenal is made up mostly of the same kinds, each now has at least two within that(all useful, yet with different stats), and you're more likely to find a replacement gun than additional ammo. Save your bullets, or lose, if you have, a laser sight or incendiary/explosive clip? You can replace your pistol with a mêlée weapon(like a chainsaw!), with instant-kills in an arc in front of you.

There is constant detailed, bloody, disturbing gore and violent content in this. I recommend it to anyone who's ever enjoyed a post-apocalyptic zombie concept. 9/10

This is one of the most entertaining games ever made, especially online versus mode. But even single-player is fun.

Zombies are never in the same place when you re-play a map, so the game always changes and never gets boring. You never know exactly where zombies are going to be.

This game is just a blast to play because it is so chaotic. There are also a lot of different weapons in the game. The 4 playable characters are all very different from each other and entertaining.

The best campaigns are Dead Center and Dark Carnival, in my opinion.

One of the best games ever made. 9/10.

Left 4 Dead 2 is a game that most people have at least heard of in their life time. Released back in 2009, this game still remains highly popular, eight years later, and is still one of the most loved zombie apocalypse games on the market. After playing a few games, it's not hard to see why.

After being new to this game on PC, having played it on Xbox for quite some years, it was a different experience coming onto it and having to relearn controls. But with L4D2, there's something about it that stops people feeling brand new, and you learn quickly. Even playing with my friends who are basically pros at the game, having put thousands of hours each into it, felt like I was just another guy with tons of hours. It's user friendly, and not hard to get used to.

There's so many different game modes in this that allows you to go through and do pretty much whatever you want in the game, there's a mode for almost anything. Of course, I wouldn't recommend playing multiplayer as a new player, with no friends. The online community are absolutely horrendous when it comes to new players, and are definitely the kind of people who kick others just for being new. It's a shame that a game that's so amazing has such a horrible community behind it.

But really, that's the only con about the game. The game itself is amazing, with brilliant graphics, an awesome soundtrack and really good movement and controls. The only downside, is the community. Definitely grab this, grab some friends, and make a night out of it.