Visually dark and interesting game. Also fun to play ;)

Alright, for those of you dying to know: KF2 is worth purchasing!

It's still in beta atm, but thusfar I can say that fighting is smoother, there are more melee options, the new skins and maps have excellent detail, and weapons are more diverse.

Enemy movement patterns are quite improved from KF1, and enemies now spawn out of special areas (such as man holes) which has lended the game a touch of realism. Fighting the scrake is a much bigger challenge (he barrels and thrashes at players). And the patriarch (not called a patriarch in this one, I think) is more challenging, taunting, interactive, and versatile.

Skinwise, I must say that the boil-covered bloats make me gag a bit... but the stalkers asses are... well, just damn nice (And I'm not even a guy!), there are different clot skins, and the boss in KF2 goes through a series of changes (both visually and attackwise). I do wish the crawlers were a bit creepier... And I find the scrake reminiscent of God of War.

There are currently only four classes available to play and limited weapons, but more are coming.

The only drawbacks I see are that ammo clips seem to be spent in a matter of seconds, and the husk has rarely (if ever) landed a hit on me... though I'm sure I'll regret that statement once I start getting pummeled by husks. ;-P

I enjoy L4D2... In comparison to L4D(1) it features characters with more personality (mostly Coach & Ellis), a large weapon selection, more items (boomer bile canisters as throwables and adrenaline shots as usable health/speed boosts), and new special infected undead which counter the tendancy of players to huddle in corners for (often unfair) safety.

The maps are intricate and visually stimulating and feature map-unique infected (noise-making clowns in the carnival map; muddy crawling zombies in the swamp)... along with map-unique goal-oriented encounters (cola retrieval) and special items (fireworks).

THE BEST THINGS ABOUT THIS ONE (compared to the first): Gaps are filled that make the game feel more realistic (items occasionally drop off of slain zombies, players come across large stashes of items, and some zombies have resistances--hazmat suits, riot gear), the maps feel even less like tunnels (there are larger areas to explore), and MINI GAMES ARE FEATURED WITHIN MAPS! The continued cinematic theme also works well with this one. This game links to the first one in areas where new characters meet and interact with the L4D(1) characters. A great change was made: The tanks no longer target a single player (or bot) until death; instead tanks will attack, incapacitate, and move to another target--This is more challenging in many ways but also allows opportunity to pick up downed teammates (rather than the dreaded player loss in finale). ... Also Ellis. Ellis is just grand.

THE WORST THINGS ABOUT THIS ONE (compared to the first): HEAD SHOTS DON'T RESULT IN HEAD/BRAIN EXPLOSIONS, the colours are atrocious in several maps (bright greens and yellows as opposed to the dusky scenery in L4D1), some of the infinite hordes are so difficult to get through that it would be great if they could be turned off in some sort of setting (as I've seen a lot of players "rage quit" during these)... perhaps there could be a happy medium here somehow? (And, come to think of it, the infinite horde areas do become rather linear... this is great for finding your destination but confines fighting space.)

IMPROVEMENTS THAT WEREN'T SEEN (that had been predicted) BUT WOULD HAVE BEEN BENEFICIAL: A way to favorite servers, view more game details before joining an open game, and--PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE--the ability to filter out (or choose) modded servers.

All in all, the game's pretty cool and worth purchasing. Yes, the new special infected get a lot of complaints; but, I'm sorry, that's the result of player behavior in the first game, so these specials keep you moving (Though I also agree they're annoying. I wouldn't mind the new ones if maybe they were mixed with the old and you received random pairings of 3 at each special spawn.) A great feature is the ability to play updated versions of the original maps that prevent many easy-out manuvers discovered by players in the L4D(1). So, if you get a little tired of the original, try this one for added challenge!

This game is balanced so that teams pretty much *have to* work together to survive. Players who run ahead are typically targeted by the game, and the game is harder with few players (so it's important that you *AND* your teammates survive!). Therefore this game--in my many years of experience with it AND in comparison to my many years of Counter Strike experience--tends to have a friendlier and more team-oriented group of players to interact with. I appreciate the game dynamics in L4D very, very much.