LEFT 4 DEAD

[Eradicator30]

http://media.ign.com/games/image/object/875/875936/Left-4-Dead_X360_RPboxart_160w.jpg


About This Game
Setting out to do for co-op gaming what Counter-Strike did for team combat, Left 4 Dead is an ambitious survival horror game. Running on the Source engine, Left 4 Dead leaves four armed survivors of a world overrun with zombies, and they must fight their way out to escape the outbreak.
Designed for co-op play, the four players must work together to finish each stage of the game, lending each other artillery support, sharing ammo and rescuing each other when zombies are on top of them. In addition to the standard four players as humans, another four players can be amongst the masses of assaulting zombies, seeking to take down the other players. Zombie players might even find themselves become one of the four mutant "boss" zombies, who have unique powers that can be used to devastate, injure, tie up, mark and track, confuse, or even humiliate the gun-toting human survivors.
Genre: Action
Online Play: 8 Versus / 4 Co-Op

Also Available On: PC (http://pc.ign.com/objects/818/818215.html)
Release Date: November 4, 2008
MSRP: $59.99




Specs (http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/875/875936.html)
Editions (http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/875/875936.html)


Multiplayer Functions

Online Versus Multiplayer (8 players)
Online Co-Op Multiplayer (4 players)
Online Multiplayer

[Ocelot]

This is one of the PC games I'm looking forward to most ome this Fall. Can't wait.

[Draven X 23]

Son of a bitch! I hate waiting

Valve's four-player fix of zippy-fast zombie action has been pushed back a bit, but thankfully not 28 days later; just 16. Left 4 Dead (http://www.joystiq.com/tag/left-4-dead) had been slated to hit PC and Xbox 360 on November 4, but its evil will instead take up residence on your platform of choice November 20. The date is significant in that it's the 10th anniversary of another Valve game you may have heard about – the original Half-Life (http://www.joystiq.com/tag/half-life).

If you just can't stand a first week of November devoid of something new to play, fear not. Might we suggest: Fallout 3 (http://www.joystiq.com/tag/fallout-3) (Oct. 28) or a little game called Gears of War 2 (http://www.joystiq.com/tag/gears-of-war-2) (Nov. 7).

[Ocelot]

I hate waiting too, but it may be a smart move. I suppose. At least now it won't be competing so directly with Gears and Fallout 3.. imagine that? Coming right between those two games. Still, waiting sucks but maybe it will help them clean up some things, and hey- it does give them the nifty little "this is the 10th anniversary of Half-life" excuse. These three titles alone prove we're gonna have a great lineup coming soon.

[Warden]

Only reason I can agree with games getting their release dates pushed back are for fixing bugs and making the game better. Moving back because of release dates is silly. Valve has enough of a fan base, they don't need to worry about that kind of thing.

[Le Goat]

HOLY SHIT


This look's like it could be fun as hell...

http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/21208

[Le Goat]

After spending a day at Valve's offices playing Left 4 Dead (http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3157495) for the premier episode of the next season of the 1UP Show (http://1upshow.1up.com/), the 1UP crew came away with a truckload of new info on the Xbox 360 version of the game. Without a doubt the biggest news is that Valve will be running dedicated servers on Microsoft's Live online service. And while they didn't indicate how many exactly they'd have going, they did imply that they'd have everyone covered, as in when you played online, you'd be on a dedicated server, period. That alone should go a long way toward making the game a great online experience, but they haven't stopped there. Splitscreen play will also allow you and a friend to play together on Live from one 360, and you'll be able to slice the screen whichever way you like -- horizontally or vertically. Keeping on the online bonanza, writer Chet Faliszek said that Valve plans to get the DLC rolling much more quickly with Left 4 Dead than it has been able to for Team Fortress 2 (http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3152175). Plans already in the works call for new campaigns, weapons, and boss infected (the game's zombie enemies). In addition, there were strong hints at a flamethrower coming not long after launch.
The team has also been conscientious about tuning the game to match the playing environment of the 360. Yes, a subtle amount of aim assist has been added, but it's unobtrusive. You also get a quick turn to flip around at a tap of the right bumper. Even with this, though, they've modified the A.I. some such that zombies are a little less likely to attack you from behind in the 360 version than in the PC version. And on the subject of the zombies, you'll see them doing a number of different actions as their A.I. responds to the world. They'll be attracted to loud noises for instance, including scrambling towards pipe bombs which emit loud beeping noises, or car alarms the player might accidentally set off. If completely enraged they may even start to attack one another.
Here are some of the other details we picked up:


There are four campaigns, with five chapters each
The hospital level seen in demos is based on Philadelphia
Another level is based on Pittsburgh (evidently Valve has some Steelers fans)
Other levels cover a small town and an airport
Achievements are based on social engineering ideas and we got a couple of them:

"Bite your tongue" - Kill Smoker (Enemy with prehensile tongue) before he can pull you in
"Sharp Shooter" - Complete Co-op chapter without any friendly fire



If you haven't already, check out the brand new videos we made of Left 4 Dead on the 360 while playing it today we have on Gamevideos (http://gamevideos.1up.com/). And watch for the full video of our Left 4 Dead adventure at Valve coming on the season premier of the 1UP Show when it airs Friday, September 19.

kickass fucking video
http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/21204

[Philip Lombard]

goddammit why is this not on PS3

[Ocelot]

goddammit why is this not on PS3

Short answer is that Game Newell hates the PS3. That's probably the long answer as well. I think it may eventually come to the PS3... but probably not any time soon.

[Eradicator30]

Left 4 Dead Demo Coming For Xbox & PC (http://kotaku.com/5048203/left-4-dead-demo-coming-for-xbox--pc)

http://kotaku.com/assets/images/kotaku/2008/09/left4.jpgValve's Gabe Newell has announced a playable demo of the co-op survival horror game Left 4 Dead that will be released for both Xbox 360 and PC and will feature both single player mode and online co-op play.
As for content, Newell told VideoGamer, "I don't know what the date is for release [of the demo] though. I think it's going to contain the first part of one of the campaigns. I think it'll probably be Hospital but I'm not sure."
Left 4 Dead is due to hit the shops at the end of November, but there is no word if the demo will be out first or will appear later to try and mop up any stragglers.
Newell confirms Left 4 Dead demo details (http://www.videogamer.com/news/10-09-2008-9266.html) [VideoGamer]

[Ocelot]

Awesome, I really hope we get an advanced demo, the earlier the better. Definitely one of my most anticipated upcoming games.

[Le Goat]

I really hope the AI is at least somewhat Dynamic. I'd hate to play the same shit over and over in a demo ( *cough ST TFU* ) until it's released.

[JohnQRotten]

This looks awesome! Great idea for a game.

[Ocelot]

I really hope the AI is at least somewhat Dynamic. I'd hate to play the same shit over and over in a demo ( *cough ST TFU* ) until it's released.

Yeah definitely. If the AI director is as dynamic and diverse as they make it out to be, it should make for some amazing stuff even in the probably relatively small demo.

[Le Goat]

For those unfamiliar with Left 4 Dead, the shooter pits you and three teammates in a frantic, postapocalyptic setting against waves of undead "infected" as you shoot your way to freedom (or, at the very least, survival). The story comprises five missions, each with five chapters, and we played through the first two, No Mercy Hospital and Blood Harvest, at EA's UK headquarters in Guildford.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/280/937406_20081007_embed003.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/left4dead/news.html?sid=6198676&mode=previews&om_act=convert&om_clk=previews&tag=previews;title;2#) Woo hoo witchy woman, she got the moon in her eye. (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/left4dead/news.html?sid=6198676&mode=previews&om_act=convert&om_clk=previews&tag=previews;title;2#)

