Left 4 Dead 2

Left For Dead quickly became one of 2008’s most talked-about games after being released in November.

The title changed the zombie game irrevocably – not least through introducing air-munching, super-fast, 28 Days Later-style beasts, rather than shuffling buffoons of Resident Evil and other series. It also happened to become one of the best-reviewed titles of the year for its intense co-operative play, and developer Valve had yet another first person hit on its hands.

And now the firm is set to take that even further with Left 4 Dead 2.

SET 4 SUCCESS

Like Left 4 Dead, the sequel surrounds the aftermath of an apocalyptic pandemic, whereby an outbreak of a rabies-like virus is causing infected humans to behave like zombies. And gamers must team up with others to overcome the hoards and reach safety.

However, this time the game will feature a wealth of new monsters including The Charger – a mutated infected with an oversized arm, which can move quickly and knock players off their feet. And The Jockey, which can jump onto the back of a survior and pull them towards other infected.

The game also boasts new melee weapons, such as chainsaws and baseball bats, as well as new ranged guns and special ammunition.

But best of all for retail, Left 4 Dead 2 has a significantly larger marketing campaign, with $25 million set to be spent globally. And just over half of that spend is focussed on Europe.