PC owners win, as the pre-order (Steam, participating retailers) demo goes live on 27th October, with open access (to non pre-orders) following on 3rd November.

Xbox 360 picks up the baton from there, as Xbox Live Gold members can play from 3rd November, and Silver members from 10th November.

The Left 4 Dead 2 demo offers gameplay from The Parish campaign. Up to four people can play, with two-player split-screen an option on Xbox 360. All of the new boss Infected and melee weapons are present in the demo.

Left 4 Dead 2 launches on Steam on 17th November and in shops on 20th November.

Note: Any reference to links wont work as links arent in the blog.
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Game Information

* Release: November 17, 2009.
* Platforms: Windows and Xbox 360.
* Engine: Source.
* Preliminary Price: $59.99 for Xbox 360. $49.99 for PC.
* Publisher: Electronic Arts (according to Amazon.com).

Highlighted Features

* 5 new campaigns, including The Parish. (See art.)
* New, unannounced game mode. All chapters will be available for all game modes at launch.
* 4 new characters: Coach, Rochelle, Ellis, and Nick.
* 20 new weapons and items. [Source?]
* 10 new melee weapons. Known melee weapons: axe, chainsaw, frying pan, and baseball bat.
* New ranged weapons. Ranged weapons at least include new pistols, SMG, new pump and auto shotgun, new sniper rifle. A powerful revolver and a bolt-action rifle are planned.
* More powerful AI Director 2.0.
* New Infected types, including 3 new SI (e.g. Charger).
* At least some daylight gameplay.

Other Features/Mechanics

* Will work with community maps made with the L4D1 SDK. [Source: See FAQ.]
* Portal level designer Kim Swift is involved in the level design.
* 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. This might also be true for PC users. [Source?]
* Co-op mode, Versus mode, and Survival mode for all maps will be included at launch.
* Melee fatigue will be included, and may affect Campaign mode.

Storytelling

Left 4 Dead 2 is designed as a much more continuous story than the original game, with more tie-ins between campaigns. The team has expressed a desire to improve the storytelling without adding bulky narrative devices like a deluge of cutscenes. To do this, the Survivors will be round characters—over the course of the campaigns, their personalities and relationships will change. There will be more back-and-forth interactions and running jokes. Also, each campaign will have a brief introduction cinematic that helps to bridge the gaps.

The campaigns are set in the American Southeast, one week after the original game’s events (and three weeks after first infection). In some places, the infection is not as pervasive as in the Northeast, and at the very beginning, Savannah, GA (the location of the first campaign) has not been completely affected yet. The Survivors do not know each other at the beginning. They meet in Savannah and make their way west to New Orleans, LA, where they attempt to reach a military outpost.

The military takes a much greater role in the new storyline. The infection has progressed past the point of CEDA’s control, so the military has decided to take more aggressive measures. There will be some kind of violent tension between the military and survivors who wish to enter the safe zones—of “humans turning on humans”. This comes in stark contrast to the current L4D, which has a decidedly more bleak outlook with almost no show of a cohesive defense and almost no contact with other Survivors.

Despite this conflict, Chet has specifically said that Survivors will not be firing at other humans.

Survivors

Look here for a lineup with nameplates.

Coach
A high school defensive coordinator and health teacher with dreams of coaching professional football. In college, Coach played with the intention of going pro until he had a career-ending knee injury. He’s from the Savannah, GA area, and is used to handling (living) kids and parents.

Coach wears a short-sleeved polymer sports polo that is yellow, white, and turquoise—most likely to match his school’s colors. He also wears khakis, white wristbands, a chrome whistle, a black belt, black shoes, and black weight-lifting gloves. Coach is overweight, and his rotund model sometimes clips weapon stocks.

Coach’s booming voice is brought to you by Chad Cole