Left 4 Dead 2: Hands On

Have you ever had that conversation about zombie apocalypse weapons? What you would choose if the zombie apocalypse was to happen tomorrow and you had to use what was lying around the house to defend yourself? In our sporting nation, many of us can get our hands on golf clubs or cricket bats. They're okay, but nothing to the shotguns and Molotovs we can get our hands on in our favourite shooters, right? Take a moment to digest how cool games are. I'll wait.

But even if I had all the options available in Left 4 Dead 2, I still wouldn't have thought a sniper rifle would be my weapon of choice. Turns out I've surprised myself. During a couple of sessions with Valve's follow up to the 2008 success story, the sniper rifle has become a real friend to me. NZGamer.com staff have had a couple of cracks at this game: multiplayer co-op at Auckland's Armageddon (where many of you will have played it also) and again at home, to play through the same level (the Parish) in single player. Colour us impressed.

As in the first, a pathogen has infected vast numbers of peoplefolk, leaving them sick, injured, angry and - oh, yes - zombie-like. Not undead, and not dead yet - that's where you come in to provide a little sweet release. And plus anyway as well: they're trying to kill you. As one in a party of four, you'll move through the landscapes (this time in the Southern United States) hitting checkpoints on each level as you and your team work your way to an escape vehicle. You wouldn't be in this mess if the choppers meant to get you the hell outta Dodge hadn't left without you; but they did.

Coach, Ellis, Rochelle and Nick (you can choose who you want to control, and the rest will follow on) up-guns, stuff their cargo pants with first-aid and pain pills and get to it. From the first, Left 4 Dead 2 is high-stress and extremely bloody. You'll probably have heard about the scandal in Oz due to their lack of an R18 rating for videogames. That they don't have such a classification, in my opinion, is pretty weak but in light of that fact, it's easy to see why this game has come up against its familiar opposition in the violence-averse. Make no mistake, it's gory as - even on the "low" gore setting. Boomers' bottom halves will still flap about greasily after they've exploded, and bullet-strike lifts plenty enough strawberry jam. On the "high" setting, all bets are off: you and your mates can paint the town red.

The sound in L4D2 - through what we played, at least - is top notch. Enemies give away their position and type before you ever see them, through a series of individual growls, screams or creepy guffaws. The horrible Witch, who stalks around the levels, is preceded by the sound of heart-wrenching crying. The report of weapons (let's include the gong of a frying pan rebounding off a zombie's melon), the voice-acting of your team mates and the rubbery thwack of bullets finding flesh is all atmosphere. And it works.

I must say I noticed the sound much more at home, with the coolness of the Wellington night pressing in, than I did among the throngs at Armageddon. It seems to me that this ought to add a dimension of excellence to the single player campaign, which could need a bit of help to withstand the expectations of critics. Of course it's far too early to say, but I know I enjoyed the multiplayer experience I had more than relying on three computer controlled pals for healing and accuracy of fire.

The co-op aspect of L4D2 is carried over broadly from the first game. Regardless of your platform (my entire experience to date has been on the 360, by the way) the ability to team up with real live people and lay waste to the tortured denizens is something that sucks a bit of flavour out of playing it by yourself. Screaming out that you need a first-aid kit, or calling someone over to an ammo stockpile certainly beats out any computer generated response to your low health bar, I think.

Throughout both the single and multiplayer demos, the level of detail has been extremely impressive. The game supports a developmental AI model, so that conditions change as your progress does, and it really shows. Standing in one spot even after you've wiped out the hoards will only mean that more hoards hunt you down. A certain amount of strategy is required, too, in working together to navigate some of the game's tight spots. It's hard to heal when you're being constantly attacked because you need time to get the Dettol out, etc, and reloading high-resource weapons like shotguns are best done during lulls. Keeping close to your team mates is always key.

Weapons-wise, this game delivers some real treats. Back to that sniper rifle for a moment, the ability to single out the worst of the bunch and take them down before they know you're there is a real leg up. Some of the infected are wearing body armour, or are just so huge that you need to get a decent amount of fire into them to bring them down. Being a hundred metres away sure helps.

But your rifles, machine guns and (unlimited ammo) pistols aren't all you're packing: melee weapons are fun, if not a little dangerous to use if you're dealing with some of the game's tougher foes, and there's a range of explosive weapons, such as pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails available too. In all, there's going to be heaps of fun to be had when the full version appears.

So far, the L4D2 demo has delivered a quality experience. I can't wait to see what we've got on our hands later this month, and no doubt plenty will join NZGamer.com in our excitement.