Left 2 Change

I must admit that when I first heard about Left 4 Dead 2 being announced at E3 2009, I felt a bit bad. After all, its unlike Valve to release a sequel so fast (only one year after the release of the first Left 4 Dead). Also, a sequel usually means that the previous game is obsolete. Apparently I wasn’t the only one to feel this way. Many Left 4 Dead fans are protesting against the impending release of a sequel for a variety of reasons, some of which make some sense (‘Significant content for L4D1 was promised, and never delivered’), others are just plainly a reflection of a fear of change (‘L4D2 is too bright to fit in with L4D1’s visual aesthetic’).

And that’s just the thing. The fear of change had lead to many protests on the Internet for technically ANY change. Facebook got a new interface? ‘But we like the old one better!’. The new Star Trek movie has a different theme than the Star Trek movies of the 60’s? ‘We want more of the same!’. It’s like there will always be a huge group of ‘hardcore’ fans of <insert franchise name here> that will say ‘better is badder’ for any change to their beloved <insert franchise name here>.

On the other hand, there are times that a group opposing a change is on to something. Sometimes, the change really is for the worst and the opposers manage to reverse it back. It’s these rare occasions when a group of idiots gets it right.

So when I found myself resisting something because its different, which in this example is the fact that Valve, which is known for releasing sequels years in between, would be releasing a sequel only a year after the original, I couldn’t make up my mind on whether or not my reasoning for this ‘mental’ resistance to this particular change is solid, or whether I am just another nay-sayer for all the wrong reasons.

New characters, new weapons, new maps – New game!
(Screenshot from Destructoid.com)

I have decided that it wouldn’t be smart of me to condemn this new release. Just because Valve had gotten us used to games that were years in the making and had provided free additional content years after the games were released, it doesn’t mean they have to do this for me. Left 4 Dead was very successful. If they feel they can release a sequel that early, then kudos to them. The first game was complete and I think I got my money’s worth for it. In a world where EA is allowed to release near-identical sequels to their sports games year after year after year, I think Valve are allowed to create their own frequent release franchises without us putting them through a shit storm.

In the mean time, enjoy the E3 2009 Trailer for the game:

Zombies in broad day light seems creepier, don’t you think?