4.5/5 ★ – Kalle_Deimos's review of Left 4 Dead 2.

TLDR: Probably the ultimate multi-player zombie game ever made. Gameplay: They pulled out all the stops in this one. More weapons, more infected, more game modes, better maps, better cast. It's anything you could want. And mods can help iron out the few wrinkles. The campaigns themselves are amazing. There's a lot of detail and compelling features in every single map. I think I could list every map and every gimmick they have off the top of my head because it's so memorable. There's even non-special special infected. Clowns, Hazmat Suits, Hardhats, Riot Zombies. The works. The Charger, Jockey and Spitter also spice up the gameplay a lot as new threats to mess your team up. It's always funny to have your entire team bowled due to a Charger. The best among them of course, Dark Carnival. The Motel, The Fairgrounds, The Tunnel of Love, The Rollercoaster, The Ticketbooth and The Concert Arena. Holy fuck. What a genius move. Every campaign afterwards pales in comparison to how fun Dark Carnival is. Hard Rain is also a unique one due to it being a journey with a return trip when a gigantic storm is barreling through. Swamp Fever is fine. Oh, and all of L4D1 is in 2. Just to sweeten the deal. Story: One of my favorite additions to L4D2 is a bigger emphasis on the setting and characters. The aestetic is VERY south. Being in the south is one of the most important aspects of the game as you'll see. Coach and Ellis being native southerners gives them so much personality. Nick is an abrasive asshole but he's funny and warms up pretty quickly to everyone else. And Rochelle is the most level-headed survivor who has plenty of attitude to make her an interesting character. And making your way from Savannah to New Orleans is a real journey that you go on with these characters. You see them meet in that very first campaign and watch as they grow closer to each other. A stunning amount of care and attention has been put in voice lines of the crew learning terms for the infected and even each other's names. Almost every event has several variations of voicelines to listen to and it never gets boring hearing these characters. A lot of this is probably because there was no tie-in comic. This was it for these characters. Their whole story is in this game and I feel satisfied. Graphics: Get a game that looks good. Add some of the best gore effects and mechanics. Add lots of vibrant colors. Now you're looking spicy. The use of color is a fantastic improvement upon L4D1. The survivors are all dressed up to contrast against the infected. Almost every campaign takes place during a sunny day but still has plenty of gross dark areas. Even details such as the Spitter spit being a BRIGHT green are great uses of color. The gore in 2 is also nuts. I suggest watching a developers commentary on it to see what they went through to make these undead ironically seem alive. With graphics like this and simple to pick up gameplay, L4D2 has become somewhat of a comfort game for me to pick up and mess around in for a quick and good time. Sound: L4D had a strange sort of electronic soundtrack with a big emphasis on horns. This was swapped out with electric guitars, violins and other string instruments to really get into those southern roots. All of the tunes from the first game have been re-done with these instruments in mind and I believe they've substantially improved them. In a way these instruments add to the intensity of most of the moments. Especially the track that plays when rescue arrives with the past paced plucks of a banjo-type instrument. L4D2 is bit rougher and dirtier, and so is the soundtrack. Also the voice acting is bomb. Every character is masterfully written and voiced. I don't think anybody else could compare to them. A detail that I'm sure a lot of people are aware of at this point are the short themes that play for the infected. And the Boomer one always makes me laugh. It sounds like I'm in Jaws and tbh, thats what it makes me feel. Extra: Lots of extra multi-player and singleplayer modes! Versus is always fun. Survival is fucked up carnage on demand. And mutations are great for when you REALLY want to squeeze out some more content. Favorite Thing: I'm gonna be a One Man Cheeseburger Apocalypse. Not My Favorite Thing: The pistols are such a downgrade from the first game and no mod has replicated it for me yet. I haven't really searched too hard though to be completely fair.