My 3 zombie killing friends and I agree. Left 4 dead 2 is bigger and better than the original. More zombies, more challenge, more laughs, and best of all more guns. If you liked L4D1, you need to get this game.

This is one of the best game ever. Plenty of fun with friends and a very enjoyable versus mode. The coop system is the best ever seen in the games history. The animations are incredibly fluid, some of the best I've seen so far in a game. The dialogues are great, the characters say a lot of different things and are never annoying or ripetitive. Definitely a masterpiece!

Left 4 Dead is one of the best action games I played. Hundreds of zombies and mutants like Jokeys, Tanks, Smokers and the dreaded Witchs awaits on this game. Online mode is fantastic, but single player mode is very fun too.

This game entertained me for weeks.... until break ended for me... I could have played it for MONTHS. Anyhow, It has a shockingly realistic gameplay, ESPECIALLY since they made the parts to a un/common infected seperately allowing parts to fall off and even when the skin is torn off, it reveals the inner body. Great work Valve! And I am excited for the add-on in which the ol' L4D 1 Characters will unite with our new buddies.… Expand

never played l4d1 should of but this game is fantastic loads of varieties of gameplay to choose from such as realism, survival that is what brings out the life of the game must must must buy

Great game, very challenging playing alone. Sometimes feels like even on Normal the directer and crescendo events can be unforgiving. Loved the first, and am loving the second. has more likeable characters imo as well 9hated everyone but Bill in L4D 1, loving everyone but rochelle in L4D 2). Great game, def a buy. Campaigns are great, variety in weapons is a plus, and more special infected, and new Directer always changing things up. Amazing game.… Expand

this game brings in a lot more competition for the humans, as the humans were over powered in the first and made it nearly impossible to be stopped if they worked well together. the zombies got some much needed variety -- good heavens i was tired of being a lame hunter all the time!!! the new zombies are a great addition and make the gameplay a lot more fun. the jockey, the spitter, the charger, all add a lot of new elements and strategies to taking down the humans. the levels are more complex than the originial, but this just requires smarter gameplay and different routes you can take to get to the end. the game is a definite improvement over the first and although it might have been possible to have this as downloadable content, can you really wrong them for releasing it as a new game? they are a company and they saw an opportunity to make some $$... what they didnt do was release a crappy game, this game is well worth the money and has a lot of new content, a lot of the same old game mechanics remain the same, but hey what i always say is "if it aint broke, dont fix it". the game is great, pick it up, and if you have the first, you wont be going back -- the addition of the zombies was just awesome! it is so fun to play all the new zombies and develop new strategies on killing the humans. teamwork, like in the first, is necessary for success, on both sides. the game feels better now and more refined. nice job valve.… Expand

Left 4 Dead 2 is an exellent sequal. It has a lot more to offer than the first: The melee weapons that chop zombies into little pieces, new guns, and a new campaign that is much better and exiting than the ones we had in the earlier game. Altogether l4d 2 is a must buy

this game kicks ass, the graphics are great, the gore is spectaculer, a cubic-butload of new guns, weapons, and zombies. Definately one of the top 3 games of the year.

Left 4 Dead 2 wipes away any doubt in my mind that the sequel would be simply another copy. All gameplay has been expanded and refined from the first game and the new modes offer oodles of replay value. I am confused as to why people consider the source engine so outdated, it does not suffer from texture pops or collision issues like so many others. The controls feel fluid and natural. Valve has managed to create a whole new game. Boycotters will be shamed for years to come.… Expand

