If you pre-ordered Left 4 Dead 2 then you’ve probably played a few rounds with the demo. If you haven’t, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts having logged at least a couple of hours in the zombie strewn streets of New Orleans. Granted, the experience ends right as you are getting into it, but hey, that’s the nature of the demo. Leave them wanting more goes the old adage. And trust me, once you do manage to survive the zombie apocalypse, you’ll want to do it all over again.

So here are some thoughts in no real order.

Tighter Menu Options / Controls
I gotta say, the menus feel focused. The organization is quite good. Information is displayed in a consistent way so you’re never really lost amongst all the different features. That said, even playing the game had a tighter feel.  I have no idea what was changed, but whatever Valve did,  it works great.

Weapons, Weapons, and More Weapons
Choosing a weapon in Left 4 Dead 1 is a relatively easy affair. Grab a shotgun, and if playing versus, upgrade to the auto-shotgun. Otherwise, switch to the assault rifle.  In Left 4 Dead 2, you now have three “levels” of weapons and bigger isn’t necessary better. For example, the new combat shotgun blows all the zombies to hell but its bullet supply seemingly runs dry pretty fast. And reloading it is bastard.  The second level submachine gun kicks ass.  And believe it or not, the sniper rifles are actually useful.

Melee Weapons Make You Psychotic
The first weapon I used was a frying pan, and it sucked. The second was a guitar which worked all right in the decapitation department, but it was still kind of slow. So I avoided all the melee weapons until I discovered the machete. The beautiful beautiful machete. Now I find myself charging into the midst of the zombie horde, getting shot in the back from my team members while getting pounded in the front by the zombies. But I don’t care.  I get the rage and I all can think is kill, kill, kill.  And my oh my … when the blood obscures almost all of my vision I just want to kill more.

Good Looking Zombies
Much better variety. And get this, they actually have color. In the last game, the zombies were all kind of washed out almost blending in with the background. It’s nice to actually see their features for a change. Better yet, they have reflective animal like eyes so you can even see them in dark rooms.

Uncommon Common Zombies Make for an Uncommon Pain in the Ass
You only face the swat zombie and he is friggin pain in the ass.   He’s covered in body armor, so you have to knock him around to show his ass, then shoot him in it.  One swat zombie is no problem to kill, but when you have a bunch of them charging at you, the trouble begins.

New Special Infected Models Look Good
Sure, the hunter, boomer, smoker, and tank return in all their glory, but they look much better. The smoker lost the shady pedophile look and now resembles an honest to god mutated zombie. The tank still looks like a Gold’s Gym reject but now with  brighter bronzer cream.  The boomer seems to have acquired more flab and his death explosion is one for the books.

Mixed Bag for the New Specials
The charger is the definite winner. He freaks me out when he attacks then quite literally, wipes the floor with me. The spitter is all right. She’s not so good as an offensive unit, but she’s great at creating logjams. Her acid spit is perfectly timed. It lasts the perfect amount of time before it fades. The jockey is the weakest of the bunch. He needs to get close to do any damage, but we almost always bag him from a distant since his laugh gives away his location. It’s also pretty funny when he rides someone. Most of the time, we just laugh at our screaming friend as he gets jockeyed away since it looks so ridiculous. I’m guessing the jockey can be pretty lethal on versus, but for now, I’m not impressed.

WITCH!
I’ve never been a fan of the witch. She makes for an irritating obstacle although it is fun to trick people into “activating” her on versus. The new witch is still annoying, but her new mobility throws a wrench thrown into the machinary.  As a team, my friends and I never set her off (unless she blocks a corridor) but now we are constantly stumbling into her which makes for unexpected adrenaline rushes.  They also changed her theme music.  Personally, I like the old music better.

New Items
The boomer bile is cool. I love seeing the zombies kick the crap out of each other. There’s also a speed shot which works well. The defibrillator feels unnecessary on co-op since survivors just respawn. On versus, it’s a necessity. In short, there are lot more choices than just a pipe bomb or a Molotov.

Better Pistols
They feel much better this time around. The sound is awesome and they have a higher rate of fire. They feel like a bonafide weapon instead of an “oh shit” fallback choice. Vale also made a tiny adjustment.  You can only have a gun or melee weapon. Not both. It’s a tough choice because if you choose a melee weapon and you are incapped by a horde, you are screwed in every sense of the word.

Great Level Design
I was disappointed with Crash Course. The entire map consisted of moving from warehouse to warehouse, until you reached the ultimate showdown … in a warehouse. The old Valve is back where the environments tell a story. You get a real sense of last minute panic as humanity was swallowed by the infection.  There was also a cool bit where you stare through a chain link fence at the next level and vice versa.  Granted, it’s only an unreachable background but it makes the two levels feel physically connected.

Great Climax Sequence
In this one sequence, you have to run through a labrynth of gates while an alarm alerts all the nearby zombies. There’s no waiting or you’re toast. It’s a great sequence. Once you do manage to shut off the alarm, the zombies keep coming. It’s an awesome sequence that leaves you struggling to breath long after it is finished.

Overall, Left 4 Dead 2 is looking great. While the game may feel and even look similar to the first one, there are so many new options that will change the way you play the game. The demo is being released next week to everyone. Do yourself a favor and downloaded it up. You won’t be disappointed.