Reviews// Left4Dead 2

When played by the console/PC you get a real feel for their characters: Coach, a massive, chocolate-chomping American football trainer, belies his massive frame and crack-shot shooting with a kindness and generosity which means he's always first to dish out health packs, patch you up or get you off the floor. His knowledgeability and comforting presence are balanced out by Ellis.

This young Southern hick has a tendency to get his head directly in your line of fire whenever left to his own devices. A noob, essentially, he's got the silly accent, he's got the blue collar job and Forrest Gump style motto: "Kill all sons of bitches." yet the dialogue stops him becoming only a stereotype and makes him...well, an endearing stereotype. Nick and Rochelle are slower to come into their own, but a set of four cliches would be a little hard to handle.

A whole host of new melee weapons like the chainsaw, axe, guitar and baseball (and cricket) bat as well as guns and your good old left trigger punch make short work of most zombies. There's Boomer bile available now as well as the traditional pipe bombs and Molotovs, which attract all the infected into one easily-mow-down-able mass.

The new special-infected are just as revolting and lethal as the originals (who are still present) and get their own new little intro music. The Jockey seems to be the most irritating, if less deadly than the Hunter, of the new batch. With a short whinny, he jumps onto a player's shoulders, careering them into whatever danger is nearby: fire, the horde, high ledges; and it is almost impossible to control.

The Spitter is less terrifying than the Boomer, sending you dancing backwards away from the noxious acid she spews in good scenarios, or depleting the last of your health if she gets you when you're down.

The first bars of intro music for the Witch and Tank still send shivers of terror up your spine, but this time there's a half-cousin to the Tank - the Charger, a quicker, more rammy version who only takes a few solid shotgun blasts to kill.

Although the offline game, like the last, is playable in less than two hours once you know where you're going, the online action has been extended with extra levels and new game modes.

Scavenger, a little like Capture the Flag, involves collecting gas cannisters with which to power your way out of the situation giving the online games a quicker turn around than playing through the chapters. This should mean, rather than playing one game for a couple of hours, I'll feel relentlessly persuaded into "just the one" before bed. A dangerous situation.

Realism mode is essentially a rock-hard version for the professional zombie killers of L4D and will come as a pleasing extension for the hardcore, whilst the traditional levels of difficulty and rules are perfect for any newcomer.

The one thing that sets Left 4 Dead apart from other multiplayer games, and which sets L4D players apart from Modern Warfare or GTA is the general ethos of the game. The importance of co-operation; protecting the strangers who then become friends, and knowing that every player counts, must set it apart as one of the most morally righteous of any other game in which for 90% of the time, you're killing stuff.

Conclusion
In a time where computer games seem to be getting it in the ear from all other media types for their amoral "Fuck everyone else" attitude, with some good cause, Left 4 Dead and now its sequel are welcome additions to the all-time great games. Left 4 Dead 2 strikes the perfect balance of brain-bludgeoning and beauty, breathless-terror and comradely conscientiousness.

SPOnG Score: 95%