Left 4 Dead 2 Announced For November

hansamurai writes "Left 4 Dead 2 has been announced at E3, and a trailer for the game has surfaced. It will be released November 17, 2009, just a year after the first game. Gameplay changes include a new focus on melee weapons, especially the iconic anti-zombie weapon, the chainsaw. The cast of characters is brand new, but the plot appears to take place during the same zombie outbreak." The game is being developed for the PC and Xbox 360, and Valve says it will make use of a new version of their AI engine, which has the ability to "procedurally change weather effects, world objects, and pathways in addition to tailoring the enemy population, effects, and sounds to match the players' performance." Rock, Paper, Shotgun got the chance to do a hands-on preview, providing details about the gameplay and confirming that "it's a coherent new imagining of the game, this time bigger, smarter, and far more elaborate. Oh, and gloriously more gory."

Comments

What about HL2 Episode 3?

[letsief]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy playing Left 4 Dead, but I was really hoping we'd finally get an update on Half Life 2: Episode 3. Left 4 Dead gets a sequel after one year, but we have to wait three years (presumably) for Episode 3?

This sucks

[Caboosian]

What the hell happened to the continued post-release support of L4D? TF2's community has been growing steadily thanks to the fantastic updates being constantly released for it - yet L4D's map editor isn't even out yet? Simply put, this is a grab for money - they're cutting the legs out from under L4D, and releasing what quite simply should be free updates. I mean, honestly, this isn't even that much new content - the gameplay is exactly the same, the graphics are just barely better, and the setting, well, kind of sucks.

As far as I'm concerned, Valve just got downgraded from premium status in my book. This game is a mistake.

Re:This sucks

[$1uck]

I cannot disagree with you more. Seriously, for how much time I've played the game and how much enjoyment I've received from the game I have gotten my money's worth multiple times. The article I read specifically states that this does not mean that support for l4d is going away. It also stated that it is a possibility that l4d would be included with l4d2. Something else I'm completely fine with, I would simply give my copy of l4d away to someone who was unsure if they wanted to buy the game.

Looks to be plenty of new content, 5 campaigns, new infected, new behaviors from old special infected, melee weapons, expanded alteration game play driven by the ai (maps will vary from play to play).

If you think it sucks don't buy the game. I will gladly shell out the money when the game is released (fully expecting it to sell for half the price 6 months later).

Dynamic Lighting

[Anonymous Coward]

The real question is will I be able to to see the light from the other player's flashlights.

Re:Sigh...

[tibman]

Hardly usable? Did you even play it? I had a blast with a group of buddies.. did all the campaigns in one day. I still play every other day with various steam groups. Valve has done a good job addressing map hacks and other wierdness you run into online. The only thing Valve didn't do right with L4D is releasing only 4 campaigns and 2 of which weren't usable in versus mode.

Re:Xbox 360? Sigh...Once Again Gimped

[morari]

I think the fact that we're getting a "sequel" instead of an expansion pack goes to show that console versions screw everyone over.