Kill All Sons-A-Bitches
The title above isn’t just an excuse to be crass, but a quote directly from the opening cinematic by Southern boy Ellis from Left 4 Dead 2.  A few days ago Valve released the long anticipated PC demo for their upcoming sequel to the original Left 4 Dead.  Yours truly pre-ordered L4D2, so I was in the group of people that gets to play the demo early.  The demo is a short two stage campaign called The Parish, and has these survivors starting at a boat dock after being dropped off by a local fisherman.  From there, you have to blast and smash your way through New Orlean’s Jackson Square to a safe house near Interstate 10.  I’m here to tell you that I enjoyed every minute of my play time, so much so that I captured a whole gigamountain of video and took the time to give you the play by play.  Check out the 3 part video series below, where I get by with a little help from my friends and complete the campaign on expert mode:

The Devil Is In The Details
Left 4 Dead 2 is identical to its predecessor at is core. There is a zombie apocalypse, and you must kill hordes of zombies and special infected to get somewhere that you can be rescued.  Where it sets itself apart is the way it expands on L4D’s winning formula. The 3 additional special infected, along with zombies armored in riot gear, bring a whole new level of game play to the table. The new weapons are just different enough to make you want to go out of your way to look for them. The Magnum is (overpowered?) a godsend if you become incapacitated and are firing at zombies raining down on you. The defibrillator and the adrenaline shot also mix things up nicely, and the new characters have a certain charm that just makes you want to like them. The details like jukeboxes that play songs (and spawn horde if a special song plays) just add flavor to the already great feel of the game.

I say all this just based on a short demo campaign. I have not yet encountered zombies in hazmat suits, or many of the other unique infected that I’ve read about. I have not yet had the joy of firing the grenade launcher, or seen any of the new game play modes that exist outside of the demo. There is much, much more to be experienced with Left 4 Dead 2, far beyond what can be enjoyed in this short demo. Whether you are an old Left 4 Dead zombie slayer like me, or you are new to Valve’s zombie apocalypse survival game, there’s alot to like with this game.  My first impressions were all good except for the hitching, which can be seen multiple times in the video.  Regardless, I still recommend this game as a must buy.  November is a crowded month for gaming, but you should really consider L4D2 if its not already on your radar.

-br3ntbr0

© Posted by br3ntbr0 for Im Talkin Games with 2 comments on 11/01/2009.
Posted in: Commentary, Featured, Video Tags: Left 4 Dead 2, Play By Play, Valve