Left 4 Dead 2 Demo Hands-On Impressions

The PC demo for Left 4 Dead 2 finally dropped this past evening after close to half a dozen delays over the course of the day, me complaining and flames throughout the Steam Forums.  Valve time may have struck again but we can all rest easy playing the demo today and preparing for the launch of the full game in a couple of weeks.

This will be my micro-review of the demo which is pretty small itself but still a good time.

The new special infected are an off-the-wall good time, I can't wait to use them in Versus.  The Charger is a lot stronger than I expected and on Advanced and Expert they seem to really kick your ass.  I haven't done the math but I believe when he slams you into the ground he does double digit damage.  His charge has a wide target area as well so watch out.  The Spitter is a bit ungainly but effective.  Corner camping may be a thing of the past with the Spitter and Charger as if you stand still on her toxic spit you are screwed.  The Jockey is a bit odd and I haven't been hit by him yet though watching him drag people around is pretty amusing.  I suspect he will be very effective when it comes to griefing in Versus. 

The characters a mixed a bag.  I haven't played enough to hear all of their voice work yet but Nick and Coach both seem to be pretty amusing so far.  Rochelle hasn't really said much that grabs me as "iconic" yet and Ellis gives off that smart-ass vibe.  I kind of miss the heroine-feel that Zoey gave off which seems to be missing this time around.  I'm sure as we move further into the retail game various catch phrases like "kill all sons of *****es" and other personality quirks will come out.

The new weapons are a pleasant surprise.  I was expecting more of that re-skinned feel from the old weapons but everything has new sounds, animations and a different feel.  One surprising twist was the "vomit bomb" which I hadn't read about yet.  You can toss a can of Boomer vomit on to special infected and the common infected will attack them instead of you.  I can't wait to see this used in muliplayer, hopefully it isn't too unbalanced if it is included in Versus.  The melee weapons provide fun and satisfying action but I still find myself using the pistols more often.  The good news if you get incap'ed you can still shoot your pistol(s) from the ground if you were carrying a melee weapon.

The graphics, blood and gore have all seen improvements this time around and the game is sharp graphically considering it is running on the same engine.  The visuals do seem improved this time around.  The daytime of The Parish still provides plenty of eerie moments and it isn't all "sun shiny days" with plenty of darker areas. 

All in all this is pretty much exactly what I expected.  I had hoped to like the melee weapons more (though I haven't played with the bat or chainsaw yet) but I don't know that they really fit my play-style.  The further the enemies die away from me the better off I am is the way  I roll so I like to avoid up close action.  I may use them more in Campaign and Survival but I don't think I'd use them much in Versus unless surrounded. 

Not that I was going to cancel my pre-order or anything but at this point I am confident that this should be a solid game for $45-33 and well worth my time and money.