Or, how to make it more amazing than it will be regardless. I am a huge Valve junkie. I have basically the entire Valve Complete Pack off of Steam, except I bought it all separately as the games came out. I'm hardcoar and shit, yo. Kidding. Anyway, from the recent trailers for Left 4 Dead 2 and the trickle of information Valve has graced us with, I'm beginning to grow...skeptical. I'm still buying it, and I'm not joining that retarded-ass steam group, but if Valve doesn't deliver on a few of the following, I'd be a bit disappointed.



It appears Valve is inching L4D2 to the "survival horror" genre. And no, I'm not calling L4D2 a survival horror game, but a few of the design choices are a bit freaky. Taking a look at the L4D1 boss infected, they weren't all that frightening. The Boomer is a fatty who explodes epically when shot. The Witch is easy to avoid and is, well, a little girl in a bra and underwear. The hunter would be freakier if it wasn't hilarious to shoot down mid-pounce, and the Smoker's tongue is a scary concept but has some humor value to it. The only boss infected with shock value was the tank. When you're fighting it, you're too busy to notice how freaky it really is. The fact that it's tongue is constantly sticking out is kind of creepy, but the whole fact that it rushes at you with it's giant mutated arms while it's underdeveloped legs dangle uselessly is scary to me. L4D had amazing sound work, and it's sequel will be no different. The sound that the Charger makes is, well, freaking scary. It sounds like a hillbilly donkey. Just think of this situation: You're using the hunting rifle (which is now a PSG 1) to pick off a few infected in the background, and you hear the awful screech of the Charger along with a "thud, thud, thud" that is growing ever louder. You exit the scope to look for the Charger, but when you look to the left you get a faceful of mutated arm. I, personally, would shit myself. And when I was on DToid last night and saw the image of the Spitter, I cringed a little bit. That thing is fucking creepy. In my opinion, a bit over the top. Call me a scaredy cat all you want ('cause I am), but that thing is a bit disturbing. And the whole concept of the Mud Men is creepy as well...the fast zombies of HL2 are some of the most frightening enemies in gaming history, and I have a feeling the Mud Men will have similar mechanics. However, I know how Valve can counteract this: dialogue. The characters of Left 4 Dead 2 are very cool, each with their distinct personality. I can see some pretty awesome conversations between the characters. L4D had some great conversations, like Zoey yelling "Game Over Man, Game Over!" in the elevator of No Mercy. L4D 2 needs to have even more moments like these to break the tension and get the players to relax a bit before being charged or spat upon.



Second of all, I feel as if there needs to be more weapons. Yes, I know it was a good design choice to keep the weapon choices simple, and I know that me and every 10 year old wants "MOAR GUNZ", but I'd like some more variety. I love the SCAR, the Spas 12 is a neat idea, and the PSG 1 is a sweet gun as well. The silenced Uzi and the silver Wingmaster were great choices as well, but I want a little more. Perhaps another SMG that shoots just like the UZI but looks differently. Maybe a double barreled shotgun. I honestly don't care, I just want them to mix it up a bit, that's all.

And lastly, and most importantly, MAKE THE TWO GAMES COMPATIBLE WITH EACH OTHER!!! Give those who bought L4D 1 and L4D 2 the option to play both titles' campaigns within L4D 2. I think the people in the boycott group should go cry in a corner some more, but that doesn't mean they don't have a point. I think splitting up the two communities is a bad idea, and that finding some way to keep them together would benefit everyone. Because, frankly, I lieked teh campainz of l4d :(. And I don't want them to go away.

[P.S. I made the first image. Do you like it? If you'd like to use it as your wallpaper or for any other reason, feel free. If you'd like it in sexy, sexy 1600x1200, ask in the comments and I will deliver. Thanks.]