{"id":5230,"date":"2010-01-22T09:41:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-22T07:41:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T22:00:00","slug":"left-4-dead-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/reviews\/5230-left-4-dead-2","title":{"rendered":"Left 4 Dead 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Left 4 Dead was one of the gaming industry success stories of 2008. Not only did it sell well, but the mod development team – Turtle Rock Studios – was bought out by Steam during development of the game. And now they’ve released the second iteration of the game. Unsurprisingly, it’s more of the same Zombie-killing (or Survivor killing) fun.<\/p>\n

The apocalypse begins…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Similar to many Hollywood movies focusing on zombies, there isn’t much of a storyline to L4D2. The basic premise of the game is that there has been a worldwide pandemic, which has left virtually everyone as zombies. Those who aren’t zombies have been evacuated to Safe Zones (the game doesn’t make clear where these Safe Zones are) by helicopter, but unfortunately for our four playable Survivors, they missed the last chopper from their area to the Safe Zones, which is the point at which the single player campaign begins.<\/p>\n

\"left_4_dead_2_2_257499350.jpg\"<\/p>\n

The single player campaign is itself split into five different chapters, one more than L4D2 had upon release. The first chapter sees the player stuck at the top of a hotel after missing the aforementioned helicopter flight. This necessitates that the survivors fight their way back to the bottom of the hotel in order to escape. This provides the game with an opportunity to show just how well the Source engine has aged, particularly with regard to lighting effects, since most of the hotel is on fire. The various characters and locations in the game are very well modeled, helping one sink into the game.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the first chapter provides a chance for the game to introduce some – okay, a LOT – of the weaponry available to the Survivors. There are essentially three categories of weapon in the game: the primary weapon, the pistol or melee weapon and the explosive or special weapon. The primary weapon consists of weapons such as a shotgun, assault rifle, sniper rifle and grenade launcher. The Survivor can also carry a single pistol, dual pistol, magnum pistol or melee weapon of your choice. The special weapon slot consists of items such as the pipe bomb or bile bomb. The varied weaponry is most certainly one of the best aspects of the game, especially the melee weapons. There is something viscerally satisfying about removing a Zombie’s head with a guitar, accompanied by the discordant twang of its strings.<\/p>\n

\"left_4_dead_2_3_701830648.jpg\"<\/p>\n

The guitar strings bring us to another exceptional aspect of the game – the soundtrack. Many horror\/zombie movies are made or broken by the soundtrack, and L4D2 is no exception. The soundtrack really helps immerse the player in the horror of a zombie apocalypse, as well as provide important auditory cues as to the nature of the zombies about to attack. Included in the audio track is the voice acting, which is definitely of an above-average standard. The story of the four survivors is told through various conversational snippets throughout the game, many of them occurring during periods in the safe houses. The character of Ellis definitely stands out in this regard, with his amusing stories contrasting with the Infected beating on the door of the Safe House.
<\/strong><\/p>\n

Surviving an apocalypse – with friends!<\/strong><\/p>\n

L4D2’s best feature is the multiplayer component. The single player, with AI taking the place of the other three Survivors is enjoyable, but playing the campaign co-operatively with friends is definitely the way it was meant to be played. Playing the campaign co-operatively allows for the players to interact more closely with the other Survivors, via voice chat, which can make certain sections of the game substantially easier to navigate. Should one of the four players in a co-op game drop out, or exit, an AI player will automatically substitute for the missing player, meaning no interruption in the zombie-slaughtering fun.<\/p>\n

\"left_4_dead_2_7_214796773.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Co-op, however, is not the only multiplayer game mode. Following on from L4D1, we have the Versus mode, which allows four players to take the place of the various Special Zombies in the game, while four other players take the place of the Survivors attempting to reach the next safe house. Survival also makes it through from L4D1, and the objective is simple – survive as long as possible against a never-ending onslaught of zombies. There is one new addition to the already fairly extensive list of game modes – Scavenge. Scavenge is a variation of the traditional Versus game mode. It, once again, pits four player-controlled special zombies against four player-controlled survivors. However, this time, the objective of the Survivors is to gather, up to a maximum of 16, gasoline cans, which then power generators which in turn extend the length of the game round. The objective of the zombie players is to destroy these gas canisters before the Survivors use them. Linked with this new game mode are a number of purpose-designed maps, which makes for a refreshing change from the usual fodder.<\/p>\n

The only real disadvantage of the Versus, Survival and Scavenge game modes is the lack of local players. While iGame does indeed host a server, (Ed. The IS and SGS servers are also very popular) the server is either completely full or completely empty, which suggests that it is necessary to gather seven friends via Steam before attempting to play these game modes. The campaign co-op servers, on the other hand, often have other people playing, and also generally have slots available.<\/p>\n

\"left_4_dead_2_9_632404544.jpg\"<\/p>\n

L4D2 is a curious game. There is a lot to recommend – its enjoyable zombie-killing formula, the tense atmosphere, the multiple game modes, the sound track and the graphics, and of course the vast selection of zombie-killing weaponry. However, this game will be one of those which get put in the drawer and forgotten about simply because of, for new and old players alike, the repetitive nature of the gameplay.  Killing zombies is definitely fun; however there are only so many times you can slaughter the same rush of zombies before it gets downright tedious. When one adds to the mix the fact that it is in fact very similar to L4D1, it becomes difficult to recommend this game to owners of the original.<\/p>\n

Reviewed on PC<\/em><\/p>\n

Discuss Left 4 Dead 2<\/a> in the forums<\/p>\n\n\t\t