Come November 17 Valve is releasing a full-fledged sequel to Left 4 Dead, last year's zombie-laden cooperative hit. Left 4 Dead 2 promises to significantly expand upon the original with all-new maps, survivors, weapons, and a revamped AI director. It's an unexpected move for Valve in the eyes of many longtime fans, who have been accustomed to receiving content updates for free as DLC in the vein of Team Fortress 2.
At E3 I met up with Valve to give L4D 2 a spin and to find out if it was worthy of being called a sequel. One of the game's five campaigns, dubbed "The Parish," takes place in New Orleans, with the first chapter set on a sunny waterside dock. It's an refreshing change of atmosphere, one that deviates far from the original locales which ranged from cities to heavily wooded areas shrouded in darkness and dim light. Additionally, with a change in the overseeing AI director to allow for procedural changes in weather effects, players can expect atmospheric conditions to subtly adjust while playing.
To freshen up gameplay, melee weapons have been thrown into the mix, along with incendiary ammo. While I personally did not have a go with the flying pan, chopping up zombies with the fire axe present in this demo was very satisfying to say the least. Fresh blood from downed enemies soaks on your axe after a kill. Incendiary ammo works just as you'd expect, adding the attribute of fire to your weapon, in turn lighting opposing foes in flames on impact. To balance this addition, Valve has introduced an infected type donned in fire-resilient hazmat suits.
It may be a bit clich