Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360) Review
By: Neilio Hunsdalio

Southern Fried Zombies Y'all

The Zombie Hordes are back with the much anticipated sequel to last years award winning survival horror game, Left4Dead. With new characters, new levels, new special infected, and new game modes, Left4Dead 2 looks set to obliterate its predecessor.

Im a big fan of the the original game, so i was really excited to hear the second installment was to be released only a year after the original. Id be lying if i said this was a totally new game, but there are a lot of new and improved features. Its the same basic L4D game, same controls, same visual style, and same non existent plot. Non existent might be a little harsh, after all what's the plot of any good zombie movie? Kill Zombies, Escape from Zombies?

The four survivors have to again battle there way from point A to point B, avoiding or killing as many undead as possible. This time there's four all new survivors to choose from. Nick the 35 year old Gambler with trust issues, Coach, the has been football player turned teacher, Rochelle, the big name news station producer, and Ellis, the redneck mechanic. You will hear them talking a lot more than the original four, especially Ellis.

Probably the most notable improvement in L4D2, is the variety of weapons available. As well as your favorites from the original, like the assault rifle and the auto shotgun, there's all new weapons including a grenade launcher, a desert rifle, and an AK-47. You can also pick up weapon augmentations to help you, for example, a laser sight for your rifle for increased accuracy, or explosive rounds. For your secondary weapon, you've got a tough choice. You can choose the standard pistol or the kick ass Magnum that literally blows heads off. Or maybe if you're somehow sick of shooting zombies, you can pick up one of the ten available melee weapons, and start chopping them down, manually. Melee weapons include chainsaws, crowbars, frying pans, cricket bats, and electric guitars. I never thought i'd get so much enjoyment from taking a zombies head off with an electric guitar. Throwing weapons are again included with the addition of boomer bile that can be used to lure the infected to a specific area, allowing players to practice their shooting skills. Its like a pipe bomb with out the explosion.

Almost as important as the weapons are the healing aids that can be picked up. Along with the pain pills and first aid kits, there is a defibrillator to resuscitate fallen teammates and adrenaline shots for a 15 second health and energy boost. When you use the adrenaline, your vision and hearing are altered, but you are able to run faster through crowds of zombies.

At this point you might be thinking that these Zombies stand no chance what so ever, but you would be wrong. There's your standard common infected and then there's your all new uncommon, common infected. Each of the campaigns have at least one type of these guys. They can be armored police officer zombies, or fire proof zombies, or freaky clown zombies that attracted the horde with their squeaky shoes. Then there's the special infected. Again the originals have returned , so you need to watch out for the tanks, boomers, smokers and hunters, but on top of them we have 3 new special infected. You have the charger, that grabs a player and repeatedly smashes them into the nearest wall. The jockey, that jumps onto players heads and directs them to places they don't want to go, like off edges. And the spitter, that projects a stream of liquid much like the boomer, that causes more and more damage to players, the longer they stand in it. The survivors will have to work well together to beat these monstrous beings.

For the levels, L4D2 has gone one better than the original, by having 5 different levels. You may remember in L4D that only 2 of the 4 levels were available in some game modes. This time all of them will be available in all game modes. The new levels are all set in the south, and form one long journey by the survivors, as they travel from Savannah, Georgia to the New Orleans French Quarter. You will also not need to have your torch on all the time, like you did in L4D, as you will be traveling during all parts of the day and night, adding yet another new feature to this game.

All your favorite game modes are included, plus one all new game mode, called scavenge, where players must search a map for as many gas cans as they can find, to start a generator. The Infected are on hand as usual to slow and hopefully halt your search permanently. If you thought versus was frantic, your in for shock, as this mode has been developed to offer the maximum frenzied experience.

The games Developer, Valve, have really pushed the boat out on this one, making a game i already loved, ten times better. Again L4D2 is a co-op experience, so its enjoyed most when your online with 3-7 of your friends. If you didn't like the original game, then L4D2 isn't going to change your mind, but it has definitely got a lot of added extras, making the game seem more complete than the original.

Left 4 Dead 2 is out now on xbox 360 and pc. I say go get it and meet me online.