Left 4 Dead Multiplayer Footage + Update on Multiplayer experience

I took some video while playing L4D this morning and wanted to share it with you all.  The video is of a public game that I joined through the matchmaking process.  You’ll see at the beginning of the video I simply chose to join a multiplayer public lobby.  From there it placed me into a game and I was able to begin playing in under 2 minutes.  The video contains clips of my playthrough during the first stage of the demo level.  Take notice of the atmosphere, the effects, the boss zombie puss that attracts zombies, and the horrific results of triggering a car alarm.

Also, I want to make a brief update on my impressions.  In yesterday’s entry I noted that the matchmaking system was resulting in laggy games with lots of disconnects.  I’m pleased to report that it seems to have been fixed for the most part.  I’m able to find dedicated servers quickly with fantastic ping and smooth play and I have not been disconnected at all today.

I plan to take more video for you guys later today to showcase some cool things about the second stage.  So far nothing but fun in L4D.

  • Is the demo only available upon pre-ordering L4D? I’ve clicked and clicked the Install Demo button on Steam but… nada…

  • One thing I’ve always wondered about these zombie games — shouldn’t it be kind of hard to kill a zombie with a gun, seeing as they’re already dead and presumably have no vital organs or blood loss to worry about? You’d think it would take savage dismemberment to ‘kill’ a zombie, not a couple of pops with a pistol :p

  • Awesome video! I can’t wait for this to come out. It looks like so much fun!

    Question:
    Do you have to have 4 people to play co-op? Is it possible to play 2man co-op? If you can, is the level tuned for two people or do you just get 2 npc’s to fill in the rest of the team?

  • Scratch that question, just read the answer in your other post. =P

    For those too lazy to look. Yes you can play with less than 4 in co-op and the other team members will be npc’s.

  • This game is a blast. The action very intense and suspenseful.

    My daughters had a great time just watching me play the game. They would scream when i would get ambushed by the zombies.

    Oh, for any of you out there that have ever been offended by one of Keen’s opinions; you owe me one. I took him out with a shotgun blast to the back of the head. Sorry Keen;)

  • How long are each of these levels ?

    I just watched a couple youtube clips on (what appears to be) the entire first and second levels…
    First level: 5 minutes of playing.
    Second level: 8-9 minutes.

    They were single player games though, though I realize a 4v4 match will be quite a bit harder and (potentially) significantly likely longer.

    For those with the demo, how long has it been taking you to make it through the each level ?

    Are all 4 levels expected to be this long ? …or short ? As good as these levels may be, and as much as they can change every time they are played I can’t help but think they will get old…

    Its only been a day, but does anyone think that these levels could get old ? are they just THAT GOOD ?

    I’m hoping they are. I have high hopes for this game and I intend on buying it, but I’m afraid I’ll get tired of it.

    Any input on this ?

  • Graktar, zombies still have some mental ability, something that is controlling them, and this is the brain. Otherwise they would just be walking dummies.

    Cmon man this is Zombie 101.

    “Pierce or remove the head to kill a zombie” there is no other way.

    Zombies don’t have vital organs or blood, this is true. But they do have muscles and nerves and the motivating factor behind this is the brain. This is caused from infection, radiation, etc. a lot of things can make a zombie.

  • Weird Snafzg, it has sound for me. Is it turned up on the player?

    @Jaspr: The great thing about L4D is that the levels can be extended to be longer, slower, more dangerous adventures or you can rush through them. Someone did the entire first part in like 40 seconds. I’ve spent as long as 20 minutes on the first stage and the longer I survived the harder it got because the AI director kept trying to kill me with wave after wave of zombies. If you camp, they will come! 😀

  • I purposely triggered the car alarm to see how many zombies it would bring out…it was insane..but that’s how i roll.

  • Oh, and it was the upgraded shotgun that I dropped Keen with. Literally my first shot with it. I have now nicknamed that gun, “The Keen Dropper”. Very effective.

  • Expert mode is savage. Keen what name do you go by in game. I am looking for people that can work together.

  • I am going to get this when it comes out on Friday. How hard is the game on advanced difficulty compared to the others? Would an experienced player who player FPSs do alright?

  • The expert mode is pretty hard/intense – the Advanced is middle of the road, and the normal is pretty easy I think for someone who is a veteran of FPS games.

  • The difficulty also seems to vary a great deal even when on the same setting. I have had fairly easy expert games and extremely hard expert games. The true difficulty in that mode is friendly fire as each difficulty increases the amount of damage you take from other players weapons.

  • For difficulty, I’m also finding that it’s too easy when you play two players and allow the AI to take control of half of your team. They rescue very quickly whenever someone goes down from a hunter or starts to get dragged by a smoker.

    The game is definitely best played with a full team of 4.