Kicking off the PAX coverage of Left 4 Dead 2 is none other than Kotaku. The team offers up their own impressions of the sequel to the Zombie survival shooter of 2008.
Other notable points of interest include the fact that during the daytime parts of the game, the common infected will be more alert and aggressive than their nocturnal counterparts. The clown Infected will have squeaky shoes that will attract additional Infected into an area.
Kotaku also had a chance to play two parts from the Swamp Fever campaign. Without giving too much away, they stated that there are "striking visual elements, surprising objects, and memorable set-pieces" throughout that particular campaign. For the complete details on their play through, look no further than the source of the information itself, Kotaku.
I encountered some of the sequel's newness when the Jockey pounced on my character's back. This new special zombie announces its presence with a tell-tale snicker before it leaps on a victim's back. It rode Rochelle away from allies, thwacking her with a free hand as it went. The player can try to steer in a better direction, but can't outright resist where the Jockey drives them. Later, a Jockey would pounce on Coach, Faliszek's character for the session, driving him across distant rooftops until one of us shot the zombie down.
Also new — newest of all, perhaps — was the Charger, revised since E3 2009 when this whole sequel debuted. This special zombie no longer barrels through the players' group before grabbing one of them. It now rushes in and grabs a human player immediately, smashing them all the way toward whatever wall or other vertical heap is the terminus of their headlong rush.
Some of the novelty in the sequel is subtler. Faliszek described the enhanced teamwork tactics of the special zombies. The sequel-debuting Spitter, for example, won't just spray part of the ground with toxic, damaging goo. It'll spit into safe rooms and other places where players might camp out. Worse — or better — a Jockey may intentionally steer a player's character into the spot where a Spitter just spat. They team up so that you're more likely to lose.
Also new — newest of all, perhaps — was the Charger, revised since E3 2009 when this whole sequel debuted. This special zombie no longer barrels through the players' group before grabbing one of them. It now rushes in and grabs a human player immediately, smashing them all the way toward whatever wall or other vertical heap is the terminus of their headlong rush.
Some of the novelty in the sequel is subtler. Faliszek described the enhanced teamwork tactics of the special zombies. The sequel-debuting Spitter, for example, won't just spray part of the ground with toxic, damaging goo. It'll spit into safe rooms and other places where players might camp out. Worse — or better — a Jockey may intentionally steer a player's character into the spot where a Spitter just spat. They team up so that you're more likely to lose.
Other notable points of interest include the fact that during the daytime parts of the game, the common infected will be more alert and aggressive than their nocturnal counterparts. The clown Infected will have squeaky shoes that will attract additional Infected into an area.
Kotaku also had a chance to play two parts from the Swamp Fever campaign. Without giving too much away, they stated that there are "striking visual elements, surprising objects, and memorable set-pieces" throughout that particular campaign. For the complete details on their play through, look no further than the source of the information itself, Kotaku.