Left 4 Dead 2 Hands On

Left 4 Dead 2 was one of the most exciting and anticipated titles at last months E3 but the almost instantaneous backlash from gamers has received more coverage than the game. When released last year Valve were promising to support the title with additional download content such as weapons, new infected and campaigns much like they do with their Half Life and Team Fortress games. This additional material never materialised and the announcement of a sequel to be released less than a year after sent gamers into a rage.

Yesterday Gamestoaster took a trip to London to see just how Left 4 Dead 2 holds up and to see if the outrage was justified. Upon arriving in London we set about playing through the New Orleans level on both Xbox and PC.

First up it’s important to note that in terms of gameplay Left 4 Dead 2 is pretty much exactly the same as the first game. There are some subtle change that the gamers hardened fans will notice but overall it seems that the game remains pretty much the same as it ever was. Being honest this isn’t necessarily as a bad thing, why fix something that isn’t broken.

In the game you play in a team of 4 survivors battling their way through a world in which the undead far outnumber the living. The level available to play was called The Parish. Beginning with a film poster inspired load screen with the obligatory tag line “This time it all goes South”. An obvious refrence to the games setting. The first thing we noticed regarding the game was just how much the character Nick resembled John Cusack though perhaps that was all in our mind.

The most noticeable addition to the game is the inclusion of melee weapons. The level we played offered up axes and frying pans. As you would expect these weapons re meant for up close and personal use and God damn are they fun to use. Watch as your axe makes contact with an infected ones face and it disappears in a torrent of blood.

The game now also features some additions to your arsenal. Weapon upgrades are available at certain points in the game and make a nice change of pace. The incendiary upgrade which sets fire to any infected you shoot. Each upgrade is limited so it best to save them for cutting down large groups of the infected. The new monster featured was refered to as a Charger. He runs at you before picking you up and slamming slamming you to the ground till your teammates rescue you.

When playing the game you are once more offered the ability to play the game one of two ways. The most effective way is to play as part of the team, watching each others back. This makes taking care of the infected a far easier prospect. The other option is to run off on your own all guns blazing which will usually end in your untimely death.

The difficulty has certainly been amped up. Playing through the New Orleans level we found the initial part to be quite a breeze. The second part of the level however was a completely different animal. In it you encounter what Valve refer to as the gauntlet run which features a never ending horde attack you as you valiantly try to cross the bridge to the extraction point.

While this sudden jump in difficultly is unexpected and certainly frustrating it does offer a far more rewarding experience. When we asked Valve about the difficulty out demonstration games were set to they refused to give an answer and said that we “would find out in November”.

One of the most disappointing aspects of the game was that at times there only appeared to be a dozen of so infected on screen at once. When questioned on this Valve informed us that the game will feature “dozens of the infected onscreen at once”.

As it stands Left 4 Dead 2 is really looking like one of this years most entertaining titles. Playing through the level repeatedly yesterday on both Xbox and PC against other journalists in a LAN was a real joy. While those calling for gamers to boycott the game have a point we believe that the finished game will offer a far more satisfying experience than the original and the addition of the melee weapons will certainly add an addition layer of fun.

The game is set for release in November on both PC and Xbox 360 and we should hopefully be bringing you more on the game before then.