573nd played so far
Genre: Survival Horror/Shoot ‘Em Up
Platform: PC/Xbox 360
Year of Release: 2009
Developer: Valve Corporation
Publisher: Valve Corporation
We’ve played Left 4 Dead a few years ago. We quite enjoyed it then, and it feels like zombie media still haven’t gone out of fashion. The sequel creates new stories in a similar setting – with an updated engine and some more experience.
Our Thoughts
Sure, Left 4 Dead 2 really just gives you more Left 4 Dead. At the same time, it adds something to it. While a lot of the game is still traversing levels, there are parts where it feels more open (even when it isn’t) with the game guiding you in the right direction. It’s good. I can’t say for sure how well it’d work in multiplayer – I was doing single player with bot companions, due to my eternal annoyance with and fear of multiplayer – but here it made for a fun experience.
All the annoying zombies made a return, with less of a tutorial than I played in the first game – but I believe it might include enough of the first to serve that. Beyond that, it’s nice micro storytelling – not necessarily creating a big story, but the dynamic enemy behaviour that’s still present creates plenty of moments even if it’s not a conventional narrative.
It looks refreshed too. Brighter and cleaner, with larger open sections in the game that give the impression of more options, and more customized, interesting environments that invite more exploration – sometimes leading to some more items, helping with the scarcity.
Final Thoughts
I’m not quite sure when I’ll get back to the game, or if I ever will. I’m not quite invested enough in shooters for it, and there are other zombie games higher on the list. It’s well executed though, and I can see how Left 4 Dead 2 could get incredibly addictive and fun to play.