First, a few words about the sequel/update argument. In the first Left 4 Dead, levels weren't designed with the spitter in mind, or places adrenaline would be preferred over pills. Old game maps would need to be updated to take advantage of the slew of new features. Now while it's possible to rework all the old campaigns, Valve is totally justified in making a sequel. They've come through on their promise to give the original new content (survival mode and Crash Course come to mind), and a new game allows them to build around all their new concepts. Does this mean Valve is totally innocent? No. So many new things so quick after the first game seems to say they released Left 4 Dead too early. But, I think any lesson Valve could learn would be learned by now. Alright, now that I've perpetuated this asinine argument, back to the zombie killing. Left 4 Dead 2 has fixed most every problem from the original. New special infected (and the uncommon commons) go a long way to mixing things up, turning former safe areas, like hallways (charger) and corners (spitter), into dangers in their own right. The different campaigns, which seemed to be very similar in the original, now have marked differences and totally unique moments. The new "gauntlet" crescendo events, where you're running to a target instead of holding out, are very fun, and the classic crescendo events provide less walls to back against, increasing the danger. Finales are noticeably amped up in difficulty, forcing players to make a plan beyond, "Find a corner and stay there". Lastly, the slew of new items and weapons open up much more strategy, and rely encourage teamwork. Of course, nothing is perfect, and Left 4 Dead 2 has it's flaws. The game can be very unforgiving at times, and it's lost some of the "we need to survive" feel of the original to the much more common "we need to kick ass". All in all, this is one of the best multiplayer games I've seen in a while. I suggest this game to (A) anyone who likes co-op, (B) anyone who likes online games, and (C) anyone who likes what Valve makes.… Expand

This game made improvements ...... major improvements this game was made for multiplayer and online.

I don't consider this an improvement from the first game. While it does add new weapons, infected, characters, and tweaked the horde, the most notable addition is the new campaigns. The new weapons don't really do anything different (other than the awesome melee weapons) and characters aren't quite as likeable as Zoey, Francis, Bill, and Louis. But being able to team up with three other friends to fight the zombie apocalypse or 7 other friends for some intense Versus/Scavenge makes the game infinately replayable. It just lacked the original innovation of the first game.… Expand

Ive always loved Valve. They have always seemed to bring out what really makes games fun in their work. This game is a must have to all XBOX owners. It is also a great game to play as a break from the ever so frustrating (but still fun) Call of Duty 6.

For a long while, Team Fortress 2 was my favourite Live game, with it's varied character classes and Pixar-esque graphical style. The along came Left 4 Dead 2. Left 4 Dead 2 offers TF2 style variety, and then some. Taking the class-based formulae and filling it with BRAAAAAAAAIIIIIINNNNNSSSS, L4D2 is a near-perfect multiplayer game, that any self respecting game should play. It's a really solid shooter, firstly, as playing as the survivors is just as fun as being the zombies, thanks to fun weapons and grenades. And then I move on to the zombies themselves, who play the more tactical game. Survivors cling together to survive, while the zombies get to choose crafty spawn points to suit their classes particular skills. The Boomer, a puking, fat zombie that can cause a huge hoard of common infected to attack the survivors, either by puking on them or exploded on them. There's also the Spitter, who throws a great big acid patch onto the floor, damaging the survivors and, if your particularly crafty, netting you a few Achievements. There's also the Smoker and Hunter, the former dragging survivors to there death with his huge tongue, while the latter climbs onto rooftops before leaping onto survivors and ripping them to pieces. The Charger and the Tank are sort of similar, as the Charger is a hulking brute who grabs survivors and pummels them, while the Tank just generally throws rocks and smacks survivors into oblivion. The last playable Infected is the Jockey, who jumps onto survivors and drives them into the zombies, causing said survivor to become a mound of flesh and blood. The single player campaign is also enjoyable enough, but it's far superior in co-op, with all it's zombie shooting, grenade throwing, with stalking shenanigans. Ah yes, the Witch. The Witch is a fast, powerful Infected who if you startle will kill you or knock you down, and then you will have to rely on your fellow survivors to help you. With is the point of the game really-teamwork. It forces you to work with your friends for a truly great survival-based multiplayer game, whilst being both addictive and satisfying.… Expand

I'm not what you would call a "video game person", yet after playing this once, I've been obsessed with this game. Much better than the sequel, and the three extra infected characters are definitely worth the time. Even more weapons, plus even more zombies equals a hell of a time!

9/10 = Amazing = Addictive and very well designed shooter. Some of the best Co-op and versus action you can possibly find on console.

