Only on the internet are you going to get such a passionate furor over a game that has yet to be released. One of the bigger surprises at this year's E3 event was that Valve's new born baby [as of last year November], Left 4 Dead, would be getting a sequel by November this year. Battle lines have be drawn. Pitchforks are sharpened and raised. Go on over to the Steam forums and take a good look at what the mere announcing of a sequel can cause fans [on both sides] to take some pretty bold stances. On one end there are dedicated fans who have one 100% faith that if and when Left 4 Dead 2 comes out, it will be a quality product. On the other end of the spectrum, there are gamers who demand that Left 4 Dead continue to be fully supported and that the sequel be postponed until a later date or otherwise released for free or as an add-on or a paid expansion pack.
[After the jump video of Left 4 Dead 2 gameplay & trailer]
Above is the now infamous trailer for Left 4 Dead 2 which [for me] raised questions unattached to the now 21,000 strong petition which followed. For a lot of gamers, specifically horror/suspense gaming enthusiasts, it is hard to look at this trailer and not get the knee jerk Resident Evil 5 backwash post-digestion. The reason being, we have yet another gaming titled centered around 'zombie-like' figures within a poverty stricken, black neighborhood as its backdrop. One can only hope that there is not a moment in L4D2 where the black zombies decide to dress in grass skirts and carry shields and spears. [Sidenote: I love the Resident Evil franchise, I know they research long and hard about most of the gaming elements for their concepts, but come on...spears and grass skirts? Try harder guys.] It does seem odd that Louisiana was the go-to choice right after the success of the varying scenarios of the original.
Left 4 Dead placed you in a variety of 'Anytown, USAs' while maintaining a fresh look on a genre that seems to be hitting critical mass. Seriously, if I see another zombie-this or zombie-that I'll decapitate myself. So in my case, I am on edge about the sequel to Left 4 Dead 2, but for reasons that far exceed my fright of support for the original game. Valve has the habit of putting a lot into the concepts of their games. Portal, the Half-Life series, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, all Valve series with dedicated followers and baring Portal, all series that have sequels and a healthy mod community. Furthermore, I was put at ease to see gameplay from the E3 show floor, which answers some questions, but brings up more issues.
With the major complaint from petitioners being that the game should be downloadible based off of it being built off of the Half-Life engine, this was answered by one of Valve's developers Tom Leonard:
"As we started talking that through, it became clear that we weren't really talking about incremental updates; we were talking about a whole experience. And it would be hard to deliver that totality of experience in incremental bits."
"So I proposed to people, 'Why don't we try to make a sequel and do it in a year?' Everyone thought I was crazy, but as I talked them through the strategy of how to do it, the team collectively said, 'Yeah, that's interesting.'"
From what I've heard and read. The improvements will be as follows:
- Overhauled and updated engine. Things will actually look prettier and less jaggy from the first iteration.
- Smarter AI director. Smarter special zombies/monsters. Supposedly the witch won't just be crouching in place when you find her...she may walk up on you!
- Specialized weapons. As you can see from the video above, an ax can go through its fair share of ghouls...and ups the ante as far as the melee attack.
- The overall format for L4D has changed. In the sequel it really is about getting from point A to B. Missions are being structured to be more like Survival Mode [from the DLC of the original Left 4 Dead]. Where there are no breaks, just a lot of zombies...then slightly more zombies.
In regards to the petition, I think fans of Left 4 Dead absolutely have the right to be a bit skiddish with how fast the sequel is being released. Ask questions, but be reasonable. Valve has seldom let down their fans with their catalog. However, Valve has rarely had such a big success on console. One of the reasons I could see why Valve is releasing Left 4 Dead 2 so quickly would be the success of the game on Xbox 360. In late 2007, Orange Box [Half-Life 2: Episode 2/Team Fortress 2/Portal] was released for home consoles. It was 'kind of successful', but not in the sense of how Left 4 Dead was late last year. Maybe Valve sees the opportunity to put out both a quality product and put it out as fast as possible.
I am kind of stuck in the middle. I have loved every Valve product I have played. I think as far as a PC gamer, Left 4 Dead 2 is already being purchased...in my brain...in the future. If I feel the price is too high or if the quality will not be there...I'll wait a couple weeks for Steam to put it on sale and problem solved. If I owned an Xbox 360, I would be concerned about purchasing another $50 or $60 dollar title when the last iteration was released not even a year ago. To be candid, with as much history as Valve has had, releasing a sequel to a new IP a year later; not really their stock and trade. If this is a means to start a petition and begin making demands to a company which has had an impeccable record for catering to its fans? The answer is obvious. Why don't we wait and see?
Petition Source: Link
Valve's Response: Link