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LEFT 4 DEAD 2

Left 4 Dead 2 is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It is the sequel to Valve Corporation's award-winning Left 4 Dead. The game launched on November 17, 2009, for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in the United States and November 20 in Europe; in 2010, Left 4 Dead 2 was made available to the Steam client for Mac OS X.[6] It builds upon the cooperatively-focused gameplay of the original and uses Valve's proprietary Source engine, the same game engine used in Left 4 Dead. The game made its world premiere at E3 2009 with a trailer during the Microsoft press event.[7]

Like the original, Left 4 Dead 2 is set during the aftermath of an apocalyptic pandemic, and focuses on four survivors fighting against hordes of the infected, who develop severe psychosis and exhibit zombie-like tendencies. The survivors must fight their way through levels, interspersed with safe houses that act as checkpoints, with the goal of reaching a rescue vehicle at the campaign's finale. The gameplay is procedurally altered by an artificial intelligence engine dubbed the "Director" that monitors the players' performance and adjusts the scenario to provide a dynamic challenge. Several new features have been introduced: new types of infected, melee weapons, and a story-arc that connects the game's five campaigns together.[8]

When it was released, it received a combination of positive and negative critical and community reactions. It attracted an unusually high volume of pre-release controversy about the game's graphic content. In response, alterations were made to the cover art[9] and both Australia (due to having no R18+ rating) and Germany refused to rate the unmodified edition.[10] After release however, the game was met with critical acclaim and positive reviews.

SURVIVORS CHARCTERS

Left 4 Dead 2 features a new cast of human survivors, which include Coach (voiced by Chad Coleman), a portly high-school football coach with a bad knee (although it does not show in the game); Nick (voiced by Hugh Dillon), an unemotional, sarcastic, and rude gambler and con artist; Rochelle (voiced by Rochelle Aytes), a low-level production assistant reporting on the evacuation for a local television station; and Ellis (voiced by Eric Ladin), a laid-back (and rather talkative) friendly mechanic.[8] While the game is intended as a continuation of the original, occurring one week after the first game begins, Valve decided to create a new group of survivors because of the change in location.[17] In addition to the four playable characters, Left 4 Dead 2 also features a supporting character in the form of Virgil (voiced by Randall Newsome), a Cajun boat captain, who appears (voice only) in the game's final two campaigns. This differs from the original game, where NPCs made little more than a single appearance.

INFECTED CHARACTERS

The infected in Left 4 Dead 2 are largely unchanged from Left 4 Dead. While also referred to as zombies, the infected are humans that have contracted a mutated strain of a virus, though neither the source nor nature of this infectious agent are made clear. The most numerous infected encountered by the survivors are the "common infected." Though individually weak, they can swarm and overwhelm the survivors. Damage to the infected In Left 4 Dead 2 is portrayed more realistically, with bullets ripping off bits of flesh and, in some cases, limbs.[18] A new addition to Left 4 Dead 2 is the "uncommon infected" unique to each campaign. By virtue of equipment worn before infection or mutation they possess an ability that separates them from the common infected. In the Parish campaign, for example, the player encounters infected security personnel wearing riot gear, making them almost impervious to gunfire from the front, while Dead Center features infected civil emergency agents with hazmat suits which are immune to fire.[19]

As in the first game, there are "special" or "boss" infected in addition to the common infected whose mutations grant them special attacks that make them much more dangerous. The presence of such infected nearby is hinted at by sound effects or musical cues unique to each type. The five special infected from the first game return in Left 4 Dead 2, some with modified behavior and skin models. They are: The Boomer, a bloated infected whose vomit and bile (which may be released at will and upon death) blinds the player briefly and attracts a horde of common infected ; The Hunter, an agile infected that can pounce on survivors from great distances and screams at the sight of a survivor; The Smoker, an infected that can ensnare survivors with its long tongue from a distance and, upon death, releases a cloud of smoke that obscures vision; The Tank, a gigantic, muscular infected that can punch survivors and toss concrete slabs.; The Witch, a trapper infected who, when provoked by loud sounds, light, or proximity of survivors, will attack her provoker—she is able to incapacitate or kill in one hit.[20] In Left 4 Dead 2, the Witch now has the ability to wander aimlessly in daylight.[8] [20]

Several new Special Infected are introduced in Left 4 Dead 2, all of which are playable in versus and the new Scavenge game mode.[8] [21] [22] [23] The Charger, an infected with an enormously mutated right arm, can charge into the survivors and seize and separate one survivor from the others whilst pummeling them into the ground, rendering the player helpless until one of their teammates helps them. The Spitter can project balls of stomach acid that splatter across an area, quickly eroding the survivors' health as long as they remain within it; the longer a player loiters, the faster their health drops. The Jockey can jump onto the back of a survivor and steer them into other infected or environmental hazards, whilst clawing at the player's head.

In introducing the new Infected, the development team had to consider how the new abilities would mesh with the existing Infected and any changes they had made to them.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-oxmuk_chet_23-0">[24] One discarded idea for a new Infected included the "Leaker"; the creature, when having taken damage, would shoot out spouts of goo at the survivors, and then would be able to self-detonate like the Boomer. However, this sacrificial act would have given survivors time to escape, and the idea was dropped, though features of the Leaker were built into the Spitter.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-oxmuk_chet_23-1">[24]

CONTENTS
 * 1 Plot
 * 1.1 Setting
 * 1.2 Story
 * 2 Gameplay
 * 3 Characters
 * 3.1 Survivor characters
 * 3.2 Infected characters
 * 3.3 The Director
 * 4 Production
 * 4.1 Development
 * 4.2 Promotion
 * 5 Release and updates
 * 5.1 Downloadable content
 * 5.2 Mutations
 * 5.3 Community modification support
 * 6 Controversy
 * 6.1 Boycott
 * 6.2 Cover art
 * 6.3 Racism accusations
 * 6.4 Australian ban
 * 6.5 German ban
 * 7 Reception
 * 7.1 Technical issues
 * 7.2 Sales
 * 8 See also
 * 9 References
 * 10 External links