Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead 2 is a game featured on Why We're Single and Top 5 and played on Boss Fight of the Week, Smosh Games VS, Smosh Game Bang, and Raging Bonus.

Game Information
Left 4 Dead 2 is a 2009 cooperative first-person shooter survival horror game developed and published by Valve Corporation. The sequel to Turtle Rock Studios's Left 4 Dead, it builds upon cooperatively focused gameplay and Valve's proprietary Source engine, the same game engine used in the original. Set during the aftermath of an apocalyptic pandemic, Left 4 Dead 2 focuses on four new Survivors, fighting against hordes of zombies called the Infected, who develop severe psychosis and act extremely aggressively.

The game attracted an unusually high volume of pre-release controversy about its graphic content. After release, however, the game was met with positive reviews.

Gameplay
Left 4 Dead 2 is a first-person shooter with a heavy emphasis on co-op gameplay. It has five new campaigns, each composed of 3-5 smaller levels that involve the Survivors attempting to reach a safe zone and close the door once they are all safely inside. However, the final level in each campaign requires the Survivors to call for rescue and either survive a prolonged onslaught until rescue arrives, pass through an especially challenging gauntlet of Infected to reach an escape vehicle, or (in Dead Center and The Passing) collect and use fuel cans to enable their escape. In addition to Campaign, other game modes include Versus, Survival, Scavenge, Realism, and Mutation.

Each Survivor can carry one of each category of equipment: primary weapons, secondary weapons, throwable weapons, major medical supplies (including ammunition upgrades) and minor medical supplies. Players are shown the health and status of their fellow survivors. They are susceptible to friendly fire, forcing players to exercise caution when shooting or swinging their weapons. If a Survivor dies, they remain dead until the next level, unless revived by a defibrillator, or, in Campaign or single player mode, reappear in a "Rescue Closet" to be freed by other Survivors.

An AI system called the AI Director drives gameplay by procedurally spawning enemies, weapons, and items based on players' performance during any campaign. It has been improved to encourage more player participation, forcing players through difficult gauntlets to reach safety. It can alter elements of the level, such as wall placement, level layout, lighting, and weather conditions, making each play session unique. The Director now rewards players for taking longer or more difficult paths through each episode by providing useful equipment, such as special ammo packs or higher tier weapons, along these riskier paths.

Reception
Left 4 Dead 2 received critical acclaim, with critics praising the changes made with the new melee weapons and firearms, new strategies introduced through the new special infected, and the details of the southern locale and individual campaigns compared with the campaigns of the first game. Left 4 Dead 2 received the Best Xbox 360 Game award at the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards. However, the game was a central issue in a number of critical discussions regarding its timing and its graphic and mature content.