Product Description

As if New Orleans hadn't had enough problems lately, now it's got to deal with a zombie invasion as well. Set entirely in the Deep South of the U.S., your team of four players must once again fight for survival against a never-ending wave of mutant monsters.

The dead walk and they're feeling kind of hungry

Fireproof zombies are just one of the new horrors

New melee weapons make combat even more intense

Falling off a bridge is the least of your concerns

Co-operation is the name of this game, as you struggle to reach a series of safe houses and eventual rescue, while all the time being assaulted by hundreds of zombies and other creatures. The five new campaigns (one more than the original) feature a more detailed story and finally explain how the outbreak occurred.

If all you're interested in is the action though then there are new melee weapons - including a chainsaw - and lots of new firearms. With new mutant types as well this is the perfect mix of survival horror and all out first person shooter action. Fearing for your life has never been so much fun.

Key Features

• Co-operation of the Dead: The fan favourite co-op shooter returns with five brand new campaigns and a more detailed story.
• Survival equipment: Wield new melee weapons, including axes, baseball bats and a chainsaw -or make use of the new assault rifle or silenced machine gun.
• Mutant evolution: Face off against new mutant types, including the fast moving Charger, the new Wandering Witch and fire resistant zombies.
• Virtual Spielberg: Revamped AI director watches how you play and increases or decreases the challenge accordingly, even altering the layout of the levels as it sees fit.
• Team works: Four new characters to play as: TV reporter Rochelle, mechanic Ellis, conman Nick and an American football school coach known simply as… Coach.

About the Developer: Valve
One of the most influential PC developers in America today, Valve changed the first person shooter forever with 1998's Half-Life. Know for their long development times (and delays) almost every game has been a classic, from Counter-Strike to Portal, Team Fortress and Left 4 Dead.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2009-11-20
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Format: Unknown format
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
These may be credit-crunched times for most of us, but at least business is booming for zombies. With a veritable infestation of zombie-flicks in the cinemas, you can go a step further than watching your zombies getting splattered by doing the evisceration yourself – thanks to Left4Dead 2, the second iteration of the zombie-connoisseur’s favourite videogame.

It is, of course, only a year since the first Left4Dead, with the swiftness of the sequel’s arrival causing consternation in the game’s vocal online fan base. However, allegations of a cynical rush to market prove to be utterly unfounded. With a focus on online and co-operative play above storyline, the original was more of an online zombie-lovers’ playground compared to a balanced conventional game, and as such lent itself well to a swiftly conceived sequel from legendary developer Valve.

The first improvement you notice is that the graphics are much more detailed and considerably crisper – attention to detail which instantly makes Left4Dead 2 even more involving than its predecessor. A new dismemberment engine ups the level of detail: an assault rifle, for example, will gouge chunks of gore and entire limbs from advancing zombies, and you instantly feel more inclined to use whatever explosives come to hand once you’ve seen the limb-scattering mayhem they cause. Dovetailing with the dismemberment system are new melee weapons, including an axe and, that old zombie staple, chainsaw – although our favourite has to be the humble frying-pan, which not only makes an exaggerated clang straight out of Tom & Jerry, but also has the power to rearrange zombies’ facial features in a deeply satisfying manner.

This time around, Valve has worked more on the storyline although, fear not, you won’t have to sit through anything so tawdry as long cut-scenes, and the characters still don’t talk much except to warn each other that specific types of special zombies are incoming. The game has four new characters: Nick (who is a gambler), Ellis, Coach (a reassuringly grizzled type) and Rochelle (a TV producer). Set in the Deep South, the action starts in Savannah and ends in New Orleans. The game has five campaigns, playable co-operatively by up to four people, as well as in Versus and Survival modes; we’ve been told there’s a new game mode, too, but you’ll have to play it to find what it is.

Valve has made a number of gameplay tweaks, which may not be obvious the moment you sit down to play Left4Dead 2 but which make eminently good sense. For example, the days when you could ride out the campaigns’ finales by holing up in a bunker and firing through the windows are gone: the game encourages you to keep moving, especially when beset by seemingly endless zombie hordes. One finale involves crossing a long bridge; in another, you must make your way to a switch to kill a zombie-attracting alarm.

There are, of course, new forms of “boss” zombie, along with all the old favourites like Boomers, Witches, Tanks, Hunters and Smokers. Chargers have been added, which are designed to break up close-knit groups – they have giant arms for knocking people down, yet still move speedily. Jockeys will jump on your back and cause damage until a mate dispatches them. We’ll leave you to discover the other new additions.