This game right here is the pretty much the only reason why i even buy the ridiculous price to play online, LOVE THIS GAME. love the 1 as well. I like how this game has more levels with actually light given L4D1 was pretty much a dark setting that whole time. I mean this game is just fun, shooting zombies with Ellis all day, does it really get any better than that?

Firstly, this is way better than the original. The characters are funnier, the fighting is better, and the game is harder. But not harder in an off putting way though, harder in a way which makes you just want to kick ass. Plus the game is actually intelligent, in that if you seem to be struggling with your path of progression it can actually change to adapt to your skill level so repeat plays can make a completely different experience increasing the playability.

The melee weapons are the big new thing about L4D2. Killing the undead with a guitar is surprisingly fun, although I must admit the fun of hacking and slashing your way through the hoard does wear off slightly, and you'll probably find yourself switching back to your gun often. By far my favourites are the axe and the chainsaw. The chainsaw especially when used again the witches. They were the one special zombie which caused me no end of deaths in the original L4D, so the satisfaction of bringing one down alone in five seconds flat is extremely fun.

The special zombies are much more common in the sequel (or at least I noticed them more). The new ones are Spitters (My mortal enemy) who spew out pools of acid which are deathly if you stroll into one; Jockeys, which take control of your movement; and Chargers, who are like mini tanks but much, much easier to kill. Of course, the witches and tanks are still there in full force, along with the Boomers, Hunters and Smokers ready to massacure you in a split second if you're away from your team mates.

Speaking of team mates, L4D2 is very much a co-op game, and is really at its most enjoyable when played with a friend (or three). Team work really is essential when the zombies start swarming you, and to help you find ammunition and all the good weapons. It's encouraged further with the addition of a defibrillator kit to revive dying team mates, plus rooms which you have to locate to revive dead team mates (and there's nothing as annoying as sitting back while your team mates refuse to find the door because they're on a roll, but then on the up side, you can vote to kick them).

Mind you, all that team mate stuff goes out the door in the online versus games, when four of you are the survivors and four of you are trying to annihilate them ruthlessly. Probably better played with strangers, since you will fall out. A lot. Especially when they start teaming up on the weak one. Which is usually me.

A little note about the AI characters here. They're crap. I wouldn't like to play the game solo on a hard difficulty because the AI characters have stopped being as good as they were in the original and started being incredibly dumb. They'll revive and heal you sometimes, but I found they shoot less and get hurt more and sometimes even leave you to die while they go off and save their own sorry asses. And that's just not cool. The AI is the only thing about the game where the original L4D has the edge.

As well as Versus and Campaign mode, you can also play Survival and Scavenge, which are shorter and more competitive (if you can get more competitive than Versus). Survival sees you battling to stay alive for as long as possible against swarming hoards, and with no chance of escape it really does come down to who lasts the longest. Great way to get used to using the weapons, but it does get a little old quickly. Scavenge mode has more replayability as you can play as survivors trying to collect gas tanks to fill up a generator and thus add time to keep a rapid clock counting down going, or as the infected trying to stop them. Again, you'll probably fall out by the end. But in a fun way.

Overall, this a game I'll be recommending. If you liked the original, you'll like this even better, it's a much more rounded game and although the same could've probably been achieved with a couple of expansion packs, that wouldn't have been half as satisfying. If you're new to the series then buy this instead of the first one.… Expand

If you loved the first game you'll love this one too. New people, some new weapons, able to carry and use melee wepaons, more campaigns, longer game, tons of fun.

This was a GREAT game has everything you could want guns, funny characters, and ZOMBIES just go out and buy it and you wont regret it. Graphics are great the sounds and music make it a scary and enjoyable experience. I would recommended this to anyone who is looking for a zombie game with a good campain, good humor and just a good time.

