9. The Sacrifice
The Sacrifice is the final campaign in Left 4 Dead, and as its name implies it does not end well for everyone. Added onto the end of the game's story arc as a DLC after the release of an online comic by the same name, The Sacrifice is set in Rayford, Georgia, and spans three levels as the original Survivors search for a sailboat to take them to the Florida Keys, where Bill plans that they will live out the rest of their lives safe from the Infected. For DeltaHax and I this campaign's strong story elements and climactic finale keep it out of the bottom of the list, but its shorter length and unprepossessing environments such as debris-strewn seaside industrial areas and a gloomy brick factory put it in the bottom half. It's far from the worst campaign, but it's also a long way behind the best.
8. Blood Harvest
Blood Harvest is the fifth campaign in Left 4 Dead and was the game's final campaign until the release of The Sacrifice. Set on the outskirts of Allegheny State Forest, Pennsylvania, it has the original Survivors follow a set of train tracks northwards towards Evacuation Point Echo, an abandoned farmhouse where they make their final stand before being rescued by the military. The gloomy pre-dawn woods are full of hidden Infected, forcing players to rely on reflexes and wits to avoid being ambushed, and the train tracks provide a strong linear reference point throughout the campaign. The only way in which this campaign falls flat is that its tone stays the same the whole way through, the level of action and player motivation not peaking towards the end as they should but rather remaining at mid-level. Blood Harvest is a solid contender that ticks all the right boxes, but it doesn't have what it takes to be considered exceptional.
7. The Passing
The Passing is the second campaign in Left 4 Dead 2, a DLC crossover between Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 that sees the second group of Survivors encounter Francis, Louis and Zoey in Rayford, Georgia while looking to cross the bridge that the original Survivors raised at the end of The Sacrifice. Unable to convince the original Survivors to lower the bridge for them, the second group strike a deal that sees them fight their way through the town, take an historic under-the-river tour that diverts them through the sewers, and emerge on the other side of the bridge where they must gather gas cans to power the bridge generator in a brutal final level so the original Survivors can lower the bridge for them without descending to the ground. It's a tight, engaging campaign that links the two games together and features some very original environments, but sadly only goes for three levels. The Passing feels like the game developers' party piece, a quick novelty campaign that's tacked into the storyline in a place where its difficulty can be unwelcome. It is a personal favourite of mine, but this list was a compromise for both DeltaHax and I and every campaign ranked above this one is in the top half for good reason.
6. Dead Center
Dead Center is the first campaign in Left 4 Dead 2, and introduces a new group of Survivors, Coach, Ellis, Nick and Rochelle (pictured left to right on the poster) as they are abandoned on a hotel rooftop by rescue helicopters. As the first campaign in the game Dead Center is not too challenging, designed to introduce players to the game mechanics without piling on the zombies. For this reason I never considered it top six material. However, DeltaHax made a compelling argument in its favour, namely that it has a lot of variety. Over the course of the campaign players must fight their way down through a burning hotel, cross the streets of Fairfield, Georgia to a gun store where they must negotiate with the eccentric owner and retrieve a six-pack of cola in return for his cooperation, navigate an abandoned mall and lastly collect gas cans to fill the tank of a show car to use as their get-away vehicle. It's a fun, engaging introduction to Left 4 Dead 2 and the new Survivors, and for that reason it makes the top six.
5. Dark Carnival
No campaign in this list was so contentious to place as Dark Carnival. The third campaign in Left 4 Dead 2, it follows the second Survivors as they navigate an abandoned amusement park, negotiating merry-go-rounds, giant slides, the Tunnel of Love and the Screaming Oak roller-coaster before catching the attention of a circling chopper with fireworks from a rock concert they trigger themselves. On paper it sounds amazing and it is certainly one of the most popular campaigns with players, something I had in mind while arguing for its placement high on the list. However, Dark Carnival is also Left 4 Dead 2's equivalent of Dead Air, a unique level that suffers from being brutally challenging in a bad way. Featuring two nightmarishly difficult to pass gauntlet sections Dark Carnival is enough to make hardened zombie-slayers rage-quit, and this was the main reason for DeltaHax's arguing against it. In the end my repeated emphasis on its good qualities and the point that if the fourth level containing the boring barns area and the pointlessly near-impossible second gauntlet was removed it would be likely the greatest campaign in both games brought him round, and Dark Carnival secured this spot high on the list without quite making the top four.
That's it for this post. Keep an eye out for part three, which will reveal our top four campaigns including of course the one we decided was the greatest of all.