In the first scenario you'll need to fight your way through the streets, alleys, car parks, and sewers of an urban centre on your way to Mercy Hospital under nightfall. But fear not--you'll have three squadmates by your side throughout the game. The four characters are reflections of everyday folk, including a young girl called Zoe; Francis, a tattooed biker; Louis, an African-American office worker; and Bill, a grizzled Vietnam veteran. In addition to your compadres, you'll find a range of weapons to aid your quest, and you'll encounter machine guns, hunting and combat shotguns, pistols (which can be duel-wielded once you find a second one), scoped hunting rifles, Molotov cocktails, and pipe bombs.
You'll be able to carry only one primary and explosive weapon at a time, and with extra ammo only available at set intervals you'll need to ration what you've got. Naturally, the shotgun is perfect for close-quarters battles; the assault rifles, pistols, and explosives are good for medium to long range; and the hunting rifle is great for outdoor areas when you need to keep your distance. The infected are attracted to sounds, so at times you'll want to keep firefights to a minimum, and this is where the pipe bomb comes into its own. It emits a beeping sound once thrown, ensuring any nearby zombies will clamber around it for a look-see, with devastating results. You're also able to melee attack with a right-click of the mouse, which works well when you're surrounded or need to reload.
You can also carry one medipack, allowing you to heal yourself or your teammate. Because the gameplay relies heavily on team play, we found ourselves caring more for the weakest member of the group than for ourselves for the most part, as having four able-bodied members is more beneficial than one having full health. Left 4 Dead really seems to nail the team dynamics well, and despite playing with fellow journalists whom we didn't know all that well, we often felt a real sense of camaraderie. There really is nothing like a zombie infestation to bring people together.
Besides a wide range of the usual zombie "grunts," you'll encounter four types of superzombies. Boomers explode easily, but if they get close enough they'll vomit green muck on you which, in addition to seriously impairing your vision, will attract a swarm of the infected. Smokers emit a noxious vapour and have a superlong tongue which will reel you in if it catches you. (You can free yourself by shooting the tongue, but if you're unlucky, you'll need one of your squad to rescue you.) Tanks are slow-moving brutes which you'd be best to avoid and can only be taken down with a few clips. Finally, witches are fast-moving and have formidable claws, although they're not too hard to defeat...if you can catch them.
While scenarios may look the same on subsequent replays, the action will change thanks to the game's "director" system, which changes the number of infected you'll encounter--and how often--depending on your performance throughout the game. While five missions doesn't sound like a lot, you'll almost definitely have to repeat parts of the game while you and your teammates work out the best strategy to defeat the hordes intent on ending your humanity. We've talked about the hospital in earlier previews (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/left4dead/news.html?page=1&sid=6193966), and after several attempts we were able to complete the last chapter in it, Rooftop Finale. After fighting your way through the hospital's wards, surgeries, and yet-to-be-completed top floors you'll emerge on the rooftop, where you can radio for an extraction via the helipad. Unfortunately, you'll have to stave off a small army of infected before the helicopter arrives, which took us a few tries. They swarmed out from every direction, even climbing up the sides of the high-rise hospital, and we decided the most sensible course of action was to barricade ourselves inside a storage room, blazing our guns at the door--which we were told by EA was a suitable course of action.
After a successful extraction we found our squad camping out in the wilderness in the farm mission Blood Harvest. Through our cross-country journey, we stumbled upon a variety of locations including farmhouses, barnhouses, ("henhouses, outhouses and doghouses"), fields, tunnels, and bridges. Throughout the missions you'll encounter the sometimes eerie, sometimes amusing warning left by other survivors such as the time it takes to become infected written by one survivor as a few weeks, crossed out and rewritten as days by another, only to have a later survivor say, "I saw it happen in hours." While some of the scrawls are purely humorous--"'we deserved this'...'maybe you did, I didn't do anything,'" others are more useful and can help with you mission progression, such as "head north to Echo" or "follow the tracks." Taking the latter advice, for better or worse, led us to a tunnel with carriages and debris strewn across the track. Lighting, as you'd expect, is limited to moonlight, flashlights, and the occasional burning fire, and conditions didn't improve throughout the mission.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/280/937406_20081007_embed006.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/left4dead/news.html?sid=6198676&mode=previews&om_act=convert&om_clk=previews&tag=previews;title;2#) Live together, die alone. (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/left4dead/news.html?sid=6198676&mode=previews&om_act=convert&om_clk=previews&tag=previews;title;2#)

You'll need to stay close to your teammates and communicate with your team if you want to make it out alive. Once we'd made it out of the tunnel and across a long bridge crossing a ravine, we arrived at Blood Harvest's last chapter, Farmhouse Finale. Set in an abandoned military base amid cornfields (we're not quite sure what use the military has with corn, but we'll go along with it), the rows of tall corn made for a tense, frantic battle against the infected and it was easy to lose our teammates. Thankfully if that happens, you'll be able to see a silhouetted outline of their body, showing you what direction they're in. The finale concluded with us reaching the outpost, calling for help, and unfortunately succumbing to the zombie horde.
Left 4 Dead is set for a November 21 release in Europe. For more on Valve and Turtle Rock's upcoming frightfest, read our previous coverage (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/left4dead/index.html).

[Will]

I cant remember the last time I had a really good co-op experience, should make for a good GMF team up opportunity when it gets here.

[Le Goat]

Sounds fucking fantastic!

Why should uninfected human survivors have all the fun? In Left 4 Dead's Versus mode, you can join a squad of infected zombie bosses and--what else?--vomit on enemy faces. After playing much of the single-player and co-op campaigns, we finally got our hands on the Versus mode of Valve's anticipated shooter.

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/289/reviews/937407_20081016_embed001.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/left4dead/news.html?sid=6199518&mode=previews&om_act=convert&om_clk=previews&tag=previews;title;3#) Live together... (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/left4dead/news.html?sid=6199518&mode=previews&om_act=convert&om_clk=previews&tag=previews;title;3#)

The squad-based mode is round-based, and survivors will trade with the infected after each round. Just as the survivor team consists of four members, the infected has four classes that are randomly assigned, and the methods in which they deal damage are vastly different. The boomer is an infected fat man in a belly shirt who vomits on survivors. When hit, the vomit distorts the survivor's vision and attracts the zombie horde, which storms forth like a troop of angry extras in 28 Days Later. The boomer is also filled with methane gas and explodes when killed, causing area-of-effect damage to all survivors in close proximity. The smoker is armed with a 50-foot tongue that can pluck a survivor from a distance and drag him or her away from the group, like a frog snagging a fly. The hunter is the fastest of the infected and is hard to hit. He has the ability to climb buildings, but only on designated "zombie ladders," which are glowing icons on the sides of walls. Once up there, he can pounce on a survivor. If successful, he proceeds to claw the survivor's face.
The fourth and most powerful zombie class is the tank. Once per round one player on the infected team will take the role of the tank and can knock a survivor to his or her knees with just one punch. If a pesky survivor is not within striking distance, rip up concrete or cars from the street and hurl them. The tank has a tremendous amount of health, and only a concerted effort from all four survivors can take down the tank without him taking down one of the survivors.
Only the survivor team can score, and points are awarded by how far you've gotten through a map. The survivors begin in a safe room that is loaded with weapons and first-aid kits. The maps in which we played were stocked with more high-level guns such as automatic shotguns, assault rifles, and scoped hunting rifles (not advisable in close quarters). At the same time the survivors are loading up on gear, the infected team is selecting spawn points. You can choose to spawn anywhere on the map that is not in sight of the survivors, or in the safe room itself. The goal is to entrap the survivors, for example by hiding in a dark corner and then pouncing when they least expect it.
The strategy for the survivors is much the same as it is in other modes: stick together and watch each other's backs. When one member has to apply first aid, which takes several seconds, the other members attack the oncoming horde. As a survivor, it's not uncommon to yell at your teammates "Stay together!" or "This way!" Thankfully, there are green exit signs that usually illuminate the correct way to go. As we made our way though a hospital, it was helpful to close as many doors as possible to slow the infected down. Often team members will become incapacitated by pouncing hunters or strangling smokers, and you'll have to come to their aid. If you do become incapacitated, you can still fire your pistols from the ground while you wait for a teammate to revive you. But eventually, you will all most likely die; finishing a map is extremely difficult but rewarding.

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/289/reviews/937407_20081016_embed002.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/left4dead/news.html?sid=6199518&mode=previews&om_act=convert&om_clk=previews&tag=previews;title;3#) ...or die alone. (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/left4dead/news.html?sid=6199518&mode=previews&om_act=convert&om_clk=previews&tag=previews;title;3#)

As the infected, the strategy is slightly different, but good teams will coordinate their attacks as much as survivors coordinate their defense. For instance, the boomer may vomit on the group to blind them all, summon the horde, and then charge forward--if killed, he will explode and cause damage to each survivor. A smoker can snatch one of the blinded survivors from a distance and continually punch him. The two remaining hunters can then pounce on the last two survivors and finish them off. Such coordination takes skill because the infected have very little health; one shotgun blast or a few pistol rounds are enough to kill you. The goal is to deal as much damage as you can, choose a sneaky respawn point, and do it again.
The balance of the Versus mode, even at this unfinished stage of development, is excellent. Rounds as the infected are just as enjoyable as rounds controlling the survivors, but for completely different reasons. Working your way though a burning apartment building, infected hospital, or the city rooftops as a survivor is intense and almost draining. The zombies just keep coming. If you do manage to escape with your life, a feat that Valve is making extremely difficult, the feeling is next to euphoria. On the flip side of the coin, there's much less pressure playing as a zombie, and barfing on your enemies or pouncing on their heads is almost relaxing, icing on the cake. We'll have more as Left 4 Dead approaches its November release.

