Dead Center

Lore & Background

The campaign starts on the roof of the Vannah Hotel, once CEDA's central operations and evacuation base, now overrun and partly ablaze; the Survivors arrive just too late for the last evacuation helicopter and agree to cross town to CEDA's other facility at the Liberty Mall. They descend through the burning hotel, cross the streets to a gun store, and enter the mall only to find it overrun too, so they refuel the 1969 Dodge Charger of local stock-car ace Jimmy Gibbs Jr., on display in the mall, and drive for New Orleans.

Reader's Guide

Dead Center is one of the five campaigns of Left 4 Dead 2. Its Uncommon Infected are the CEDA workers in hazmat suits, which makes them fireproof; originally they were going to be the Riot Infected. It is the only campaign that guarantees a laser-sight upgrade, in Whitaker's gun store in the second chapter, The Streets, and its finale has the team refuel Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s car to escape the mall.

Did You Know?

• Dead Center is one of five new campaigns in Left 4 Dead 2, which is the sequel to Left 4 Dead (2008).
• The game was released for Windows and Xbox 360 in November 2009, Mac OS X in October 2010, and Linux in July 2013.
• Left 4 Dead 2 builds upon Valve's proprietary Source engine, the same game engine used in the original Left 4 Dead.
• The gameplay is procedurally altered by the 'AI Director 2.0', which monitors players' performance and adjusts the scenario to provide a dynamic challenge.