[Roude Leiw]

The fact that it's arcadey is one of its most appealing aspect! I love fast paced arcade shooters, we have so many of the other types of shooters. I dont want no iron sights aiming

yeah i need iron sights in my first person shooters. not having them takes me out of the experience. for my taste there is some realism missing in left 4 dead. they actually could replace the zombies with lemmings and it would feel the same. but that's just me.

[Blue Geezer]

so stoked for this :)

what fool could ever think to boycott this?!?!

[Red Scarlet]

I don't even know if I should preload it or just wait a day or two before in case they have to update it and make me redownload it like the demo. 6gb is about 1/8 of my free space I could use for other stuff in the meantime.

[McBradders]

so i played the demo in steam. does it disturb no one that you can't aim over iron sights? and that the game feels very arcady?

...

Are you new to L4D or something? :/

[Nemesis_]

Apparently the Australian Xbox Live accounts will actually automatically download a patch upon connecting that will censor the game, regardless if I purchase from the UK or New Zealand?

Is this possible / true / even doable? >_>

[McBradders]

Apparently the Australian Xbox Live accounts will actually automatically download a patch upon connecting that will censor the game, regardless if I purchase from the UK or New Zealand? Is this possible / true / even doable? >_>

Absoloutely. Dunno if it's true or not, though.

[VGChampion]

So close. I had to uninstall the demo for now to make room for Dragon Age but that gives me a buffer from playing the demo to the actual game. I didn't realize there were 5 campaigns either. Sweet.

[Visualante]

Hate playing the jockey, love the spitter. Charger's okay. Hunter doesn't seem as fun in the Parish environments. Nor the boomer.

[SquirrelNuckle]

Man the demo was just a tease for me! I can't wait till this comes out. I'm jumping straight into versus.

[alba]

Pre-loaded to the max! Now the waiting game is starting. I really want to play Dark Carnival :D

[Costanza]

Preloading :D

[Concept17]

Man the demo was just a tease for me! I can't wait till this comes out. I'm jumping straight into versus.

I'm still contemplating this. I really just want to play VS first, as I know most my time will be spent doing so, but at the same time, I want to take some time to go through each campaign and learn the ins and outs. I guess we'll see. It'll be hard resisting the urge to try out the new special infected.

[Amir0x]

I'll definitely work through the campaigns first. Once I get into the Versus, I know I'll probably never go back to the campaign modes and so I'd rather get it out of the way.

Besides, I figure the campaign is sort of a training mode, to really get a feel for map layout and climax events and whatnot. After you play through these things on expert, you should have a pretty rad grip on everything and have a decent advantage in Versus.

I can't wait to play L4D2. God I can't wait.

[kai3345]

Idk about yall but I'm gonna be jumping straight into the new modes first. Realism on Expert just sounds too fun to wait for.

[JonathanEx]

Am I odd in the fact I play the campaigns more than I do versus? Left 4 Dead 1 has seemingly become the 'flat game' in the last 2 weeks, so we've just been going through campaigns regularly. Good fun, so getting 5 more should be fantastic.

The following may or may not involve plugs of the shameless variety.

Anyhoo. Last week there was a Left 4 Dead 2 event in London, which involved journalists (and me) being trained in some melee combat, and playing the game. So, you can watch a video of that day here which involves the proper way to hit zombies with frying pans, me not taking an AK47 that seriously, and a bit of impressions on the game.
The bit that'll probably be more interesting to people is that when we got there, we found out that Chet Faliszek was there, and so did an interview with him, talking a bit about the structure of the game, the process of making new environments, zombie movies and the increase of dialogue in this game. There's small clips of it in that other video, but you can watch the 7 minutes of it here. There's nothing groundbreaking, but I'd say it's interesting. :P

[ThaiGrocer]

Am I odd in the fact I play the campaigns more than I do versus? Left 4 Dead 1 has seemingly become the 'flat game' in the last 2 weeks, so we've just been going through campaigns regularly. Good fun, so getting 5 more should be fantastic. The following may or may not involve plugs of the shameless variety. Anyhoo. Last week there was a Left 4 Dead 2 event in London, which involved journalists (and me) being trained in some melee combat, and playing the game. So, you can watch a video of that day here which involves the proper way to hit zombies with frying pans, me not taking an AK47 that seriously, and a bit of impressions on the game. The bit that'll probably be more interesting to people is that when we got there, we found out that Chet Faliszek was there, and so did an interview with him, talking a bit about the structure of the game, the process of making new environments, zombie movies and the increase of dialogue in this game. There's small clips of it in that other video, but you can watch the 7 minutes of it here. There's nothing groundbreaking, but I'd say it's interesting. :P

I see they're getting the most out of their $25 million advertising campaign.

