Well, I've been nailing Left 4 Dead for a looooooooooong time now... It's a really fun game, I even bought it - played it a bit, traded it in - then re-bought it because I missed playing it so much.  I've only just had a crack at Left 4 Dead 2, so why not have a go earlier?  That's what you're thinking right?  Well, I played the demo when it was new, and it just.... It just didn't feel right somehow.   Not sure why, I put it down in large to the difference cast of survivors, the bright daylight settings and something inexplicably wrong about the setting.
 
Sure the new mechanics were great - melee weapons are fun and it's handy having one or two in the team with a good melee weapon.  The new specials are interesting too, I like the jockey and the spitter particularly.  Level design seems good, and the journey from the hotel roof to the mall is great... But something wasn't quite... I can't put my finger on it.  Now I've bought it though - I'm really enjoying it.  It's completely freshened up my zombie apocalypse experience.   I still think Left 4 Dead is more 'classic Romero' and has stronger characters... Well I say stronger - maybe a bit more stereo-typical of the zombie apocalypse survival film.
 
However, there is a certain charm to L4D2, it took me a while to 'get it' but there is a different feel... I think in 1, the survivors come across as 'Hey we're in a zombie apocalypse - I hope we can get through it alive!' Maybe Francis is the exception to this if anything, but Bill's lines make me think he really takes it seriously - it's like his second Vietnam or something.  Zoe, takes it seriously, but tries to lighten the mood from time to time with jokes and humorous refernces.  Louis, Louis is glad to be alive, and just wants the whole thing to be over...
 
Now the sequel, to me has a different vibe.  Whether it's an American South vibe or something - I don't know, but they come across more as, "Hey, there's a zombie apocalypse - time to kick some ass!" The music, the regional accents and the lines give me this - but all in all, I think the characters take it less seriously and have a more positive approach to it than in 1.   I don't know if this is a film reference, I'm guessing it is - but it's a film I haven't seen yet so...
 
I can't wait to see where they take Left 4 Dead 3, personally I'd like it to leave American soil, and mvoe to a new clime, Australia would be an interstingly ironic choice... England could work... Maybe even a south American take on it?