Review: Left 4 Dead 2 - Valve's worst game

Mike Bantick
Thursday, 26 November 2009 04:30

Entertainment

Responsible for Half-Life and its sequel as well as the extremely popular Team Fortress 2 and original Left 4 Dead, but the release of Left 4 Dead 2 has raised eyebrows as well as the ire of the Australian Classification Board.  Said classification board has knobbled the game so much that one wonders what the point of this release is.

Mike shakes his fist at the Australian Classification Board, but not too violently, he does not want to be banned. 

Left 4 Dead 2
	Developer	Valve Software
	Publisher	Electronic Arts
	Rating	MA 15+
PC, Reviewed on Xbox 360

Though, in looking at recent releases such as Modern Warfare 2 , and Borderlands he does put his finger to his chin and wonder why there has been all the censorship fuss with the release of Valve Software’s Left 4 Dead 2.

The product that has come out of the Censorship board meat grinder is something very un-Valve like indeed.

 Left 4 Dead is a franchise that needs to trade on the scare/gore factor.  Lacking the in-depth storyline of HalfLife, or much of the humour and expanse of Team Fortress it is the setting, atmosphere and mechanics of Left 4 Dead that distinguishes the game as its own shooter brand.

The (not so old) original game established this, and proved to be a shamble-away success.  Many enjoyed the feeling of being thrown into classic horror movie scenarios, you and three mates against a horde of the undead.   Great stuff, and the idea has not changed much moving into the second in the series.

For Australians however, what has changed is that the Classification Board got whiff of this fantasy/horror shooter and decided to join in the fun and make some slashes of their own.  The resultant shelf product of Left 4 Dead 2 in Oz now has the Classification Boards tick of approval for a MA 15+ rating.  In their words;  “[the game] no longer contains depictions of decapitation, dismemberment, wound detail or piles of dead bodies lying about the environment".

Fantastic!, the public is protected, but the Left 4 Dead 2 experience is now as shallow as flat as the alpha wave readings from zombie brains. 

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