[kyo_daikun]

Idk about yall but I'm gonna be jumping straight into the new modes first. Realism on Expert just sounds too fun to wait for.

Agreed, realism sounds awesome, can't wait to struggle my way through.

[Choke on the Magic]

Day 1 Steam download. The melee weapons look excellent. I like the levels in this one a lot more. Hopefully Valve doesn't take too long to make some extra levels.

[Snuggler]

Am I odd in the fact I play the campaigns more than I do versus? Left 4 Dead 1 has seemingly become the 'flat game' in the last 2 weeks, so we've just been going through campaigns regularly. Good fun, so getting 5 more should be fantastic.

You're not the only one, I play the campaigns all the time, it's a fantastic splitscreen game to play with friends, especially when combined with beer and/weed. I played the shit out of L4D1 but I hardly ever touched versus. I liked the idea, but it just never clicked for me, I love the idea of playing as the infected but I rarely found a game where there was any co-ordination on either side. That's because I played on 360 and with randoms, though, hopefully I can get into it in the sequel.

[kyo_daikun]

Never realy liked versus, mainly for the fact people go nuts online if you aren't very good it at it.

[JRW]

[Papercuts]

Hate playing the jockey, love the spitter. Charger's okay. Hunter doesn't seem as fun in the Parish environments. Nor the boomer.

Just based off the demo plugin? I think it's really hard to go by that, since the AI can pick you off immediately when you're up close(basically, Jockey nullified). I'm looking forward to playing a ton of Versus again.

[Marvie_3]

Never realy liked versus, mainly for the fact people go nuts online if you aren't very good it at it.

Yeah, this sucked.

[Metiphis]

I was skeptical about buying this but the demo sold me. Also I really like the daytime levels.

[kyo_daikun]

Yeah, this sucked.

If people on here all get together and want to play a relaxed/enjoyable verus then im all up for it.

[Pimpbaa]

Never realy liked versus, mainly for the fact people go nuts online if you aren't very good it at it.

Yeah I hate that too. Not all of us play the same game for 24/7 knowing every in and out of the game. Ugh.

[Door2Dawn]

what is preloading?

[Chinner]

what is preloading?

serious bro? it basically means you pre load the game before release so on the day of release you can play immediately.

[MicVlaD]

Am I odd in the fact I play the campaigns more than I do versus? Left 4 Dead 1 has seemingly become the 'flat game' in the last 2 weeks, so we've just been going through campaigns regularly. Good fun, so getting 5 more should be fantastic.

Nope, I dislike Versus and would much rather play the campaign instead. Versus hasn't really clicked with me in Left 4 Dead 1 and I didn't like the re-occuring habits of the general community (like bunching up in corners non-stop). Maybe I'll start to like it somewhat with 2, but we'll see.

Either way: I'll probably stick with Realism Mode on Expert for a long time before I'll make the switch to Versus Mode (if ever). Unless no one is around for co-op of course.

[Charmicarmicat]

yeah i need iron sights in my first person shooters. not having them takes me out of the experience. for my taste there is some realism missing in left 4 dead. they actually could replace the zombies with lemmings and it would feel the same. but that's just me.

Could it be the fact that you are playing through a ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE that gives you issues with the realism? :D

[xero273]

If people on here all get together and want to play a relaxed/enjoyable verus then im all up for it.

for the PC side, I know GAF does games at night. I heard that playing with them is a lot better than pubs. So I'm pretty sure they will do the same for L4D2. Try to get into these GAF games if you don't like pubs.

[Amir0x]

Yeah I hate that too. Not all of us play the same game for 24/7 knowing every in and out of the game. Ugh.

There's really no need to know the ins and outs of the game if you can follow these simple instructions:

1. DO NOT SEPARATE FROM THE FUCKING TEAM
2. DO NOT SHOOT ME IN THE BACK WITH A COMBAT SHOTGUN

If you can do that, then you won't get lost, you'll generally see where the knowledgeable players go to get ammo/weapons/pick-ups, and you'll be able to fend off even the most determined team.

If you cannot follow the first simple step or the second simple step, that's the only time I'll say something about it. Because that basically means you're not even trying. This isn't a deathmatch free-for-all, it's all team, all the time. If you don't play as a teammate, that's the only time it's actually irritating.

