Left 4 Dead 2 Demo Released!

kineaesth

kineaesth

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Well I wouldn't say it has been the smoothest of launches I've seen from Valve over the years, but the Left 4 Dead 2 Demo has finally been unlocked on Steam. Be aware there will be chaos with servers for a while.[br]The demo will include the first two maps from The Parish campaign (The Waterfront & The Park), all available melee weapons and new special infected. Note the demo is only available to those who pre-purchased L4D2, the demo will become fully public from 3rd November. Go play and...[br]
ellis.jpg
[br]Kill all sons a' bitches​
[br]Also I'd like to mention that we have a YouTube group now, so you can upload your videos and submit them to the group homepage, so other members can vote and comment on your fail moments. Submit your gameplay videos here.
 
That is my birthday. And Gabe's. Maybe I'll ask for the demo as a birthday present.
 
Finally! Decrypting, 30% complete.

/me hopes there are no other complications.
 
Hmm, mine was stuck 30% too, for a while, but it started up again... 44%.
 
seems to take for ever to get past the 30% mark
 
It took about half hour to get through the 2 maps on normal.. guess it will be longer on harder settings but seems rather short? Ohwell..

Definatly has a differant "feel" from the first L4D. I like the melee weapons :D
 
Really fun so far, used the shotgun, mac10, silenced version, assault shottie, ak47, magnum, normal pistol, guitar, machete, night stick & frying pan. Mollys and pipes are the same (except the explosions are much better). Bile bombs are really fun too, adrenalin isn't massively useful.

Played with Brick, Dekstar and Burton...I think Dekky got a defib but we never used it. 2 maps are full of interesting mini objectives. The alarm bit is terrifying and tricky.

Melee really adds a lot, I'm not sure why. I had great fun playing this, it feels distinctly different to L4D and you have a lot more options to approach crescendos and general zombie fighting. That freedom has added some extra depth to it which should make this a success.
 
Felt odd at first, but then I realised it had put the wrong Vsync setting on, which behaves funny with my system, fixing that made everything awsome though.

The weapons are great, the melee weapons feel different from each other, I found the machete best for a straight up horde situation. Didnt see a tank so used the bile bomb on a large pack and watched them beat each other to death.

At first the Riot-Cop zombies didnt seem so bad, but during the alarm sequence I got into an odd position with one against a wall, and taking it out was a nightmare, the screen got so covered in blood from the horde I could barely see when he was on his back let along shoot it lol.

The first map has a small route which changes randomly when the map spawns, similar to cs_havana, if all the maps have subtle points like that, it could make some interesting moments when running from a tank.
 
First impressions? Shrug. A tilt of the head. Hrm. It’s not bad; I didn’t hate it – far from – and I will certainly be playing the game on release, but I’m not entirely sure I was particularly enjoying myself all that much (at least for the most part). Those that held fears of it being expansionist in nature will find justification here in this brief demo sojourn, and I can’t say I blame them. It is, after all, Left-4-Dead. We’re operating within the same framework – a framework built on an existing, unaltered foundation. But we already knew that. It was just a case of expanding that framework, and for the most part, Left-4-Dead 2 does it very well. Not perfectly, and not really in any special way, but very well all the same.

Initially, I wasn’t in any way taken with the apocalyptic, zombie-ridden New Orleans that Valve had created. It was, as one player commented, almost sterile, and the daylight ambience was instantly targeted as the corrupter. I was inclined to agree. This lukewarm impression did not last long, however – as I grew accustomed to the surroundings, I felt myself falling into the decadence of this nightmarish district, the palpable morning heat growing as we progressed. Toward the end, the vistas start to open up, revealing the extent of the devastation – nothing at all new to L4D, but I found it all the more involving than previously. Distance had crept up behind me, something that the original never quite accomplished.

I really did intend to write more, but I am exhausted. Generally, I wasn’t too impressed with the gameplay as a whole; the weapons are intentionally clunky, but I find it unpleasant, and this impacts my enjoyment of the combat quite considerably. The only new infected to possess any panache would be the Charger – it’s a genuinely fine creation. I would probably go so far as to call the demo average if it wasn’t for the excellent finale: the reversal of the previous gameplay mechanic, and the idea of forward progress as opposed to the standstill, works, in every way. Jolly good fun.

-New characters are a bunch of clowns.
 
Samon said:
I wasn’t too impressed with the gameplay as a whole; the weapons are intentionally clunky, but I find it unpleasant, and this impacts my enjoyment of the combat quite considerably.
Click to expand...

