Preview: Left 4 Dead 2

Game: Left 4 Dead 2
Platform: XBox 360
Developer: Valve
Publisher: Electronic Arts

We here at The Newb Review recently got our hands on an early access code for the soon to be released demo of Valve’s latest game Left 4 Dead 2 on the Xbox 360. The demo allows you to play through the first two chapters of the Parish campaign mission with three other players online, two player split screen co-op, or just by yourself with A.I team mates. From the get go this game is very familiar to players of the original, but at the same time quite different. For instance, all of the recognisable music from the original returns, but this time played through a jazz filter to reflect the new setting of New Orleans. There also seems to be a more developed narrative in the game, as when the level starts your team gets off of a boat, and it is implied that the captain of the boat rescued you at an earlier date – perhaps at the end of another campaign mission. It seemed strange to be playing as anyone other than the characters from the original game, but the banter soon started to flow and my feelings of uncertainty began to subside.

Upon taking control of the characters, I saw the usual table with health packs, shotguns, and machine guns. This time, however, a new type of weapon greeted me, and was too tempting to resist. This new weapon is one of 10 melee weapons that will be available in the final version of the game. Melee weapons replace the standard unlimited ammo pistol, although if you are taken down then you are able to use the pistol from the ground even if you have a melee weapon equipped. The weapon that greeted me was a machete, which I used to lop off the heads and limbs of the hordes of zombies that await us around the corner. After a few moments of blissfully hacking away at the zombies I was greeted by one of the new uncommon infected, a zombie wearing riot gear. As he was wearing a bullet proof vest, the best way to kill him was to shoot him in the back. While these uncommon zombie types are nothing more than the average zombie that require a specific way to kill them, there are three new special infected zombies in the game. The first special infected I encountered was the Jockey, a little beast that jumps on players backs and takes control of them, steering them away from their friends and in to the arms of death. The Jockey steered me around the corner and in to the path of another new special infected, the Spitter, a lanky, long necked creature that shoots a corrosive projectile that can form pools on the ground. Both were quickly dispatched by my computer controlled team without serious issue. Before long we encountered the final new special infected character, the Charger, a sort of half formed Tank from the original game, whose only aim is to break up the group, charging in to us and taking one poor member of the group and slamming them in the ground repeatedly. Thankfully the charger is fairly easy to kill, unlike the Tanks. Speaking of the Tanks, they return to this game, as well as the original special infected. For those not the know, we have the Hunter, who pounces on humans pinning them to the ground, the boomer who spits zombie attracting bile on the players, the smoker who has a 50ft long tongue that he uses to drag opponents in to his arms, and the witch, the sobbing woman who just wants to be left alone. Disturb her at your peril. It is clear that these new special infected have been designed to break up the group, and separate them, as in order to successfully survive in Left 4 Dead cooperation is key.

One of the main differences in Left 4 Dead 2 is that the game takes place during daylight hours

As we progressed through the level I came across three other types of melee weapon, the guitar, a nightstick, and the frying pan. Also encountered were the adrenaline shot – an alternative to the pain pills that will increase your speed – and the boomer bile – a canister that you can throw on zombies that will cause other zombies to attack whoever is drenched in the foul substance. Like in the original there are multiple types of each of the guns, ranging from the Combat Shotgun to the Silenced SMG. In the second and final chapter of the demo, towards the end of the mission you are tasked with breaching the security walls of a safety zone. By breaching the walls you set off the alarm, which summons dozens of zombies. In the original, such a scenario would require you and your team to buckle down and defend the area until it was clear of enemies. In Left 4 Dead 2, however, you are tasked with running as fast as you can through a winding path of fenced off areas to make it to the guard tower to disable the alarm. The frantic nature of these end of level moments, coupled with the fast paced Jazz drumming, creates a whole new level of tension in this game as you frantically try to run away from dozens of zombies and get to your objective. The longer you take in achieving your goals, the more zombies will attack you and your team. After successfully disabling the alarm, and picking off the last few zombies, we were able to continue through to the bus station and reach the safe house, which ended the demo.

Not a particularly inspired screenshot, but at least you get to see one of the new guns

The real beauty of Left 4 Dead is that no single game will ever be exactly the same thanks to Valve’s sadistic AI Director, which dictates how many zombies there are, what types of zombies you will face, and item locations. On my second play through I was greeted by the previously mentioned Witch soon after leaving the docks. The Witch can now walk around freely, rather than sitting in a stationary spot as she did in the original, so it took me a little time to actually find where she was, as all I had to go on was her distinctive weeping. The Witch sounds less sinister and far more desperate than she did in the previous game, and as such I took pity on her and decided to put her out of her misery by chopping her head off with my machete. Despite sounding helpless, the Witch is a deadly as ever, and she quickly took me down. Thankfully my team were close on hand to revive me and patch me up.

The Left 4 Dead 2 demo will be available to all Xbox Live Gold Members from the 3rd of November. Those who have pre ordered the game from certain retailers, such as GAME, should have a download code emailed to them by the time they see this article. The game itself is out on the 20th of November, and we here at Newbreview cannot wait.

Tags: co-op, First Person Shooter, Left 4 dead 2, Mightyles, multiplayer, online, pills, shotgun, valve, XBox 360, zombies

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