[Draven X 23]

Dead Stop Punch a Hunter as he is pouncing. 10
Drag and Drop Rescue a Survivor from a Smoker's tongue before he takes damage. 20
Cr0wnd Kill a Witch with a single headshot. 30
Untouchables No Survivors take damage after contacting the rescue vehicle. 30
Blind Luck You or another Survivor take no damage after being vomited on by a Boomer. 20
My Bodyguard Protect any Survivor from an attacking Infected 50 times. 15
Akimbo Assassin Survive a campaign firing no guns other than pistols. 30
Field Medic Heal 25 Survivors with a first aid kit. 20
Pharm-assist Give pain pills to 10 Survivors. 20
Helping Hand Revive 50 incapacitated Survivors. 20
Hero Closet Rescue a Survivor trapped in a closet. 10
Hunter Punter Shove a Hunter off of a pinned and helpless Survivor. 10
Tongue Twister Kill a Smoker who has grabbed you with his tongue. 20
No Smoking Section Kill 10 Smokers as they are pulling helpless Survivors. 15
101 Cremations Set 101 Infected on fire. 20
Do Not Disturb Sneak past all Witches in a campaign without disturbing one. 20
Man vs Tank Single-handedly kill a Tank. 30
Tankbusters Kill a Tank without it dealing any damage to a Survivor. 20
Safety First Play through a campaign with no Survivors taking friendly fire damage. 30
No-One Left Behind Beat a campaign with all 4 Survivors. 20
Unbreakable Beat a campaign without ever using a first aid kit on yourself. 30
Witch Hunter Kill a Witch without any Survivor taking damage from her. 20
Red Mist Kill 1000 Infected with a mounted machine gun. 20
Pyrotechnician Blow up 20 Infected in a single explosion. 20
Zombie Genocidest Kill 53,595 Infected. 20
Dead Giveaway Heal a fellow Survivor when your own health is below 10. 10
Ground Cover Save another Survivor from a Special Infected while on the ground. 30
Clean Kill Shove a Boomer and then kill him without him splashing on anyone. 10
Stand Tall Survive a campaign without being incapacitated. 20
Back 2 Help Leave a safe room to save an incapped teammate and bring them back safely. 20
Zombicidal Maniac Survive any campaign on Impossible. 30
What Are You Trying To Prove? Survive all campaigns on Impossible. 35
Lamb 2 Slaughter Incapacitate a Survivor after he has entered and exited a safe room. 20
Nothing Special Survive a campaign with no Survivors taking damage from Specials. 30
Burn the Witch Light a Witch with a Molotov. 10
Towering Inferno Light a Tank with a Molotov. 10
Spinal Tap Kill an Infected with a single blow from behind. 10
Stomach Upset All Survivors complete a campaign without being vomited on. 20
Brain Salad Make 100 headshot kills. 15
Jump Shot Headshot a Hunter while he's leaping. 20
Mercy Killer Survive the No Mercy campaign. 15
Toll Collector Survive the Death Toll campaign. 15
Dead Baron Survive the Dead Air campaign. 15
Grim Reaper Survive the Blood Harvest campaign. 15
Barf Bagged Cover four Survivors with Boomer bile at once. 20
Big Drag Drag a Survivor x distance with your tongue. 20
Chain Smoker Constrict two Survivors on one life as a Smoker. 20
Double Jump Pounce two different Survivors on one life as a Hunter. 20
All 4 Dead Kill all four Survivors on one life as a Tank. 30
Dead Wreckening Dole out 5000 total Survivor damage as a Special Infected. 20


And yes that is one more Zombie then in Dead Rising

[Le Goat]

http://media.1up.com/media?id=3637328&type=lg
According to a post (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/55477/) on Shacknews, Valve has recently issued a slightly different set of PC requirements for their upcoming zombie slaughter-fest Left 4 Dead (http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3155405/). The list (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170183/) is almost exactly the same, but if you do not have a 256MB video card installed on your system, take note, because that hefty requirement has been lowered to 128MB.

OS: Windows XP, Vista, Vista64
CPU: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 or AMD64X2 (or higher)
RAM: 1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista
Disc drive: DVD-ROM Drive
Hard drive: At least 7.5 GB of free space
Video: Direct X 9 compatible video card -- Video card must be 128 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9-compatible with support for pixel shader 2.0 (ATI 9600 or high. Or, Nvidia 6600 or higher)
Sound: Direct X9.0c compatible sound card

In addition to the new requirements for the PC, Valve has also released some screens of the Xbox 360 user interface, one of which is posted above. Check out the rest in our screenshot gallery (http://www.1up.com/do/media?cId=3157495&sec=IMAGES) for the game. Left 4 Dead is expected to infect retailers and Steam on November 18.

[Le Goat]

http://media.1up.com/media?id=3640008&type=lg
"Every time someone plays Left 4 Dead (http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3155405), we witness the most overwhelmingly positive reaction that we've seen from any of our games," says Valve president and co-founder Gabe Newell. "This gives us tremendous confidence in the product and [this is] why we've taken the game on the road, produced this pre-launch demo, and invested more advertising dollars on the title than any prior release from Valve." Wait a minute, did he just say "pre-launch demo?" That's right. Valve has just announced that their upcoming zombie co-op shooter will be available in single and multiplayer demo form on both the Xbox 360 and PC on November 6...at least to anyone who preorders the game. For those who aren't on the ball about getting their game queued up before release, you'll have to wait until November 11 for the demo to be made available to everyone. The multiplayer portion of the demo will wrap up on November 18, the same day the game is officially released.
For more on Left 4 Dead, check out our latest hands-on preview (http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3170748&p=1&sec=PREVIEWS), where we detail what it's like stalking the human survivors as a member of the Infected.

[Ocelot]

Yeah, I damn near shat myself after watching this. So good.

Left 4 Dead Opening Cinematic

42271.html

Kind of dark at times, but this just keeps getting better and better!

[Ocelot]

Found this zombie apocalypse survival quiz and thought it was somewhat entertaining.
Quiz: http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/zombie

My results:
"You Have a 36% Chance of Survival!"


Not looking too good.

[Will-Kill]

30% Chance.

I'm eating all your juciy brains.

[Draven X 23]

64% I like those odds.

[Le Goat]

Wait so is this out???

[Draven X 23]

No. I think if you pre-ordered it you can get the demo in a couple days.

[Le Goat]

Somone didn't update the release in here then

[Draven X 23]

Yeah E-Rad hasn't been around much. Its supposed to be released in 2 weeks (Nov 18th)

[Ocelot]

For those of you that pre-ordered this game, the early access to the demo started today.

I've played through the two levels given a few times. It's absolutely insane. On normal, it's a bit too easy, but it really shines on Advanced (have yet to try Expert). I love it. Can't wait for the full version.

[Draven X 23]

Can you play the demo with people or is it just a solo thing? You know, since its a demo?

[Will]

Its a shame my hatred of Steam precludes me from doing the demo, I fucking can't stand having software like that rammed down my throat.

[Ocelot]

Can you play the demo with people or is it just a solo thing? You know, since its a demo?

It's four players online, yeah. The demo just limits you to playing two of the levels. They are the first two levels int he hospital scenario, and the ones we've been seeing in the game videos and whatnot. So four player online co-op, no versus.

@Will: I love Steam, I think the way they handle it is great, and keeps everything in it's place and organized. And no real pains with DRM.

[Le Goat]

Can you play the demo with people or is it just a solo thing? You know, since its a demo?

The whole game is based off of Co-Op. No joke. So yes, it's with people.

[FlipHKD]

so the only way to play this demo is to get a code from gamestop after reserving it ?

[Le Goat]

so the only way to play this demo is to get a code from gamestop after reserving it ?

Yup, or I believe wait a few days and get it via XBL.

[FlipHKD]

damn

alright then

[Le Goat]

damn

alright then

Just throw down 5 bucks when you pick up GoW2 and you'll get gears AND L4D demo!

[Le Goat]

http://www.justin.tv/gamerzworld


live feed of some kid playing


at time of posting he'll be back in a few mins

[Le Goat]

ok he's playing now

[Le Goat]

holy fuck this game is going to be sic

[Ocelot]

I ordered mine directly off steam, and you just download the demo. No need to get it from Gamestop. It's damn amazing. No doubt about it.

[Le Goat]

fuckikng hell. I went and pre-ordered at 4pm today and NOTHING from gamestop so far. Fucking idiots.

[Le Goat]

I still haven't gotten my god damn code! The fuck is the hold up gamestop?!?!a

[Will]

Just pre-ordered mine from play.com for the bargain (in UK terms) price of £22.99, also pre-ordered Football Manager 2009 which I've been playing in its various iterations since the 94/95 season, fuck that makes me feel old.

I take it we're getting a team together for the night of the release to have a play through?

[Le Goat]

If a few folk get it we can do teams I guess

[Ocelot]

Hellz yeah. We could even do the versus mode if we get enough people.

[Snatch]

I'm getting this shit foh sho.

[GhettoSuave]

Stoked as hell about this game...

[Le Goat]

Ok so I got my beta key and played it a bit while on break from GoW2. Hooooooooooooly fuck I love this game. It's fast, it's brutal and most importantly, it REALLY makes you work as a team. Make a car alarm go off and BAM you get at least 200 zombies on screen chasing after you. It's sic.

