Left 4 Dead 2 (Windows)

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Description

Left 4 Dead 2 takes place one week after the events of the first game and three weeks after the first infection. Instead of following the journey of Zoey, Francis, Louis and Bill from the first game, the player gets to control Coach, Rochelle, Nick or Ellis. They arrived a few minutes too late at the evacuation point and now need to fight their way through the south-eastern part of infected America to the next official evacuation point.

The core gameplay has not changed since Left 4 Dead. The player still looks through the eyes of one of the survivors and fights his way together with his three team mates through hordes and hordes of zombies. Instead of fighting mainly in the dark, most content of the five campaigns takes place both out in the open and in daylight. This also plays into the hands of a new feature: weather effects. The second part of the third campaign is even completely build around the theme of a heavy storm hitting a small town on the outskirts.

Heavy rain is not the only new enemy for the survivors. The zombie horde also grew through the addition of three new special infected called Charger (a smaller version of the tank), Jockey (he jumps onto a team mate and moves him away from the group), Spitter (spits deadly acid in front of the player's feet) and a new class of common infected: the uncommon common infected. They have the same basic attributes as normal zombies but have a special ability. The clown for example attracts a horde of zombies, while the riot police man is immune to damage from the front.

To take on new and old enemies the weaponry has been greatly expanded. Besides new rifles, pistols and shotguns, melee weapons such a a chainsaw, a guitar and a baseball bat have been introduced to the game. Also new is a laser sight that can be used to increase the accuracy of a weapon as well as two types of special ammunition. In addition the Boomer Bile is now available to launch at enemies and turn the raging horde against them.

Multiplayer once again consists of several different modes. Beside playing through the campaigns cooperatively and playing both the survivors and special infected in the Versus mode, the players can choose the Survival, Scavenge and Realism Mode. Survival pits the players against wave after wave of enemies with the only goal being to survive as long as possible. Scavenge requires the players to collect fuel canisters to fill up a generator while the other team, playing as special infected, tries to stop them. Realism Mode is a variation of coop-play for hardcore zombieslayers. The stakes are much higher there. The zombies can only be killed with a headshot, the witch has changed into a one-hit-one-kill-weapon, and a downed player is dead unless he is revived with the shock paddles. The last mode is Mutation, which has the player play a game with different rules. The rules are changed every week. The player might have to do the entire game using only M60's or play Survival combined with Versus.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Part of the Following Groups

• 3D Engine: Source
• Asymmetrical multiplayer games
• BPjS / BPjM indexed games
• Gameplay feature: Chainsaws
• Games made into comics
• Germany Criminal Code confiscations (§131: Excess Violence)
• Left 4 Dead series
• Physics Engine: Havok
• Theme: Amusement park
• Theme: Zombies

User Reviews

ARGUABLY THE BEST FIRST PERSON SHOOTER FOR ITS YEAR	StorytellerShannon (19)
Better than the original in every way	Pixelspeech (1006)

Critic Reviews

Peliplaneetta.net	Dec 11, 2009	95 out of 100	95
2404.org PC Gaming	Dec 28, 2009	9.3 out of 10	93
Mana Pool	Sep 27, 2010	9 out of 10	90
Gamereactor (Sweden)	Nov 17, 2009	9 out of 10	90
YouGamers	Dec 17, 2009	89 out of 100	89
Gameplay (Benelux)	Dec 23, 2009	85 out of 100	85
Meristation	Nov 19, 2009	8.5 out of 10	85
PCActu	Nov 19, 2009	8 out of 10	80
InsightBits	Jan 22, 2010	8 out of 10	80
AusGamers	Nov 19, 2009	5 out of 10	50

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Trivia

1001 Video Games

Left 4 Dead 2 appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Australian version

The game was banned in Australia on September 15, 2009 due to excessive violence. Valve submitted an appeal against the RC decision, but submitted an edited version which was rated MA15+. Valve did this merely as a backup in case that the appeal would fail. On October 22, 2009, Left 4 Dead 2 was banned a second time. The edited version of the game includes no depictions of decapitations, dismemberment, wound detail, or piles of bodies lying about the environment.

Cover art

The U.S. game cover originally had a hand with two fingers and the three others torn off (whereas the first game had only the thumb missing). The ESRB ruled that 3 missing fingers was too gory so the pinky and ring finger were re-added but tucked behind the hand. In the UK, it was further changed so it showed the palm side as the two-finger sign when pointed at a viewer is an insult. German and Japanese covers show no missing fingers due to censor rules.

German version

The German version features the same changes as the Australian version described above. However, if you have the German version of this game, or are playing with someone who has it, you can find the MP5, Scout, AWP, SG552, and knife from Counter-Strike: Source.

References

Rochelle is wearing a Depeche Mode T-shirt.

Awards

• 4Players
  • 2009 – #6 Best Viral Trailer of the Year
• AceGamez
  • 2009 - Best Horror Game
• Cheat Code Central
  • 2009 - Xbox 360 Game of the Year
  • 2009 - Best Horror Game
• GameShark
  • 2009 - It Never Gets Old Award
  • 2009 - Best Use of Frying Pan
  • 2009 - Worst DLC
• GameSpot
  • 2009 - Best Cooperative Multiplayer (Editor Choice)
  • 2009 - Best Cooperative Multiplayer (Readers' Choice)
• Gamespy
  • 2009 - The Broken Controller Award
• IGN
  • 2009 - Overall Best Multiplayer
  • 2009 - Best PC Multiplayer Game
  • 2009 - PC Award for Excellence in Sound
• Spike TV
  • 2009 - Best Xbox 360 Game

Information also contributed by Big John WV, Nelson340, Scaryfun and TwoDividedByZero

Related Web Sites

• X360A achievement guide (X360A's achievement guide for Left 4 Dead 2.)