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Some videos have recently surfaced that show a ton of gameplay from Dead Center. You may watch if you wish! Of course, there be spoilers here.
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=2F226B555016C7DD
The Left 4 Dead 2 demo is now available to all Steam and XBox360 users! Before today, it was only available to those who pre-ordered through Steam, the XBox Marketplace, and GameStop. The public version of the demo should contain the same features and content as the pre-order demo available last week.
Xbox users can order the demo here; PC users should install Steam (if not originally installed) and visit the demo’s store page. (Click here if you don’t have Steam.)
EDIT: Here’s the official Steam News brief. Show ▼
A number of gaming sites have reported that Left 4 Dead 2 will provide avatar awards for the Xbox 360. Left 4 Dead 2 is the second game to implement this feature (after Splosion Man), which allows you to earn new clothes for your avatar by earning in-game achievements.
There will be nine avatar awards, including a health pack and L4D2 shirts. So far, the known awards are:
According to an interview with Valve developer Yasser Mailaka, Valve is looking into ways to bring custom content to Xbox 360 players. The custom content, which is crafted in Left 4 Dead’s SDK, is currently only available for PC players.
Mailaka identified integration with Microsoft’s distribution system and finding a way to filter out copyrighted content to be primary hurdles in the way of the potential offering.
The recent GameTrailers TV episode featuring Left 4 Dead 2 includes a healthy helping of information on the upcoming DLC for Left 4 Dead, named Crash Course. The eponymous campaign included in the DLC will be geared towards giving players a 30-minute Versus experience, though the campaign will be playable in the other game modes, as well.
The first of the two chapters included will begin at the site of the helicopter crash. As many observant players have noticed, the chopper pilot had been exposed to the infection immediately prior to the daring rescue atop Mercy Hospital, as evidenced by his sickly skin tone, comment about an “incident”, and his unnaturally bad taste in shirts.
In the GTTV feature, Zoey can be heard saying “He turned into a zombie, Francis. He wasn’t gonna land the thing.”
Little else is known about the layout of the campaign, except that it will take place in an urban setting, probably near large roads/highways. At one point in the feature, players appear to use a howitzer to blow up a roadblock. This is probably the beginning of a crescendo, though we would certainly like to see what a howitzer would do to the hungry hordes of doom.
Chet mentioned that there will be a few tweaks to Versus game mechanics. For instance, players will be able to see the status of Infected teammates, namely their progress in recharging skills. All items will spawn in the same places for both teams, potentially increasing balance. In addition, since the campaign is shorter, Level 2 weapons will be available much earlier.
Crash Course is expected to be released on PC and Xbox 360 in September. It will be free on the PC, but there will be a small fee for Xbox players.
We’ve made some updates to the info page! In addition to new photos and a bit of reorganizing, here’s a list of some of the changes:
“Gauntlet” Finale
Official Xbox Magazine
We’re currently working on a L4D2 info page update, but it’s going a bit slowly because of July 4th festivities in the US. Here are a couple things you might be interested in while you wait.
Valve has released several new official screenshots, most of them from The Parish. One interesting thing to note is that Rochelle’s shirt has changed. We mentioned in the info page that Rochelle’s shirt in the E3 demo gameplay is a different color than the shirt shown in the poster for The Parish. In these screenshots, the color has changed to the magenta/rose color shown in the poster, and a shirt graphic has been added.
A few new videos of the Gauntlet finale in The Parish have been released, showing a lot of heretofore unknown features. In addition, there’s a lot of new info from the Official Xbox Magazine. We’ll be sorting through all these and updating the info thread soon—we promise!
Since the announcement on Monday that Left 4 Dead would be receiving a sequel, set to be released on the one-year anniversary of the game (and the eleventh anniversary of Half-Life), there has been a ton of buzz about the new game—both positive and negative. Many gaming news networks and blogs have been releasing interviews and gameplay footage of the playable E3 demo of the game. It appears that the game is playable at least through the third chapter.
New media and links since Monday can be found below. To find more media, please visit Ramzy’s excellent stickied media thread on the forums.
Also, please note that we’ve added a Left 4 Dead 2 section to the site, including an Information page where we parse through all the gameplay footage and a Media page that lists all the content we’ve been able to find to date. Read more…
Valve has just announced the sequel to Left 4 Dead, aptly named “Left 4 Dead 2″. The new game features new characters, weapons, and maps, and has a stylistic theme that appears to be inspired by the American Southland. The new game will also include melee weapons: the axe, chainsaw, frying pan, and baseball bat.
The new game, scheduled for release on November 17, 2009, will include the current three game modes, but is purported to include more maps and features. One interesting change from the original is the inclusion of distinctly bright daytime conditions and the evolution of the AI Director to be able to control map layout and behavior—objects, weather, etc.
Some are unconvinced that this is a legitimate sequel, believing instead that it is partly a hoax meant to inspire viral controversy before the announcement that L4D2 will be released differently, i.e. as an expansion.
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