Left 4 Dead 2 Review

Versus and Beyond

It’s in the new competitive modes that the game really shines though and it becomes clear just how much work has gone into the additions made to Left 4 Dead 2, with the new boss infected helping to bring a bit more variety to playing for the undead side.

The new boss infected don’t seem groundbreaking. The Charger, who runs through crowds and pummels a single enemy, feels like little more than a mini-tank at first. The Jockey’s ability to steer survivors into danger sound threatening, but if judged on his appearances in singleplayer he’s actually little more than an annoyance. The Spitter, who throws noxious goo around, is a more intimidating challenge – but not worth getting really excited about.

As soon as you jump into one of the multiplayer modes though then everything changes and the dedicated purposes of each boss becomes apparent – to battle specific tactics used by advanced players. The Spitter is fantastic for blocking escape routes or causing tightly clustered groups to scatter with a well placed bit of phlegm, while the Jockey and Charger provide new ways to single out particularly adept players.


Singling people out becomes especially important in Left 4 Dead 2’s new Scavenge mode – a team game where survivors have to collect gas cans to fuel a generator or car, while the infected have to stop them. Being able to isolate the survivor who's furthest from the generator or who's veered away from the others can be the difference between winning and losing.

As soon as the game starts, newcomers to the game will scatter and try to get as many individual gas cans back to the generator as possible, allowing Smokers, Hunters and Chargers to take advantage. Advanced players however will move in teams, which makes Spitters and Jockeys an integral part of an Infected counter-assault.

Scavenge is unarguably the best single new addition to Left 4 Dead 2, introducing a new game type that can be dropped in or out of with ease and which provides a nice challenge no matter your skill level. The fact that the levels are much smaller and more arena-like than the campaign maps they draw inspiration from also, means that there’s more to them than learning all the exploit points – as is sometimes the case with Versus mode.


Not that there’s anything wrong with Versus mode though – in fact, the levels shared between it and Campaign balance out wonderfully and there’s something to suit almost every taste. While The Parish provides a set of levels that’s mostly pretty similar to those of the original game (albeit in daylight), Dead Centre gives a much more claustrophobic experience – especially in the first level where the players descend through a burning hotel block.

Dead Centre stands out as what will probably be the most divisive campaign in the game and there’s bound to be a large proportion of players who don’t appreciate the smoke filled corridors and the linear path that’s fenced in by steep drops and raging fires. Personally though, we love the subtle touches that litter the levels – such as the burning rooms that can be breached, allowing a backdraft of flame to spew into the hallway.

It’s these little touches, such as the backdrafts and carnival games, which help to make Left 4 Dead 2 into more than the sum of its parts; more than just new levels and laser sights that can be attached to your guns. It makes something which weaves a wicked sense of humour into a genre of shooter that’s become tired and overcrowded ever since the first game was first released, and an explosion of zombie and co-op titles rushed into the market.