Another unique feature which contributed massively to Left4Dead’s success is the AI Director, which made sure that weapon and ammo-drops were placed dynamically in different places every time you attempted a campaign. AI Director 2 will even rearrange the levels, shutting off and opening areas dynamically to shunt you around, according to how well you are doing.

The end result is that in Left4Dead 2 – even more so than in the first game – you feel like you are living through a zombie film with three mates, no idea of what is going to happen next and nothing but your wits and a host of found objects (admittedly primarily consisting of serious firepower) to get you through. It’s sure to create an online sensation. Be very afraid.

Manufacturer's Description
As if New Orleans hadn't had enough problems lately, now it's got to deal with a zombie invasion as well. Set entirely in the Deep South of the U.S., your team of four players must once again fight for survival against a never-ending wave of mutant monsters.

The dead walk and they're feeling kind of hungry

Fireproof zombies are just one of the new horrors

New melee weapons make combat even more intense

Falling off a bridge is the least of your concerns

Co-operation is the name of this game, as you struggle to reach a series of safe houses and eventual rescue, while all the time being assaulted by hundreds of zombies and other creatures. The five new campaigns (one more than the original) feature a more detailed story and finally explain how the outbreak occurred.

If all you're interested in is the action though then there are new melee weapons - including a chainsaw - and lots of new firearms. With new mutant types as well this is the perfect mix of survival horror and all out first person shooter action. Fearing for your life has never been so much fun.

Key Features

• Co-operation of the Dead: The fan favourite co-op shooter returns with five brand new campaigns and a more detailed story.
• Survival equipment: Wield new melee weapons, including axes, baseball bats and a chainsaw -or make use of the new assault rifle or silenced machine gun.
• Mutant evolution: Face off against new mutant types, including the fast moving Charger, the new Wandering Witch and fire resistant zombies.
• Virtual Spielberg: Revamped AI director watches how you play and increases or decreases the challenge accordingly, even altering the layout of the levels as it sees fit.
• Team works: Four new characters to play as: TV reporter Rochelle, mechanic Ellis, conman Nick and an American football school coach known simply as… Coach.

About the Developer: Valve
One of the most influential PC developers in America today, Valve changed the first person shooter forever with 1998's Half-Life. Know for their long development times (and delays) almost every game has been a classic, from Counter-Strike to Portal, Team Fortress and Left 4 Dead.

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Customer Reviews

That Thing Was Trying to Hump My Head!!!
Almost exactly one year after the exceptional Left 4 Dead was released, here we are with a full blown sequel. Having played the game all evening yesterday, I can safely say that it is a worthy purchase and adds to the co op gameplay championed in the original.

Left 4 Dead 2 traces a journey from Savannah to New Orleans and introduces 4 new characters into the mix - Coach, Rochelle, Ellis and Nick. They play exactly the same way as the original 4 characters and the controls are the same as well. However, like the original, Valve have managed to create 4 characters that you will warm to the more you play. The humour and continuous dialogue throughout the action injects character into what is essentially a simple premise; Get to the extraction point and shoot all the infected.

This time round there are 5 campaigns to complete and they all have a very different look and feel to the 4 campaigns in Left 4 Dead. The big addition to the campaign mode is the inclusion of guantlet moments, crescendos where you have to move from A to B to stop an alarm or a trigger of some kind to stop the infected horde from hunting you down. You have to move quickly, but moving as a team is more important than running off on your own. These moments add a new dimension to the game and will be tough to get through against a good team on versus. Also, the finales have been reimagined so that you're not just holed up in a cupboard meleeing and shooting in relative comfort. The melee weapons are an excellent addition and once you start using them you will find it hard to go back to Left 4 Dead. Decapitating an infected with a guitar or frying pan will not get old and the occasional use of a chainsaw is what we should expect in a zombie game.

On top of the original special infected from the previous game, we have 3 more that have been designed specifically to break teams up. The Spitter, unsurpisingly, spits a corrosive substance onto the floor that slowly spreads. The usual effect is for the team to disperse into different directions allowing for other special infected to pick off anyone caught on their own. The Charger is a large brutish special infected who will charge straight into the survivors before grabbing one and pummelling them into the ground. Finally, we have the Jockey who will literally jump onto your head and force you away from the survivors. These new additions are superb, but the big change is the way in which they interact with each other. It genuinely feels like they're working as team so it feels like you're up against a human team in versus. For example, a Spitter will spit causing the team to break only for a Jockey to suddenly appear and guide a survivor straight into the green acid. You have to keep your wits about you and always be aware of where your team mates are as you will need them, especially on the higher difficulty settings. It seems that Valve's promise to force teams to crawl over the finishing line rather than blitz through each campaign with ease has been realised.

