Left 4 Dead 2 (2009)

Left 4 Dead 2 is a big improvement over its predecessor. It features more weapons, more enemy types, a lot more maps and a new set of characters.

In the core, it is the same game. You shoot the living hell out of zombies and try to reach the safe house and eventually, the extraction point. Underway hordes of infected and special infected make your life miserable and you measure every inch that you progress forward.

I really liked the new weapons like the Desert Eagle and all the new melee weapons that you can use now.

There are also a lot more maps and more were added later on via DLC, and user made maps. It keeps the game going strong, even today. They even added the maps from the original Left 4 Dead to this installment.

The new enemy types are a nice addition to Left 4 Dead 2, like the horrifying Spitter, who bathes you in acid.

I have to say that I did not like the Charger that much. It runs towards you with light speed, giving you a split second to react, and then beats the living sh!t out of you in a rapid pace. Almost anytime a hear the low-pitched scream in the distance, I thought: “yep, this is going to hurt”. But the absolute most annoying little bugger is the Jockey. It is a junkie hunchback, high on speed. And speed is right here. He is so freaking fast (and small) that hitting him is a real pain in the butt. When he reaches you, he rides on your neck like a horse, and you can only shamble left and right. I always hated this little piece of filth. But overall, it adds some new challenge to the game.

The Tank and Witch are also back and stronger than ever. In Left 4 Dead 2, the Witch actually walks back and forth, while covering her eyes. This greatly improves the chance of you getting on her bad side and we all know what happens next.

The Tank, for some reason, feels even stronger and more dangerous than the first game. As if he was not strong enough yet. His animations and fighting pattern are different and when he goes full Mike Tyson on you, he kills you so dead, that you reincarnate into an abortion.

The graphics in Left 4 Dead have been greatly improved and still look beautiful to this day. The weapons are polished, the lighting of the sky and glimmering objects looks stunning and the detail and variation of the infected is great.

In Left 4 Dead 2, the infected now have rag doll and you can dismember them. This is an epic upgrade from the first game.

In the sound department, there are some nice improvements too. The gunfire sounds even better in this game and the gurgling sounds the infected make are a lot better now.

The classic versus mode, in which you can be a special infected, is also back and, because of the more special infected you can choose from, is more fun than ever.

Overall, Left 4 Dead 2 is a worthy successor for the first one and stacked full on extra content and hours of fun.

Like the first game, I definitely recommend this one.