You will play as either Francis, Zoey, Bill or Louis in The Sacrifice, even if you play it on Left 4 Dead 2.  If playing as the original survivors in just The Sacrifice DLC in Left 4 Dead 2 isn’t enough for you, Valve has also thrown in the entire No Mercy campaign into the DLC as well. As usually PC and Mac users get it for free on October 5th while Xbox 360 users must have there wallets raped by Microsoft.  Xbox will charge 560 Microsoft points for the DLC and October 5th is not a sold date for the Xbox 360 release.

Original Source

Sure as night follows day, game sequels will continue to be big business. Thankfully, things really do seem to improve with age in the gaming world.
 
Just look at some of the nominations for tonight’s Bafta Video Game awards in London, UK, and it’s patently clear: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – the bestselling game of all time, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Assassin’s Creed II, Left 4 Dead 2, FIFA 10, Street Fighter IV and Football Manager 2010. All have one thing in common: they blow their predecessors out of the water, improving almost every facet of the gameplay, storyline, characterization, graphics and sound.
 

Rarely in the cinematic world does a sequel manage to truly trump its predecessor. Few mega budget Hollywood blockbuster movies manage to capitalize on the success of the original and deliver something altogether more enjoyable, exciting or good-looking. Granted, there have been some fantastic follow-ups over the years but largely you leave the cinema feeling a little let down. What a relief then that videogames seem to differ so much from their big-screen cousins and so many developers manage to produce sequels that surpass everyone’s expectations.
 
It’s now only a matter of days until the highly-anticipated Just Cause 2 hits the stores (for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC) and, thanks to the success of the original and a multitude of teaser trailers, few would bet upon it leaping off the shelves.
 
And let’s not forget the likes of Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 in recent months, which have also won plaudits and sold by the bucketload!
 
But what are some of the greatest ever gaming sequels? Which are the ones which made the most significant improvement on the original? Here are 10 that have taken a series to new highs…
 
Fallout 3 – 2008 (original: Fallout 1997)
Assassin’s Creed II – 2009 (Assassin’s Creed 2007)
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – 2004 (Grand Theft Auto 1997)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – 1998 (The Legend of Zelda 1986)
Super Mario Galaxy – 2007 (Mario Bros 1983)
Halo 3 – 2007 (Halo: Combat Evolved 2001)
Resident Evil 4 – 2005 (Resident Evil 1996)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – 2007 (Call of Duty 2003)
FIFA 09 – 2008 (FIFA International Soccer 1993)
Killzone 2 – 2009 (Killzone 2004)
 
Do you agree? What are some of your best sequels ever?

Here you se the Motion controll in action.

Left 4 dead + motion controller = Zombie Party !

Hunter

Description: My personal favourite, this zombie is small, agile and vicious. He works by crouching, then leaping at you and ripping out your innards. He can quickly incapacitate an unknowing survivor. However, he has a fairly limited amount of health and can be shot off his victim with ease.

Versus tactics: Don’t bother using this Special on anyone in a pair or larger group, as you will only be able to deal a pitiful amount of damage before being killed. Instead, try to ambush a straggler or someone far ahead. Make them realise that L4D2 is not a game for would-be Rambo’s…

Recommended weapons: Since the Hunter has such a small amount of health, anything will do. However, in order to avoid accidentaly hitting the survivor pinned underneath him use a accurate weapon, or fire in small bursts at him. The grenade launcher is therefore not recommended.

Smoker

Description: The smoker is another deadly, but fragile Special Infected. He is definitely the ugliest, sporting a number of large boils off the side of his head, but unfortunately those don’t offer any extra protection from bullets. A quick burst is all that is necessary. The smoker operates by snaking out his long tongue at unsuspecting survivors and pulling them towards him, either constricting them against a fence or other obstacle, or reeling them towards him where he can deal extra damage by slicing at him.

Versus tactics: Again, this zombie is most effective when targeting a lone wolf. As the smoker’s tongue is very fragile, try to get into a position where you can reel your prey in all the way, or your tongue may be simply cut off.

Recommended weapons: Anything is good against this guy, but during Versus they tend to operate from dark corners or from up high, so a hunting rifle or sniper is the best for most of these situations.

