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.

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. 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 appears to be identical to the original Left 4 Dead cover with the only difference being that the hand is only holding up two fingers, further signifying the number two.

Trivia
thumb|300px|right|Left 4 Dead 2 teaser trailer.
 * Judging by the balloons and other festivities decorating the streets, it appears as though the Infection hit during a celebration of sorts, perhaps Mardi Gras, since the trailer most likely takes place in New Orleans, where Mardi Gras is a major celebration.
 * It seems that Valve has not changed the Survivors' personalities to a great degree; they have what resembles a caring, elderly man (Coach), a news-caster (Rochelle), a young rebellious man (Ellis), and a witty, rich con-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/18-A Hornets flying over. This indicates that the military may make an active appearance for once in some way.
 * The game takes place about 2 weeks after the first game. This means that it took the virus four weeks to spread to the southern United States.
 * Hazmat-suit wearing zombies may indicate that scientists are trying to work on a cure.