Left 4 Dead 2 Gameplay Videos & RPS Podcast

[Wang Tang]

Free content is a bonus, an addition, a commodity - it is not something to be expected or demanded.

The thing is, in recent years, we indeed became used to expect this from Valve. It's not all about short time profit for a company. E.g. nowadays, much more money is spent on advertising a brand than on advertising certain products.

In the case of free updates and content for game, it helps keeping users at bay, build up a good image among it's userbase, who then spread out the word how cool this company is => more copies sold.

So, this is a surprising move from Valve, and I can't yet see how they will justify this to L4D 1 buyers. Therefore I understand much of the irritation people have with this announcement. Then again, Valve has surprised us more than one time in the past years, so we'll see how this will work out.

But nvm, I haven't even played the original L4D, and won't be getting L4D2 - zombies are so last millennium

Oh, and btw, I think most of the criticism here is quite reasonable and much less "whinery" than on the steampowered forums.

 

[MacBowes]

Orange Box 2 announcement in less than an hour.

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST

 

[Sledgehammer]

Samon made a wise post.

I think it all comes down to this: Is this different enough from L4D1 to warrant a purchase? I'd say yes, because if I can spend another 70 hours on this, then it's worth it.

I find that really funny, considering many of the people who will be able to buy it are spoiled little children who waste money like water. Any reasonable person can see the scam here.

Actually, I think that L4D2 will be worth buying, just for the better community surrounding it.

 

[FoxFire]

A word on people bitching and whining about L4D2 not being released as DLC:

Free content is a bonus, an addition, a commodity - it is not something to be expected or demanded. Valve are a company; they are not contractually bound to deliver anything of a sort (though they often do), and it is in their interest to receive income - it surprises me how many of you people can't quite grasp this very basic, everyday concept. Anything - anything - received for free, regardless of promise, is a luxury. You are being asked to pay for a sequel a year later after the release of the first. Is that so repulsive an idea to you?

This is not Steampowered. I expect more from the community on this forum, but it would appear the ability to analyse the recent news in a reasonable manner is beyond some of you. If you wish to voice your idiotic ravings on the subject of DLC and/or would like to compare Valve to EA, please vacate to the aforementioned play pen - there is a standard here, and it does not involve the deluge of horse manure that is some of the posts I am having to read.

A word to people who think honest criticism is whinning and bitching:

Valve has built themselves up in the gaming community as a company who cares about their product and about their customer. Often, they'll take a tremendous amount of time to release a finished product, and then come to support it with updates for the years fallowing. Now, even though this isn't a requirement for their product, they've almost built this up as a requirement for themselves to uphold. I'm not saying Valve must give free content because we want it, but if you got off your pedestal for a moment you can see where these unhappy customers are coming from. It's an expectation they've set up for themselves.

Secondly, L4D has been a completely different game for Valve since the get-go. They poured millions of dollars campaigning the hell out of L4D. So much so that it became more known then their flagship series Half-Life.

Another peculiar thing Valve did was label L4D2 as a "sequel". I think this is the thing that is making the most fans angry at the moment. Up to now, Valve labeled things as sequels only when they were truly sequels. L4D2 may have many, many improvements over the original, but it's on the same engine (slightly tweeked) and uses lots of the same resources (art, weapons, sounds, etc). This is a completely new move for Valve and has left some of its fans scratching their heads.

Maybe some of you will find the content enough to warrant the sequel, but I will remain skeptical for now. Hopefully what you will take away from this post is that just because Valve is going to release something doesn't make it instantly gold.

And Samon, people can have dissenting opinions without being raving idiots.

(I expect lots of flames over this. Having criticisms about a Valve product does not tend to go over so well here.)

 

[Eejit]

If they're illinformed criticism. Valve aren't stopping their support or free content, not even for L4D1. This is simply a new game, nothing more nothing less.

 

[Asknoone]

A word to people who think honest criticism is whinning and bitching:

Valve has built themselves up in the gaming community as a company who cares about their product and about their customer. Often, they'll take a tremendous amount of time to release a finished product, and then come to support it with updates for the years fallowing. Now, even though this isn't a requirement for their product, they've almost built this up as a requirement for themselves to uphold. I'm not saying Valve must give free content because we want it, but if you got off your pedestal for a moment you can see where these unhappy customers are coming from. It's an expectation they've set up for themselves.

Secondly, L4D has been a completely different game for Valve since the get-go. They poured millions of dollars campaigning the hell out of L4D. So much so that it became more known then their flagship series Half-Life.

