Go scavenging in Left 4 Dead 2

by: John - posted: 10/8/2009 5:02:00 AM

Valve announced a new gameplay mode coming to Left 4 Dead 2 and if you played Crash Course in the first game it might be familiar to you. Scavenger pits two teams of four, Survivors against Infected, where the survivors are trying to fill up a generator on each map with gas cans.  Each fill up earns more points and time on the clock.

As the Infected, your job is keep the Survivors from getting that generator filled by attacking them, destroying the gas cans, or causing the time to run out. It's round based like Versus so each team gets scored and the higher total wins.

There's also a little more talk on the new A.I. Director. Now we know it can change paths as was told to me by Doug Lombardi at E3. Now the director can also change the weather and world objects as well. This should add some more variety to the game.

All told, the new multiplayer mode sounds pretty interesting and I'm hoping one of our very own got to check it out yesterday to give us a report on it soon.

Bellevue, WA - October 8, 2009 - Valve, creator of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced Scavenge, the fourth game mode to be included in its upcoming zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead 2.

Scavenge mode challenges players to compete in round-based games of up to 8 players (Survivors vs. Infected). The Survivors must battle both the Infected and the clock as they collect gas cans to refuel a generator located in each map. Every can the Survivors pour into the generator scores their team a point and adds time to the clock.

On defense, the Infected team plays as the boss Infected (including the new Spitter, Jockey, and Charger). They must keep the Survivors from fueling the generator by attacking them, destroying the gas cans, or running out the clock. During a round, each team gets an opportunity to play both sides, with the round going to whichever team successfully delivers the most cans.

Coming exclusively to Xbox 360 and PC, L4D2 promises to set a new benchmark for co-operative action games and become one of 2009's marquee titles. Set for release on November 17, the title adds melee combat to enable deeper co-operative gameplay, with items such as a chainsaws, frying pans, axes, baseball bats, and more.

L4D2 also introduces the AI Director 2.0, adding the ability to procedurally change weather effects, world objects, and pathways in addition to tailoring the enemy population, effects, and sounds to match the players' performance. The result is a unique game session custom-fitted to provide a satisfying and uniquely challenging experience each time the game is played.

Finally, with new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, Left 4 Dead 2 offers a much larger game than the original, featuring more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, new Survival maps, and a brand new competitive mode all available at launch.