[Jericho]

Ok so I got my beta key and played it a bit while on break from GoW2. Hooooooooooooly fuck I love this game. It's fast, it's brutal and most importantly, it REALLY makes you work as a team. Make a car alarm go off and BAM you get at least 200 zombies on screen chasing after you. It's sic.
I've been watching some gameplay. I like that you get the silouette of your team no matter where, so you can at least head there

[Le Goat]

I've been watching some gameplay. I like that you get the silouette of your team no matter where, so you can at least head there

Yeah it's pretty damn nice. I also like that the weapons you pick up are laid out on the table before hand and occassionaly scattered throughout the various levels. You basically pickup either a Shotgun or Uzi at the start, run through a horde of zombies (picking up molotovs, pipe bombs, pills along the way) and maybe mid-way through you get 3 or so new weapons laid out on a table (assault rifle, combat shotty and sniper were in this one). THen run from there.

[Ocelot]

The combat shotgun is a beautiful thing. Expert is near impossible (especially without coordination).

Also, for anyone that got the PC version:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=745113 <-- Allows splitscreen on PC with an Xbox 360 controller.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=745482 <--- Let's you play as and spawn boss infected in the demo. (Kinda buggy, but it works if you follow the steps).

What's the consensus here though, are people buying this for the PC or Xbox 360?

[Le Goat]

I agree that expert is the best mode to play on. It's fucking INSANE how many zombies are on screen and how fast they come. I see this game being around a LOOOOOOONG time for PC and 360 so long as they bring out fresh maps/characters every few months.

[Warden]

I'm rocking the PC version only because I don't have a 360.

[Ocelot]

I'm definitely looking forward to what the modding community will do with it. (I expect a few mall mods).

An amazing thing happened the other day while I played online on Expert mode. I was fighting through the subway section when I am grabbed by a smoker, and while being dragged to my doom a boomer decides to vomit all over me. That went over really well. Adding on to that, a hunter pins down another one of my teammates. I think we came out alive after all was said and done, but we didn't make it through that attempt.

[Celtickliq]

I paid in full for L4D when I picked up Gears 2 last week.The gameplay walkthrough on gamertrailers.com was pretty sweet.

Only issue is that my Gamestop sucks at giving demos out. I still have not received my Call of Duty demo and that is out tomorrow.

[Le Goat]

The demo is up on the Marketplace


I highly, HIGHLy recommend yall try it.

[dantino]

I'm getting it for the 360 me thinks. In such a co-op heavy game like this it helps when everyone usually has a mic, which most 360 people do as it comes with one.

[Nature's Folly]

d/l it now, shit i wish i had a better connection

[Snatch]

My friends complained that you could run too fast and that there was no secondary aim. They didn't like it. I think its fucking awesome.

[Le Goat]

My friends complained that you could run too fast and that there was no secondary aim. They didn't like it. I think its fucking awesome.

Your friends are fucking idiots and need to plug up their bloody cunts

[Snatch]

Anyone want to give this a go on expert?

[Gary_Busey]

I'm about to download the demo. I'm excited.

[Draven X 23]

Anyone want to give this a go on expert?

I would later on. I played it and its already making me pissed that I have to wait another week for the game.

[Gary_Busey]

Goddamn this game is badass. Anyone have the demo for PC?

[Will-Kill]

Downloading the Demo Now

[Draven X 23]

Expert is pure awesomeness. Unless you get someone who just wanders off.

[Le Goat]

Expert by yourself or with one othre person is fucking awesomely hard.

[Snatch]

Expert is annoying as fuck online. I just beat advanced without dying with friends. Expert with randoms is annoying, because no one communicates properly.

[Draven X 23]

Expert is annoying as fuck online. I just beat advanced without dying with friends. Expert with randoms is annoying, because no one communicates properly.

Its a challenge. Feels like 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake slammed together to make on hell of a life or death gaming experience.

[Will-Kill]

Good God....Pipebombs are teh shit.

[Draven X 23]

Yeah they have some blinker/sound thing that attracts everything.

I prefer the shotgun overall. Of course when in trouble its a lot less help.

[Gary_Busey]

I get flashbacks of Counter-Strike when I use the shotgun. I'm surgical with that shit.

[Snatch]

You guys can see where it could use a secondary aim right? I mean, it's annoying as fuck picking guys off at a distance.

[Le Goat]

I get flashbacks of Counter-Strike when I use the shotgun. I'm surgical with that shit.

Well it IS running on the Source Engine, sooo....

[Gary_Busey]

It was fairly easy with the assault rifle. Let the cross hair come together and pull the trigger. There's a sniper rifle too.

[Gary_Busey]

Well it IS running on the Source Engine, sooo....
REALLY?!

[Le Goat]

You guys can see where it could use a secondary aim right? I mean, it's annoying as fuck picking guys off at a distance.

No faggot. Secondary Aim is for faggots that play too much Halo. This is just enough to fit the game. If you want Secondary go play halo/cod/someother game.

[Le Goat]

REALLY?!

I keed, I keed, it's totally Unreal1

[Gary_Busey]

I think this game could use a little more blood splatter.

[Le Goat]

I think this game could use a little more blood splatter.

I agree, but only on the ground/walls. It just doesn't seem to spray/stay.

[Gary_Busey]

Yeah, the sprites they use for blood splatter aren't big enough. The splatter from headshots though is pretty nice. Like a purdy zombie blood fountain.

[Draven X 23]

Only issue for me is you don't have to shoot them in the head to kill them. But that would make it a ton harder.

[Le Goat]

Only issue for me is you don't have to shoot them in the head to kill them. But that would make it a ton harder.

I'm sure that'll be a fun gametype later on (probably a PC mod at first)

and for those that havent seen gameplay/AI yet

http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/22530

[Snatch]

I also thought its weird how its harder to kill guys that are hitting you than when they're 5-10 feet away. If you don't knock them off you, they're a pain in the ass.

[Draven X 23]

Alright I am playing online on Expert. 3 people, I have no idea who they are, and I are shotgunning our way through a ton of these beasts. Then the Tank comes through and whipes out 2 of them. Luckily I found a Molotov Cocktail earlier so we made it out alive. We find the other 2 in a locked room. We make it through the 1st level.

2nd level goes as expected to start. We battle through the subway and work our way to the last part. And Bam! One of the guys gets Tongued and ripped back into the subway area. I go to help. The other 2 decided to open the gate. So they are far ahead in deep with zombies. I free the guy and he takes off to go help. I turn around to go help and another one hits me with their tongue and I am fucked. I sit there dying and see the 2 guys that opened the gate die. I soon die after and the final person didn't stand a chance.

We tried again and made it. Witch was waiting for us at the end. But we took her out with a combo of automatic shotguns and fire. Was it easy? No. But pulse pounding action is a lot more fun.

On Expert you have to stay together or you are fucked. And that makes this game 10000x more awesome then I had hoped.

[Billy]

Loving the game, but I seriously want to kick whoever chose to not make the X button reload right in the sack. That's a fairly well established standard, why stray from it?

[Le Goat]

The description of the game on the xblmp made me chuckle.

[Limp]

Loving the game, but I seriously want to kick whoever chose to not make the X button reload right in the sack. That's a fairly well established standard, why stray from it?
You can't customize the controls?

[Le Goat]

I think you can but I don't go into the options

[Limp]

I don't buy games much anymore so I haven't been following this. I know it's probably been posted before but this trailer is badass! http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/22530

Looks like a great awake-at-3am-all-by-yourself-in-a-pitch-black-room kinda game.

[Gary_Busey]

I would say it's more intense that actually scary, although it does have it's moments.

[Limp]

Scary like Ravenholm in HL2?

(No I haven't play much since then and don't have better examples)

[Gary_Busey]

That's probably a fair comparison.

[Gary_Busey]

Added a poll so we know who has it for what.

[Kerjack]

Gotta admit it all looks and sounds pretty pimp

[Gary_Busey]

Anybody who has it for PC wanna play?

[Le Goat]

Citizens of the world be on notice: A zombie infestation is imminent. Dire news, indeed, but at least the coming invasion will be limited to the digital hemisphere of reality. Valve today announced that development has wrapped on the Turtle Rock Studios-developed Left 4 Dead, clearing the way for the game's November 18 release on the Xbox 360 and PC.
Valve also noted that PC gamers are now able to preload the game through Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/500/) so they can jump into the fray at 12:01 a.m. EST next Tuesday. Steam preorderers will also be afforded a 10 percent discount on Left 4 Dead's $49.99 asking price. The Xbox 360 edition will list for the standard $59.99 price point.
A survival horror shooter, Left 4 Dead is set in modern-day America, in which the remnants of a town attempt to blast their way through an ocean of zombies lest they become infected themselves. The frenetic shooter relies heavily on cooperative play, and supports up to four players at a time in online modes. Valve and Turtle Rock's shooter also includes competitive modes, in which players can hunt or be hunted as part of both the human and zombie factions.
A demo for the game containing both single- and multiplayer modes is currently available for both Xbox 360 and PC gamers. However, those looking to try before they buy will need to act quickly, as the sampler will be taken offline upon the game's launch next week.
For more on Left 4 Dead, check out GameSpot's previous coverage (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/left4dead/news.html?page=1).

