Left4Dead 2

Valve's announcement of this game has left me horribly torn. On the one hand, it looks like everything the original L4D should have been. It has chainsaws, daylight, and a better variety of special infected, including witches that are (reportedly) tough to deal with. The new cast of characters doesn't seem to have quite the same charm, but then again all we have to go off of is a few short trailers. RPS has a hands-on preview, and I found myself sharing their enthusiasm.

On the other hand, this is what the original L4D should have been. Coming only a year later, after a release that was short on content to begin with (and noticeably chainsaw-free), it feels distinctly un-Valve-like. I expect other studios to push out a half-finished game and then charge again once they release the fully polished "sequel", but until now Valve has been above that kind of crap.

Now, I'm not going to say that the original L4D isn't a great game in its own right, because it is. But really, I'm left feeling like a bit of a sucker now. The short development cycle makes it painfully obvious that another 6 months could have given us an irate Francis cleaving apart a Charger with his trusty axe. Not only would I have waited another half-year, but I would even be willing to throw down a 20 for the new content that L4D 2 is set to deliver. But a full priced game? "I hate blatant cash-grabs."