As first revealed during the Microsoft E3 press conference earlier today, Valve has announced Left 4 Dead 2 for PC and Xbox 360. The sequel to last year’s co-op zombie hunting thriller will be out on November 17th with more content right off the bat than the first game has right now.
Melee weapons are the big new addition. Players will now be able to use chainsaws, axes, baseball bats and even frying pans to fend off those dirty brain eaters with. L4D2 will also come packing four new Survivors, more boss enemies, more co-op and versus campaigns, more maps for Survival mode, and the new and improved AI Director 2.0 tech granting the Director even more dynamic customization options.
“A large part of how Left 4 Dead became 2008’s top-selling new IP on Xbox 360 and the PC was the custom-tailored gameplay made possible by the AI Director,” said Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve. “With the knowledge gained from creating the original, new technology, and a passionate team, L4D2 will set a new benchmark for cooperative action games.”
Left 4 Dead 2 will be the cover story on this month’s latest issues of PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine, so check those out if you crave more info. Check below for the unveil teaser trailer.
Matt Litten is the full-time editor and owner of VGBlogger.com. He is responsible for maintaining the day to day operation of the site, editing all staff content before it is published, and contributing regular news, reviews, previews and other articles.
Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com. After a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez, Matt assumed full ownership over VGBlogger, and to this day he is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary! 
Not impressed. It is just too soon – didn’t see Valve as the ‘hey let’s milk the franchise for as much cash as we can right away’ types …
Seeing a sequel already surprised me a bit too. Melee weapons are the big new addition? That’s nice, but hardly a huge selling point to force entire sequel out on. They are partnered with EA now though. Maybe the franchise milking mentality is rubbing off on Valve a little…