[Le Goat]

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/left4dead/video/6201120/left-4-dead-gameplay-movie-11

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/left4dead/video/6201119/left-4-dead-gameplay-movie-10

for those that haven't seen the pipe bomb in action...

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/left4dead/video/6201072/left-4-dead-gameplay-movie-9

[Gary_Busey]

I used it last night online near the witch. Shit is efficient as fuck.

[Le Goat]

rest of the vids if ya want to take a gander

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/left4dead/videos.html?mode=gameplay&tag=tabs;videos

[Le Goat]

I used it last night online near the witch. Shit is efficient as fuck.

Yeah I like finding one on the apt level and as everyone is in the safe room i'll run up to the cars with alarms, set it off, run back down to the safe room and wait for the horde to show up. Then i'll throw the bomb, watch them flock to it and BOOM! Then I close the door.

[Snatch]

The melee attack is fucking huge and necessary.

It prevents friendly fire, can stop hunters from jumping you, and basically keeps you alive if you use it even kind of right. I wonder if, in later levels, we'll see crazier shit or guns.

[Nature's Folly]

I just got done playign a round and we made it to the 2nd safe room but didnt go in, we all agreed to just hang out and see how long we could last against the hoards and boomers and smokers and whatever else the director threw at us. It was fun, as long as you don't all go in the safe room you can keep running in there for ammo and just hang out. Worth a try if you haven't done it yet.

[Will-Kill]

One thing thats great is you can still reload while doing melee attacks.

[Le Goat]

Did you mean melee while reloading?

[Gary_Busey]

Anyone wanna play this tonight? Or CS:S? PLEASE!?!1/!

[Will]

I'll be about for a game in exactly 1 hour 40 minutes

[Nature's Folly]

Anyone wanna play this tonight? Or CS:S? PLEASE!?!1/!

i'd be down.

[Gary_Busey]

Keeewwwww. Not right now, but a little later tonight.

[Will]

I'll be up for another couple of hours I think, not much later than that though.

[RedBEARD]

This is possibly the most fun I've had with a game in along, LONG time - and of course I only have the demo.

[Draven X 23]

Seems like Left 4 Dead is pretty popular. Sounds good for a possible future sequel. Of course that would take them forever.

[Le Goat]

I doubt they'll make a sequel to this. I hope they just release a shit-tonne of extra (free) content like new maps, weapons, bosses (for MP and SP), raise the zombie hoard.

[Billy]

This game had better have some melee weapons that you find later on. That and a flamethrower

[Gary_Busey]

I doubt they'll make a sequel to this. I hope they just release a shit-tonne of extra (free) content like new maps, weapons, bosses (for MP and SP), raise the zombie hoard.
On the console? Probably not, but the PC community will develop tons of free shit for this. Nerds love zombies.

[Draven X 23]

Man my group got fucked up by a Tank tonight on Expert. We have been hiding in the saferoom because we thought he couldn't get it. We were wrong. The fucker took out one of our guys the rest of us booked it back to the saferoom. We close the door and awaited him to come. Normally he comes to the door and can't come in so we blow him away through the bars. Tonight he busted through the door and we went down faster then the Dow.

[Le Goat]

On the console? Probably not, but the PC community will develop tons of free shit for this. Nerds love zombies.

A large portion of the big devs WANT to give shit for free, MS wont let them for the most part but then again, free shit is NOT unheard of. But I do agree the PC mods will be in-fucking-sane and with the non-dx10 (hell, barely a 256mb could run it) graphics I bet this will be far-spread and around a LONG time.

[Gary_Busey]

The Source engine is an incredibly solid game engine. You could run this game on some cheap ass systems and it'd still look decent. I got HL2 to run on a shitty Intel integrated graphics machine one time, looked rough but it ran fine.

[Limp]

Zombie Mods make it to most PC games regardless if they are Zombie games or not. The Zombie Mod on CS and CS:S was AMAZING and a ton of fun.

[RedBEARD]

My Uncle and I played this a bit yesterday and he asked me almost immediately, "If they're zombies, why the hell are they running like Olympic sprinters?"

Still not sure I like the running zombies, but it's undeniable that they make for more of a challenge.

[Gary_Busey]

28 Days Later influence. I like it.

[Le Goat]

My Uncle and I fucked a bit yesterday and he asked me almost immediately, "If cock in ass, why the hell are they moaning like queers?"

Still not sure I like the cock in ass, but it's undeniable that they make for more of a challenge.


fixed for obvious SC truth.

[The GWD]

My Uncle and I played this a bit yesterday and he asked me almost immediately, "If they're zombies, why the hell are they running like Olympic sprinters?"

Still not sure I like the running zombies, but it's undeniable that they make for more of a challenge.

I know many people who grew up on the Romero-type zombies are pretty baffled at the runners, like I was, but it makes sense now. If they die and come back almost immediately then they would be just like they were only with one driving thought, "Eat". Depending on the amount of decay, how long they've been dead, rigor mortis would probably set in and slow them down.

I haven't played the game, but if there was a combination of the quick zombies and the shamblers, I think that'd be best.

[RedBEARD]

I know many people who grew up on the Romero-type zombies are pretty baffled at the runners, like I was, but it makes sense now. If they die and come back almost immediately then they would be just like they were only with one driving thought, "Eat". Depending on the amount of decay, how long they've been dead, rigor mortis would probably set in and slow them down.

I haven't played the game, but if there was a combination of the quick zombies and the shamblers, I think that'd be best.These tend to start off as shamblers - they'll be standing there or just milling around, doing nothing, then when they're alerted to your presence they take off like possessed children chasing down an ice cream truck.

And I get the "they haven't been dead long" deal, but doesn't rigor tend to set in fairly quickly? The opening video states that this segment takes place "2 weeks after first infection"...Assuming that whatever it is that caused this apocalypse has had to spread via the usual means (bites, attacks, etc.), wouldn't it stand to reason that a majority of these things would be stiff as boards by now given the timetable?

The strange thing about the zombie animations is that they run up to you then stop and the attack animation kicks in. You'd figure that Valve would have them all in one fluid motion...It's a minor thing to pick about, but it sticks out in a game this good looking.

[Warden]

That is exactly how I have viewed zombies. Romero wanted something slow, steady but relentless. Since 28 Days Later fast zombies have become more popular. Each have their own merits but a combination of both makes more sense. They are fast, strong and more agile after re-animating but slowly start to slow down and become more shambling zombies.

For the sake of this game, though, I imagine they are all fast. I mean shit, they can crawl on walls for fuck sake. As far as how this type of virus spreads and so forth, it may be something we never actually discover. It may be typical virus zombies or something more like 28 Days, where its not standard zombies but something different.

[RedBEARD]

Am I alone in the dislike for how creatures like vampires, werewolves, and zombies have developed or evolved? Vampires, case in point. They started off simple, now there's umpteen-hundred different "species" of vampire, all created to suit some idiot authors needs. Now we have zombies that shamble, some that run, some that have long tongues, and yet others that can explode/vomit all over you. The Romero-zombies still work for me because of the overwhelming nature they always carried.

[Warden]

I agree.

Slow Zombies > Fast Zombies

[Bizz]

I agree.

Slow Zombies > Fast Zombies

That would make the worst video game ever.

[Gary_Busey]

I like fast zombies way better. Slow zombies would make this game way to easy/boring.

[Billy]

Did we ever actually find out that they're zombies? The start mentioned 'infection' or something to that effect, but never zombies. Is it possible that this is some sort of disease or parasite a la RE?

[Le Goat]

Did we ever actually find out that they're zombies? The start mentioned 'infection' or something to that effect, but never zombies. Is it possible that this is some sort of disease or parasite a la RE?

If you're talking about 28 Days yes, we find out in the first few mins of the movie. It's an experiment, called RAGE and it spread quickly.

[wonderllama]

I hear there's a 3rd film in the works now...

[Le Goat]

Anything without Danny Boyle is fail

[mongo]

i think wonderllama is w/out danny boyle.

[wonderllama]

I hear Eli tries too hard...

[Billy]

I was referring to the game. I don't recall any explanation of why there was a zombie uprising in the intro movie or throughout the demo

[Le Goat]

I was referring to the game. I don't recall any explanation of why there was a zombie uprising in the intro movie or throughout the demo

THey may make passing reference in the game but if i'm not mistaken, it's purely just a survival game. Basically get from A-B without getting raped by hundreds of zombies.

I dig

[Billy]

That's fine. My point was that for those that don't relish the thought of fast zombies, the enemies may not even actually truly be zombies.

