Whether you’ve read our first look at Left 4 Dead 2 or not, Valve has certainly revamped this journey through the zombie apocalypse. Now, let me be the first to say that I expected Left 4 Dead 2 to be a simple expansion of the original. Of course, I was wrong. This is a completely new ball game. Let me see if I can break it down for you:

The first Left 4 Dead roughly consisted of four campaigns, each about four chapters long, and at the end of each, you contact the rescue vehicle that saves you. No real story, no real connection between the campaigns, and only a few supplies to help you on your way. There was also Versus Mode, which let players take turns as either the survivors or special undead. This originally was only available on two of the four campaign levels. We were more than appeased by these now seemingly meager gameplay options. Left 4 Dead 2 has five campaigns, each much longer and diverse. Instead of just wading from safe-room to safe-room through the sea of zombies, expect much more interesting and complex tasks to be completed. For instance, in one campaign, Dead Center, you don’t just contact the rescue vehicle; it’s already there, but you must collect gas cans, and refill the tank before it can be used to escape. There are many situations now which call for much more to be done than simply racing to the next safe-room. There is also more story this time around, but it doesn’t weigh you down. This simply means that each campaign starts where the previous left off.

The Guns are much more plentiful, and there are several variants of each type. There are multiple shotguns, sniper rifles, assault rifles, submachine guns and pistols. The addition of melee weapons is a truly visceral inclusion. In the demo I used a few of these, but there are eight in the full game. My personal favorite is the chainsaw, which tears through undead flesh like a hot knife through butter. One little caveat to remember is that chainsaws have limited gas, so eventually you’ll drop it. Melee weapons take the slot of your handguns, and while they can be super helpful, you might want to consider trying the pistol from time to time.

The Graphics are a big step up from the first game, and that is definitely saying something. Every little bloody detail shines. Every shot-off limb and dirty claw is well-defined.

The Controls are simple, highly responsive and I adapted to them instantly. Even though I have spent the past few days playing another game, there was no awkward ‘figuring out what each button does’ phase.

The sound is amazing. Valve certainly did a great job with the sound effects, finding foley artists, and getting Depeche Mode in the game. I’m personally a big fan, and was super excited to see them amidst the zombie mayhem.

A word of warning to those who can’t wait to play: this game is tough. I mean, really tough. Don’t expect to Easy to be a casual lark populated by a few undead. Even on this, the lowest of difficulties, don’t be surprised to see a veritable ocean of zombies in your path. Now, don’t fear; you can do this. The difficulty has certainly been cranked up a few notches, but it’s far from impossible.

There are a couple new modes to be tried out as well. Realism Mode lets players advance through the campaign, but without any of the helpful hints from the normal mode. You never quite know where your teammates, equipment or gun piles are. Body shots do much less damage, and I can guarantee you will get lost. Once again, the overall difficulty level for the game has been raised, but that doesn’t mean you can’t beat these levels. Another new mode is Scavenge, which is kind of like Versus mode, but instead of just getting to the safe-room/preventing them from getting to the safe-room, you must instead collect gas cans/stop them from collecting gas cans. The option to play as not only the four main special infected  but also the uncommon common make these short, hectic matches that are tons of fun.

There are avatar awards for the game, something I haven’t really seen much of yet. I was pleasantly surprised when I received my first one, and am happy with what I’ve received. Mostly shirts, (my favorite is the Depeche Mode shirt) but there was also a Med pack prop. Free stuff is always appreciated, and only one of them (my DM shirt) required real difficulty to obtain.

There were, however, some slight issues I had with the game. As I mentioned before, the difficulty is rather high. Sometimes this just made the game very challenging. Other times, I wanted to break my controller and send Valve a letter asking what I did to deserve such harsh zombies. But, as I have also said, though difficult, this game is far from impossible. One more thing was that I was waiting forever to play Scavenge online, and Versus mode was a bit laggy. Now I realize that I was probably just experiencing first-week multiplayer lag (something that usually hits major titles especially hard) so I am willing to overlook this for now. I can only hope that it improves, and have no doubt it will.

Overall, the game was awesome. It was challenging, funny, scary, thrilling, and I can’t wait to finish writing this, so I can play some more. Perfectly polished, and deliciously gory, Valve has once again blown me away. The Campaigns are awesome, with just the perfect amount of story, and the multiplayer (though a tad jittery) was amazing. I straight up loved this game, and if you’ll excuse me, I have to go rescue Coach: he just got taken down by a charger.

8.5/10 Garden Gnomes (you’ll figure it out later, trust me)

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