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Title: Left 4 Dead 2
Released: November 2009
Official Website
Update History
Steam Game Page
Left 4 Dead 2 Walkthrough
Left 4 Dead 2 Achievements

The announcement of a sequel to Left 4 Dead came as a surprise to many people, not because the first wasn't successful, but because a trailer for it was shown as the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo, barely 7 months after the first game was released. Left 4 Dead 2 remains largely the same game as its predecessor, but with a number of additions to gameplay, locations, characters, weapons, and even Special Infected.

Set in the southern swampy states of the US, players visit areas such as a decimated New Orleans in the campaign called The Parish, a backwater bayou in Swamp Fever, an abandoned sugar mill in Hard Rain, a shopping mall in Dead Center, and an abandoned carnival in Dark Carnival, all of which are unique and quite different from what we saw in the original Left 4 Dead.

One of the complaints heard about the first game was that it wasn't difficult enough, which Valve addressed by including a Realism Mode in Left 4 Dead 2. This removes survivor outlines, respawns, and of course makes the zombies do a lot more damage (including the Witch being able to instant-kill players!) Realism can be used in both Campaign and Versus mode.

There is also an additional game mode known as Scavenge, in which two different teams play in a round-based game with the objective to gather the largest amount of gas tanks, while the other team tries to stop them. Naturally whichever team gathers the most gas tanks wins.

Left 4 Dead 2 also introduces Mutations, which Valve releases and changes on a weekly basis, after allowing players to vote on their favourites. These Mutations further tweak the gameplay, typically making it more difficult or changing the objectives. For instance, one of the Mutations changes the gameplay so that the Survivors have to carry a garden gnome through the campaign with them, bringing it to the safe rooms and even the rescue vehicle. To add to the difficult, the infected specifically go after the Survivor who is carrying the gnome, leaving the other players to protect them.

IGN praised Left 4 Dead 2, saying that it improves on the first game in every way. It also received the Best Xbox 360 Game Award at the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards.