Left 4 Dead 2 is stumbling on to shop shelves next month, and we’ve just had a bash through it at the Euro Gamer Expo in London today. Is it the superfast sequel we were hoping for or has Valve rushed it out the door unfinished? Read on and see.
We can almost see why Left 4 Dead fans were up in arms over a sequel so soon: very little has changed in Left 4 Dead 2 from the original. You still play one of four survivors and need to scrape through each level with brains, brawn and initiative. But don’t fix what ain’t broke, right?
The main attractions are new levels, more immersive combat (having an infected jump on your head and start gnawing it is truly agitating) and of course, even more lashings of blood. Slicing and dicing your way through the hordes of zombies is great fun, especially when you get up close for some macro mincing, and the limbs start flying – you can see why the game was cordoned off behind a curtain at the expo.
The new zombies are fun and frightening too: watch out for the Jockey character which will piggyback on you and chew you to death unless a friend comes to your aid.
We didn’t get to play Left 4 Dead 2 for long enough to say for certain that it’s a worthy sequel rather than an over priced expansion pack, but it’s certainly shaping up that way. Zombies are smarter, the game feels more fluid and you’ll find yourself laughing even more – a very good sign.
Have a look at our hands-on snaps of Left 4 Dead 2 right here, and look for the game to shamble in to shops next month.
Out 20 November | £from 34.99 | Valve
