valve

As you’ve probably noticed; I don’t review games very often.

To be honest it’s rare I get the chance to play – but there is one FPS that keeps, quite literally, dragging me back – Valve’s award winning Left4Dead!

To my joy Left 4 Dead 2 has been announced at Microsoft’s E3 conference as an Xbox 360 console exclusive.

It’s a completely new chapter of the game that takes the struggle against the horde to the southern bayou – it also has a focus on melee weapons – YUM!

I’m talking everything from chainsaws and axes to frying pans and baseball bats.

Don’t worry shooters – there’s also an updated range of firearms

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 and each has a Valve top-notch back story.

• 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.
• 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”.
• Nick, a gambler and a conman, unsure of his company and cynical about the events.

We’re also treated to some new infected – the only ones I have names for are the Wandering Witch (great – I have problems enough with the static singing weirdo!) and the Charger.

The Charger, by all accounts, is somewhere between the lovely Tank and a regular infected.  His weapon is a large mutant arm which he shoulder barges everyone with.  How impolite!

The game, due to launch on Xbox 360 and PC on November 17th, will also include new boss zombies, new survivors (seen above), and “more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, and maps for Survival mode available at launch.”

Up next is the Press Release but below that is the fabby video trailer

PRESS RELEASE

VALVE ANNOUNCES LEFT 4 DEAD 2

Sequel to Best-Selling Co-op Thriller Coming This Holiday

June 1, 2009 – Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2), the sequel to the best-selling and critically-acclaimed co-operative multiplayer thriller.

Coming exclusively to Xbox 360 and PC, L4D2 promises to set a new benchmark for co-operative action games and become one of 2009’s marquee titles.

“A large part of how Left 4 Dead became 2008’s top-selling new IP on Xbox 360 and the PC was the custom-tailored gameplay made possible by the AI Director,” said Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve. “With the knowledge gained from creating the original, new technology, and a passionate team, L4D2 will set a new benchmark for cooperative action games.”

Set for release on November 17, the title adds melee combat to enable deeper co-operative gameplay, with items such as a chainsaw, frying pan, axe, baseball bat, and more.

Introducing the AI Director 2.0, L4D’s dynamic gameplay is taken to the next level by giving the Director the ability to procedurally change weather effects, world objects, and pathways in addition to tailoring the enemy population, effects, and sounds to match the players’ performance. The result is a unique game session custom fitted to provide a satisfying and uniquely challenging experience each time the game is played.

Featuring new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, Left 4 Dead 2 offers a much larger game than the original with more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, and maps for Survival mode available at launch.

Supported by a $10+ million marketing campaign, Left 4 Dead has sold over 2.5 million retail copies since it was released in November of 2008. Left 4 Dead 2 is targeted for release on Xbox 360 and the PC on November 17, 2009, and will be launched worldwide with a multi-million dollar marketing campaign across TV, Outdoor, and Online.

“Left 4 Dead was backed by our most aggressive advertising campaign to date, and resulted in a top 5 showing on two platforms during holiday 2008,” said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve. “Left 4 Dead 2 is a larger game and will be supported with even more consumer and retail advertising programs than the original.”

Left 4 Dead 2 will be featured as the cover story on PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazines this month. For more information, please visit www.l4d.com

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