Left 4 Dead 2 [Demo]

[El Leone]

i do find it easier than l4d1. tank goes down on normal very easily. i reckon i'll be playing on advanced at launch

[MJ]

I finally got round to completing the demo and while I enjoyed it, it just felt like a more polished version of the first game with some new enemies, new weapons and new gore effects. I'm not as keen on getting it on release day as I was before playing the demo.

[Brats]

I'm staying well clear of this until release (got a L4D2 party round a mates planned for the Friday on the week of release) but I'm glad you lot are enjoying it. And it seems most people agree it is worthy of a sequel rather than DLC.

[merf]

demo up for gold subs now.

[analog dog]

is it out on steam also?

[Malavon]

No, and it doesn't look like it will be before tommorow either:

Left 4 Dead 2 Public Demo Access
November 4 @ 07:00am
The Left 4 Dead 2 Demo will be available to everyone on Steam starting November 3.

Although it contradicts itself now a few hours ago it said available Nov 3rd 11pm, so its updated since then to tommorow morning.

The time/date should update to reflect your timezone apparently.

[MisterBubbles]

Well anybody thinking this couldn't have been done in L4D are really kidding themselves on, this feels identical as L4D,few new things is daylight and more powerful guns, the zombies seem faster but easier to kill. I think the L4D2 boycott guys might have been right, not much new that DLC couldn't have done.

[Malavon]

It could have been done in L4D, no doubt about it. But theres enough changes (subtle or otherwise) to make me happy I bought it. Realism mode sounds amazing, scavange could be good and I'm looking forward to versus with the new special infected. Then theres the five new campaigns with the new items and weapons... All that for ?20? Fine with me.

[Malc]

It could have been done in L4D, no doubt about it. But theres enough changes (subtle or otherwise) to make me happy I bought it. Realism mode sounds amazing, scavange could be good and I'm looking forward to versus with the new special infected. Then theres the five new campaigns with the new items and weapons... All that for ?20? Fine with me.

Where did you get that price from? PC version is ?30 and 360 version is ?40 as far as I can see.

I have played through the 2 demo levels twice and can't really justify the ?40 price at release. No doubt many people will get tens/hundreds of hours out of the game (that's just because it's Left4Dead), but there just isn't enough new content for this to be called a sequel.

I do love the addition of so many new guns; the new zombie deformation and the new layer of voice acting that creates the atmosphere just like its predeccessor, but the new setting (at least from the demo levels) have ruined a lot of the atmosphere and the level design doesn't feel as strong.

I would like to eventually pick it up, but I will wait for the price to drop before I do so.

[merf]

i tried it and thought it was the first one again with much better gun noises and some different enemies.

I've gone from day 1 purchase to wait for a bargain on it as it does feel like dlc to me and not a whole new game, I liked the first one a lot but don't feel the need to fork out £40 to play it again in slightly different clothes.

[Malavon]

Where did you get that price from? PC version is ?30 and 360 version is ?40 as far as I can see.

Pre-Purchase Left 4 Dead 2 - Four Pack - ?80.99 Includes four copies of Left 4 Dead 2 - Send the extra copies to your friends and you'll all get early access to the demo and exclusive in-game baseball bat.

Unfortunately you need to know (and be able to trust) three other people that want it for the PC, since one person buys all four copies and uses the gift option to give them to whoever he wants.

Technically it was a tiny bit more than ?20 but I tried to give him the rest in 2p pieces and he told me to **** off :P

[PeteJ]

Just tried the 360 version a few times...first of all, I had horrible lag in every game I joined. Never had this problem in the first game but it was unplayable so dropped back to single player.

I still don't see why this couldn't be DLC in the same way that the GTA mission packs are, but hey, it's still a good game regardless.

The new enemy types don't seem to mix things up as much as expected, when a player is attacked you focus your efforts into killing that special infected just like with the original ones. The only exception is the pace changing Witch, which has had a great upgrade in the form of legs allowing her to walk about, but the new game doesn't introduce any new types as clever as that. The Charger is a mini tank, the Jockey is another Smoker etc.

Also the melee weapons are more for comedic effect than anything. Extremely satisfying using the frying pan to take down an enemy (cracking sound effect) but it doesn't really change the gameplay. Each melee weapon does feel different and has different strengths though, so there is some depth there.

But negatives over, the game is still superb fun and Valve have done well not to upset the balance with all the little additions. The gunplay is still satisfying (the zombies don't fall apart as much as the PC version though) and the animation is terrific. The setpiece at the end of the second demo level suggests some great dynamic climaxes rather than the 'defend spot' sequences from the first game.

I don't think I'll buy it on day one as I'm enjoying Borderlands and soon Call of Duty too much, but I'll definately be picking this up later on.

[Spatial]

I enjoyed the demo. I want to love this. I want to buy it.

But the first game got dropped by people on my friends list so fast that it made my head spin.

I'm not getting shelling out ?40 for something no one will be playing in next to no time so when it tanks in price I might consider it. Of course the real irony isn't lost on me that no-one will be playing it by then

[Charlie]

Not tried the demo myself because, like Brats, I've decided to wait for the full release as not knowing where to go or what the hell is going on when the s**t hits the fan is part of what makes Left 4 Dead so special in my mind and I want to keep that particular aspect intact for release day.

In regards to whether the game should have been released as DLC, that it's allegedly very similar to L4D is welcome news in my opinion as the original is one of my favourite games this gen and doesn't need much tinkering with. Also were it released as DLC it would have zero resale value and would take up 2, 3 gigs of space I'd sooner not lose. The only question as far as I'm concerned is will it be worth £40 but as someone who, having poured maybe a hundred hours into the original, still enjoys playing the odd campaign in multiplayer on expert, I'm confident I won't feel short changed.

I enjoyed the demo. I want to love this. I want to buy it. But the first game got dropped by people on my friends list so fast that it made my head spin.

I feel L4D is one of those rare games where playing with strangers or randoms is actually more fun than playing with friends. Not knowing if someone is gonna watch your back or regularly shoot you in the back and not knowing if their gonna do all they can to help you or everything they can to help themselves ups the sense of tension and unpredictability and helps create that stereotypical zombie movie situation of complete strangers being flung together in a desperate bid to survive the apocalypse.

[smouty]

I have cancelled my pre-order. Although I never agreed with the boycotters in any way I do feel that after playing the demo this is not worth a full price release.