In Left 4 Dead 2, there's going to be modified strategies for when spitters are around or chargers are around, but the essential rule is do not go anywhere alone.

[Papercuts]

There's really no need to know the ins and outs of the game if you can follow these simple instructions: 1. DO NOT SEPARATE FROM THE FUCKING TEAM 2. DO NOT SHOOT ME IN THE BACK WITH A COMBAT SHOTGUN If you can do that, then you won't get lost, you'll generally see where the knowledgeable players go to get ammo/weapons/pick-ups, and you'll be able to fend off even the most determined team. If you cannot follow the first simple step or the second simple step, that's the only time I'll say something about it. Because that basically means you're not even trying. This isn't a deathmatch free-for-all, it's all team, all the time. If you don't play as a teammate, that's the only time it's actually irritating. In Left 4 Dead 2, there's going to be modified strategies for when spitters are around or chargers are around, but the essential rule is do not go anywhere alone.

I think the people who don't dig Versus are more referring to the infected team, since you don't get to play them anywhere else you need to learn the mechanics in live playing. And if you don't pull your weight it's a lot harder to actually kill the team off.

As Infected the main things are

1. Never stand in the open--Go for ambushes and don't be predictable.
2. Coordinate.

2 is similar as survivors, though you need to coordinate attacks to make a relentless hell for survivors. 1 varies on each infected and is probably the hardest part, but as long as you aren't a smoker standing in the open trying to snag someone you're already doing alright.

There's a fairly high learning curve to get good at versus, but once it clicks it gets incredible. From the starting point you just need to use common sense to start with and not try to run in the open at people as a boomer since you're slow and die quickly, then do more advanced things and try to pay attention to specific players and grief who you think is the worst/a straggler to either kill him off or have his whole team keep wasting time saving him, then go even farther and learn the best spots on the map, etc. It can be a slow process but the first time you kill off an entire team right when they leave the safe room, it's worth it.

[Amir0x]

Infected have similarly easy strategies.

And they also have one or two overarching strategy

1. Stay hidden
2. Ambushes are better than attacks alone

(Edit: I see your rules are the same as mine. See, it's natural!)

It's not very hard to, even as a novice, follow these simple guidelines. You'll learn the finer points - the best hiding spots, the best infected to work with in conjunction with others, the best choke points - while playing along.

But if you follow the simple basic rules, there's really no reason for anyone to get annoyed with you. I wouldn't, anyway.



I have a separate guiding rule that entails to WHO I play with, but since I kick those individuals out before a match even starts we don't usually get irritated at them. That is, I only play with people who use microphones, so it's nothing against them if they don't it's just they'll have to find a different room.

[Pai Pai Master]

Holy zombie balls, this is only 10 days away!

[Papercuts]

Stuff

Yeah, they are pretty easy to get the basics of, I think the main issue is that you still need to learn all of this while in a match instead of having some infected tutorials or something to just do at your own leisure.

Either way, I can't wait to get my hands on the versus here.

[Amir0x]

Yeah, they are pretty easy to get the basics of, I think the main issue is that you still need to learn all of this while in a match instead of having some infected tutorials or something to just do at your own leisure. Either way, I can't wait to get my hands on the versus here.

The best solution would be to play early matches with friends, so that they're more understanding.

I play all my games with the same group of friends, so I only have to worry about the other team using exploits and cheats :D

[Papercuts]

The best solution would be to play early matches with friends, so that they're more understanding. I play all my games with the same group of friends, so I only have to worry about the other team using exploits and cheats :D

Yeah, I do the same. It got so annoying having people always glitch the elevator in No Mercy, I never really understood it either. You now have all 4 survivors trapped in a small room all bunched up, you are now never going to kill them and just brought the match to a halt. Sometimes when that happened to my friends we just made it an endurance and lasted the infected out, they all quit. :lol

I can atleast understand people using stuff like the crescendo skipping door melee in No Mercy 3 to get an edge, but the elevator never made sense. Hopefully none of that stuff is in 2.

[VGChampion]

Man the demo was just a tease for me! I can't wait till this comes out. I'm jumping straight into versus.

Yep, that's what I'm going to do. I've barely played the L4D campaigns. Versus is my all time favorite.

[kai3345]

Yeah, Amir0x is right.

On the 360 version I haven't really seen anyone who gets pissed at noobs. And if there's team killers, most teams I play with are usually good about votekicking them.

[CadetMahoney]

Never realy liked versus, mainly for the fact people go nuts online if you aren't very good it at it.

Yeah I hate that too. Not all of us play the same game for 24/7 knowing every in and out of the game. Ugh.

