Better Apocalypse! But A Sour Taste...

So after many months of following Left 4 Dead 2 (and actually a month or two since I finished playing it and have moved onto other games!) here I am finally writing a review about it! Overall I think the sequel to the epitome of zombie games (yes that's right Dead Rising, you suck) does a pretty good job of not only following up the first game's rage success, but also manages to build on it and make for a unique and interesting second installment.

As mused in my previous posts on the game, Left 4 Dead 2 has several new game modes (Scavenge is quite enjoyable), melee weapons, including my favourites the axe and the chainsaw, adrenaline shots and defibrillators, and several new zombies (charger and spitter ftw!) and weapons. I addition, the levels aren't the same muck of "go here, set off alarm, get to safe house, rinse and repeat". Some levels you must get past difficult areas without setting off the alarm, or gather items to fuel cars or the like. Other time you must go back through a level, so reserving your weapons and ammo is key. But like the first game, the achievements are quite fun to get, which is one thing I'm glad was retained (Gnome Chompski is a huge pain in the ass, but seeing his glowing face as you bash a few hundred zombies with him is just heartwarming).

However. And this is a huge however. Like HUGE. I cannot access the multiplayer on the game. I search for matches and all I get back is "No game found, creating lobby". I found one scavenge game which lagged like hell, but I've only been able to join friend's games. At first I thought it was my connection. Hell, my internet sucks despite the fact I'm paying for a good stream. And then someone told me it was because I had the censored version of the game from Australia. However, neither were the case. I'm not the only one having trouble - many many players from around Oceania are having the same problem. For some reason we cannot connect to Valve's servers.

So can I give an unbiased review with a major portion of the game being barred from my view? Probably not - it really does halve the enjoyment of the game. From what I've played the game is solid and well made, but to have so many affected by such a horrible issue is just shameful. Maybe there will be an update, but I'm not holding my breath.