Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead 2, the sequel to Left 4 Dead, was announced by Valve Corporation at Microsoft's E3 '09 press conference on June 1st. According to Valve, the Infection has spread to the southern United States, where the sequel picks up. It will feature new Infected, new weapons (including melee weapons ), new items, five new campaigns which are said to connect unlike the original's, new Survivors, and one new gametype which has not yet been revealed. Its set release date is said to be November 17th, 2009—a day before Left 4 Dead ' s one year anniversary.

There are four new Survivors in Left 4 Dead 2; Nick, Ellis, Rochelle, and Coach.

Another feature which has been announced is new powers to the Director. Instead of just switching up where items and enemies spawn according to how players are doing, it can now completely rearrange the map's layout, turning places that would be simple into mazes with dead ends.

One of the aforementioned new Special Infected include something called The Charger. There are also Infected who were wearing hazmat suits when they were infected. Though they aren't shown to have any special abilities, they are immune to fire and incendiary weapons, giving them a definitive edge over other Common Infected who seem to be especially flammable. These new Infected are known as the Uncommon Common and it has been stated by Valve that each campaign will contain it's own unique variety. Of course, now that the antagonists are upping the ante, players get new weapons. Among the new ones shown are a silenced submachine gun (though it has no real effect on gameplay), a more accurate version of the assault rifle, and a scoped assault rifle. And a replication of a franchi SPAS12 There will also be melee weapons, including axes, frying pans, chainsaws, and a baseball bat. These will apparently have a one-hit kill on most Special Infected, but not the Tank or Witch, making them viable alternatives to firearms when trying to conserve ammo. Also mentioned are new items which can give players certain boosts and heavy advantages, such as incendiary bullets which set their target on fire. Unfortunately, once these special items are picked up, they must be used at that time; they cannot be saved for later use.

There are five new campaigns in Left 4 Dead 2, and all of which are said to connect to one another in a story. They all take place in the southern United States, evidently starting around Savannah, Georgia and eventually moving up to New Orleans, Louisana. According to Valve employee Chet Faliszek, the Savannah area hasn't yet been hit by the Infection. The game will feature both day and night throughout the campaigns, possibly meaning that the Survivors' travels to the eventual rescue vehicle take even longer than before. This change of setting will also affect the way certain Infected behave. One big example is the Witch. In Left 4 Dead, it is always seen crying, although in the original it is always night throughout the campaigns. However, at night in the sequel, she still cries and sits in one place, but in the daytime, she wanders around the streets, making for a recipe for disaster if she's disturbed.

It has been mentioned that Valve is considering adding the original four campaigns to Left 4 Dead 2, in order to make things easier on consumers.

The Cover
The cover of the Left 4 Dead 2 appears to be identical to the original Left 4 Dead cover, the hand was modeled once again by the hand model Andrea Wicklund, the idea was to create an hand that has another 2 bitten fingers along with the famous original bitten thumb with the famous software Adobe Photoshop to create an hand that is only holding up two finders, further signifying the number two, the background's color has also been changed to a lighter shade of green.

Around June 2009 the ESRB told Valve that the new cover is unacceptable, and the idea was changed to tucking the two bitten fingers behind the hand to create the illusion that model's fingers were missing, yet strangely still leaving the bitten thumb.


 * The ESRB was asked why they still allowed the new cover with yet only one missing finger, yet not accepting three, they have chosen not to comment.

Trivia
thumb|300px|right|Left 4 Dead 2 teaser trailer.
 * As seen by the banner in the opening scenes of the teaser, the infection seems to have hit during the "Louisiana Fall Festiva".
 * It seems that Valve has not changed the Survivors' personalities to a great degree; they have what resembles a caring, elderly man (Coach), an interested female (Rochelle), a rebellious motorist (Ellis), and a casual, rich man (Nick).
 * Zombies seem to be able to have missing limbs as seen in the trailer, whereas in Left 4 Dead, they die when their limbs are blown off. This could mean that the virus has begun to strengthen its victims to a degree.
 * It takes place in the fall as seen in a banner in the beginning
 * One can see what appears to be the Army bombing the infected, and that these are breaking through fenced barriers, implying Valve's statement that New Orleans had been until now relatively safe from the infection.
 * If you watch in the beginning, you can see three F/A-18C Hornets flying over. This indicates that the military may make an active appearance for once in some way.
 * The game takes place about 1 week after the first game.
 * Hazmat-suit wearing zombies may indicate that scientists are trying to work on a cure or tried to prevent getting infected. It is entirely possible that they are CEDA workers attempting to do the aforementioned.
 * The infected seem to be smarter and more aware of their surroundings as they seem to take notice to the jets and appear to be running from the explosions.
 * In the trailer, a zombie, possibly being shot, has similar clothes(Pink jacket) and hair (black, pony tail) of that of Zoey's. This has spread rumors that Zoey and possibly other Survivors will appear someway in left 4 dead 2 such as an easter egg or unlockable costume. This is known to also possibly give a slight hint that Left 4 Dead levels will appear also.