I concur!

[Amir0x]

I didn't think the crescendo skipping door was right either. Me and my team would never use it, because it fundamentally broke a huge segment of that level.

I could understand if the other team had a tank that was stupid enough to break down that door on its own, but sitting there melee the door 60 times to get through? Lame and uncompetitive. I just think if everyone played the game straight, the versus would always be more enjoyable.

Toward the end of my L4D experience, people were getting big into ghost swatting and powershotting, which was also going a long way toward ruining my fun again.

I hope these simple issues are fixed for L4D2 versus mode.

[Papercuts]

I didn't think the crescendo skipping door was right either. Me and my team would never use it, because it fundamentally broke a huge segment of that level. I could understand if the other team had a tank that was stupid enough to break down that door on its own, but sitting there melee the door 60 times to get through? Lame and uncompetitive. I just think if everyone played the game straight, the versus would always be more enjoyable. Toward the end of my L4D experience, people were getting big into ghost swatting and powershotting, which was also going a long way toward ruining my fun again. I hope these simple issues are fixed for L4D2 versus mode.

Oh, I'm not saying it was RIGHT, I'm just saying I could understand the mindset of the team using it because it does give you advantage, whereas the elevator was just making the game halt. I never used it either, and I'd whip a molotov at people who did. =)

I stopped playing versus when that all became widespread, it brought me a ton of great times along the way. It seems like all the changes they're doing not only adds variety, but will be less prone to exploits. Instead of letting the survivors bunch up in a corner waiting for a lift to drop, you now have stuff like going through a chainlink fence maze to get an alarm, they all have to actively be moving and it prevents crap like that. They may already have the melee fatigue, but 4 survivors in a corner with a melee weapon would still let the camping stuff be effective, which is why I hope a lot of the crescendos have them on the move to lead to interesting infected strats.

[Letters]

I didn't think the crescendo skipping door was right either. Me and my team would never use it, because it fundamentally broke a huge segment of that level. I could understand if the other team had a tank that was stupid enough to break down that door on its own, but sitting there melee the door 60 times to get through? Lame and uncompetitive. I just think if everyone played the game straight, the versus would always be more enjoyable. Toward the end of my L4D experience, people were getting big into ghost swatting and powershotting, which was also going a long way toward ruining my fun again. I hope these simple issues are fixed for L4D2 versus mode.

Yep, I always made it a point of playing that crescendo without breaking the door to skip it, if the rest of my team wasn't into it (which happened everytime when I wasn't playing with friends) I just defended against it by myself.

[shintoki]

2. DO NOT SHOOT ME IN THE BACK WITH A COMBAT SHOTGUN

I got Boomer on right at a door, So it was pie for me to funnel the zombies in, and machete them to death. Teammate comes up from behind and combat shotguns my ass. Lost nearly 50points of HP because of it. FF really hurts allot more this time around.

Disappointingly, Only got one Versus game so far(Which was about all I played on 1)...and it was terrible. The typical full team on the infected, while me and another on Survivors.

[Concept17]

Yep, I always made it a point of playing that crescendo without breaking the door to skip it, if the rest of my team wasn't into it (which happened everytime when I wasn't playing with friends) I just defended against it by myself.

I think I saw that door broken down maybe 2-3 times successfully. Most often when people tried it, it was pretty easy to spend that time taking them down. I also don't think I've seen anyone attempt it for 6 months or so.

[Papercuts]

I think I saw that door broken down maybe 2-3 times successfully. Most often when people tried it, it was pretty easy to spend that time taking them down. I also don't think I've seen anyone attempt it for 6 months or so.

Eh, when I saw it happen it was usually a team effort. If one guy tried it then sure, it's easy enough to snap him. But most of the time I saw all 4 over there with 3 protecting the one doing it, which you can do some stuff to but it will ultimately get broken. The elevator wasn't preventable though, since you just need one on the infected team to spawn ahead and block it.

[Red Scarlet]

Toward the end of my L4D experience, people were getting big into ghost swatting and powershotting, which was also going a long way toward ruining my fun again. I hope these simple issues are fixed for L4D2 versus mode.

I thought they fixed that awhile ago on the 360?

[Amir0x]

I thought they fixed that awhile ago on the 360?

Well, I haven't played very much after Crash Course came out, so I couldn't tell you. Right before Crash Course, they were definitely still being used by everyone I know that.

Were they patched in with Crash Course?

[Chinner]

i'm pretty sure they did, but it just took a bit longer to get patched.