Spitter

Description: This tall, gangly, apparently female zombie can spit out large piles of acid goo onto groups of survivors. The goo is very effective at lighting fuel cans on fire as well, and this can be used to your advantage during Scavenger. Again, the main traits are a lack of health but a lot of potential damage.

Versus tactics: Unlike the previous two, this zombie’s special ability is best used on large groups of survivors. If you find a small bottleneck, the acid can delay their progress for a few seconds, allowing other infected precious time to strike.

Recommended weapons: In versus, these guys can be a real pain, as they typically go high above you and shoot goo down on your head. Your best bet is the sniper.

Boomer

Description: The weakest of all the Special infected, yet the Boomer is a huge asset to any Infected team, but he lacks direct damage. The Boomer operates by vomiting boomer bile all over a group of survivors, which attracts the Horde and makes them hone in on anyone covered in the dreaded bile. However, the Boomer is easily taken care of.

Versus tactics: Don’t expect to survive for long as a Boomer due to his lack of health. However, boomer’s will explode in a pile of bile if killed, so try to run at a large group of survivors when they aren’t looking and do a little Kamikaze.

Recommended weapons: Don’t bother wasting precious assualt rifle or heavy weapon ammo on this guy. A few shots from the magnum should do the trick just fine.

Jockey

Description: The Jockey is quickly becoming a favourite with Versus players, and for good reason. The Jockey’s ability to jump on the back of any survivor and drag him in whichever direction he desires makes him a valuble part of an Infected team. He is quick, agile, and can take a surprising number of hits before going down.

Versus tactics: The best way to use a Jockey is when there are ledges. High ledges. On more than one occasion, there is an oppurtunity to jump on a survivor’s back and make him run off the edge of a parapet, to a frustratingly quick death.

Recommended weapons: The Jockey boasts slightly more health than some of the other Specials, but try and place your shots to avoid hitting the survivor underneath him. An assualt rifle with quick bursts is best.

Charger

Description: With a big build and a massive right arm, the Charger can take a heck of a beating as well as deliver one. This Special is especially good at taking down cramped groups of survivors, so watch those corners! He also requires something with a bit of ‘umpf’ to take down. His major weakness however, is that if he charges and the survivors manage to dodge him, he will smack into any obstactle which will stagger him for several seconds, allowing you to get in those precious shots.

Versus tactics: The charger acts by, yep, you guessed it, charging at survivors. He then grabs one and pounds him into the floor. Pleasant, huh? The best time to use the charger is down long corridors where you can knock down an entire team and deal some punishing blows in one foul swoop.

Recommended weapons: The Charger has a fair amount of health, but he is also a big target. The best weapon is a shotgun or assualt rifle.

Tank

Description: The big daddy of them all is the Tank. He can scatter whole teams, incapacitate you in seconds and throw chunks of pavement at you. This guy is the biggest Special in the game, and requires some military style teamwork and a healthy arsenal of big guns to take down.

Versus tactics: If you are lucky enough to be chosen to play the tank, then there are a few pointers that you should take heed of. One, is that you will cease to play the Tank if you don’t go on the offensive. No camping! The second is that you shouldn’t try to run after healthy survivors. They move at the same pace as you, so you will never catch up. Instead, target any survivor with a low health and a limp, and focus on him until he is dead or incapacitated. Then repeat the process while the other Specials take out the rest of the team.

Recommended weapons: Anything and everything. The biggest gun you have.

Witch

Description: If the Tank is the big daddy of special zombies, then the Witch is the big momma. She is small, surprisingly so, but can incapacitate you with one swipe on the higher difficulty levels. Her size makes her a very difficult target and she is the fastest Special zombie in the game. She can, however, be avoided if you don’t make too much of a rucus as you go near her. Turn off your flashlights, and don’t shoot! She cannot be played as in Versus.

Recommended weapons: Like the tank, everything you have.

Well that’s all folks! I hope you leave now with some new knowledge on the Special Infected in Left4Dead 2!

First of all, let me explain the general premise behind L4D2. You take control of one of 4 characters, who are the unlikely group of comrades fighting their way through the zombie horde with a variety of melee weapons and more conventional weapons and tools. There are 5 campaigns in the game, each with it’s own ‘wow’ factor and unique quirks. For example, Hard Rain starts by having you fighting in true L4D style going from A to B. Then, you have to go all the way back again, retracing your steps. But this time, its in a thunderstorm. Visibility is severly limited, and it is a true shock to suddenly be attacked by a group of zombies. And in The Parish, you have to make your way through a maze of fences while zombies climb over the top and onto you. It’s these kind of heart-pounding moments that will have you going back to play L4D2 again and again.

