as you probably know by now, last week presented the world with the sequel to one of the best Zombie Survival games in history. With so many people joining the boycott, it still created questions for me, regarding whether or not the game would be any good, or whether the game would simply be released in the first place.

Compared to the original, L4D2 shows great improvement in a variety of areas. The addition of Melee Weapons alone is worth it, let alone adding to the assortment of weapons you can get and improving them with a variety of upgrades such as laser sights or explosive rounds (Uzi + explosive rounds = WH40K boltgun. tell me that isn't awesome)

the new infected: Spitter, Charger and Jockey all have their unique and often terrifying abilities, and compared to the original five, who still do their job, but often come as an expectation (except for the fact that the Smoker no longer looks like a guy with boils but now a Cthulu monster), their addition to the line up makes for a unexpected happenings in a game that can get repetitive quite quickly. However, it doesn't help that the AI Director will throw the new ones at you so much the old ones are as scarce as a Tank.

in the same respect, the scare value of the game has been lost apart from the desperation of being pinned or incapacitated. In the first game, I felt terrified by certain aspects, which made it very difficult to continue for me. But, after a while, I got used to the routine and sessions of Left 4 Dead became shorter and easier. In the sequel, it's all to be expected, as well as the fact that the group seems more capable and confident than the survivors in the first game.

AI of the NPC survivors in this game are slightly suspect. Twice now I have been ripped to shreds by zombies while the other three simply stood around and watched. At least in the first one, they knew I was in danger.

Interaction between the characters has been improved. In the first game, they only talked to each other when alerting each other or helping them back on their feet, with a few scripted instances here or there. In the seuqle, they talk to each other all the time and actually develop more as characters, particularly Ellis, who, at every safe house, will tell the rest of the group of his misadventures with his buddy Keith. These stories aren't really finished as the other group members tell him it isn't the best time.

Improvements to the director are eviudent by the road blocks that it will put in place. The game will have a variety of routes that the player can go down, but depending on how well you do, some of these routes have been blocked off, forcing you down routes you may have wanted to avoid. I have only encounterd this once, but at least it is improving on the originbal formula. That, and some of the maps are actually quite expansive. there have been several situations where I have had no idea where to go, and ran around in circles wasting ammo on zombies until I found the right path. I don't know, perhaps it's my bad sense of direction.

so, all in all, the game is great, an obvious improvement on the previous one, and a definite buy for anyone looking for some zombie killing action.