Blah blah controversy, blah blah sequel, blah blah EA. We get it, some people are pissed about Left 4 Dead 2. They're upset because Valve originally said that Left 4 Dead would have new campaigns, new characters, and new infected as free DLC. They feel betrayed because Valve is known for supporting their titles after launch with a massive amount of free content, and it appears that they're turning their back on that policy with a yearly franchise. Have they really betrayed their fans? Eh, kinda, but that doesn't mean we need to be all fussy. Left 4 Dead 2 has so much awesome that it's just silly to complain, and the time I've spent with the game has been nothing but fantastic.

When I played the game at E3 I went through most of the known changes, so I'm not going to go into detail again. All you need to know is that the characters seem cool, the atmosphere is creepy despite the light, infected dismemberment is turned up to eleven, and the melee weapons add more than they detract. Now that that's taken care of, what else has been changed since June?



A number of things. First of all, the new Special Infected, the Jockey, has been added. Whatever disease began this zombie apocalypse wasn't kind to the jockey, and has warped his once humanoid figure into a small, hunched abomination. He's the antithesis of the tank, hiding in the shadows until the time is right to mount a survivor, literally acting like a horse jockey. When he's on the back of a survivor he has control, and can steer them in any direction he wants. It's possible to resist it a bit, but they can usually overpower the survivor, leading them to danger. On top of a building? The Jockey will lead you off. A room away from a Boomer or Spitter? The Jockey knows, and will lead you to his Special Infected friends. If the point of the Special Infected is to separate the survivors (which it is), the Jockey fits in very well.

Beyond  that, not much shown at PAX 09 was new. The only real change since E3 was the inclusion of the new level, Dark Carnival, which came with a new type of infected. Called uncommon commons, they're variations of the typical enemies that run through the levels of Left 4 Dead. In Dark Carnival's case, they're clowns. Yes, clowns. Other levels have fire-resistant zombies in hazmat suits, bulletproof infected in body armor, and mud-covered enemies with blinding attacks. Dark Carnival has clowns. When the clowns see the survivors they charge, over-sized shoes squeaking with each step. Squeaking means noise, noise means more infected, so the party has to work fast to take down the clown before they're covered in zombies.



Left 4 Dead 2's November release is just around the corner, which should give Valve plenty of time to have the game as polished as possible for retail consumption. So far, they've shown off two campaigns, both complete, and both extremely fun. This is the first time the developer has pushed out a yearly release, so if nothing else it will be a great chance to see if they fall victim to the follies of others who have done the same in the past, or if Valve will continue to provide excellence even on a tight deadline. We'll have more closer to release, so stay tuned to Gamervision for all of the infection you can handle.