New Left 4 Dead 2 zombies, items unveiled
Left 4 Dead 2 will feature a bunch of new zombies, one of which is the new Spitter creature.
One of the new infected unveiled today via GameSpy is a new boss infected called the Spitter. Like the Smoker from Left 4 Dead 1, the Spitter prefers to attack from range, but favours lobbing acidic phlegm at survivors rather than tongue-grappling them.
The acidic venom of the Spitter apparently works like a sticky mortar round, heavily damaging any survivors caught in the spray and then hanging around and causing damage to anyone who walks through that spot again. According to Valve, the Spitter (which will be playable in Versus mode) is a strategically designed class whose main function is splitting up groups by lobbing some gob at them and forcing them to scatter - making them vulnerable to other infected.
Valve has also confirmed that the uncommon-common system we heard mentioned in our interview in Chet Faliszek is unique to each level and that there are now certain zombies that appear only on some campaigns. One of these is the previously shown CDC infected, who wears a hazmat suit that makes him invulnerable to flames. Today Valve unveiled a new uncommon-common, called the Mud Man and who appears only in the swamp levels. Able to move quickly through the filth, the Mud Man attacks much like the fast zombie in Half-Life 2.
Helping the survivors fight these new foes are a few new items too, namely packs of extra ammo that players can carry through a level at the expense of an item slot and a new adrenaline shot. The adrenaline shot and ammo packs replace either first aid packs or pills when carried, with the adrenaline shot making players immune to the slowing effect of being hit by a zombie and allowing them to swing melee weapons much faster. That last effect should be handy, especially since we were so unimpressed with the melee weapons when we played the game a few weeks ago.
Is Left 4 Dead 2 sounding better by the minute, or are you still going to stick by your boycott? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyAt the end of the day everybody should be getting ready for HL2EP3, L4D2, CSS2 and Portal 2 ... not forgetting the promised DLC for L4D1.
Those that are still boycotting it are either dumb or kids.
That said, the Spitter sounds like a very welcome addition. It really is the death of closet camping with that and the charger. No more finding the perfect spot to camp in!
The spitter sounds like great fun. Looking forward to lobbing a few gobs from the roof tops. A successful hit rendering a corner uncampable will be a welcome adition. Survival mode will actually be difficult. Customizable kit? Now you're talking! Can we have Bill, Zoey, Francis and Louis though please? These four still look a bit crap :P
They aren't abandoning it though. The reality is that Valve are still going to be developing and releasing content for L4D1.
And since the boycott Valve has also said they will see about making L4D2 work with L4D1 (has to be seen to be believed, but there ya go).
I'm still not buying it. For one I'm unconvinced that they haven't broken their promise since no one even knows what this L4D1 DLC will contain yet, and secondly there's plenty to keep me entertained this Christmas with Dragon Age, MW2, Brutal Legend, and then later Mass Effect 2. It's not so much that I hold a grudge (I'll be one of the first to pre order any new HL games), but it's going to take an extremely dry period of gaming for me to pick up another multiplayer game at launch.
I play L4D daily with my clan and the absolute most frustrating aspect of L4D is finding any sort of game that doesn't end in RAGE after teh first round. It's getting so bad now that it can take over an hour to find somebody decent to play who won't quit.
Just get a real lobby where players can search other players instead of joining random lobbys then you'll have a real game. Other than that, the only decent way now is IRC where the risk is being absolutely pwnd by CEVO prozz0rs or meeting bigger nabs than random lobbies. . . .
VALVE - why can't you make it easy?????
I don't see how being able to be drawn into an experience more based off of a few familiar attachments is something that should be changed. The argument that the new characters aren't as good is perfectly valid from at least that perspective.
You obviously haven't played it in a while.
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2009/07/17/left-4-dead-patch-adds-new-lobby-system/1
Now, if Valve can achieve that than we have a real winner here, instead of the random lobby hopping that we have today. And being able to search after a specific map is something that we could do from the beginning (if you added some code to the game) by getting a very similiar CSS lobby search tool. Now Steam has just made it more slick and better integrated in the GUI.
As for the future content that will be released for L4D, the only confirmed details are that 4v4 player matching will be introduced. We won't get any real content now, just UI enhancements as a test for L4D2. Lucky us.
Yes they said they may make both games work together. That would be fantastic.
In short. L4D2 is a game I want. but we were stitched up with L4D1. Ofcourse I'll buy it because it sounds great and all my mates will get it. Can't be left behind now :) (wait this reminds me of FIFA...)
I wonder if we'll be getting L4D3 nov 2010 ... I may just join up to that boycott again if thats the case ;)
I'm still waiting for a demo, but it still doesn't look enticing enough to drop another 50$.
More people can relate to the original characters. I'm a weekend biker and a office suit and tie guy, almost all the girls I know are college chicks, I have a family and their friends of Vets I've always looked up too. It's a game that takes place in America and it fits a lot of peoples desired profiles here. I always thought it was perfect.
With the new characters Nick (a gambler), Rochelle (cable news reporter), Coach (a coach?), and Ellis (a mechanic) it's much harder for most people to relate I believe. Especially since New Orleans is like another country to the rest of the US.
But I'm willing to give them a chance.
Since when is 4 days "a while"? Been waiting for a lobby matchmaking system since release, because the lobbies have been increasingly poorly bugged with every update until the last. Lobbies break in new and interesting ways every time Valve adds features to them, and the recent matchmaking update has its own host of stupid bugs as well as carrying some of the more frustrating ones over.
Also, the best lobby system in the world won't stop people from ragequitting merely 10 minutes into a game. As Logan was saying it takes, on average, half an hour to throw together a game at all - and that's with three other friends, meaning I only ever have to fill half a lobby. Once you're in the game, expect to spend another ten minutes per level just waiting for the opposite team to fill if you've had any semblance of a decent round.
L4D2 needs to implement a player ranking system outside of only achievements, one that tracks the number of games played vs. the number of games prematurely quit. It would be a very hard statistic to compile as there are a large number of variables that must be compiled before leaving a game at any point can be designated a "rage" or a legitimate leave.
that's the problem, until there is a 4v4 matching system, it's team stacking 4 friends vs randoms. On the random team there is always going to be someone inexperienced, someone who realizes the teams are stacked, an idiot, a griefer, and then the one who rages because they don't like to lose. I won't tolerate the latter two, personally I like to play random more often than with friends, It's really no fun when everyone is a crack shot and knows the shortest route to the saferoom.
like what?
Getting milked and not enjoying the wrist action..
Enough with the sour grapes. You don't think it's worth it? Don't buy it. That's how capitalism works.