Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead 2 is set in the world of the zombie apocalypse, maintained in the FPP perspective, a continuation of the co-op action game from 2008, in which the player's task was to get out of the metropolis overrun by mutants infected with a malicious virus. This time the player can face completely new types of zombies in different gameplay modes, playing as one of four new characters. The producer and publisher of L4D2 is Valve, the developers of Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress and Counter-Strike are responsible for the creation of the game.

Storyline

The action of Left 4 Dead 2, as in the previous part, takes place in a world overrun by zombies. Four survivors, immune to the mutation-inducing virus, decide to join forces. Together they travel from Savannah to New Orleans in the southern United States trying to survive in a world in chaos.

Mechanics

L4D2 has four difficulty levels: easy, normal, hard, and expert. It can be played alone or in multiplayer mode. The player takes on the role of one of four available characters: gambler Nick, mechanic Ellis, local TV station reporter Rochelle or former coach of the school soccer team - Coach. Whether he chooses to play alone or with others, both his hero and three allies appear on the map.

Left 4 Dead 2 offers a wide range of classic and upgraded weapons, including 20 new items not available in the previous part. The player has the possibility to use 10 types of white weapons (an innovation in relation to the predecessor), which will allow him to directly fight the enemy. There are also new types of special infected in the gameplay, which can also be played in counter mode.

Left 4 Dead 2 is oriented on cooperation, statistics, rankings and reward system encourage to cooperate with allies. At the bottom of the screen there is a health bar not only for the player's selected character, but also for other Survivors. If the player loses sight of one of his allies (the view is blocked off by a wall, for example), he will still be able to see the highlighted silhouette in the place where the player currently is. Allied team members are just as susceptible to player attacks as the mutants that threaten them, so mindless aiming with a shotgun or waving a frying pan left and right can do more harm than good.

Weakened allies move slower. If one of them dies, they remain dead until the next level is unlocked or until they are rescued with a defibrillator. In the case of the campaign or single player mode, he may also end up in the rescue closet, from where one of the team members can get him out. Game over occurs when all Survivors have been disabled or killed. In this case, the player can play the level over again or leave the game.

The AI engine used in the new Left 4 Dead is Al Director 2.0, an improved version of the technology known from the first game that adjusts the number of enemies, effects and music based on the players' actions. Al Director 2.0 extends the abilities of its predecessor with the ability to change the weather during combat, the look of levels, the paths available to take, world objects and lighting. All settings are dependent on the player's success in the game.

Game Modes

Left 4 Dead 2 offers various extended gameplay modes. One of them is the campaign, divided into several chapters and levels. The player, along with his team, has to push his way through a crowd of threatening zombies. Each stage ends when all survivors reach a safe room and close the door behind them. The final stage of the campaign requires the player to complete one of three challenges. The player must call for help while waiting for rescue teams to arrive, survive a massive attack by the infected, find a way to get to an evacuation vehicle safely, or gather gasoline canisters that will allow them and their allies to escape.

Counter (versus) mode, on the other hand, forms two separate teams of four players each to compete against each other for the most points. One side takes control of the Survivors, while the other takes on the role of special infected. In the next round, there is a swap. Points are awarded only to the group of Survivors. Those controlling the mutation-resistant must stay alive as long as possible or reach a safe room, while the opposing team tries to prevent them from doing so.

The main goal of survival mode is to stay alive as long as possible. Players are trapped in a location with no hiding places and their task is to protect themselves from a massive attack of the infected. Prizes are awarded for successfully resisting the attacks for a set amount of time.

The scavenge mode, like versus, allows for PvP (player versus player) combat. Four players on the Survivor side must collect a set number of gasoline canisters while a team of four on the Infected side tries to stop them. The game consists of a maximum of five rounds, and there is limited time to complete the task.

Left 4 Dead 2 also introduces two additional modes - realism and mutation. Realism can be activated in campaign or counter mode. It removes certain conveniences, for example, the player can no longer see an ally's aura behind obstacles, the rescue closet is removed from the game and the special infected Witch kills instantly, except on easy difficulty. Mutations, on the other hand, are weekly modifications, introduced by Valve, to standard gameplay modes.

Updates

L4D2 is updated frequently to improve gameplay. A huge update, prepared almost entirely by the players themselves, is The Last Stand. It not only fixes many bugs, but also enriches the title with new content. First of all, the patch allows to play the new campaign - The Last Stand. In addition, there are 26 new maps for survival mode, four new maps for scavenge mode, a number of new animations and much more.

Technical issues

Left 4 Dead 2 is a 3D game, maintained in a photorealistic convention.