A hands-on look at the new Swamp Fever campaign in Left 4 Dead 2 has revealed a new type of special Infected (the Spitter), new “common-uncommon” Infected, and the new Ammo Pack and Adrenaline powerup accessories.
Our colleagues over at GameSpy got a chance to check out the new Swamp Fever campaign in the upcoming Left 4 Dead 2, and there’s some pretty interesting stuff going on down in the bayou.
First, there’s what Valve refers to as “common-uncommon” Infected – they’re more numerous and common than your usual special enemies, but they’ve got some nifty abilities to set them apart from the normal hordes eager for your succulent brains. They’re also unique to each campaign: In the Swamp, the Survivors will run into ‘mud men,’ “zombies who run on all fours incredibly quickly, making them hard to detect, and especially so when they’re in a couple feet of water.”
Then again, there are also new special Infected – in this case, the Spitter. The Spitter seems to be cousin to the Boomer, in that its primary attack is to spew vomit as an area-of-effect attack. Sure, it hurts the Survivors, but more importantly it splits them up – potentially fatal in, say, a zombie-infested bayou.
But the four Survivors have new tools to help them, well, survive, too. Ammo packs can be carried as replacements for first aid kits for a quick boost if you’re making a stand and running low on zombie repellent. Adrenaline pills let a character run into the middle of the shambling hordes without being slowed down, and removes fatigue from melee swings – nicely befitting the sequel’s new melee-based gameplay.
The report isn’t 100% accurate, though – while it states that the adrenaline and ammo pack will completely replace the standard pain suppression pill and first aid pack, respectively, that may only be the case for multiplayer. Currently, Lead Designer Chet Faliszek told The Escapist, the plan is for them to be “optional replacements” for their respective slots. So a Survivor might opt to carry a first aid kit or an ammo pack, but not both.
All in all, the game seems to be shaping up very nicely. The sequel is supposed to hit shelves this November, though since that’s on “Valve time,” we can likely expect to see Left 4 Dead 2 releasing just before Diablo III in 2014.
(Via Kotaku)
