L4D2 got some criticism when it first came out because a lot of people felt it should have just been an add on to the first and it wasn't worth the $50-$60 price tag. I was one of them but now that the price is down to $30 and if you wait until a good steam sale, you can get it as low as $15 (assuming you got 3 other friends interested in playing it). Price aside, is the expansive add-on worth it?
I say yes. I just got it about a month ago during one of those steam deals I was talking about and I can not put it down, seriously I already have 65 hours. So whats new and whats different yous ask? Well here is my rundown.
Survivors: You get 4 new survivors and they all have a little more personality then they did in the first one, but other than that there is no difference between how they act between the two games, they still do a lot of zombie killing. Not too much to say about them...
Main Weapons: In the first game you didn't have much, shotgun-crappy and shotgun-better, machine gun-crappy and machine gun-better, and a sniper rifle. In L4D2 they throw in a few more guns. Now, they have two crappy shotguns with no apparent difference between them and two better shotguns, again with no noticeable difference, although the combat shotgun may be a little more accurate. They also give you 2 snipers, I don't use snipers too much so I'm not sure how they are different but I think the better looking one has more ammo.
Now where Valve actually mixes things up a bit is with the assault rifle. They give you 2 crappy ones in the beginning, one of them can be silenced... which i guess is cool? With the good assault rifles there is actually a big difference between them. They give you an M16, an AK-47 and a combat rifle. These all play a little differently, the M16 is accurate and fully automatic, which is great but you go through that ammo really really fast unless you watch that trigger finger, also the accuracy kinda diminishes if moving at full speed or if your holding down the trigger a bit too long. The combat rifle is just as powerful as the M16, but the combat rifle is only burst fire and it holds its accuracy better. With burst fire you are not going through ammo nearly as fast and it also helps keep you accuracy in check because your not spraying everywhere. Your last choice is the AK-47. This weapon is fully automatic, and it is more powerful than both the M16 and the combat rifle, the downside is that the AK has crappy accuracy if moving at all or holding the trigger for more than a quick burst. Those are the only weapons, but they have also included some upgrades for them.
Throughout the levels you may find frag rounds, incendiary rounds or laser sights. Frag rounds will keep the special infected at bay because it makes them stumble when hit. This means, if you shot a charging charger or a smoker that is pulling you, they will hault their current actions. This is nice, but you have to be extra careful with that trigger finger because you only get about 50 rounds of special ammo. Lastly, if you shoot the incendiary rounds too close to yourself they can hurt you and your teammates, so watch out for that. Incendiary rounds light the infected on fire that deal some extra damage, but nothing else. The last enhancer is the laser sight this can go on any weapon and make it more accurate, a Godsend for the AK, however, if you switch weapons you lose the sight.
In my opinion, go with the crappy assault rifle when you are at tier 1 weapons, because the pump shotguns are just too slow (especially now that you can't instantly melee the infected back while you are reloading). When you get to the next tier of weapons, think about what exactly you're getting into. How much distance are you going to need in your shot, how much accuracy and how much power? If you're not sure, the M16 is probably the safest call, it is well rounded for any situation.
Secondary weapons: This time around you have more than just upgrading to a second pistol. You can opt for a single magnum, which is a one hit kill for common infected and about 4 hits for special. In one of the biggest additions to the game, you can use melee weapons. These weapons range from an axe, to a guitar, to a Shaun of the Dead classic, a cricket bat. All the melee weapons appear to do a considerable amount of damage because they are a one hit kill (on all common and most special infected). These weapons also help make up for the "reload time." With the classic melee you can swing the bat all you want, which makes getting boomed on not as bad anymore.
In my opinion, go with a melee weapon. They are very helpful when boomed or when trying to push through a crowded area and if you go down to the ground, you magically still have a pistol to shoot with... I am not sure where it comes from but, whatever. The only exception to this rule is if you are a really good shot. You may want to take a magnum just because of it sheer power, but beware, it does only have 8 shots per clip.
Special weapons: They have also added "special weapons." These weapons do not appear in a normal stash with other weapons, they can not be replenished from an ammo stash and they can not get the special ammo or laser sights. There are only two weapons in this class: a grenade launcher and an M60. The ammo never replenishes, so be very conservative. Especially with the grenade launcher that only has 30 shots to start with. The M60 is powerful and fires very fast, but it only comes with 150 shots, so make them count. Both of these weapons are great for a horde or a quick kill on a special infected or taking down a tank, but otherwise stick with your secondary.
I don't use either of these too much mostly because I usually have a melee weapon and don't want to get screwed when running out of ammo. That and the fact that the M60 is pretty damn rare (at least in versus).
Throwables: The pipe bomb and the Molotov make an unaltered return. Valve does bring along a newcomer, the bile jar. This is just some bottled boomer puke that you can throw. Anything that you hit will be boomed in every sense, can't see and the horde will go after them, helpful against tanks, or if you are just trying to get the horde off of you. Also something I just learned yesterday, if you throw a bile jar off a cliff/out a window the infected will follow it to their death.
In my opinion one person should always have a molly in case a tank shows up, other than that, make sure you use your pipes and biles wisely.
Canisters: These consist of gas cans, propane tanks and oxygen tanks. All of these are basically the same from the first game. The gas can acts as a molly, the other two go boom.
In my opinion none of them are worth carrying a far distance, but the gas can is always worth lighting up behind you in case any special are trying to sneak up on you (especially in versus).
Other: There are some CS:Source weapons in the game but they are exclusively for German gamers to make up for some censorship issues. It's possible to play with these gun if you play on a specific server or play with someone who has a German copy, but this is rare (its only happened to me once).
Well, that is all the weapons. The melee weapons definitely add a new level of how to play but otherwise all the guns are relatively the same, with a few tweaks here and there. Just make sure you give every weapon a chance and see what you play best with.
Next time ill talk about the new special infected.
