by Chris Fox

Created on: September 17, 2010

Zombies, blood, guns, axes and guitars, these are just some of the things you can expect in Left 4 Dead 2, sequel to the 2008 video game 'Left 4 Dead'. Left 4 Dead 2 introduces new weaponry, including melee weapons, which were not included in the first game. But before you go into a game, it helps to have a strategy, as you can become overwhelmed by a horde of zombies if you just try to run through a level blind.

In the Left 4 Dead games teamwork is vital, much more than in other similar games. In games like Call of Duty it is very easy to just go off on your own and be fine, but in Left 4 Dead 2 you often need the support of your team mates, either to help supply cover, help heal you when you are low on health, or to help you up when you have been downed. However, there is one issue with the AI helping you recover health. The computer AI will try and use their first aid kit to heal you once you've suffered over 30% damage, while this means you will be recovered to full health, it also means that they will no longer have their first aid kit, which may have been useful later on in the level. There is a very simple way to counter this. If one of the computer AI is trying to heal you, take out your first aid kit, this will then stop them trying to heal you and will leave you alone. You do not have to use the first aid kit, you only need to select it.

When battling hordes, you will always come across 'Special infected' zombies. These zombies have special abilities that the common infected do not have. One of these special infected zombies is the Boomer. The Boomer spits bile at the survivors, which not only impairs the survivors vision, but the bile also attracts a horde of the infected. However, if you have been spat on by a Boomer and you have a jar of Boomer bile, then a good tip is to throw it, as the infected will instead be attracted to the jar of Boomer bile, allowing you time to recover.

Another special infected is The Tank. The Tank is extremely powerful and has much higher health than other special infected. It is possible to outrun a Tank, but your health bar must be in the green, because once it drops to yellow or lower The Tank will be faster than the survivor. Due to The Tank's high health, it makes it very difficult to kill, however a very good well to decrease its health is to use a Molotov cocktail, this however has a down side, as if there is a Witch nearby, a Molotov will very likely hit the Witch and disturb it.

However, the campaign is only half the gameplay of Left 4 Dead 2. Online play allows you to play as both the survivors and the infected, and playing as the infected means there is a whole new set of strategy.

One good strategy is to team up using two different types of infected to attack a survivor, meaning that it is easier to kill them, especially if the survivor has moved away from the others. A good example of this is to have one character as a smoker, holding the player, while another player plays as a spitter, meaning the survivor is held in the spitter's acid. It is also a good idea to find where the instant kill zones are on a level, as these will be a great help, and the infected's special abilities are very useful on some levels. For example, on the Swamp Fever level, you can use a smoker to drag survivors into the river.

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