TBH my son loved the snowball fights but I got bored of it. We did come back for a second playthrough a year later, it's not quite the same when you know the story but it's a bit more streamlined when you don't get stuck on puzzles as much.I echo all that about It Takes Two and just to add, it also has a lot of longevity.
Snowball fights / chases and the mini games are great fun and I'm still playing it with my kids two years (ish?) after we completed it.
Chases are a good thing to do in the Lego games too.
Left 4 Dead isn't really appropriate for a pre-teen IMO, although the parent will understand best.