This. Something feels off about the weapons, maybe I'm just so used to the ones from L4D1? In particular the shotgun bothered me, feels different than the one from the first game. Guess I just need to get used to it.
 
SpiderPig said:
It took about half hour to get through the 2 maps on normal.. guess it will be longer on harder settings but seems rather short? Ohwell..
Click to expand...

I remember gunning through the L4D No Mercy demo chapters in about 15 minutes on my first proper sit down with the game. That isn't a boast, just an observation. I generally find the first two chapters of a L4D level to be quite short.
 
The demo is amazing, except its running sooo bad for me. I even turned the settings down much lower than I have them for l4d 1 (maxed out)..I should upgrade my drivers so hopefully that fixes it. Should run great on my comp (q6600, 8800gts, 2 gb ram) eh idk
 
diluted said:
This. Something feels off about the weapons, maybe I'm just so used to the ones from L4D1? In particular the shotgun bothered me, feels different than the one from the first game. Guess I just need to get used to it.
Click to expand...

That first shotgun lacks the kick of the previous shotgun, but the other weapons are spot on. That's one of the aspects I like is that there's some variety in weapons outside of the standard shotgun -> better shotgun, automatic weapon -> better automatic weapon. You have some choice. Melee weapons are fun and a good addition, I just don't think they have any big advantage over projectile weapons. Great if you run out of ammo though.

Uncommon commons really great addition since they drastically increase the difficulty of the standard horde. The SWAT guys are really devastating if you're on the ground because they'll pummel you with no way to stop them. They're pretty tough dispersed in hordes as well. Chargers are brutal if you don't see them coming. Spitters are pretty rough just because they block paths and can really screw up a group that's close together. Jockeys honestly are the worst of the new special mobs. It seems that they'll stay out of the way until the worst possible time and then jump you and run you right into a fire or a horde with a boomer or just an all around bad place. Also, they're a lot harder to hit than other specials because they're moving the whole time and above the standard level of fire. You're just as likely to shoot your teammate as hit the damn thing. All three are well placed though.

The available level isn't really too great aesthetically, but in overall design it is wonderful. I, like others, am not too pleased with the daylight/twilight, but the range of open and closed areas and the great finale-style sequence are great additions. The "open" areas aren't open like in the original L4D, but so open they really feel like you have multiple paths. Namely the area in the second chapter where you go through the statue park. The best parts of the map in my opinion are the little pointless additions, like the jukebox early on in the first chapter that is fully functional. I like stuff like that.

Mind you I did all of this on expert because I rarely played the original on anything else so I see no reason to break the trend. Also, I've been on hiatus from L4D for a couple of months so I think that a fresh perspective has made things a little more exciting. It's hard to say it's all 100% an upgrade from the original since there are some fundamental changes that make it so it's not necessarily possible. I can say that I enjoy it and I think everyone I was playing with did too. I am excited to see more uncommon commons, weapons, and maps that are more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
 
I didn't preorder, so I would like to ask a question.


What happens if you Defib an alive witch?
 
I dont know if its my pc or the game, but it stutters for a bit every minute or so. Its like a looping sound, the screen freezes, then 5 or 10 seconds later it resumes to normal
 
Operational said:
Really been enjoying the demo.
Click to expand...

Impossible. The Australian release has been absolutely butchered, a shadow of its former self.

Allow me to summarise for those of you not in Australia enjoying your otherwise perfectly average versions:

- Zombies bleed. That's all. There's no dismemberment of any sort - no limb loss, no headshots, nothing.
- Every corpse you are the cause of will immediately fade. Immediately. One of the most detracting and utterly stupid things I have ever seen in my life. Portal has more questionable content than this wreck of an edit.

Other than that, the game is quite good. Not great, but the definite extra layer of Valve Polish(tm) which was somewhat lacking in the original is definitely present.
 
The things they do to get past your rating system. So it's impossible to have a normal version gifted to you or trick steam into thinking you're in a different country? I wonder if you delete the local content then maybe someone from elsewhere could mail you a backup of the full version. Or import a box version from elsewhere if possible.
 
Avoidist said:
Impossible. The Australian release has been absolutely butchered, a shadow of its former self.
Click to expand...
It's a good thing I didn't buy an Australian version then, isn't it ;)

I took a look at the Aus version on Youtube and it isn't pretty, here is hoping we'll soon see a "gore-mod" to restore the Aus versions to their proper glory.