Meet the survivors.

Of course, being a mainly co-op game, the amount of enjoyment you get out of it is very much dependant on the people you are playing with. No one wants to play with the high-voiced 10 year old screaming through his mic, and as such it is a far less enjoyable experience if you do find yourself playing with one of these people. That’s why L4D2 is a far better game if played with friends. It’s an exhilerating experience to sprint through the horde with 3 strangers. It’s mind blowing to do it with 3 friends. There is a single player mode, and although the bots are generally good shots, they don’t cooperate with each other in the way that real people would. They are also very passive, and tend to just follow you. Nevertheless, they are useful if you can’t fill all the spaces in a match.

Like a mentioned before, there are a ton of new features and modes that this game has to offer. While Campaign, Versus and Survival remain, Scaveneger and Realism modes are the newest additions to L4D2. Realism mode is more of a difficulty modifier than a whole new mode, but it does offer something new to the  truly insane gamers. It removes many aids that you take for granted in the Campaign, such as halos around weapons and your team mates to show where they are. While this may seem like a small difference, you will soon realise that communication is a must if you are to survive. Scavenger mode is one of the more noteworthy additions to L4D2. Like in Versus,one team takes on the role of special zombies and one team takes on the role of the survivors. However, in each Scaveneger level, there are several jerrycans of fuel scattered about which must be taken by the survivors to a generator in the centre of the level. This is important, as for each can the survivors increase their time limit by a few seconds. The aim is to stay alive for as long as possible, or retrieve all of the cans. There are a variety of tactics to use in this mode, but matches are ultimately quick and bloody. Once one team is down, the teams switch around and so on. This mode has real legs, and I can see people playing this game for a long time to come.

The other new additions to the game of course come in the form of new weapons. Melee weapons to be precise. In order for swapping out your pistol(s) you gain a melee weapon. This can be anything from a crowbar to a katana, and each has its own subtle strengths and weaknesses in range and damage. However, what everyone really wants to know about is the chainsaw. This melee weapon crowns them all, with the ability to grind up waves of infected at a chokepoint with ease. It’s only downside is that it requires fuel to run, which eventually runs out. There are some new guns as well, such as the Silenced SMG and the Desert Eagle, but these aren’t a whole lot different to the weapons you are used to from the last game.

There are a variety of new weapons.

The final major new addition is the introduction of 3 new special zombies. These are the Spitter, the Jockey and the Charger. The main differences are covered here in the demo impressions, but here are the features of the new zombies once again. The Spitter shoots out piles of acid goo which will quickly reduce the health of any survivor standing in it. The Jockey, which is becoming a quick favourite with Versus players, can jump on a survivors back and make him run in any direction- including off a ledge to a quick death. The Charger is a big zombie who will charge in a straight line, taking out any survivors in his path and grabbing them and pummeling them into the ground. Throughout the campaign you will also encounter some Uncommon common infected, who require a bit of thinking to take down. I won’t ruin all the surprises for you, but an example is the zombie dressed in thick riot gear who can only be shot in the back. These help to spice up the standard waves of the Horde.

The new improved graphics are also worth mentioning here, as not only do they make the game look sharper overall, but have opened up new avenues of mutilation for the discerning survivor. Now zombies will dismember, decapitate and blow apart to the extent that you can see their spine. This is not a game for the faint of heart, but for those who don’t mind a little gore it is a visual treat. It is also worth mentioning here that this game does not require much horsepower to run; I tested it on a variety of systems and with a little fine tuning everything from the 8600MGT to the HD4850 made the game run as smooth as butter.

Overall, Left 4 Dead 2 is a worthy addition to any gamers collection, whether you own the previous game or not. If you didn’t like the fundamentals behind the last game, then L4D2 is unlikely to change your mind, but the new additions make this an even more complete and feature-rich package than before. Whether you are a L4D loyal fan or novice, you owe it to yourself to pick up this excellent shooter.

This game was reviewed on the PC.