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Left 4 Dead 2 Hands-On Preview

By Guy Cocker, GameSpot UKPosted Jul 2, 2009 11:31 pm PT

We went hands-on with brand new content from Valve's zombie horror sequel.

While Left 4 Dead 2 was one of the biggest hits at this year's E3, the post-event backlash has almost threatened to overshadow the game itself. Despite the hostility from its usually loyal fan base, developer Valve decided to let us play even more of the game upon its visit to London yesterday. We wasted no time putting our questions to Valve's Doug Lombardi, as well as taking more than a few runs through the New Orleans level on both the Xbox 360 and PC.

Check out our exclusive new interview with Valve's Doug Lombardi.

First of all, it's worth noting just how similar Left 4 Dead 2 is to the original game in terms of gameplay. While there are plenty of subtle changes that fans will notice, the meat of the game is exactly the same as before. You play in a team of four through various movie-inspired levels, taking on the zombie horde that stand between you and your extraction. The concept is simple: If you stick together, it's easier to stay alive, but if you play as a lone gunman, you'll die faster while sabotaging your team.

The level we played was called The Parish and followed on from the same mission that we saw at E3 exactly one month ago. Like the original Left 4 Dead, each level is presented with a movie poster, and this level's tagline was "This time it all goes South." It's a reference to the level's location in New Orleans, where you fight it out in a suburban setting before crossing a bridge to make it to an escape helicopter.

So what's actually been changed for this sequel? Well, the most obvious new addition was the melee combat, with frying pans and axes available in the demo we played. They were only effective within close proximity to the enemy, but, boy, are they effective when you are. The axe is capable of lopping off limbs (dismemberment is another new feature of the game), while the pan makes a highly satisfying thud on impact. The most interesting melee weapon has yet to be shown--the chainsaw is an amazing prospect, so Valve is making us wait until later in the year before we get our hands on it.

Luckily, we were able to sink our teeth into plenty of other new features. There are now weapon upgrades available at random points in the game--we came across an incendiary upgrade that made our machine gun bullets set fire on impact. You only get about 50 of these fire-spewing shots per upgrade, but they certainly make short work of the standard zombies. Then there's the brutal new enemy called the Charger, who picks you up and slams you to the ground repeatedly until your teammates come to rescue you.

The game was at its most tense during the gauntlet run--a term Valve used to explain the bridge section at the end of the level we played. Basically, a never-ending mass of zombies stand between you and the escape helicopter, so you have to work with your teammates to fend off the horde while slowly making your way across the bridge. Despite a liberal amount of gun turrets and ammo stockpiles, it's incredibly difficult to make it across, and if one of your team members die, there's no way to bring him back into the game. No wonder we died a few times trying to make it across here, but we loved the difference this made to the end of the level, as well as the tension it created.

The inhabitants of New Orleans are not that pleased to see you.

Valve was cagey about the difficulty level that was set up for our demonstration; but whatever Valve selected, it was damn hard. On our first run-through, we barely made it to the first safe house. On our second run-through, we made it about halfway across the bridge. On our final attempt, this time on the PC rather than Xbox 360, only one of our teammates made it to the helicopter--the rest of us died trying to get there. As hardened Left 4 Dead players, we found it a little bit frustrating, but it was no less addictive for the jump in difficulty.

Left 4 Dead 2 is shaping up really well, and with four new characters, the group dynamic has changed once again. We played as Coach, a huge dude with an attitude; and Rochelle, a smaller female character. There was also the white-suited Nick and the jocklike Ellis. We loved our time with the game, especially playing with other journalists in the LAN setting. While Left 4 Dead 2 certainly doesn't do anything drastically different, we're confident that it will offer another highly addictive experience of the zombie apocalypse. The full game is out on the PC and Xbox 360 in November, and we should be able to bring you more between now and its release.

418 Comments

  • hubjn

    Posted Aug 6, 2009 10:26 am PT

    hey, hey, hey, wait i'm tired of being survivor, what if the survivor can be infected? or maybe it's just like the old version just shooting at zombie head! man. women. man...................... women

  • hillfinger73

    Posted Aug 4, 2009 3:23 pm PT

    Should be good

  • m4rkoca

    Posted Jul 25, 2009 9:54 am PT

    They better say something about HL2 EP3 after they release this...

  • Oozyrat

    Posted Jul 23, 2009 9:12 pm PT

    Why do people keep saying it should be $20.00!?! The game features new weapons, characters, enemies, and areas. All other new games feature the same things. What else can they offer?! New DLC for the first one that's on it's way? Give Valve a chance and quit your whining.

  • FOBlO

    Posted Jul 22, 2009 10:56 am PT

    Zombie dogs would be a good new infected.

  • rickmaster1101

    Posted Jul 20, 2009 5:18 pm PT

    Freeman! Where are you!!??

