Kireatic

With the release of Valve’s followup to Left4Dead, Left4Dead2 (the name is a bit of a no-brainer), I’ve had a good chance to spent some good quality time with it since it decoded on steam on that Tuesday morning. I’ve carefully inspected every mode, every difficulty and every last setting in order to type up this article – as well as having a damn good time along the way.

The game takes place in the same universe as L4D, although its currently unclear as to if it is before or after the first game – although it’s possible it takes place before the first game, given that there is interaction with both CEDA and the US military. I personally prefer “During” – L4D1 takes place during Swamp Fever/Hard Rain in L4D2 – post infection but pre bombing. No offical word on this though.

First up, the basics. Graphics. It’s still L4D, and it’s still the source engine. But it’s an updated version of the engine, with a fair number of physics tweaks, and the textures have all clearly been improved, especially on the special infected. The models may be better as well, but I personally can’t tell the difference. The skyboxes are prettier, and with the inclusion of daylight and weather, there is really something to look at. I’ve ported a few levels of No Mercy from L4D1 into the new game, and while the old textures are still the same, the new textures on the infected are a clear improvement.

The controls are the same as L4D and indeed as every single Source game. Intuitive and simple, and easily rebound. No complaints here with the exception of the voice communication key. It defaults to C. There’s been worse, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch defaulted to K, other side of the keyboard for most gamers. But C is…awkward. Rebind ASAP if you use a mic.

Basic gameplay is simple. It’s a zombie apocalypse in progress. There are 4 of you, and lots of zombies. Shoot the zombies. Some would say that such a same-y game gets dull, and yes, you are correct. It would, except for the multiplayer aspect. I’ll take a second to talk to those who didn’t play the original game – L4D isn’t a normal zombie game, as in you can’t play it on your own very well. There are always 4 survivors (to start with) and in many situations, any one survivor will be helpless, and will require the aid of another to continue. This is not optional – all but 2 of the specials will cause a single player to become useless, immobile, and usually in imminent danger of death. Without another survivor, they are dead. The exceptions are the spitter, who is more about area denial, and the boomer, which has the potential to be highly damaging, but not immobilizing. The witch is different depending on difficulty level, but that’s another matter (sniper rifle ftw). Jumping back to you seasoned zombie killers L4D2 is pretty much more of the same, but with more tactics involved. In easy and normal difficulty modes, the game is basically L4D1 with some new toys to play with and some new enemies to shoot. However, the new additions to the game get far more interesting at higher difficulties – for example, in the first game, a corridor was more or less safe haven for the survivors. However, if you aren’t careful, the spitter could block the corridor, spliting up the team, or, far worse, a charger could run through, knocking down everyone. And all the new equipment, useful as they may be, replace an existing item. A defibrilator? Great, you can revive a dead teammate – at the cost of your heathpack. What’s easier, healing someone alive, or going back for someone dead? And melée weapons? Hoards have no chance now…but what about your infinite ammo pistols…? You get the idea. Tactics, tactics, tactics. Voice communications are vital on the higher difficulties, even with the built in voice commands, you need someone to yell “TANK BEHIND YOU!”

The new gameplay modes are also a large expansion from L4D1. Versus and Survival return, with the addition of Realism and Scavenge.
Realism is a standard campaign, except that you don’t get any of the useful visual cues you get normally, such as at the least useful end, who’s talking over voice, and at the most useful, where your team-mates are. If you split up, you really will die,  because if you get hunter’d, your team-mates won’t know until you yell, and even then, won’t know where you are. An excellent challenge for those bored of expert mode – although I haven’t met these people yet.
Scavenge is where the survivors get dumped in a level and have to run around grabbing gas cans and bringing them back to a fuel tank of some sort, while another team consisting of the special infected try to stop them – whoever gets the most cans wins. A great idea, in theory, but a team with even slight organization will steamroll their opponents…there’s no chance to regain ground once you get knocked down a notch. It’s good fun if the teams are balanced, but this is rare…I get the impression that this is Valve’s attempt at slightly-competitive L4D. It…sort of works, but not quite there. Worth playing, but Versus mode, a campaign where the special zombies are other players, is still best in my view.

I’ll finish off by addressing those who claim that L4D2 could have just been an expansion for L4D1. Yes, it PROBABLY could have been, provided that you didn’t want graphics updates – because they’d have to change the engine for that. But it wouldn’t have been free, because there’s so much new stuff in there that Valve just couldn’t give that away. But here’s the rub – I suspect that if it was released as paid-DLC for L4D1, pretty much everyone who could would buy it. But because it’s a new game, people complain. However, in my view, the new modes, the weapons, the infected, the graphics, the director, the weather, even the SKYBOXES…too much work went into this game.

Besides, you wouldn’t have the fancy southern style menu-music. I love that music.