The problem simply is that many of them, such as the frying pan, machete and truncheon which all take the place of a pistol in your weapon selection, are too powerful.

The fault lies specifically with the new array of melee weapons, which provide the benefit of near-certain kills at the sacrifice of range and speed.

Unfortunately, this is where Valve hits a very identifiable weak point in the Left 4 Dead formula, as some of the new weapons shift the balance of the game into more of a grind than we're entirely comfortable with (at least judging things by the demo). It's effortlessly explained, allowing you to focus on the core joys of the game – killing dynamically positioned zombies. Valve's dynamic help system comes into play though and mercifully explains many of these new tools to you – the bile jar is useful for concentrating and distracting hordes, while the adrenaline is good for giving you a speed boost and the defibrillator can revive dead players. While these are all items that can turn the tide of a zombie war, when you first get a chance to play with these gadgets then it's hard not to feel a little bit overloaded by the weapons at your disposal.

In addition to guns, the only weapons in the original were molotov cocktails and pipe bombs now there are bile jars, incendiary bullets, adrenaline shots and even a defibrillator. Where the first game had only six weapons and two types of grenades, the sequel delivers a much vaster arsenal and a selection of new tools to put at your disposal – many of which can be seen in the recently released demo. While the original Left 4 Dead was a fairly simple romp, Left 4 Dead 2 expands in virtually every direction.

With its sequel, Left 4 Dead is becoming a lot like the old Roger Moore James Bond films – a world of guilty pleasures and endless gadgets. Left 4 Dead 2 Demo Impressions Publisher: Valve

Install left 4 dead 2 beta