Another peculiar thing Valve did was label L4D2 as a "sequel". I think this is the thing that is making the most fans angry at the moment. Up to now, Valve labeled things as sequels only when they were truly sequels. L4D2 may have many, many improvements over the original, but it's on the same engine (slightly tweeked) and uses lots of the same resources (art, weapons, sounds, etc). This is a completely new move for Valve and has left some of its fans scratching their heads.

Maybe some of you will find the content enough to warrant the sequel, but I will remain skeptical for now. Hopefully what you will take away from this post is that just because Valve is going to release something doesn't make it instantly gold.

And Samon, people can have dissenting opinions without being raving idiots.

(I expect lots of flames over this. Having criticisms about a Valve product does not tend to go over so well here.)

I have seen very little honest criticism; indeed, y'know, skip a few pages back in this or one of the other threads, and I was denouncing the direction of L4D2 - I find its direction tacky and untasteful. L4D embraced the b-movie cliché, but at a limit. L4D2 is going very much over those limits. I mean, chainsaws - chainsaws. But unfortunately, the majority of the criticism has been unfounded nonsense and, as I said, it has no place on this forum ("valve r Ea omgz").

In terms of it warranting a sequel, I certainly think Valve are justified in touting it as such. Yes, it's an immediate move, and yes, it is at odds with Valve's philosophy, but ultimately, we don't actually know in what form it will be released. It is still relatively early days.

 

[MJ12]

Man, I have always rooted for Valve. But it's like you can't express discontent or hesitation on this forum over some of their decisions without being a whining ingrate. Granted, the batches of perpetual naysayers that spring up whenever Valve does anything don't help.

I've picked up every one of their games at release sans L4D. I think I'm allowed to have a differing perspective on this.

This.


My "beef" with L4D2 is not that it isn't a DLC, I could give a rat's arse about that, they give us free stuff all the time, and I am grateful for that.

My problem isn't that it is a Sequel either, it's that it doesn't look like a good sequel.
Even though it is still in it's development stages, everything they've shown us has seemed tacked on, and way below Valve standards in terms of creativity, especially for a whole new game.

(One small example of this is when I saw/and heard about one of the new bosses in the podcast. What was it... the Charger? Man, I really hope there are some much, much more creative bosses than that.)
I cannot ever, in my time (but now), recall a moment when I saw a preview for a new Valve game and thought "That does not look interesting"

 

[leib10]

I thought the Charger was lame too. I remember Chet saying, "It charges you!". Well, no shit, so do the rest of the damned zombies!

 

[NeoNight]

There better be like eight new special infected or something. Lots of new guns/melee weapons, I mean lots.

 

[MJ12]

There better be like eight new special infected or something. Lots of new guns/melee weapons, I mean lots.

This is the exact thing Valve is going to though, which is why it looks so dull.

"Uh, lots of weapons...... new zombies, that'll please um?"

 

[Absinthe]

Am I the only one who finds it odd that Valve can finish and release Left 4 Dead, then start work on and announce the release date for it's sequel, and throughout that time there's no peep on Ep3 - a game that was supposed to have started parallel development alongside Ep2?

A sequel versus an episode.

Just something to think about.

 

[Maturin]

Is it set in the South or something? Imho the more Source games with an atmosphere as authentic and unique as Half-Life 2, the better.

 

[MultiVaC]

Is anyone else not so much bothered by the business decision as much as the fact that the game looks really, really bad? Did anyone hear the ho-down zombie rush music? Did anyone notice that the characters look and sound like cartoon characters? Or the complete lack of any atmosphere whatsoever?

 

[Operational]

Valve aren't stopping their support or free content, not even for L4D1.

I don't know how Valve can keep L4D1 updated with L4D2 around without just giving L4D1 features of L4D2. Thus decreasing the value of the sequel by increasing the similarities between the two.

 

[Eejit]

Oh well if you don't know how then it just can't be done.

 

[Operational]

Oh well if you don't know how then it just can't be done.

Let's see. L4D2 features:

• New Weapons
• New Common Infected
• New Special Infected
• New Maps
• New Characters
• New Items
• New Gamemode
• Melee Weapons
• Enhanced Witch
• Enhanced AID

Jeeze that almost sounds like every aspect of L4D :dozey:
L4D1 can't have anything unique added to it because it would undermine L4D2. Plus there is a strong possibility that L4D2 will contain all of L4D1's content anyway so even something like new Francis dialogue would find its way into the Sequel. From there anything added to L4D is just going to make it more like L4D2.

 

[MJ12]

You can't argue, there's no way, what so ever L4D2 could be a bad game!

You're just a whiner! It's made by Valve!

