Review: Left 4 Dead 2

What is it?
A second slice of zombie-splattering action that comes into its own when played with friends.

What we like
Taking out the horde is more tactical and even more manic than before. Along with some great new enemies, the game packs an arsenal of new and improved weaponry.

What we don't like
Although the fresh features add plenty to the Left 4 Dead experience, they don't hide the fact that little has really changed in its apocalyptic world.

Judgment
Left 4 Dead 2 is, hands down, one of the best multiplayer games you can currently buy. We just wish it had showed a little more innovation.

Review
When Left 4 Dead lurched out on a largely unsuspecting public last year, it should probably have had a sticker slapped on each box reading "Dear Resident Evil 5 - this is how you make an action-focused survival horror."

Though Chris Redfield's African adventure won pre-release hype for its focus on cooperation (among other things), it couldn't match the tight team-play of Left 4 Dead that kept Xbox Live and the multiplayer servers buzzing long after launch.

Nevertheless, even the game's swiftly acquired legion of fans was surprised by the almost indecent haste with which a sequel was announced. With many people feeling there were plenty of DLC legs left in the original game, it was easy to see such a speedy follow-up as a cheap cash-in.

The more things change...
But Left 4 Dead 2 was always going to be a great game. Unless Valve had decided to fundamentally break something in its original title, that much was certain. The question every would-be buyer wants answered is, does it have enough that's truly new?

On first play, the answer is a resounding "yes". Everywhere you look in Left 4 Dead 2, shiny extra bits and pieces have been added. There are new locations, new characters, new enemies and new weapons.

All of that is wrapped up in the familiar team-based gameplay of the original; take your place as one of four survivors of a zombie outbreak and pulp your way through as many of the undead as possible as you fight to freedom. However, the more hours you put into the game, the less its new features seem to add to the overall experience.

Changing places
In Left 4 Dead 2, your fight takes place in the Deep South. By contrast with the original title, many of the locations here are wide open spaces; a hick-town funfair ("cousins-only" day in the Tunnel of Love), an aeroplane crash site and a collapsed bridge are among the highlights.

Your team is made up of redneck Ellis, sharp-witted Nick, talk-to-the-hand Rochelle and Coach - a character we would swear was voiced by South Park's Chef, had Isaac Hayes not shuffled off this mortal coil last year.

These characters are more interesting than the previous crew; Coach and Nick have a nice selection of snappy one-liners and Ellis's rambling, amusing monologues are good for breaking up the battles.

And there are plenty of those. As before, you're constantly assaulted by hundreds of bloodthirsty zombies, all sent screaming at you by the game's excellent AI director. This feature - now given a thorough overhaul - constantly tweaks the game to suit how you and your teammates are playing. As well as altering the enemy population and their locations, it can also affect the weather and your path through each level.

Zombie nightmare
Three more "super zombies" are added to the ranks of Special Infected: the Jockey, Charger and Spitter. All are deadly to the unwary. The Jockey will leap on top of a player, forcing them away from their teammates and into danger. The Charger will hurl itself at you at full speed and then ram you repeatedly into the floor until taken out. The Spitter is an absolute nightmare in a confined environment; a vicious blighter that flobs acidic bile over a wide area, hammering your health bar if you're unfortunate enough to be caught in its range.

Meanwhile, the Witch from the first game has been given the freedom to roam, rather than just moping in a corner. This makes it worryingly easy to hit her with stray gunfire and get that dreaded "you've startled the witch" message.

With new enemies come new weapons for reducing them into red mist. We got very excited when we first saw laser-sighted guns being waved around, but just as much fun are the new melee weapons. There isn't quite Dead Rising's variety of weapons on offer, but you can pick from a selection that includes a frying pan, a chainsaw and a guitar: something that's very useful in close-quarters combat.

Team up
You can play Left 4 Dead 2 on your own, if you really want. Single-player mode teams you up with three computer-controlled characters, all equipped with credible AI and quite capable of watching your back. But if you're buying Left 4 Dead 2 for a single-player experience, you're missing the point. It's all about the multiplayer, whether you're working your way through the campaign stages or buddying up in the versus modes (in which you can play as the Special Infected).

The game doesn't just encourage teamwork, it demands it. If you strike out on your own, you will be toast, and quick. Success is earned by working as a team, backing each other up and looking out for players that have been hit by Special Infected. If you're looking for an immersive team-based experience, this is one of the best out there. But then, that could be said about Left 4 Dead as well.

Our gripe with this sequel is that, although it packs a healthy bunch of new features, they don't fundamentally improve the way the game is played. Left 4 Dead 2 has playability in spades. What it lacks is innovation, and that has to go down as a missed opportunity. One immediately obvious area that has not been addressed is player progression. You can play Left 4 Dead 2 until your eyes turn zombie red, but you will not unlock any new guns, earn new skills for your character or discover new game modes.

Make no mistake, Left 4 Dead 2 is a great game, improving on the original in several areas. The additional enemies demand tighter tactics, and new items such as throwable Boomer bile (it attracts a crowd of zombies, which can then be picked off with some raking gunfire or a well-aimed Molotov) open up fresh methods of tearing up the horde.

Certainly, if you missed out on the original we'd go so far as to say it's an essential purchase. But does Left 4 Dead really justify its status as sequel rather than downloadable add-on? Not quite.

Left 4 Dead 2 is out now for Xbox 360 and PC

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