Left 4 Dead 2

And in only just over a year, Valve are back with the sequel to the multiplayer masterpiece Left 4 Dead, and inevitably, the game is bigger and better in just about every way, with four new characters, twice as many guns, brutal melee weapons to hack away with, more Zombies and a distinctly improved set of campaigns. Might as well throw away your old Left 4 Dead, because this has all you need, and more.

Fans of the first Left 4 Dead will surely have good memories of the four campaigns. They were great, it's safe to say, and it was one of *the* multiplayer greats. But while this was a lot of fun provided you had some buddies to play with, there was always room for more. You started with an SMG or a Shotgun, and later you could upgrade to an M-16, an auto shottie, or a hunting rifle. Course this will do, and it gets you through the mission, but it's not spectacular. There's no real variation, and you'll find on average two of the survivors blasting away with the shotgun and the other two mowing down with an automatic rifle. Storyline is also completely absent, each of the campaigns is entirely standalone and requires no prologue or epilogue which is fine as the focus is on the survival, but wouldn't it be good to show some continous journey, and maybe some character development? These are all things Valve saw, picked up on, and did something about and the result is visibly what Left 4 Dead not only should have been, but was meant to have been.

For a start, Valve HAVE decided to make a skeletal storyline this time around. It's not Metal Gear Solid, but it at least connects the campaigns together into one big escape plan across Southern USA to a military safe zone and, since the start where all the characters give brief introductions of themselves to each other in an elevator between gasps for breath, they noticeably begin to know each other a lot more and communication becomes slick and natural through the course of the story (though I must add, like Half-Life 2, it is worth putting subs on as some voices come out fairly quietly). The environments in each campaign are not just different from each other but this time are very original in their own right; Dark Carnival particularly in mind. It has to be one of the most hilarious and downright trippy campaigns/missions I've played since the hallucinations in Fallout 3: Point Lookout. For any fans of Zombieland there are a few clear references in the game and the zombie clowns in Dark Carnival are undoubtedly one of them.

The formula of the campaigns are also mixed up nicely. Each section doesn't have your standard witch/tank/alert horde but instead will differ entirely based on where you are. This is helped along its way by an improved selection of Special Infected, which now includes Spitters, Jockeys and Chargers, and the finale of each campaign always being not just different but usually very tongue-in-cheek and ridiculous.

Of course, because of the way the multiplayer is so well wrapped together with the single player, the experienced is improved online (or split screen, but it's not nearly as good) drastically too. Versus as the Infected became often dull on the previous game as there was only a selection of three creatures, all with irritating flaws and a painful respawn time, but now with double that number, a decent balance of strengths and weaknesses and a slightly shortened respawn time Versus is as fun as it should be. The classic 4-player co-op is a heck of a lot of fun still, obviously made better by the improved campaigns, and while I was let down by Survival having barely changed, Scavenge is what stood out to me. It is based on the finale of the first campaign in which you have to collect gas cans and load as much of the petrol into an escape vehicle before the time is up. You take turns as the survivors and Infected and this can get incredibly tense and there is plenty of room for some very amusing Left 4 Dead moments, and gleeful satisfaction as the Infected, pulling off a successful ambush on the survivors and foiling their plans. 

For whatever you're playing, on top of that you're given a selection of weapons that puts Rambo to shame. The original weapons are still featured but now there's also a SPAS-12, a SCAR-H, an AK-47, a G3, a Desert Eagle and more. Not enough? Good. Because there is a horde of melee weapons at your disposal which aren't just effective, they're incredibly satisfying. Ranging from crowbars to chainsaws, you'll find yourself using these time and again, and there's nothing in Left 4 Dead 2 that feels as good as taking a Zombie head off with the heavy end of a guitar. Yes, a guitar.

Left 4 Dead 2 could have brushed up on Survival and maybe a couple of other minor details, but everything else is nothing short of outstanding. You don't have to be a fan of Left 4 Dead 1, or even of zombie games/movies; this is a groundbreaking survival shooter and probably the greatest FPS of 2009. 9/10.