That's it! I'm starting a petition to get the pre-orders of this game to pass those of Modern Warfare 2!
Who's with me?!!?!

(sorry, had to do it for the lulz)

I went from Left 4 Dead 2 only, to both this and MW2. I won't have time to play all of them!

I have to say that all in all, I really didn't like Left 4 Dead 1, but I love this one.

It won't unseat MW2, but it sure as hell deserves to. And this wouldn't be Valve's first franchise, as they've made way more Half-Life games than L4D. But hey, if anyone deserves mainstream success, it's Valve, and you can bet they'll be the only company that won't take advantage of it.

"I think Valve's earned a little bit of franchising."

Nobody "earns" or "deserves" whoring out a franchise. I don't think that's what Valve is doing (unless they release L4D3 in 2010,) but continually making the same game is something that should be avoided by every developer.

I agree with Woocifer. I hate it when companies make good games that I can play with my friends.

@TheBigFeel

Agreed. Having fun is way overrated, and should be avoided at all costs. That's why I signed the boycott not once, but 97 times. That's how furious I am.

Wow, you can make money without being total douche-bags to your costumers!
Somebody tell Activision ;)

@woo/dj

you guys can suck it. It's rare where a game sequel can be as good and in someways better than the original. I wanted more of the same and am happy to get it with the sequel.

If the game had any potential to be worse than the original I'd be inclined to agree but based on the demo it's a massive refinement and much improved AI, something that wouldve probably upset a few people had they just forced "new gameplay rules" on people who bought the original. Add in the new Infected, more diverse weapons, melée weapons, new campaigns, new characters, etc...

People LINE UP to milk the teat of EA annually for a fucking roster update.

Be a bit grateful that Valve managed to actually produce something with a lot more meat on it. They couldve just thrown out new maps and left the game out to pasture with endlessly recycled expansion packs.

YAWN.

i love how people bitch that half life 2 ep 3 is taking too long to release and then turn around a bitch about l4d2 coming out too soon.

gamers....you can never please em

unless l4d2 has a story....the lack of one is what eventually led me to get bored of the original

I really want Left 4 Dead 2, but I don't have the money.
Maybe the reason there are so many preorders is because there are free hats in TF2.

@Los255

I completely agree.

Put this game in my hands asap.. Dubs on coach... I'll be the one mimicking cleveland's voice from family guy

@dj3pdro:

everyone deserves to be rewarded for hard work. having a winning, unique and exciting game, and then making significant improvements upon an already great experience? we're not talking about lazily slapped together rehash here. valve is one of the few gaming companies (not to say there aren't others) who are truly worthy of the 60 odd bucks we give them for the experience they've spent so much time, money and effort into creating for us.

@jack

i do play expert quite a bit but the only challenge comes from the 2nd level....oh well
ill probably play Realism mode most of the time anyway

Really can't hop off the hate train towards the boycotters? Jim, I know you're sour, but the sore winner mentality is passe now. Especially now that the demo's been released and *gasp* looks like it's DLC!

"Graphics are okay but outdated, levels are very basic and the creatures are nothing special."

....um, have you even TRIED to look up anything about this game? Hahah. No offense intended, but this game has everything you say it doesn't.

The graphics are amazing, dude, with a level of detail and gore that you would be hard pressed to find in any game. The gore alone needs an award for it's sheer level of detail; shooting a giant hole in a zombies back and watching him walk a few steps trying to grasp his brain stem is just as awesome as it sounds. Also, simply because it doesn't look like Uncharted 2 or Modern Warfare 2, doesn't make the graphics outdated, it makes them different. Not everything needs hyper realistic textures and parallax occlusion mapping.

The levels are not very basic at all. The levels dynamically change every time you play them. Levels have multiple ways to get from A to B, and the game changes up which ways are blocked, where weapons are and what is spawned and tons of other dynamic factors. There are areas in the game where you have to do things like run through fast paced gauntlets, or take your time sneaking between a field of readily alarmed cars, or keeping a generator going while being attacked from all sides; this isn't taking in to account the vastly different levels and how their environments will come in to play - carnival, swamp, etc.

And the creatures are nothing special? Are you insane? I don't think there have been any enemies from any game that I remember being as stylish and unique as the 8 special infected from Left4Dead 1&2. They all have their own unique attacks that effect gameplay in a vastly different way to alter the experience. Can you give me 8 enemies from another game that are equally as unique and fun?

Borderlands, while I love it and have put like 30 hours in to the game, has no where near the variety of enemies that Left4Dead2 does. Nor does it offer the range of gameplay experiences that Left4Dead2 will in the form of it's little tasks. Borderlands consists entirely of go to X and press Use on the glowing item/kill the Badass. It's fun, but it's nothing amazing either.

I think you are judging the game too harshly. The real fun of Left4Dead lies in 8 player coop, not 4 player coop. Being able to play as the enemy to try to stop the opposing team of survivors from reaching the safehouse is unlike anything in any other game EVER made. Give it a chance!

From a couple of plays of the demo - definitely more of the same, an expansion pack pushing the same game in a few new directions, and that's no bad thing. Compared to the generosity they've shown TF2 players, it's clear Valve are realising their work commands a higher price than they've asked in the past, and are now asking for it. But they've also shown they offer discounts for those willing to follow Steam closely, and long-term support for both games seems pretty likely. So no boycott here, I've always found their games a good long-term investment :)