  • nyranasaurus

    Posted Jul 19, 2009 12:49 am PT

    Actually i disagree , the 1 player mode in Left 4 dead on expert was hard ,challenging and more fun than your giving it credit for. Go back and play left 4 dead single player on expert. The pacing and gameplay almost in some respects can be better than multiplayer sometimes. Remember you cant hide in stupid little corners or doorways in single player, just that alone can be more of an intense experience than multiplayer. Go back , play left 4 dead single player on expert, its hard as hell and intense as. As far as left 4 dead 2 goes i still think it should of been part of left 4 dead 1 maybe for another $20 or something. But think of it this way combine left 4 dead 1 AND left 4 dead 2 think of the HUMOUNGOUS modding possabilities maybe even cross changing zombies adn Allies between 1 and 2 or having Zoe and Loius + new characters in a mod. Awesome possabilities.

  • tyler22221

    Posted Jul 16, 2009 7:19 am PT

    how do you kno its not a sequel

  • electronjoy posted Jul 15, 2009 9:01 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    electronjoy

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 9:01 pm PT (hide)

    This is most likely funding material for HL episode 3.

  • cruelstroke posted Jul 15, 2009 5:51 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    cruelstroke

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 5:51 pm PT (hide)

    This is not sequel.. I hate Valve.

  • gingergamer

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 2:42 am PT

    L4D never put anyone under the impression that the 1 player mode was gonna be anything spectacular, it is a multiplayer game. Therefore if you got 4-5 hours gameplay out of it before u got bored that's not valve's fault that's yours. If you didnt like survival mode thats your problem too, unlucky but you cant win em all and they are making more content so they arent abandoning it (as for SDK being late, Valve are basically always late bt ppl get so mad at this one time?). Valve have never lied in the past, so presuming they are now is stupid. If they made "sufficient change to gameplay" it wouldn't be left 4 dead it would be something else. The simple matter is an expansion bigger then the game itself? sounds like a sequal to me...

  • toxicfuturist

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 1:59 am PT

    gearsofwar98 do you type in your sleep, as you must be dreaming.

  • Tylmarande

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 1:56 am PT

    this should be an expansion only..and will not cost 50 bucks!!!

  • toxicfuturist

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 1:55 am PT

    here we go again thanx for explaining to me how easy it is to rip off a gamer with the same ingredients.

  • mslug8

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 12:59 am PT

    Stop complaining about the fact that this game is a rip off, at least you dont live in australia where all the games cost $100, and thats if they even get released at all!

  • crnivuk

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 8:33 pm PT

    They aren't getting my 50$ this time. I mean, I'm still waiting for the promised good stuff from them.

  • DavidRI posted Jul 14, 2009 5:52 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    DavidRI

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 5:52 pm PT (hide)

    "So even Gamespot agrees that this is L4D 1.5"

    I think it's L4D .9

    Most action shooter give you a standard 8-10 hours of gameplay these days. L4D 1 was only 4-5 hours.

  • slayerken

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 10:00 am PT

    not really that exciting...juz add a few melee attack and some a short time upgrade to your weapons and a few new and maybe same map and different character. AND THATS ALL FOLKS A BRAND NEW "LEFT 4 DEAD 2" GAME WHICH COST 50 BUCKS. Not thank you, i rather stick to Killing Floor which much more better, cheaper and most all free update more new map!!!

  • Jooj

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 12:50 am PT

    Reading the comments here I can see I am not the only on here who feels ripped off. "OK so left for dead might be very low on content but there's bound to be LOADS of free DLC in the future, valve have even told us so, just like TF2" said the reviewers. And here we are, just a short time later, 1 lot of very average DLC and valve have abandoned it and expect us to fall for the same trick twice!?!?!? I paid £26 (about USD$50) for short lived and repetitive gameplay, little more than the game demo (which was mysteriously withdrawn on the day of release - no surprise there - there's not much new in the full game - despite the extra maps it's all the same) expecting plenty of DLC over the next few years and it was all lies lies lies! Buyer beware!

    Let's hope it's coming out as part of a new 'Amber Box' compilation including HL2 E3 in a similar fashion to TF2 (even though it came as part of a compilation, there's much much more replay value and entertainment to be had in TF2 than there ever was to L4D).

    Comments on video: so now we'll have 2 games each with 5 or so maps (woefully inadequate), how much better would it have been if we'd had 1 game with 10? And is it me or is Source, despite the improvements, looking distinctly 'old' these days?

  • jumper-man

    Posted Jul 13, 2009 10:24 pm PT

    For dalsinger,
    -the gameplay is fine as is. Like halo, it doesn't need to be changed
    -the artistic style is now more unique including better lighting, fog, and what's better art than flying lims and split jaws
    -game might seemed rushed, we will have to wait and see
    -characters
    L4D: office worker, war vet, college girl, biker
    L4D2:mechanic, Rough coach, news reporter studying the Savannah, con man
    I like the first survivors better, but I don't hate the new ones
    -You can only kill a zombie so many ways so they are expanding it why complain for making it better.

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