As with the original Left 4 Dead 2 sees players take on the role of one of four survivors just after the outbreak that turned most of the population into either zombies or even more powerful mutants. The game leads these Survivors through the south-eastern region of the US bringing the level of dramatic co-op players have come to expect. The game has been criticised in some quarters for being released within a year of the original but it certainly refines the formula enough to justify its existence. For starters there is a greater number of versus modes and the timed survival mode, that only came as a download in the first game, is now available right off the bat. With the introduction of new enemy types teamwork is also more vital than ever before. Wandering of alone is usually a pretty sure way to get yourself killed. Fortunately new weapons are also available including melee weapons. These weapons range from the weak crowbar to swords that can decapitate three or four zombies at once and really bring an extra dimension to the gameplay. Furthermore the main campaign is also better realised with some excellent set pieces. This all contributes to another fantastic multiplayer experience from Valve.… Expand

Multiplayer! cooperative or competitive! Teamwork actually means something here. You can do more than just shoot guns. Controlling special abilitied Zombies is a unique experience. To call this a first person shooter almost seems like an insult because it has more different qualities than nearly all other hogwash coming down the pipe. Not incredibly different from L4D1, but a few new special infected and melee weapons and maps...its worth it. Lots of polish, lots of fun...online scavenge mode rocks! You not only feel like a member of your team, you need to be and they need to be yours or your brains will get eaten. Bottom line...possibly the best teamwork oriented game ever, certainly the best with a still thriving community.… Expand

Takes L4D1 and makes it so much better. The graphics are improved dramatically and so is the gameplay experience. The scenarios are much more intense - such as a flaming apartment building (or is it a hotel?). The new special infected add a sense of more caution, or if you're good enough, at the very least, a sense of more excitement. Just about everything in this game is better than the first - even the music is better. The multiplayer and online experiences are much funner and are more of a challenge. This Left 4 Dead is worth buying way more than the first one, and this is one of Valve's greatest gaming achievements. Not only as a game, but as an experience - this one can literally change substantially each time you play, while the first one only has subtle changes that don't directly affect gameplay greatly. This is one of my favorite zombie games ever made, if not my favorite.… Expand

This is my favorite game.Ever.The newer special infected are so much harder to fight that it just makes me want to play the game more so i can challennge myself. This game is great for multiplyier and a blast to play onine!

This game is a tiny bit better than the first, an achievement only met by few games. The campaigns are old-school, and the characters and weapons are much better than the first collection. Valve has a tradition of putting developer commentary on their games, and I played thru the campaign with the dev commentary, as I always do. It enhanced my experience, and I suggest this game to anyone.

Im happy to say i loved this game i bought this game with high hopes of a fun zombie shooter and i was granted that with this just amazingly fun game. Ok to start off the best part of this game is the co op ive never had more fun in co op ever. Next the characters are such a great batch of zombie killers. next the guns, they were fun to use and great to shoot. and finally the many different chapters and maps make the game a reallf fun time and a great chance you will want to play again.… Expand

this is my all time favorite game, great weapons, great grahpics and a lot of fun to play with freinds or online

Awesome Zombie killing game like the first one it was alot of fun. L4D2 has new zombies that catch you by suprise and can make you jump, like when you hear a tank coming it still makes your heart raise, gore was awesome, head shots were satisfying. Maps were great. Still wish they had more female charaters :l sure did miss the old charatersas well. But all in all a great game

Though it is quite similar to it's predecessor and doesn't really provide anything new, it's is much more gorier and much more fun than it's predecessor and provides that same mindless entertainment that was provided with the original Left 4 Dead that made it so fun to play.

A very fun and addicting game with better weapons and more pickups then the first. Multiplayer is very fun and balanced although it can get laggy at times. Overall one of the best zombie games out there.

