Wooo !! Valve have just announced that Left 4 Dead 2 will be hitting shelves storewide later this year. According to Valve, Left 4 Dead 2 will be a much larger game than the original, and features new co-op and versus campaigns, all-new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, as well as melee combat.

Here are some of the information I gathered regarding the game. Please note that much of this information is preliminary, and may not be consistent with future information.

• Game Information
  

  - Release: November 17, 2009
  - Platforms: Windows and Xbox 360
  - Engine: Source

• Highlighted Features
  

  - 5 new campaigns
  - 4 new characters
  - 4 new melee weapons: axe, chainsaw, frying pan, and baseball bat.
  - New ranged weapons: pistols, silenced SMG, new shotgun, new sniper rifle.
  - New (heretofore unknown) game mode
  - Updated “AI Director 2.0″
  - New Infected types (e.g. Charger)
  - Missions in full daylight

• Other Features
  

  - Will work with community maps from the current one
  - A more coherent storyline between campaigns with more tie-ins
  - Round characters: over the campaigns, their personalities and relationships will change.
  - Still no backstory to the infection.
  - Left 4 Dead 1 content may be included in the DVD, so that Xbox players will not have to switch DVDs to play the old content.
  - All current game modes will (most likely) be included.

• Campaigns
  

  The Parish
  The final campaign in the main story sequence. Set in New Orleans, LA, it features daytime gameplay and a primarily urban setting. The goal of the map is to battle through various parts of the city (including the French Quarter) to escape on a military vehicle. Gameplay footage reveals building-to-building tactics as well as an elaborate scene where the Survivors must race across a bridge littered with cars, Infected, and dangerous drops. There also appears to be a much greater emphasis on other humans, as fighter jets can be seen in the background. This comes in stark contrast to the current L4D, which has a decidedly more bleak outlook with almost no show of a cohesive defense against the outbreak.

  Other Campaigns
  Very few details are available about other campaigns right now, but there are five, total. The first campaign is set in Savannah, where the infection has not completely taken hold yet. Between Savannah and New Orleans, there may be some swamp-based campaigns.

• Characters
  

  Coach
  A high school football coach who used to play for a college team until he had a career-ending knee injury and decided to get his degree. He’s from the Savannah, GA area, and is used to handling kids and parents.

  Rochelle
  A northerner from Cleveland. She has a degree in communications and always wanted to be involved in the news. After working for a cable news station as an associate manager, doing meaningless tasks, she was promoted and sent to produce a story in Savannah, where some kind of odd occurrences were happening.

  Ellis
  A smart, fun-loving, beer-loving, goofiness-loving mechanic with Southern flare. Need we say more?

  Nick
  A gambler, conman, and all-around picaresque personality in a slick, expensive suit, Nick joins the other three and is unsure about whether or not he can trust them. He’s the most cynical and bitter of the Survivors, and is still trying to figure out the best “angle” to get from the recent zombie apocalypse. Over time, he begins to value his new compatriots.

• Weapons
  

  - The axe will be able to crown a Witch if used properly.
  - The pan will make a CLANG sound when used.
  - The silencing of the SMG (a Mac-10) makes no difference in gameplay.
  - The game appears to have multiple types of sidearms. Currently, two 9mm models have appeared in the videos: the Glock 17 and Sig Sauer.
  - The new shotgun model appears based on the SPAS-12, but it is unclear if it has any effective difference from the Benelli M4.
  - There will be a chainsaw. A chainsaw. Say it again. Chainsaw.
  - New ammunition type: incendiary. After picking this up, your first clip will set fire to all Infected hit.

• Infected
  

  The Common Infected and current Special Infected will still be in the game. However, there will be some noticeable differences. Common Infected will be harder to kill. In the daytime, they won’t be able to see you from as far as in nighttime, and they will behave differently. They also have a different appearance. Clothing will be more in line with Southern appetites.

  The Witch will behave differently during daytime. Instead of sitting, she will stand and wander around, making her much more difficult to crown. She may also turn around randomly.

  Two new zombie types have been revealed: the Charger and the uncommon “suited” Infected.

  The Charger is designed to defeat camping tactics by rushing Survivors. He is not as strong as a Tank, but can do serious damage. From some accounts, there is less warning when a Charger appears, so he may surprise you and your group, especially from the flanks. He has a habit of charging groups like a bull, tossing and stunning anyone he hits. However, he has trouble turning, and it may be possible to side-step him.

  If the Charger grabs you, he picks you up (disabling you) and slams you to the ground repeatedly. Other Survivors must rescue you.

  The suited Infected is a type of “uncommon Common” Infected who is immune to fire-based attacks like Molotovs.

• Gameplay Changes
  

  The developers have said that they want to change things up and throw off current tactics and exploits without changing too much of what made the original game so enjoyable. This means that there will be some game mechanics changes and some new challenges.

  The AI Director (2.0) will have significantly more control. In addition to “his” current tasks of controlling spawns, item locations, and music, the new AID will also be able to control the layout of the map itself, changing the location of obstacles and available pathways. It can also control weather and other effects to completely customize the experience.

  In addition to crescendos, the new experience will include “gauntlets”. These are designed to force Survivors to move by placing an objective at the end of a path. This objective must be reached to stop the hordes from coming. Stacking and camping will no longer be viable options for these.

• Superficial Changes
  

  - Increased gore
  - More complex location damage (shearing of limbs, part of the chest, etc.)

Lastly, not forgetting the teaser trailer