It is worth noting that you can play any campaign in single player with 3 AI controlled characters. They're ok, but they will occasionally just stand there when you're being molested by a Smoker which can get annoying. Also, you can play 2 player splitscreen and via system link.

On top of this, versus mode has returned and the above inclusions and changes make this mode even more frantic than ever. There is no greater feeling in a game that working with your team mates to orchestrate complete and utter chaos in the opposition with carefully crafted special infected traps. The new special infected compliment the old although they still die far too easily for my liking. Scavenger mode is an interesting addition to the multiplayer aspect that I have yet to try, but it involves retrieving cannisters within a time limit against a team of special infected. Also, Survivor mode is in the game as well.

Overall, it is difficult to find any fault in this game. If you did not like the original, there is nothing here that will change your mind. It is still the greatest co op game in this generation and for those who adored the first, you will find enough variation and additions here to keep you happy. For me, I think it is a superb game that is unique in this generation of consoles as it is a game that rewards genuine co operative play. New special infected, guantlet moments, variations to the finales, uncommon infected, interesting mini games (optional in certain levels), 4 new characters to warm to, more weapons and an exceptionally imaginative achievement list all add up to create one of the games of the year. Valve don't do bad games so get online, hook up with 3 mates and go and shoot zombies in the face - you'll enjoy every minute.

More than just "DLC"
The controversy surrounding this games release and how it was basically DLC (Downloaded content) at full retail I'm sure put a lot of people off as it did me some what, I rented it and gave it a whirl to see how it fares. For a start this is far more than just DLC, this game gives more campaigns than the first and even more content.

There's several modes:
.Single player
.Campaign
.Survival
.Versus
.Scavenge

Fans of the first game will almost certainly know most of the modes, scavenge however is a new mode. The aim is to collect certain objects and bring them to a location, it's a team game and while you're doing that the opposing team spawns as the infected to try and stop you before switching sides. It's a good game type but not the strongest IMO. The rest are all the same as the first game, 4 on 4 versus, team survival and online campaign play.

There's 5 campaigns this time around, each one differing from the one before. Rather than simple "call the rescue vehicle and wait" the end can vary, which is a nice change of pace. There's a lot of new weapons on top of the original few, including 8 melee weapons. While not as useful as assault rifles or shotguns, there's nothing more satisfying than decapitating zombies with an axe or running through a crowd with a chainsaw. Other new additions to the game include 3 new special infected. The charger, an infected with an oversized arm he uses to ram into you, upon catching you he uses it to smash you into the ground. The spitter, a female infected which spits acid on you and leaves a pool of acid on death and the jockey, a weird monkey looking infected that rides their pray around and steers them into trouble.

Left 4 dead 2 is also one of the few games to take advantage of the new avatar awards rewarding 8 T-shirts for certain accomplishments (4 different styles, each having 1 male and female) and a med-pack prop.

This is a lot more than what I was expecting, I had over an hour of fun in 1 single spot just killing wave after wave of zombies.
The director this time around as well as changing item and zombie spawns also changes the weather, although I haven't noticed much difference.

All in all a very worthy purchase for any fan of the first game or any fan of a shooter in general, funnest game I've played for some time.

Better in every way
I will start by saying that I adore the original Left 4 Dead, it was a refreshing take on the survival horror genre, and has already spawned its imitators in regards to co-op play. When I first heard that a sequel was in the offing, less than a year after the first release, I was disgusted, Valve, so long a company that is 'user friendly' who normally build up their games over time and aren't really seen as money grabbers, seemed to have changed course, I was definately not going to buy this game!

However the demo came along and changed all this. Here was a game that stood proudly and seperately from the original, with enough new ideas and features to make me see this as a new game in its own right. The characters were funny, the damage models were much improved, and the melee weapons are a fantastic addition to anybody with a slightly twisted sense of humour...

The game modes from the original are still in there, Campaign, Versus and Survival but it is the addition of the scavenger mode that has really grabbed my attention, it is L4D's first real competitive mode as far as I am concerned, where every fuel can gathered gives you a sense of achievement as the survivors and stopping a survivor from refuelling as the timer counts down gives you a real buzz when you play as an infected, I must admit that it is this mode that has taken up most of my play time.

An additonal bonus to anyone willing to brave the zombie apocalypse for a second time is the addition of avatar unlocks on XBox live, it may seem like a small time thing, but being able to display on your xbox avatar rare items that can only be achieved by doing something special in the game really adds value to the play experience.

On a final note I must add, that anybody buying the game as a single player experience is probably not going to think the same way, L4D2 is a multi player game at heart and should be enjoyed as such, playing offline only will cost you 75% of what the game has to offer, so please be aware of this when reading any reviews.