Okay, this is a Modern Review of this game. Since there has been many DLC's to change gameplay. I will like all my other reviews, put in three categories about the gameplay, multiplayer, and campaign. Gameplay: The gameplay in this game is fantastic. It's very well done compared to the original Left 4 Dead 2. The graphics are touched nicely but it has some slight bugs.
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Multiplayer: The multiplayer has 7 different modes with the returning Versus, Survival and Campaign. Left 4 Dead 2 has also added other game modes such as Scavenge, Realism, Mutation (DLC) Versus Realism (DLC) This game was meant for more then one player, which it obviously shows in the gameplay. Overall, the Multiplayer faction of this game is near perfect, with some lag issues from its dedicated servers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Campaign: Okay, lets all admit, this game as a very feeble storyline. The story is, four survivors (Ellis, Nick, Coach, and Rochelle) are abandoned at a rescue center in the middle of the apocolypse. This causes them to fight through the 6 campaigns (1 is a DLC, there are also two other campaigns which come from a DLC with the original Left 4 Dead.) against thousands (Literally) of infected, with 7 types of Special infected. These special infected have various abilities. The 7 infected are: Smoker, Hunter, Witch, Boomer, Tank, Jockey, Spitter and Charger. All 7 have various abilities customed to fit their own roles. -----------------------------------------------------------------
I rate this game a 9… Expand

Probably one of the more addicting games out there, it's hard not to love Left 4 Dead 2. Most people think it's a rushed sequel to a great game and that it fails in comparison to the original, but in almost every category Left 4 Dead 2 is better. The only think that Left 4 Dead 2 doesn't measure up to Left 4 Dead in is characters. In L4D, we had memorable characters who had real life to them but in this game, they seem almost as dead as the zombies. Other than that, L4D2 shines above L4D. More maps at launch, tougher difficulties, more game modes, new infected, weekly updates, you can't go wrong.… Expand

Awesome environments, characters, weapons and some of the most addictive gameplay I've ever come across. The graphics aren't the best around even when it came out and the frame rate dips so it isn't perfect but in my opinion it's the best zombie game around.

This game was AWESOME !! but to bad i traded my left 4 dead 2 for prototype and pkm pearl. This game is one of the best i highly recommend it

Really fun and awesome reply value. Story lacking, not enough dialogue, but really fun multiplayer, dynamic levels with differing items, special infected, and common hoardes.

The people on the PC version are cooperative and helpful. Don't bother with the console version; the other people ruin what is an amazing game with lack of teamwork.

i love this game hope the 3rd left 4 dead in work but love zombies killing but what wrong with game australia ban this game censored it!!! but i got uncut version i love this one more gore more action. censored version got less gore not good action.

but how ever uncut more gore festive

As a player i don't feel im abandoned by the developers in: the multiplayer experience for example, there are a lot of people playing it, I dont feel the developers created this videogame to only profit, always updating, there is a visual and history essence un compared to all other "last humans on earth".

I thought that this game was really amazing. The fact that the game is fast paced makes it even better.
Roaming through the towns, cities, streets, buildings, roads, highways, and even forests facing zombies and "special" undead. You can find guns and melee weapons in all of the levels. I gave this game a 10 because it deserved it for the graphics, gameplay, plot, easy controls, and challenging but really fun levels.… Expand

No matter how repetitive it was doing the same levels over and over again, it was an extremely fun game to play as different things happened each time and you could even meet new gamers who you could communicate with and even have laughs with complete strangers, in versus mode.

I never found Valve's "Left 4 Dead" to be a great game. Entertaining? Yes. Challenging? Yes. Innovative? To a certain point. But the overall product still lacked a certain panache. It was too limited and too restrictive as if the makers didn't have the time or money to deliver a full product. But just one year later, Valve released this sequel which didn't suffer from the same limitations. By making a few minor adjustments and adding some much needed content, the company had created one of the great XBOX Live experiences. "Left 4 Dead 2" may be just a team-based arcade-like shooter, but it is a great one. In fact, it may be the best zombie game I've ever played. The brilliantly conceived cooperative and competitive modes are both fast-paced and intense and require strong team efforts to win. Versus is the best mode, in which two teams of four (survivors vs. zombies) are pitted against each other within a campaign chapter. L4D 2 also features Realism mode which amps up the campaign's difficulty, a horde mode (Survival) and Scavenger, a take on Capture the Flag. "Left 4 Dead 2" is a great tactical game with fun characters, plenty of gore and a nice variety of weapons. It's one of 2009's best games. 9.5 out of 10… Expand