Experiences with Left 4 Dead 2

The holiday sale on steam made me buy Left 4 Dead 2. I really enjoyed the first game, so i thought i would give the second one a go as well. I admit that it is really good, but honestly i am not seeing much improvement compared to the first game.

Left 4 Dead had a lot of innovation going on in it. First of all it was a new way of doing cooperative play, and even the jerks who always try to kill their teammates now had an incentive to work together as a team. The game was fun, scary, and it gave me an adrenaline kick more than once. When you played it with your friends sitting in the same room it became even more fun. Listening to their screams, and cries for help made the game experience even better.

Now i am trying out Left 4 Dead 2. It has all the same stuff that the first one did, but i don’t experience the game in as positive a manner as the first one, why? Well first of all i think that the level design is not that great. I admit that i haven’t played all the campaigns yet, but the first two ones struck me as boring. It was a very bland environment. Running around in same colored apartments/office buildings just doesn’t cut it for me. Also, aquaducts should forever be avoided in games from now on.

The game sports a new vast amount if weapons, pickups, and of course close combat weapons. However i really feel that none of these have made the game experience any better. It doesn’t matter if i use a M16 or an AK47 while killing zombies. The weapons are inherently the same. In my mind the only variation that would be needed was two machine guns (one good and one bad), two shotguns (one good and one bad) and perhaps a sniper rifle or two. Thats it! Why do i care about more weapons than that? The close combat weapons also seem to be a bit overkill. I admit that i find it very fun to use a chainsaw when the horde attacks, but besides that i feel that the standard guns which you need to trade in for the close-combat weapons, are a lot more effective. I played through the entire first campaign without ever using a close-combat weapon – it just wasn’t worth it. Then theres all the weapon upgrades, adrenaline, and revival kits. Its okay they are there, but really, are they needed?

The game has a few good things going for it though. I actually like the new special zombies. Its nice to have a bit more variation in what tactics you need to use than in Left 4 Dead. But the thing that really makes the game shine (liked the first one) is the AI manager. Just like in the first game the AI handles the difficulty level like a charm, and even though it sometimes makes the game a bit too easy, it really does do an awesome job. It keeps the tension level constant because you never know what, or when, the zombies will attack.

Overall i think the game is as good as the first one. But i also think that they could have done a lot better. Personally, i still prefer Left 4 Dead 1, and not the sequel.