I wasn't a huge fan of Vienna Calling 1, but this one is quite a bit better in many way. The areas are more interesting than the original, like fighting in a construction center or making your way through a zoo.

The zoo in general is actually a huge drawing factor of this campaign for me. I feel compelled to compare it to Riptide for so many reasons. Riptide took place in an aquarium, but all of the glass looking into the tanks were blacked out, so it almost felt like a waste of a unique setting. Although there aren't many animal corpses to look at, the different exhibits are pretty interesting, and there is a dead elephant corpse that was a nice addition to all of the scenery. The events of placing down propane tanks near barriers to destroy them was actually pretty interesting, but I'll admit that the instructions to "protecting the carrier" of the propane tanks is a bit unnecessary since it's not in the midst of an endless horde. I found myself capable of delivering the tanks to where they needed to go without encountering a single common.

The zoo and finale utilize a wind mechanic, so it seems to be taken Hard Rain's storm to the next level. Again, I'd like to compare this to Riptide, which claimed that it's the "wettest campaign since Hard Rain". If Hard Rain was a rainstorm, this was a hurricane. The wind mechanic is a bit janky, and caused my frame rate to drop a bit, and while I think its inclusion could be considered a mistake by some, I think this kind of innovation should be praised, even if its execution wasn't perfect.

The finale was way too long. Once again, like many other custom campaigns, it can't help itself from being a really long run through endless zombies. The fortunate thing about this finale is you go through quite a few interesting and varied areas, and it also provides you with quite a few resources as you make your way through it, but the whole thing is somewhat ruined by an abrupt ending. I don't think the ending ruins the campaign itself, but it certainly does it no favors.

Speaking of long, the first chapter really overstays its welcome. There are (three?) different places where you hear someone tell you to "get to the rescue vehicle", and this is all in one chapter. It leads you to believe that the chapter is just about to end, just for it to keep on going. The rest of the campaign flowed pretty well, so once you get passed the first chapter, it's no big deal.

Finally, the l4d2 cast getting killed throughout the campaign is a bit jarring, and not in a good way. It's not that I really mind them getting killed, but the campaign literally puts cutscenes in showing them in peril. It (barely) kills the flow of the gameplay, but there is also a point where you here a hunter clawing at someone, and it can be well before you get to the cutscene of Ellis getting ripped apart, implying he's survived for quite a while in the midst of a Hunter tearing him to shreds. It's not a huge problem, but one that kills the immersion a little bit. It also just makes this campaign feel a bit less like a L4D2 campaign, because it's trying really hard to be cinematic, and L4D2 really doesn't handle that very well most of the time.

Overall, my complaints do little to tarnish the fun I had in this campaign overall. It's well worth it, if only for the zoo chapter!

8/10