So I think forced boredom keys a new level of bad mood for me.  I become irritable about everything.  Now is not the time to piss me off.

So it seems that the general consensus about Valve announcing their new title has gone abruptly berserk as of late.  Rock, Paper, Shotgun really puts it out there well:

“While there’s obviously going to be something of a fuss made over people’s expectations that L4D would be constantly expanded for free, following the TF2 model, it’s important to stress that while this is obviously still the same L4D core experience, it’s certainly not a bunch of new maps thrown into the old game. It’s a coherent new imagining of the game, this time bigger, smarter, and far more elaborate. Oh, and gloriously more gory.”

I also want to add that L4D has a SDK in which people can make maps for the 4 characters.  I like the direction Valve is taking with L4D2.  New ballgame, new characters, new technology, and new game play mechanics.

And for those of you that didn’t read the Rock Paper Shotgun article (which was really good may I add) here is the overview of the 4 survivors and our beloved infected.

“Left 4 Dead 2 takes place in the South of the USA, beginning in Savannah, eventually reaching New Orleans. There’s four new characters to play, each with back-stories to be hinted at in their conversations. Coach is a high school football coach from the Savannah area, used to leading the kids, comfortable in his life, and perhaps not enamoured by the arrival of a zombie attack. There’s Rochelle, from Cleveland originally, working for a cable news network. She’s producing a segment on this strange story occurring in Savannah, and gets caught up in the events. Ellis is a Southern boy mechanic, an enthusiastic but smart guy with a “Southern flair”. Finally there’s Nick, a gambler and a conman, unsure of his company and cynical about the events.”

I am also excited that the game will play in one of Georgia’s hometowns of Savannah.  Perhaps there is an Atlanta map in the works…

There is a ton of changes to game play mechanics like push sequences.  Remember those spots we could exploit to get through push events easily? Yeah, so do I, and so does Valve.  Push sequences will require you to make your way to distant points while fighting off ongoing hordes of zombies.

“Another very smart change is to prevent sneaky players from trying to sit out the triggered events. In those moments in L4D where you had to press a button that began a frantic attack until an elevator arrived, or a door opened, it seems too many were crouching in a corner together and waiting for it to all die down. L4D2 has plans to prevent such treachery. Now some of the events you start can only be stopped by reaching a further target. In an extremely tense sequence, we had to make our way through a labyrinth of alarmed cars to reach a distant point that would finally see the attack fade. Trying desperately to avoid hitting any of the cars, and thus making the situation far worse, while having to make constant forward progress, amped things up significantly.”

I also read that there are new infected in the works, but they are keeping the same.  There are new plans for a boss infected like the tank.  This new beast is called the charger.  He is featured in the video above, and well, you can see what is in store for you.  Oh and don’t forget the witch! She wanders now, so don’t think you are safe going around…. She may just be around that corner ready to rage out in all her menstrual glory.

There are also new weapons in store.  I am personally excited about the new melee weapons.  There is plans for what looks like a baseball bat, a chainsaw (yeah a chainsaw), a frying pan, and an axe.  What giddy fun we will have chopping up zombies to make our gumbo in the streets of New Orleans (post-Katrina of course).

Overall it looks like this game will shape up to be the next great installment that will cause people to go into fits of nerdrage (Because face it people…  There is NO pleasing a valve player let alone a TF2 player).  Hopefully this will deliver more of a punch and keep us begging for more like its predassor.

Without further adieu, here are a few game play videos I found while going around youtube. This will give you an idea of what the game (might) look like.

Looks like some awesome frying pan action. Keep in mind the game is probably no where near being finished.

That video gave you a brief glance of some of the hazmad infected. Yeah, they are fireproof! This also shows the new Uzi which looks sweet.

This video shows a push sequence at its best as I described above. Looks like a new combat auto shotgun as well!

This is the new incendiary ammo that will set infected on fire when you hit them.

Looks like the charger at the start of this video!

Nothing to really say about this one, same dude going off by himself getting himself into bad situations

Looks like that is all I could find.  Remember to comment, share your thoughts, and stay a while!