Valve unveils Left 4 Dead 2, says 'stay tuned' for HL2: Episode 3

To the dismay of many Half-Life fans, Half-Life 2: Episode 3 did not make an appearance at this year's E3. In its place was the surprising announcement for Left 4 Dead 2, a sequel to the original that came out less than a year ago. Many Valve supporters were upset by this announcement, arguing that Left 4 Dead 2 should have been the downloadable content Valve promised for the first game. However, Doug Lombardi and Chet Faliszek of Valve clarified L4D2's status as a full-blown sequel in an interview with ShackNews:

Yeah. At the end of the day, this is going to be a bigger game than Left 4 Dead. It's five campaigns versus four, all five are playable in Versus mode, Survival mode out of the box, the new multiplayer game mode. Plus over 20 new weapons and items. It's a full sequel."

When I first saw the trailer, I wasn't feeling as pessimistic as the other Valve fans. The idea of a Left 4 Dead game chronicling the story of four new survivors in New Orleans is a pretty cool premise to me. For me, it gives a greater universal feel to the Left 4 Dead games. It's also important to mention that there are melee weapons in the sequel: axes, chanisaws, frying pans and more. Check out the trailer for yourself and see what you think.

One of the most exciting components for this sequel is the AI Director 2.0 that will have full control over weather effects. So while you may have noticed the sunny atmosphere in the trailer, all that will change to the AI director's will when you're in-game. I'm also excited about the prospect of a lot of new weapons and new special infected.

While I am disappointed that HL2: Episode 3 did not get shown at this year's E3, I'm confident we'll be hearing about the game sometime this summer. And we have to trust Valve on this, because while Valve's development process is usually long and delay-ridden, their games always turn out to be the best in the market.

Here's a Left 4 Dead 2 gameplay video to hold you for now:

Microsoft blows Nintendo out of the water with Project Natal

It has been expected for Microsoft to reveal some kind of motion-sensing controller at this E3, but nothing could have prepared us for Project Natal. Project Natal was revealed yesterday, and it appears to be a full-fledged motion-detecting camera that--wait for it--turns your entire body into a controller. Having been a longtime Nintendo fan, I am sad to say that Nintendo has officially just lost this console war. Watch this demonstration video and you'll understand why the Wiimote is pretty much a joke now.

More Gear Videos at IGN.com

I still have some faith in Nintendo though. The Red Steel 2 demo looks pretty sweet and we should be hearing about a new Zelda/Mario in the next few days. Lets cross our fingers!

Alan Wake

Watching the gameplay from Alan Wake felt like I was watching the trailer for the next blockbuster horror film – except this actually looks GOOD instead of the formulaic crap that Hollywood has been reusing again and again.

The idea of a novel coming to life is eerily similar to The Shining, and the setting seems to be inspired by it as well – the main character placed in an area that appears to be in the woods, disconnected from the general population. The lack of ready explanation of what was going on really enhanced my creeped-out factor rather than pissing me off – I’ve always enjoyed the movies and stories that make your stomach flip around in fear of the unknown lurking in the shadows.

I am also a sucker for epic landscapes in games, and from the looks of the town of Bright Falls I won’t be disappointed. The first pan in on a lighthouse immediately draws me in and, as a native Mainer, makes me feel even more immersed – if I were being attacked by zombie vampires and running for my life, chances are I would see a lighthouse along the way. The moonlight glittering off the water of the dam followed by the sun rising over a mountain scene only intrigues me more – I am particularly impressed with the graphics when the camera switches to a close-up of our main character, Alan.



Human faces have often been a bit jarring for me in video games because they are very hard to duplicate, but even then brief flashes of Alan’s face seem to be a bit more realistic – maybe it’s from the subtle wrinkle in his forehead, the small bags under his eyes or the hint of stubble.

I am a little wary of the “slow-down” effect that seems to occur when you are being attacked by enemies. A fast paced fight can be great, so forcing me to move in slow motion while a wrench flies into my head isn’t exactly my idea of a good time. I do, however, enjoy the burning power of the flashlight against what appears to be zombie/vampire hybrids; it reminds me a lot of the mirror shield from Zelda, so the game gets cookies for that.

So far Alan Wake has my interest – it’s slated for release in spring of 2010, so while we won’t get any Christmas zombie goodness I’m still excited to see some mind bending, thriller goodness for my 21st birthday.

Alan Wake at IGN.com

Anxiously awaiting some big announcements from Valve on Tuesday

It’s been 19 months since Valve Software released the jam-packed Orange Box, featuring Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2. Now that we’ve seen the release of Left 4 Dead and countless TF2 updates, I think it’s time that Valve opens their collective piehole about the next Half-Life game. It’s not even funny anymore. It’s been 19 months!

Yes, Valve released two concept art pieces for Half-Life 2: Episode 3. They are both great and compelling. Lets look at ‘em:

Those look pretty cool, but what else do we know about the game? NOTHING! NOTHING! Nothing besides what the end of Episode 2 implies.

Many of us Valve fans have been patiently and impatiently waiting for some information about the new game, but nothing else has come out besides the fact that Episode 3 will end the Half-Life 2 story-arc. E3 starts this week and Valve is going to make some presentations on Tuesday, so let us hope that they will spill the beans about the continuing adventures of our beloved silent scientist.

-smash- from HalfLife2.net will be meeting with Valve Software at the E3 on Tuesday at 2pm PST (5pm EST), and he has created a Twitter account to update on his findings about Valve’s latest projects, so be sure to follow him right here. Who knows… maybe we’ll hear about Portal 2 also! All I really want is some info on Episode 3 and possibly a release date (yeah right) and I’ll be golden.