How do you reward an expansion pack with Game of the Year? That’s the question I’m asking myself when I look down the list of “experts” that have put this game into the GotY discussion. If that was the case, would this have the latest patch for World of Warcraft as it’s competition for PC GotY? When does iteration take precedence over games that truly innovate when picking a top game of the year?

Read on as to why Left 4 Dead 2 is NOT Game of the Year and check out these posts as to why Assassin’s Creed 2 and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves are not Game of the Year either.

There’s no doubt that Valve has a fine game on their hands with Left 4 Dead 2. Shooting zombies is just fun. Decapitating zombies with a guitar, well, that’s even better. On the other hand, there’s a few problems holding this game back from being the leader of the pack for the crop of games that came out in 2009.

Daylight? – Look, I get it, zombies are around during the day whether you like it or not. The problem? Nothing is really all that scary in the daytime. This design choice for quite a few of the levels within the different scenarios just kills the mood. It turns what should be a tidal wave of fear and adrenaline into a shooting gallery. The daylight just kills the mojo.

Hard Rain is great, but… - There are a few levels within this game that are just plain awesome. The Hard Rain movie scenario is a shining example of what this game SHOULD have been. Hard Rain combines great level design, environmental effects and effective use of special infected, particularly the walking witch, to create a harrowing trip to hell and back, just for a tank of gas. Unfortunately the rest of the game suffers from the paint by numbers level design that I’m fairly sure is a direct result of the short production schedule of less than a year. Sure there’s some fun to be had in Dark Carnival, but really, haven’t you seen these levels somewhere else before? Spice is added in the form of the more involved crescendo moments, but these feel more annoying than “Fun” or “scary” especially when you have to search for gas cans in a mall that is so generic, that it’s details don’t even register after finishing the scenario.

Did I hit it? – Yes the melee weapons are a nice touch, but the hit detection is all over the place. What should “feel” good is neutered when your swing doesn’t really register with the type of damage you end up doing or really feel like it has some impact. It’s particularly troublesome for some of the smaller weapons like the night stick, which makes the weapon useless.  Some weapons have some nice heft, like the guitar, while others such as the Katana, simply lack that oomph that is needed. Unfortunately, what should be the best part of the game ends up being just okay, which is too bad.

What new AI Director? – One of the biggest bullet points bandied about by Valve in their defense of the quick turnaround of L4D2 was that they simply couldn’t do an “expansion” because of the all new, all different AI director. A huge feature of this revamped Director was the ability to alter terrain and geometry in a level to change not only the spawn rate of enemies, but the actual level itself. I simply don’t see it. I have yet to play a map and not take my desired path every time. I have yet to encounter any type of change to any level that I have replayed. I’m not saying that it doesn’t have the ability to do this within the game, all I’m saying is that if it exists, I have yet to notice it. While I am only one person, the question really is, if you don’t notice it, is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

Iteration, not innovation. - When you add up the preceding paragraphs, its very clear that L4D2 is an iteration on a great game. Improvements to enemy animations and Ellis’ hilarious quips aside, there’s nothing new here. Melee weapons don’t change the game all that much. The new and improved AI director simply doesn’t seem all that different. The promise shown in Hard Rain is not carried over to any other campaign scenario. When you’re looking at what is the Game of the Year, games should be rewarded for doing new things and bringing new ideas to the table.

Unfortunately, this sequel is more refinement than reinvention. That is why Left 4 Dead 2 is NOT Game of the Year.