Stage 1: Highway

Setting: Jimmy Gibbs' race car has finally run out of gas, stranding you and your buddies out in the middle of nowhere. You must make your way through the countryside on your way to the nearby carnival. There's wrecked cars, overpasses, and motels to all travel through, but there are no crescendo events whatsoever in this stage. Like we said, a return to form. There is only one real choke point, and it is located in the motel. The safehouse is in the ticket booth of the carnival.

General Tips

Unlike the previous campaign, you start with primary weapons on the first map. Make sure to use them. The motel is a great place to scavenge, as it is filled with all sorts of goodies, like pipe bombs, pills, and pistols. If you find yourself needing to resupply, take a little time to explore each room. The downward slope part of this stage is extremely dangerous if you do it incorrectly, as you can die from the fall. Slide from platform to platform. Do not attempt to jump all the way down. There is a swamp-like area in this stage, which is a good primer for the next campaign, Swamp Fever. Use pipe bombs to clear out the wooded areas, just like Dead Harvest of the previous game.

Stage 2: Fairground

Setting: After making your way through the hellhole that is the highway, you are now ready to experience the more unique parts of this campaign. Fairground introduces you to the general feel of Dark Carnival, which is weaving through tents. From now until the finale, you will be doing this constantly. You must make your way through the fairgrounds to a safehouse located inside the Tunnel of Love. This stage also holds the first Crescendo Event of the campaign.

Crescendo Event: After making your way through most of the stage, you will come across a gate blocking your way. It blocks the passage through a carousel. You must turn the carousel on in order to progress, which will continually attract hordes of Infected. In practice, the carousel functions much like the shop alarm in the third stage of Dead Center. You can't dawdle. You have to sprint to the controls to turn it off before you get overwhelmed. Hordes still come reliably after you turn it off, so you will have to fight for a little bit before being able to continue.

Special: At the beginning of the map, there is a shooting gallery that you can play. While it seems like a bit of fluff, there is a special item you can win from it: Gnome Chompski. There is an achievement for grabbing him here and taking him into the helicopter at the end of the campaign. This is a reference to the Half-Life 2: Episode 2 achievement which follows a similar (albeit harder) scheme. He must be in someone's hands when ending each stage. The shooting gallery gives you 20 points for the bag carriers, 100 points for moustachio, and -100 points for Peanut.

General Tips

The Infected Clowns attract other Infected with their squeaky shoes. Kill them first. You can honk a clown's nose by bashing it in the face. There is an achievement for doing this ten times. While the general progression follows the Left 4 Dead model, it is much more drawn out. These maps are considerably longer than their counterparts from the original. The rifles are a great choice for this stage thanks to the open spaces and heights. You can pick off Infected from a safe distance.

Stage 3: Coaster

Setting: The best of all the maps, the third stage revolves almost entirely around a single set piece: the rollercoaster. It also serves as the Crescendo Event for the stage. This stage is also unique for taking place mostly inside a Tunnel of Love as well. There's lots of enclosed spaces, so claustrophobes need not apply. The safehouse is located near some barns.

Crescendo Event: A race for your life, you must activate the rollercoaster and then follow the train to the end where you can turn it off. There will be a lot of Infected, but you should keep moving as there will normally be very few at the front and a lot at the back. One person as point at the other three as rear guard should do it. Watch out for Special Infected on the tracks, as they can (and will) kill you with ease if you are not careful. All it takes is pushing you off the size and splat! Once you turn off the coaster, you can continue. There is normally some ammo next to the coaster turn-off if you need some.

General Tips

The Tunnel of Love may appear to have only one path through, but it actually has several. Look around for vents and side-rooms, as they can allow you to bypass groups of Infected and save ammo for the Crescendo Event. There are spaces behind the set pieces in the tunnel of love which often have supplies. Check them. A coaster is the best place to experience a Tank, because he will get stuck running along the track to get to you, and he will guarantee no Common Infected by his presence.