Parents Say: age 13+ 
39 reviews
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A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this game.
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Positive Messages
very little
This game glorifies the violent and vicious slaying of zombies. Players are meant to gawk at and appreciate the extreme levels of gore and the wide variety of creative ways in which zombies can be slain. But players must also learn to work together and protect each other to survive.
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Positive Role Models
very little
Players determine their characters' actions. Consequently, the survivors are only as good or bad as players make them. Those who act on their own eventually hurt their team's chances and may cost them the game. When one player is injured or falling off a ledge, another can choose to heal them with a health pack or pull them up. Or not.
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Ease of Play
some
Although the game doesn't include any kind of tutorial to walk players through the controls, they are pretty easy to pick up. There's one trigger to attack and another to push away zombies. Since there's no aim function, players simply point and shoot (or melee attack).
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Violence & Scariness
a lot
Players use a wide array of firearms and explosives, including handguns, shotguns, assault rifles, hunting rifles, grenade launchers, molotov cocktails and pipe bombs to kill zombies. They can also grab melee weapons such as axes, baseball bats, guitars, police batons, chainsaws and crowbars to pummel zombies. Zombies' head get knocked off, or arms and legs may be severed, spewing tons of blood.
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Language
some
The worst words used were "s--t" and "asshole."
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
very little
Players can take pain pills or a shot of adrenaline to gain a health boost. None of this is depicted in a glorious light. Survivors use them simply to stay alive long enough to escape.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Left 4 Dead 2 is an incredibly gory, violent shooter meant strictly for adults. Players must survive a zombie apocalypse by using a myriad of weapons, including handguns, shotguns, grenade launchers, axes, chainsaws, baseball bats and many others. Attacks look and sound vicious. When a zombie is hit with a bat, for example, you can hear a dull thud. Zombies' heads, arms, and legs will often fly off, and spew lots of blood that blankets the environments. However, it does promote teamwork more than most games. Players have to work together, healing, helping, and protecting one another, in order to survive. That means, though, that open voice chat is nearly mandatory, which opens the floodgates for the sharing of inappropriate words, ideas, and information.
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Left 4 Dead 2
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- Parents say (39)
- Kids say (142)
age 13+
Based on 39 parent reviews
Adithya hari Adult
September 29, 2021
age 13+
Amazing game 10/10
It's a really good game if you're in shooting zombies an stuff, I would recommend you to download it even tho it's old there's still a lot of people playing it it has mods that keeps it fun to play around with, custom campaigns etc etc even multiplayer which makes the game even more fun to play with I would totally recommend that you download it it's the best zombie shooter in my opinion.
This title has:
Great role models
Easy to play/use
Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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BlitzGuy20 Parent of 7-year-old
July 7, 2020
age 13+
Second entry in amazing zombie series has gore, language!
Left 4 Dead 2 is a great zombie survival game in total with amazing game modes, more than a dozen campaigns and more! But is it appropriate for your child? In this review I will tell you, sorted into 3 Categories:VIOLENCE: In this game you constantly run around shooting and blasting zombies apart as their limbs fly off, their bodies are blown to bits and more. You can use chainsaws, machetes, bats and guitars to bash zombies in and also use guns to show some more gore in general. However, The violence isn't so brutal that it's disturbing like the first game. The opening scene shows stylized and more graphic violence than the actual game does.This game, like the first, has pretty strong violence in total. LANGUAGE: Constant usage of "Shit", "Bitch", "Damn". The language is much more frequent than the first, although the F word is never used. FRIGHTENING SCENES: The zombies can look scary, but the scenery is much lighter than the first and the game is filled with comic relief.OVERALL: 13+ Recommended
This title has:
Too much violence
Too much swearing
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What’s It About?
LEFT 4 DEAD 2 is a cooperative first-person shooter in which four people must survive a zombie apocalypse infesting the southern United States. Each campaign is a stand-alone adventure following a foursome of survivors as they attempt to escape. The game is a team effort, requiring players to work together and watch out for each other in order to survive. Players can tackle the campaigns alone, but the game is best played with others online. The game also features a Versus mode, where players can assume the role of zombies and attempt to eliminate the survivors. The game also includes a Survival mode, where players must outlast zombies for an extended time period, as well as a variation on the Versus option called Scavenge.
Is It Any Good?
Our review:
Parents say (39):
Kids say (142):
The follow-up to last year's Left 4 Dead adds plenty more options in terms of weapons and enemy types. Players not only battle generic zombie hordes, but zombies with special powers. The Spitter, for example, spews acid. The addition of new weapons -- and especially the debut of melee items -- adds a greater level of variety to the action. The locales also feel fresh, taking players through various environments including an abandoned carnival and a shopping mall. While there are only five campaigns to choose from, there are plenty of modes available to enjoy, including Scavenge Mode, during which survivors must keep energy generators running while zombies attempt sabotage. Left 4 Dead 2 is also great at leaving the player feeling overwhelmed by throwing dozens of zombies in their direction. It's this kind of tension and thrill that makes it one of the year's best games for mature players.
Online interaction: Players can freely speak with each other in open chat, which means there is potential for inappropriate words, ideas, and information to be shared. Common Sense Media does not recommend open online play for children under age 12.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether a video game can be scary without being gory? Can you think of any games that fit this description? If a game has an option to lower the amount of gore seen on screen, do you ever use it? Why or why not?
Families can also discuss how the game places strong emphasis on using teamwork to survive. What do you think of this design? Would you rather be able to go off on your own? Does it feel strange to have to work so closely with strangers? Or do you prefer to play games like this only with close friends?
Game Details
- Platforms: Windows, Xbox 360
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Electronic Arts
- Release date: November 17, 2009
- Genre: First-Person Shooter
- ESRB rating: M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language,
- Last updated: August 31, 2016
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Left 4 Dead 2
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
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