L4D 2 Announced!
Last year, Left 4 Dead became a truly surprising and awe-inspiring hit, capitalizing on the zombie horde genre along with an amazing FPS co-op and customized gaming system that not only made a lasting impression towards its fans, but also end up having a visionary game that would definitely make George Romero proud of what he’s accomplished.
After the game’s release and a DLC update later, Valve has officially announced the sequel to their smash hit, aptly named Left 4 Dead 2.
What do we know so far?
First off, the game will be released once again for the PC and Xbox 360 and is set to be released on November 17, 2009. The sequel will also feature melee combat (something that was lacking in the previous game) accompanied with such weapons as the chainsaw and axe, to name a few. The game will also tout what is called “AI Director 2.0″, a jump from its predecessor and will add new dynamics to the gameplay, including weather and level layout changing (daylight infestation, anyone?).
L4D2 will feature new survivors in the mix, and the story will take place approximately during the same time as the first game (sounds like RE2 and 3), but taking place somewhere in the Southern area of the US, as evidenced in the first announced campaign’s poster with a title bearing “The Parish”. New Orleans is definitely going to feel some infested love this time around, especially with new bosses lurking around. Thankfully, there are new items and weapons hyped to help the players be on par with the new threat.
The game also swore to deliver more than the amount of content from the first game, meaning more campaigns and maps (plus Survival mode support and versus content) for players to enjoy. There’s still a few more months before the release of the sequel, and it seems to be quick for a sequel to be released. Is this a smart move in Valve’s part (especially considering that it’s refreshing to see a game that’s not TOO DLC-reliant as to extend a game’s life), or is too quick and too bad of a move, especially when it comes to releasing a sequel one year after the original debuted? What do you think?
News and info courtesy of http://kotaku.com
I love L4D, and I love Valve, but something about this feels like were being milked. If they release L4D2 at full price while totally abandoning L4D, then I’ll be waiting for the eventual price cut before buying it.
That’s the same thing I had in mind. Releasing this game is like a double edged sword.
To put it simply, it’s great that they have a sequel, but too quick of a sequel? Then again, Final Fantasy has also pulled off that surprise too just recently with XIII and XIV, so who knows? Granted, XIV is online and I’m glad there’s another MMO for PS3 owners. But I cannot help but think about the word “milking” at this point. Anything can still happen though.
[...] Left 4 Dead 2 is set at roughly the same time as the original – just after the outbreak that turned most of the population into various zombie mutants. Players assume the role of 4 new “Survivors,” each with their own personality and new dialog. The game leads these “Survivors” through the southeastern region of the US – from Savannah, Georgia thru the bayou country, and climaxing in New Orleans’ French Quarter. [...]