DEATHMASTER said:
So it's impossible to have a normal version gifted to you or trick steam into thinking you're in a different country?
Click to expand...
Steam Gifting from another country works (thats how I got mine).
I hear that importing a physical copy from another country also works.
 
It's time to play

WOW! Wasn't expecting that female boomer to appear out of nowhere
 
meh...I only got L4D when it was on sale I don't think I wanna spend another $50 on something that's almost the same...maybe around xmas.
 
David.Seth2 said:
I dont know if its my pc or the game, but it stutters for a bit every minute or so. Its like a looping sound, the screen freezes, then 5 or 10 seconds later it resumes to normal
Click to expand...

I had the same problem, I flipped around a bunch of settings but I Think it was the vsync that fixed it for me. I've always had issues when vsync is on and they have it on by default.
 
I found what I think was a magnum, good to see they're adding variety to the pistols as well. It had 8 rounds a clip, and was pretty powerful. It leaves me curious though what would happen if combined with a normal pistol?

Edit: Just found out, you can't duel wield with it.
 
My impressions (played on PC):

Source is aging beautifully. The character models all look great, especially in the faces, which look more alive this time around than in L4D1. They've struck an amazing balance with the eyes as well, which I think has a lot to do with it. Facial expressions are still some of the best in the business, which I wish more games would pick up on.

The common infected feel like they have more weight to them this time around and look quite a bit better. The gore and damage feedback is spot on, and the zombies being able to lose limbs and keep on trucking is great as well. (I'm excited to try realism mode when it's available, as I expect that to be even more pronounced when headshots matter more.) The glow-in-the-dark/reflect-flashlight eyes are awesomely creepy.

The special infected work together much, much better this time around; it had gotten to the point where the specials were no big deal in L4D1 campaigns, even on expert, except for nasty tank/witch placements. The specials comboed quite well, with the jockey and smoker often setting up the boomer, spitter, or charger for bigger hits. The spitter quickly got us out of our corner camping habit and wreaked havoc in some narrow hallways.

The moving crescendos should make for some good times. We've already been faced with some "go back for your buddy now and keep all 4 together or hurry up, shut off the alarm to stop the flood, then go back and hope they're still alive" decisions that just weren't present in 1. Corner camping like an octopus wasn't fun.

I'm a bit confused on previous posters' comments about the weapons feeling clunky. I didn't find that at all. There's a very obvious upgrade in power from the tier 1 to tier 2 weapons now, with the tier 2 weapons having a very satisfying variety, all shooting quite differently yet all feeling useful depending on how you want to play. (e.g., one of the new shotguns has a huge spread to it but not much distance, making it even more nasty than the auto-shotty from 1 up close and over a wider frontal cone, but reducing effectiveness at range greatly. It's a great gun for run-and-gun crescendos but there's no way you're getting that smoker off your buddy from across the map. I think this will make for a few more diverse group weapon choices in versus.)

I actually thought the start of sunset was quite beautiful (nice lighting), and the maps seemed fine for the first 2 of a campaign. I definitely felt like I could see farther which led to a bigger feeling of desolation. The jukebox was a nice touch: having a horde swarm us as soon as Jonathan Coulton's RE: Your Brains got to "here's an FYI: you're all gonna die" shows that Valve still hasn't lost their sense of humor, and I'm excited to see what people do with the new hooks in the AI director, especially in custom campaigns.

I think the campaigns will have a bit longer legs than L4D1's did since it sounds like they're going to be meatier and longer, but I'm expecting to spend most of my playtime in the versus modes once we've beaten all of the campaigns on expert. The new SI and weapons should give versus quite a bit more depth to explore.

So, so far, very positive impressions. I won't really be able to tell much more until we have the full thing.
 
Pros: looks awesome - detailed maps - more variety of weapons - charger is great - melee weapons are great (though I've only seen 4 in the demo - machete, night stick, frying pan, guitar) - adrenaline lets you heal super fast, which is very useful.

Cons: characters don't say much (and when they do it's something stupid or irrelevant), aren't too likeable - spitter is a joke, very easily avoidable and killed - the weapons feel the same, just look different - gore gets old very quickly, melee is fun though.

Though I'll have to wait until the full game until I come to any conclusions.
 
All of this is good to hear...unfortunately, I like to buy games after playing the demo, so I'll have to wait until the 3rd to try this out. Until then, I'm playing L4D1 to give it a "send off" of sorts.
 