[Draven X 23]

The Demo says thousands of zombies.

For the record: Rigor Mortis starts anywhere from 30 mins to 6 hours after death. But it goes away. It only lasts up to 72 hours. Dead bodies do not have rigor forever. So a dead body that can walk without even having leg muscles should be able to run too I guess.

And Red I can understand your disappointment in everyone changing things like Vampires and Zombies and such. But thats just how things evolve. Zombies used to be people under a VooDoo spell.

Hell the most disappointing evolution goes from Vampires going from Dracula to the new One Tree Hill version of vampires in Twilight.

[Draven X 23]

That would make the worst video game ever.

Dead Rising was fun. As were the Resident Evil games.

[Ocelot]

L4D is going to become unlocked in just under half an hour (12:01 AM EST).

If anyone wants to add me on Steam, my ID is Klaus_Raynor. After it unlocks I'll probably be playing for a couple hours at least.

[Draven X 23]

Helping Hand (20)Revive 50 incapacitated Survivors.
Field Medic (20)Heal 25 Survivors with a first aid kit.
Pharm-assist (20)Give pain pills to 10 Survivors.
My Bodyguard (15)Protect any Survivor from an attacking Infected 50 times.
Dead Stop (10)Punch a Hunter as he is pouncing.
Cr0wnd (30)Kill a Witch with a single headshot.
Untouchables (30)No Survivors take damage after contacting the rescue vehicle.
Drag and Drop (20)Rescue a Survivor from a Smoker's tongue before he takes damage.
Blind Luck (20)You or another Survivor take no damage after being vomited on by a Boomer.
Akimbo Assassin (30)Survive an entire campaign using only pistols.
Hero Closet (10)Rescue a Survivor trapped in a closet.
Hunter Punter (10)Shove a Hunter off of a pinned and helpless Survivor.
Tongue Twister (20)Free yourself from a Smoker who has grabbed you with his tongue.
No Smoking Section (15)Kill 10 Smokers as they are pulling helpless Survivors.
101 Cremations (20)Set 101 Infected on fire.
Do Not Disturb (20)Sneak past all Witches in a campaign without disturbing one.
Man vs Tank (30)Single-handedly kill a Tank.
Tankbusters (20)Kill a Tank without it dealing any damage to a Survivor.
Safety First (30)Play an entire campaign with no Survivors taking friendly fire damage.
No-one Left Behind (20)Beat a campaign with all 4 Survivors.
Unbreakable (30)Finish a campaign without ever being healed.
Witch Hunter (20)Kill a Witch without any Survivor taking damage from her.
Red Mist (20)Kill 1000 Infected with a mounted machine gun.
Pyrotechnician (20)Blow up 20 Infected in a single explosion.
Zombie Genocidest (20)Kill 53,595 Infected.
Dead Giveaway (10)Heal a fellow Survivor when your own health is below 10.
Stand Tall (20)Survive a campaign without being incapacitated.
Zombicidal Maniac (30)Survive any campaign on Expert.
What Are You Trying to Prove? (35)Survive all campaigns on Expert.
Nothing Special (30)Survive a campaign with no Survivors taking damage from Special Infected.
Burn the Witch (10)Light a Witch with a Molotov.
Towering Inferno (10)Light a Tank with a Molotov.
Spinal Tap (10)Kill an Infected with a single blow from behind.
Stomach Upset (20)All Survivors complete a campaign without being vomited on.
Brain Salad (15)Make 100 headshot kills.
Jump Shot (20)Headshot a Hunter while he's leaping.
Mercy Killer (15)Survive the No Mercy campaign.
Back 2 Help (20)Leave a safe room to save an incapped teammate and bring them back safely.
Toll Collector (15)Survive the Death Toll campaign.
Dead Baron (15)Survive the Dead Air campaign.
Grim Reaper (15)Survive the Blood Harvest campaign.
Ground Cover (30)Save another Survivor from a Special Infected while on the ground.
Clean Kill (10)Shove a Boomer and then kill him without him splashing on anyone.
Big Drag (20)Drag a Survivor 100 feet with your tongue.
Chain Smoker (20)Constrict two Survivors in one life as a Smoker.
Barf Bagged (20)Cover four Survivors with Boomer bile at once.
Double Jump (20)Pounce two different Survivors in one life as a Hunter.
All 4 Dead (30)Kill all four Survivors in one life while playing as a Tank.
Dead Wreckening (20)Dole out 5000 total Survivor damage as a Special Infected.
Lamb 2 Slaughter (20)As an Infected, incap a Survivor who has entered and left a safe room.

[Superhuman]

This is easily the funnest game I've played in years.

[Warden]

I am downloading it off Steam right now. Some times, not working till 5pm has its advantages

[AJ]

I downloaded the demo, but since MS is made up of more fail than Claydon, it shows me the intro clip (way too long) then fails when loading the game. Just another example of how retarded anything on Xbox Live is. I blame Obama.

[Warden]

I think it said they were taking down the demo on launch day or something to that effect.

[Warden]

Holy fucking shit. That was 2 hours of the most intense game I've played in a long long time.

I am now addicted.

Quick newbie Steam question though, to do MP, do you go in under your Steam account name?

[IdiotBrain]

to do multiplayer? what exactly are you asking?

[Le Goat]

I'm pickin it up in a few. I can't fuckin wait.

[Le Goat]

How's the MP??!

[IdiotBrain]

Fucking hands down amazing.

Like Jessica Alba sitting on your cock amazing.

[Snatch]

Just picked this up. Anyone playing?

[Snatch]

It's sweet but when you play with retards its really annoying.

[AJ]

I downloaded the demo for this game the other day but it didn't work, so I deleted it and went back in to redownload it and it was gone. Anyone know why? Did it expire or is it just something wrong with my Live?

[Snatch]

Demo is over with the release.

[Draven X 23]

Anyone on? I just got it and need people to kill Zombies with.

[Le Goat]

i love how it's setup. I thought after i beat the first level it the game was over. Very cool re-cap.

[Warden]

I can't imagine what this game will be like playing with other people on the tougher settings. I'm getting my bearings just tearing through on Normal but damnit if I don't want to kick my team mates for being idiots, like taking the sniper rifle and not sniping.

This game is SICK fun.

[Le Goat]

the demo did NOTHING to give us a hint at Expert. Expert on the demo is about Advanced-hard normal on the fucking shipped game. Full-game-Expert is TOUGH. Myself and two of the best players I know had a tough time getting through it. took us 1hr 45mins to beat just the first level.

[Draven X 23]

I played it with some random people online. It went as expected. People ran in front of me everytime I was shooting. I'd duck down if I was in front of them and they'd still shoot me. I'd tell them to not wake up the Witch until we were ready. And of course they just walked by asking 'whats a witch?' and woke her up and died pretty quickly.

Eventually 2 of them left. So it was me and some other guy. We made it to the end pretty well. Then as the helicopter was landing we got Tanked! Great time. Then I went to eat dinner. Should be fun for many many hours.

[Ocelot]

Yeah people online are generally retarded and don't communicate as much as they should. It's amazing when you get a good group together though.

Last night we were on the last leg of the No Mercy level, about to get rescued by the chopper. running around on that rooftop is INTENSE, especially when a tank shows up. So he busts out of nowhere and immediately bitch slaps Zoey straight off the roof. Bye bye. At this point me and the other two are running and gunning at this guy, as swarms of zombies start climbing up and making things that much worse. On top of that, we had about every boss zombie present (save for the witch of course). Me and one other teammate manage to survive the tank+boss zombies, when the chopper finally arrives. We get flooded, and I try to fight my way through from the minigun to the landing pad, but I didn't make it. I basically dove into a moshpit of zombies and tried to melee my way to freedom. too bad the host quit after that attempt.

[noahsdove]

kickass fucking video
http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/21204


Holy shit I cant wait for this!

[Will-Kill]

Vs. Battle games just adds to the sweetness.....but the Smoker really sucks.

[Le Goat]

The multiplayer zombie-apocalypse shooter brilliantly brings players together thanks to great co-op and the most sadistic A.I. encounter system we've ever seen.
http://www.1up.com/media?id=2905621 (http://www.1up.com/do/my1Up?publicUserId=5380025) By Thierry Nguyen (http://www.1up.com/do/my1Up?publicUserId=5380025) 11/18/2008
> Reviewer's Blog (http://www.1up.com/do/my1Up?publicUserId=5380025) > Review Crew Profile (http://reviewcrew.1up.com/#5380025)
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Two key things will undoubtedly run through your mind as you play Valve's first-person survivors-versus-zombies shooter Left 4 Dead (http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3157495): the phrase "oh, s***!" repeated ad nauseam in response to a stressful turn of events, and the phrase "goddamn sadistic Director system" after either surviving or failing that stressful turn. The Director system in question is what makes L4D so special, although a lot of things make the game pretty damn good already. Its subtle yet pure focus on co-op play (don't expect dorky gimmick maneuvers like having one guy hold the gun while another pulls the trigger; L4D simply demands basic teamwork for any chance of survival), its satisfying gunplay, its deliberate B-movie tone, its surprisingly good single-player A.I. (it's no real substitute for multiplayer, but, yes, you can play this game alone and have fun), and its focused and interesting array of Infected (the game's technically not about undead zombies, but rather, a weird form of superrabies that infects most of the planet). In short, it's what you expect from a Valve shooter: a refined, well-crafted event. Yet what makes L4D so much more interesting is the aforementioned A.I. Director -- a character in its own right.

http://www.1up.com/media?id=3649022&type=lg (http://www.1up.com/do/media?cId=3155405&sec=IMAGES) Click the image above to check out all the Left 4 Dead screens.

