Everyone’s favorite flavor of undead apocalypse has yet another addition to the ranks. Valves sequel to the hit zombie shooter proves itself to be one of the most electrifying co-op gaming experiences ever. All of the game modes in Left 4 Dead 2 are filled with moments that really get your heart beating and your mind racing. Among many of the additions to the new game, let us talk about one of my personal favorites: The new special infected!
For those of you that have not had the pleasure of playing L4D2 versus, here is a brief synopsis of how it works. There are two teams of four competing in a series of campaigns. One team consists of the survivors, and their primary objective is too…well…survive. As the survivors you will try to make it across the campaign utilizing a variety of guns, melee weapons, improvised explosives, and team work. The Special Infected have to use their individual skills to work together and prevent the survivors from making it to the safe room. The special infected team consists of the same creature types as before, with the addition of three new playable special infected types. The original cast of special infected consist of:
- Hunter: The hunter has the ability to jump long distances and pounce enemies from afar. The hunter has very little health, but can escape gunfire easily and is often used to confuse the survivors and maybe cause a little friendly fire! The hunter can pin a survivor and deal damage by clawing into his guts, and if left unchecked, will kill him.
- Boomer: The Boomer is often used as the first attack launched when assaulting human prey because it causes so much confusion. When a Boomer vomits his tasty-looking bile on to an unsuspecting survivor, that survivor is temporarily blinded and the bile acts as a beacon for zombies. The undead hordes swarming on the blinded humans always increases your chances for a successful attack. The Boomer also spews bile in all directions when it dies, so sometimes a disgusting kamikaze move is in order. Now in L4D2 there is a female Boomer, and I hear that she may be single…..
- Smoker: The Smoker is probably the infected equivalent to a sniper. The Smoker ensnares its prey with its terribly long tongue from a distance. When a survivor has been snatched, he will be unable to free himself and will either be dragged back toward you for a good ass whooping, or be dangled over a ledge. The smoker is good for impeding survivor progress by pulling them off roof tops and high ledges, forcing them to either separate or all come down together.
- Tank: Who could forget about the ugliest and the angriest member of the Special Infected club? The tank is randomly thrown into map, controlled by a player, and can pretty much deal out the ass whooping. The Tank can slap puny humans into the distance or crush them with a car. As bad-ass as the Tank may be, his weakness is fire. If a Molotov cocktail catches you alight, you can jump into some water and put the flame out. If you try to camp out with the tank, the tank will be assigned to another player.
Those are the playable infected you could use in the original L4D. The various abilities of these creatures created so many unique team-driven strategies used in all the maps. The addition of these three new playable monsters has altered the strategies used by both survivor and infected. They are as follows:
- Charger: I think the Charger is the quirky little cousin to the Tank. The Charger has one little gimp arm just dangling there, and one big, strong arm that will knock your homies flying, grab you up, and slam your ass into the ground before you even know what the hell just happened. The Charger bellows his war cry born from the rage of a mentally retarded mutant, and he…charges…he can be used to disperse a tightly knit group of humans by bowling the others aside as he scoops one up for an intimate slam session.
- Spitter: The Spitter nullifies one of the survivors most frequently used strategies from the previous game, cornering up. The Spitter spits out some corrosive acid stuff that spreads out along the floor of where it was shot, thus turning a safe corner into a gooey pit of pain, and preventing the humans from picking someone up or regrouping. Like the Boomer, the Spitter also releases its tasty product upon death. If a Spitter is killed, it will release some corrosive acid that can still damage the survivors. Oh, and the Spitter wears a pink thong, I’m serious.
- Jockey: This creepy little guy jumps on top of a survivors head and can steer him into an ambush, separate him from the group, or run him off a ledge. The Jockey also manages to inflict minimal damage while on his prey…somehow. The little guy must fish-hook your mouth or something unpleasant, I’m sure.
Fans of the first one are sure to love the new dead kids on the block, as those that are enjoying L4d for the first time will take right to the new special infected as easily as the originals. The new creatures add yet another layer of depth to a game that already has much room for strategy and team work. If you have yet to enjoy the bliss that comes with ensnaring an entire survivor team right out of the safe room, or the thrill of running the final stretch to safety as the humans, then you need to go out and get this game. L4D2 will have you screaming at your friends for help, your heart racing, and leave you craving more.
Joseph Bryant - SwiftGlassEater