I didn't know adrenaline effected healing speed, thats good to know.

I have noticed I run out of ammo more than in L4D1, this may simply be due to the fact I dont know where all the ammo stashes are yet, but I find myself swapping weapons quite frequently.

The speacial infected are fairly easy to deal with alone, but they seem to team up more than they did previously, the Jocky often runs people into boomers or spitter acid if it gets the chance. Also the spitter likes to fire acid onto incapactiated people, which means you have to wait before reviving.

I am really ooking forward to seeing how Versus plays with all the new options.
 
I just pre-ordered on Steam, going to download the demo (hopefully around 2 hrs from now i can play it) but I'm glad to be getting it $20 cheaper than on xbox
 
I like how the tank changes targets once he's incapped someone rather than just stand there hitting whoevers on the floor taking bullets. Makes him much challenging by the looks of it, will come in handy when AI tank takes over in vs mode :)

Only played a few minutes into the first level myself, not had chance to play it, but it seems like i'll love it. Can't wait for the full game. Going to be playing Scavenge mode tomorrow at the Eurogamer Expo! :D
 
Ren.182 said:
I like how the tank changes targets once he's incapped someone rather than just stand there hitting whoevers on the floor taking bullets. Makes him much challenging by the looks of it, will come in handy when AI tank takes over in vs mode :)

Only played a few minutes into the first level myself, not had chance to play it, but it seems like i'll love it. Can't wait for the full game. Going to be playing Scavenge mode tomorrow at the Eurogamer Expo! :D
Click to expand...

The tank seems to only do this when someone is relatively near by and/or shooting at him. It may work somewhat similarly to an aggro table (for those familiar with MMOs) or it could just be some scripted AI randomize deal. Nice touch regardless.
 
StarBob said:
The tank seems to only do this when someone is relatively near by and/or shooting at him. It may work somewhat similarly to an aggro table (for those familiar with MMOs) or it could just be some scripted AI randomize deal. Nice touch regardless.
Click to expand...

Either way its good. If nobody is near/shooting at him, guy on the floor dies. If someone is near/shooting at him, he'll go for them leaving the guy on the floor open to attack by specials. Either way is good for me :)
 
Samon said:
First impressions? Shrug. A tilt of the head. Hrm. It’s not bad; I didn’t hate it – far from – and I will certainly be playing the game on release, but I’m not entirely sure I was particularly enjoying myself all that much (at least for the most part). Those that held fears of it being expansionist in nature will find justification here in this brief demo sojourn, and I can’t say I blame them. It is, after all, Left-4-Dead. We’re operating within the same framework – a framework built on an existing, unaltered foundation. But we already knew that. It was just a case of expanding that framework, and for the most part, Left-4-Dead 2 does it very well. Not perfectly, and not really in any special way, but very well all the same.

Initially, I wasn’t in any way taken with the apocalyptic, zombie-ridden New Orleans that Valve had created. It was, as one player commented, almost sterile, and the daylight ambience was instantly targeted as the corrupter. I was inclined to agree. This lukewarm impression did not last long, however – as I grew accustomed to the surroundings, I felt myself falling into the decadence of this nightmarish district, the palpable morning heat growing as we progressed. Toward the end, the vistas start to open up, revealing the extent of the devastation – nothing at all new to L4D, but I found it all the more involving than previously. Distance had crept up behind me, something that the original never quite accomplished.

I really did intend to write more, but I am exhausted. Generally, I wasn’t too impressed with the gameplay as a whole; the weapons are intentionally clunky, but I find it unpleasant, and this impacts my enjoyment of the combat quite considerably. The only new infected to possess any panache would be the Charger – it’s a genuinely fine creation. I would probably go so far as to call the demo average if it wasn’t for the excellent finale: the reversal of the previous gameplay mechanic, and the idea of forward progress as opposed to the standstill, works, in every way. Jolly good fun.

-New characters are a bunch of clowns.
Click to expand...

Lol save the intricate review for the actual release, smarty. Note to self: always expect others to speak in tones similar to that of playing the FULL game even if the small demo was all that was released.

i haven't played the demo, but i understand Samon's point. But you know me, i take every criticism and praise with a grain of salt.
 
I enjoyed the 30 minute demo for what it was.

Also anyone expecting L4D2 to change their mind on the L4D game is brain damaged. It's clearly the same framework with more stuff, which is what Valve said they were doing all along. I don't have a problem with that.
 
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