Left 4 Dead 2 review

A team effort

Left 4 Dead 2 is a team game. Indeed, there is no option to play alone. Instead, if you don’t have real players playing as the four different characters, the game’s extraordinarily competent AI will take control of the time it takes.

While computer control means you don’t have to worry if you can’t find enough players or if someone quits, this game was ultimately designed to be played with other people. Communication between them is vital if you want to survive the zombie apocalypse together.

There is also a fun parallel because the bad guys have their team. In addition to countless unnamed zombies, you have to worry about special undead creatures like hunters, smokers, boomers, tanks and more. These guys always show up at the worst time and make any terrible scenario you’re in even worse.

Unique gameplay

For gamers, the main danger of a game like Left 4 Dead 2 isn’t zombies. Instead, it is repetition.

There are just so many characters, enemies and level scenarios. What prevents things from looking really stale after playing multiple times? Two words: The Director.

This is the name of the system that controls the levels as you play them. And while the levels themselves are relatively linear, The Director helps keep things fresh. This means you may encounter random zombie outbursts at different times or deadly named enemies like The Tank may appear much sooner than expected.

Ultimately, The Director is very successful in its mission: no two playthroughs are exactly alike and there are constant surprises for even the most veteran players.