On paper, the Director is simply an A.I. system that continually examines things like player performance, health, ammo count, and progress and sets up factors such as weapon locations, ammunition and health caches, the presence of Infected, and even the mood music at key intervals. In reality, when you're playing, the Director and its execution make it feel as if some sadistic, vindictive bastard is the one controlling the zombies. The Director floods your location with Infected and then rewards you with a two-minute break if you survive the deluge. The Director notices that maybe you're off your game tonight and slows the Infected down to a trickle. The Director taunts you into feeling like a powerful badass...before cruelly swatting you down. Just when you sigh in relief as the end of the level's in sight, it tosses in a Boomer (whose vomit instantly attracts all other Infected toward you), a Tank (an obscenely large and powerful Infected), and a Witch (when startled, she erupts into a one-hit-kill ragestorm). All at the same time.
The Director also makes its presence known in the Versus mode, where four Survivors face off against four opposing Infected players. The Director determines what role each Infected player takes at any given moment -- it's as if it's testing you by implicitly stating, "OK, I'm giving your team two Hunters, a Smoker, and a Tank. Demolish the other team," and then, as always, adjusting the flow based on how well both teams are doing.

http://www.1up.com/media?id=3649023&type=lg (http://www.1up.com/do/media?cId=3155405&sec=IMAGES) Click the image above to check out all the Left 4 Dead screens.


Ultimately, it all circles back to just how phenomenal the Director is and how it manages to effectively turn every match -- even if it's on a map I've seen many times -- into a unique story. It's amazing to see how much of a difference placing an enemy at location X instead of location Y makes. The Director's helped to create so many memorable play sessions that I overlook stuff like how the graphics aren't quite up to par with modern shooters, the scary and uncertain future of downloadable content for the Xbox 360 version (compare the PC version of Valve's Team Fortress 2 (http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=2014284) to its console counterpart), how sessions suffer from random glitches (players getting stuck in the level or the friendly A.I. suddenly acting dumber than a bag of hair), or how repetitive each campaign's overall escape-escape-escape-escape-finale structure feels. The Director's so damn amazing that it makes these minor flaws quite forgivable -- I can't wait to see if it makes an appearance in future Valve titles. Imagine how crazy it would be to have the Director determining the behavior of Half-Life 2: Episode 3 (http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3168480)'s Combine. Crazy!
Simply put, every time the Director brings down a swath of Infected, who then pound me into hamburger, and every time my team and I manage to survive against incredible odds until the end, and we hoot and holler about besting the Director, I do the same thing: I jump into another lobby and wait for a match to start. I love this damn game.

[gigantor]

Fucking hands down amazing.

Like Jessica Alba sitting on your cock amazing.

That description alone gets my $60..

[Le Goat]

God damn this game is goin to cause some heart attacks.

[Billy]

I don't know what Will is talking about, the smoker is just about the only good one of the bunch (If the enemies are capable). The boomer is shitty because the hoarde is on easy mode for versus, the hunter is alright but can't really do all that much damage if the humans are working well as a team (rapes any stragglers though), and the tank is huge loud and slow as fuck on top of which is has less health and does far less damage than the campaign mode ones (which is good, otherwise it'd be broken) and shouldn't really present that much of a threat especially given that it can't really even camp in a tight room and wait for the humans

[Draven X 23]

Anyone else notice the slap at Resident Evil in the opening scene?
"Run or shoot!'
"BOTH!'
You know. Since you can't do both in Resident Evil games.

[Billy]

Other than 4, fuck RE

[The GWD]

Resident Evil 4 sucked ass. Dynamite throwin', tentacle head zombies? WTF.

[Gary_Busey]

The first Resident Evil will always hold a special place in my heart.

[Billy]

RE4 was the only playable one of the bunch, fuck the rest of the series. Shitty camera angles coupled with the standard mediocre RE storyline made the rest of the games meh for any but the most hardcore of fanboys

[Le Goat]

RE1 was revolutionary, thus making it badass for the time. RE2 was an improvement on two and great for the time. The rest blew balls.

[justhere]

I don't know what Will is talking about, the smoker is just about the only good one of the bunch (If the enemies are capable). The boomer is shitty because the hoarde is on easy mode for versus, the hunter is alright but can't really do all that much damage if the humans are working well as a team (rapes any stragglers though), and the tank is huge loud and slow as fuck on top of which is has less health and does far less damage than the campaign mode ones (which is good, otherwise it'd be broken) and shouldn't really present that much of a threat especially given that it can't really even camp in a tight room and wait for the humans
Multiplayer sounds one sided.

[Billy]

It actually ends up fairly well balanced. None of the infected are much of a threat, but the fact that you have infinite lives and just keep coming at them, plus know where they are at all times evens it out

[Le Goat]

Multiplayer sounds one sided.

for the most part it is. The Survivors have a huge advantage, but that doesnt mean the MP game itself isn't fun. A vast majority of the time the infected will lose, the whole point is to just get the highest pointes as a team and try to rape the survivors. You play one round as the Infected and one as the Survivors and whoever has the highest score, wins. It's simple and unbelievably fun

[Billy]

I've never played in a game as infected with other competent players and lost, to be honest. The smoker is rape on the first few levels (if you pick really cheap hiding spots). If the other team leaves ANY stragglers a hunter will rape them, if you coordinate the attack with some of your other teammates to keep the others distracted temporarily. The boomer is pretty much worthless, though I suppose a hoard swarm coordinated with a smoker grabbing someone and a hunder picking off a stray is a solid distraction. Too bad boomers die in 1 hit to just about anything

[Le Goat]

The point of a boomer is to essentially call in an airstrike/martyr himself. You puke THEN die and rape the survivors. It's a win win for the team so long as you hide in a great spot and surprise all four.

[Spanky]

Well, just played this game for like 6 hours straight and I had a boner the entire time. Anyone play the missions on advanced yet? It takes probably 10 run through of each level until you win. Good stuff.

[Le Goat]

advanced is basically the demo equivalent of Expert. Shit is tough... and yes, I usually play Expert and if we get stuck, drop it down to Advanced.

[Spanky]

advanced is basically the demo equivalent of Expert. Shit is tough... and yes, I usually play Expert and if we get stuck, drop it down to Advanced.
I haven't tried expert yet, me and my friends are getting pretty fucking good though so I think we'll move up soon. We move in stacked formation with the front and rear crouching and meleeing dudes while the middle guys snipe. That's what makes this game badass, you actually have to use fucking strategy and save ammo and health as opposed to running around like a maniac. Still have the boner.

[Le Goat]

I haven't tried expert yet, me and my friends are getting pretty fucking good though so I think we'll move up soon. We move in stacked formation with the front and rear crouching and meleeing dudes while the middle guys snipe. That's what makes this game badass, you actually have to use fucking strategy and save ammo and health as opposed to running around like a maniac. Still have the boner.

Well you can change the difficulty at any point in the game, so just start out expert for the first half of the map and drop it down if you get stuck. It's well, well worth it and much more challenging.

[Billy]

Well, just played this game for like 6 hours straight and I had a boner the entire time

If it persists for more than 4 hours you should call a doctor.

[Spanky]

Well you can change the difficulty at any point in the game, so just start out expert for the first half of the map and drop it down if you get stuck. It's well, well worth it and much more challenging.
probably will, im already fucking shit up after only 6 hours. im going to buy this bitch soon, we need to get on and PWN NOOBS

[Billy]

I was on earlier, dickface. You should have hit me up.

[mongo]

play w/ me *******!

[Draven X 23]

Hard to believe how time flies when you are playing. My group tonight and I were dicussing how this game will get a sequel. But in the end we all agreed that if Valve really wants to they could just release A DLC thats a new Scenario every 6 months.

[Warden]

Valve needs to release 1 or 2 new Scenarios every quarter, and adding more playable characters and weapons would make it nearly perfect.

and expert is hard as fuck. At least in pick up matches. On the PC, lots of people dont have a head set, so communication is tough as fuck. The 1 map I played on expert, we made it to the first safe house after dying 4 times. Shit was tough

[Snatch]

Add me you fucking homos. Tag in Sig.