 

[Frits]

I have seen very little honest criticism; indeed, y'know, skip a few pages back in this or one of the other threads, and I was denouncing the direction of L4D2 - I find its direction tacky and untasteful. L4D embraced the b-movie cliché, but at a limit. L4D2 is going very much over those limits. I mean, chainsaws - chainsaws.

Just what I was thinking.

Plus, I'm not much a fan of blood and gore, but I bought L4D(1) because of the very strong multiplayer aspect - my entire Steam friends list consists of people I've played L4D with. And blood & gore apparently is what we'll get even more with L2D(4) - I mean, just look at the start of the teaser. Oh, and axes & frying pans? I think I'll pass.

So, that would be my criticism: over-the-top blood & gore, so why not focus more on (new) multiplayer stuff?

More founded criticism? Just look at the trailer. More gore, more violence. Broad daylight. Afro-Americans. I thought I was looking at RE5, actually. Why make it seem like a lookalike?

Even more founded criticism? No tension in daylight settings (already said btw), bland sounding weaponry (also said), new survivor characters just not leaving a good impression on me. I don't say this because I like to be a copycat, but because of what it made me think of: this is an unpolished game which doesn't have many more months before release. I just didn't get the feeling this is a smart move on Valve's part. And I pity that, because I am a Valve enthusiast.

 

[Frits]

Is anyone else not so much bothered by the business decision as much as the fact that the game looks really, really bad? Did anyone hear the ho-down zombie rush music? Did anyone notice that the characters look and sound like cartoon characters? Or the complete lack of any atmosphere whatsoever?

Oh yes, I forgot. Add that to the list; makes a hefty amount of serious and founded criticism.

 

[Sledgehammer]

So, that would be my criticism: over-the-top blood & gore, so why not focus more on (new) multiplayer stuff?

There's an unannounced game mode. Charger is a playable infected, which, as far as I see it, encourages teamplay for the infected. The director's ability to change the maps will probably encourage teamplay more, both for survivors and infected (if playing versus).

No tension in daylight settings (already said btw)

Supposedly, the infected can see you from farther away, which means it'll be higher tempo than nighttime. You're probably right that's it's less scary, but L4D is not a scary game as such, so I don't expect major changes in scare factor. The fog effect in L4D makes infected visible from very long range as well. Also, there'll be bayou levels.

bland sounding weaponry (also said)

I think I'll agree on this. The shotguns look very unfinished. Both the standard and the auto (I think those are the ones shown in the gameplay videos so far). The models also appear to be identical (see video at shacknews). Not a fan of the chainsaw either, and hopefully the baseball bat won't be extremely cartoony. The new light smg is, in my opinion, awesome. I'll have to try incendiary ammunition to know if I like it or not.

* New Weapons
* New Common Infected
* New Special Infected
* New Maps
* New Characters
* New Items
* New Gamemode
* Melee Weapons
* Enhanced Witch
* Enhanced AID

You forgot Character Development and that the 5 campaigns are properly connected this time.

 

[Eejit]

Let's see. L4D2 features:

• New Weapons
• New Common Infected
• New Special Infected
• New Maps
• New Characters
• New Items
• New Gamemode
• Melee Weapons
• Enhanced Witch
• Enhanced AID

Jeeze that almost sounds like every aspect of L4D :dozey:
L4D1 can't have anything unique added to it because it would undermine L4D2. Plus there is a strong possibility that L4D2 will contain all of L4D1's content anyway so even something like new Francis dialogue would find its way into the Sequel. From there anything added to L4D is just going to make it more like L4D2.

Yeah if they're making new campaigns and maps for the sequel it's impossible to make some for the original too, amirite? :dozey:

I don't know where you're pulling this "strong possibility" of containing L4D1 from, sounds like it's straight out of your ass though.

 

[Operational]

Yeah if they're making new campaigns and maps for the sequel it's impossible to make some for the original too, amirite? :dozey:

I don't know where you're pulling this "strong possibility" of containing L4D1 from, sounds like it's straight out of your ass though.

Chet noted that they were discussing including the original four Left 4 Dead campaigns with Left 4 Dead 2.

http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/988/988416p2.html

Chet also mentioned it in at least one other interview that I'm aware of.

 

[Absinthe]

It doesn't really matter if they update Left 4 Dead. The sequel is supposed to be superior by design. How many are going to stick around to take advantage of the new content if most of the player base has switched over, and will certainly be getting their post-release updates and additions any way. Besides, with Valve's sequel out the door and requiring tending, I doubt L4D will receive the same kind of updates as it would have had the next game not been pending yet.

Maybe it will get some new achievements added to it.