The boycott had its say, and Left 4 Dead 2, Valve’s followup to last year’s co-op mega-hit, is out for scrutiny. Now that the dust is settled, it’s clear that Valve knows their trade like no other. In essence, they’ve released a near-flawless sequel. Granted, very little of the gameplay has been tinkered; players who didn’t enjoy last year’s installment won’t be infected this time around. The core “survive from point A to B” has been retained but improved and expanded into another frantic, squeal-inducing, undead massacre. Despite dated graphics and a spotty community, L4D2’s stellar level design, keen AI, and refined gameplay make it a must-have for fans of the original.
The first visible change involves, not surprisingly, weaponry. In addition to the same primary weapons (shotguns and automatic rifles), players may now wield bats, crowbars, chainsaws, and other objects to replace secondary pistols. Though these deadly articles are handy for crowd control and add strategic variety, each works pretty much the same. One swing from any will take out a handful of zombies within reach. Admittedly, the blood-splattered screen effect is pretty cool, but the fact that a frying pan yields the same results as a wicked fire ax is a tad disappointing.
To complement the new melee attacks, weapon stashes are no longer stable and predictable. One can’t always count on finding a complete arsenal at the beginning, middle, and end of each chapter. You may begin with a shotgun, run out of ammo, and not find a replacement; In other words, players are now prodded to experiment a little. Shy players now have a viable excuse to see how well the sniper rifle works. It’s a neat trick, and the game’s better for encouraging players to shift tactics.
Three new special infected also make an appearance: the jockey, spitter, and charger. The names are self-explanatory. Spitters spew corrosive goo, and chargers, well, charge. Stand in the open, and a charger will bulldoze you away from the group. Try to hunker down in a corner, and you may as well have a “pin me” sign on your back. Jockeys, ironically enough, are the most threatening new arrival. They’ll jump on your shoulders, cover your eyes, and quickly stray you far from the safety of the group. When I write “far from the group,” I mean it. Just a few seconds of inattentiveness are all it takes for a player to become expendable. Will other players risk all for one or try their chances a man down? Due to their more frequent appearances, the psychological “scare factor” of special infected is noticeably toned down, but the new ones still add welcomed variety and challenge.
Predictably, L4D2’s visuals haven’t advanced much. To paraphrase every other reviewer, the engine is still pretty but beginning to show its age. Then again, L4D was never about graphics; what made the original a watershed game was its innovative approach to coop gaming, which remains in place. However, since the core mechanics are established, it would have been nice to see a graphical facelift. Only in this nearly-moot sense were the L4D2 boycotters correct; additional development time may have yielded better graphics. Happy? Good. Now I can move on and further explain why the boycotters were, in fact, mostly wrong.
As fans of the original know, graphics don’t necessarily reflect quality. Valve heard some complaints, and boy did they take them to heart. L4D2 boasts five very long campaigns. Not only are levels much longer, environmental effects also drastically impact the action. Any one of L4D2’s levels could have been the standout campaign in the first title. From a tenement fire to what I guess is a hurricane, settings are varied and detailed. Open a wrong door, and an expanding inferno will cut off an escape route. In another area, a raging storm completely alters an area through which players must backtrack. There’s still one way to go, but plenty of nooks and crannies nicely disguise the linear layout.
The climax segments have also been re-imagined. Classic “defend until help arrives” is still present in a few campaigns, but Valve’s revamped finales are far more creative and intense. One takes place in a mall, and gas cans have to be collected in order to fill up the raffle car. Another requires players to make it across a partly collapsed bridge. I honestly can’t praise the finales enough; simply put, they’re just terrific.
Albeit with less splash, L4D’s shining star, the “AI Director,” returns. In fact, L4D2 is a much more difficult game than the previous installment. “Normal” for this version is about “hard” on the first. Even vets may tuck their tails and dial back to “easy” for the first couple run-throughs. L4D2’s core audience feverishly played the first title, so Valve has served up a dish of some unusually tough undead. Common infected, despite being dead, are more athletic. From virtually every direction, zombies climb over walls, burst through doors and windows, and fall through ceilings with stunning regularity. They also seem more educated and less passive. Convenient, single-file attacks are a thing of the past. The unprovoked lie in wait behind every corner; if left unchecked, some inevitably dash out and attack the rear. Ultimately, “AI Director 2.0” reflects the rest of the game. It’s not a revolutionary step forward but is immaculately fine-tuned.
The only thing better than mowing down AI-Director zombies is stalking hapless survivors. Versus mode is fittingly expanded, but two other modes, Scavenger and Survivor, are available. Lovers of Horde and Firefight, Survivor’s the place for you. Fans of frantic “collect X amount of Y” games, Scavenger’s got you covered. The derivative but new modes are a fine distraction but probably won’t grow in popularity until the campaigns have been played to death. However the online community flourishes, It’s unlikely players can complain about a “lack of content" this time around.
Speaking of online players, Valve (or any other studio, for that matter) shouldn’t be held accountable for an online community, but the quality of interactions among players is a fundamental part of the L4D experience. I stopped playing Halo because it came to hosts the most volatile online community in all gaming. It is Bungie’s fault? No, but I probably won’t purchase another Halo title. L4D rewrote the rules for online gameplay. Very rarely did I encounter another player hell-bent on ruining the experience. On the other hand, L4D2’s community is beginning to show its age, and not in a good way. The “experts” from the first game are popping up, and achievement-grubbing whores (people inarticulately shouting vague instructions) want to run the show. Is it still one of the best online games available? A resounding yes. Nevertheless, if the community continues to decline in sportsmanship, Valve’s still-young franchise may end up, well, left for dead.
Virtually every reviewer of the original negatively commented on the lack of content (only four campaigns and limited versus). In retrospect, this whining was technically accurate but completely unwarranted. Concessions are sometimes the price of innovation. Just look at the original Assassin’s Creed. After an hour through, the game’s repetitiveness held a disproportionate amount of my criticism. But take a step back and try to appreciate what the game accomplished. It took the stale GTA-style template and added layers of possibility and artistic flair. In the case of Assassin’s Creed, the trade-off was mission variety. Similarly, L4D's brevity paved the way for this year’s more complete, fleshed-out sequel. Because of L4D2’s solid gameplay, expansive levels, and wonderful AI, I’ll take Valve’s approach to game development any blood-drenched evening.
9.3/10
Video Games 