[Will-Kill]

I managed to kill all the humans with a tank, that. fucking. ruled.

[Warden]

I'm on the PC version. Warden4423

[Draven X 23]

Man you can tell a huge difference when you play with a good group. A lot of bad groups out there.

[Will]

Just installed mine now, I'm on the PC version as well - Will2061

[IdiotBrain]

my steamid is in my sig.

i shoot zombies recreationally.

[Le Goat]

Neg

[IdiotBrain]

anyone feel like playing some l4d on PC with me?

[Le Goat]

fuck you, everyone add me to on 360. I rape.

[Bizz]

I want to set up a GMF 4 player on extreme. I know Billy is down. This of course for the 360.

[IdiotBrain]

weaksauce

[Bill Paxton]

I just got this, i wanna play!

[Le Goat]

No!

[Draven X 23]

Dawn Of The Dead Mall Coming To Left 4 Dead (http://kotaku.com/5096479/dawn-of-the-dead-mall-coming-to-left-4-dead)

By (http://kotaku.com/5096479/dawn-of-the-dead-mall-coming-to-left-4-dead)Luke Plunkett (http://kotaku.com/people/Plunkett/posts/), (http://kotaku.com/5096479/dawn-of-the-dead-mall-coming-to-left-4-dead)12:00 AM on Sat Nov 22 2008, 18,644 views
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/kotaku/2008/11/crossroads.jpgTrain yards and sewers are all well and good, but zombie-blasting has a history. A pantheon of classic zombie-blasting scenarios. And few are as iconic as the Crossroads mall from the Dawn of the Dead remake. Originally built for a standalone Half-Life 2 mod, this Crossroads map is now going to be made available for Left 4 Dead, soon as it's done. And it looks pretty done. Also looks pretty damn spot-on. There's a trailer after the jump if you feel like a walkthrough.

(http://kotaku.com/5096479/dawn-of-the-dead-mall-coming-to-left-4-dead)Crossroads Mall - A Replica of the Mall in Dawn of the Dead (http://www.l4dmods.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12:crossroadsmall&catid=2:news)

(http://kotaku.com/5096479/dawn-of-the-dead-mall-coming-to-left-4-dead)

[Le Goat]

oh shi-

[Will]

Yeah I watched the video of that, looks amazing.

He kept saying in the pop-up captions that a lot of the areas were half finished detail-wise so expect it to be a lot better and filled in a lot more for release.

[Gary_Busey]

What system is this for?

[Le Goat]

PC.

Though a 360 mod would prob be made too

[Bill Paxton]

WHo wants to play with me?

[Billy]

what platform?

[Bill Paxton]

360

[Billy]

If we can get a full group, I'm down for a while

[Bill Paxton]

Anyone else??

[Bizz]

Billy is a homo, he never leaves COD4.

[Bill Paxton]

well homo billy is down, we need two more, say you're down bizz

[Bill Paxton]

im gonna create a custom campaign right now, let me know if you want an invite

[Bizz]

Yeah I'll jump in for a bit.

[Bizz]

WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!

[Billy]

we're waiting

[Billy]

How do you expect us to get in your room when we don't know your GT and you're not in the directory

[Billy]

Bizz and I are playing, feel free to send one of us a friend request

GT- Stakyn up money

[Bizz]

He is totally playing as the chick.

[Don Scrappy]

is this a sweet game?

[Bizz]

Does anyone know his gamertag?

[IdiotBrain]

It is an amazing game.

[Bill Paxton]

I was playing, you fags took way too long to respond

[Billy]

we were on immediately. Seeing as how neither of us know your GT and you never checked back to GMF you made it impossible to get into your game

[Bill Paxton]

i refreshed the page like 5 times to see if either of you responded. After like 10 minutes i said fuck it. I only had like a half hour/ 45 minutes and my roommate wanted to play too. Gotta get ya'lls shit together.

[Bizz]

I responded within 2 mins you lying sack of fuck.

[Le Goat]

smells like faggot tree and period juice in here. Calm down ladies

[Le Goat]

NW8tE93Vx8Q

[Le Goat]

woooooooooooah L4D Simpsons!

lJR0a8SsJg0

[Warden]

So has anyone manged to get through a entire scenario on expert? Normal has become boring and advanced is still a challenge with a crap group. Even trying on expert with people that don't communicate or listen is impossible.

[Billy]

All of my friends really suck at the game, so it looks like I'm stuck playing advanced until I find a better group of players

[IdiotBrain]

I've played a pickup game on expert, we made it to the helicopter landing pad at the top of the hospital, but after 6 tries I had to go to work.

2 good players/communicators, myself and one tard

[Billy]

Your gameplay falls somewhere between the good players and the tard?

[IdiotBrain]

Nah, I consistently had the most headshots, most general kills, least damage and most tank damage.

[IdiotBrain]

Is it just me, or does the tank always go for Louis first?

I guess he likes the taste of dark meat as much as Bill.

[Billy]

it's a well known fact in the horror genre that the black guy is supposed to die first

[Will-Kill]

I just played one of the most weridest games ever..
It was on easy, at first it played out like a normal game, then half way on the first chapter we were hit with 4 swarms back to back.
At the start of the 2nd chapter a fucking tank was in our safehouse, we killed it and continued. We noticed we had infinite ammo which worked out good, then we found 3 witches sitting in a group, killed them, after a while we noticed we had infiate molos and pipes as well. At the start of the last chapter 2 tanks were in the safehouse, at the end we stayed at the dock and i firebombed the entire area, only 1 person lived cause the tank got us at the end then the swarm finshed us off. Crazyist game ever...

FYI: Zombies can swim

[MDiver01]

hack?

[Bizz]

I just played one of the most weridest games ever..
It was on easy, at first it played out like a normal game, then half way on the first chapter we were hit with 4 swarms back to back.
At the start of the 2nd chapter a fucking tank was in our safehouse, we killed it and continued. We noticed we had infinite ammo which worked out good, then we found 3 witches sitting in a group, killed them, after a while we noticed we had infiate molos and pipes as well. At the start of the last chapter 2 tanks were in the safehouse, at the end we stayed at the dock and i firebombed the entire area, only 1 person lived cause the tank got us at the end then the swarm finshed us off. Crazyist game ever...

FYI: Zombies can swim

Unlimited ammo, unlimited grenades, easy difficulty and only 1 person made it on the boat? Are you fucking kidding me?

[Warden]

I just played one of the most weridest games ever..
It was on easy, at first it played out like a normal game, then half way on the first chapter we were hit with 4 swarms back to back.
At the start of the 2nd chapter a fucking tank was in our safehouse, we killed it and continued. We noticed we had infinite ammo which worked out good, then we found 3 witches sitting in a group, killed them, after a while we noticed we had infiate molos and pipes as well. At the start of the last chapter 2 tanks were in the safehouse, at the end we stayed at the dock and i firebombed the entire area, only 1 person lived cause the tank got us at the end then the swarm finshed us off. Crazyist game ever...

FYI: Zombies can swim

I discovered last night that if the owner of the room wants to enable cheats, he/she can. It blocks out achievements but it is possible. God mode, unlimited ammo, pipe bombs and anything else. Its kind of gay to play it that way. Also sounds like he was spawning in boss mobs to make it harder on yall.

[Will-Kill]

It may have not been on easy, that last tank took alot of dm. We were out of medkits and you can't heal on the floor.

[MDiver01]

Ever since the first PC update the game runs shitty for me. When I first got it I had no problems, ran everything on high and even had 8xaa going and no one single lag. Now since the update everyone in a while the game locks up for a little bit and the sound is still there but its like a scratched CD just repeating the last sound over and over again. It will do that for a few seconds, which is an eternity if you have hordes of zombies coming at you, then work fine until a few minutes later in the level it does it again. Anybody for PC have the same problem?

[Stax]

Runs fine for me. Any idea if there's anything funky about the "Akimbo Assassin" achievement? Buddy and I did all of the first campaign with nothing but pistols but didn't get it. Are you not allowed to shove?

[Will-Kill]

no molos, pipes, minigun, melee as well.

[defprophet]

I think im purchasing this game today, my gf wanted a 2 player game for both of us to play. I figured this would be the obvious choice. And im correct in thinking that I better pick up more xbl time with this game right?

[Le Goat]

Find a 30 day thing and enjoy. You'll get a good sense of if u should buy more xbl time. But in all honesty, 54 bucks for a years service is always a good price.

And you and her will love this game. It'll scare her onto ur dick and make u jump in some spots.

[Stax]

no molos, pipes, minigun, melee as well.

Dammit, avoided the first three but no melee? Yikes.

[Billy]

I think im purchasing this game today, my gf wanted a 2 player game for both of us to play. I figured this would be the obvious choice. And im correct in thinking that I better pick up more xbl time with this game right?
you can get a month free just by making a new xbox live account on the dashboard. Just make the account, pick the free silver account, and it will automatically give you a month trial of the LIVE