Anyone having trouble deciding on a holiday greeting card to send out to their Xbox Live friend list this season should an easier search thanks to Valve expansion into the stationary market. "Left 4 Dead," "Left 4 Dead 2" and "Team Fortress 2" each have their own set available, featuring artwork by Alexandria Neonakis.

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There's no denying that the original "Left 4 Dead" hit the nail on the head with its fantastic blend of action, suspense, and co-operative play. And here we are just one short year later with a follow-up that Valve promises delivers much, much more: more locations, more weapons, more infected, and more variety is the name of the game in "Left 4 Dead 2." So does the core gameplay still shine with all the extra trimmings there hiding it from view?

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"Left 4 Dead 2" drops today and you may be one of many out there that's itching to grab a copy and jump online. Before I get to posting my review, I need to spend a bit more time with the game post-release to really see how the game handles with the countless servers running the whole zombie apocalypse show.

I only say this because this past weekend on Xbox Live I ran into an enemy more deadly and more terrifying than "Left 4 Dead 2's" own Witch or Tank infected. If you can't tell from the headline above, I'm talking about lag.

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"Left 4 Dead 2" Avatar Awards clues may not have been alone when they were buried in the code for the game's new demo. Message board posters once again appear to have plowed deep into the demo's .txt files and unearthed some unannounced names -- the "Miracle Pack" and "Apocalyptic Pack."

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Leave it to the code sleuths of the Steam forums to find some buried details in the "Left 4 Dead 2" demo. An intrepid posted named "Fade Guy" discovered some code in one of the game's .txt files that may indicate plans for Avatar Awards including med kits, frying pans and shirts.

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The intro video for the original "Left 4 Dead" was one of the best pre-rendered cutscenes I've ever seen. It so perfectly captured the spirit of the game (killing zombies), effective tactics against the special zombies, and the personalities of the four survivors. It was funny, intense and visually excellent.

Valve's high standards have apparently continued on through to "Left 4 Dead 2," as seen in the leaked intro video for that game:

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One of the main successes of the first "Left 4 Dead" was the demo. With a new franchise it's important to inform the planet why it's awesome, and the demo did just that, giving folks a healthy taste of what "Left 4 Dead" was all about.

Valve is continuing the trend with "Left 4 Dead 2," with a demo going out to folks that pre-ordered the game on October 27th. Less committal humans that are holding off on pre-orders can get access to it on November 3rd (so long as you're on a PC or you're an Xbox Live Gold member). Come November 10th, the demo will open up to all members of Xbox Live (for those that enjoy a little split-screen multiplayer).

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The plot for "Left 4 Dead 2" may still be shrouded in mystery, but the game's list of Achievements names both items and stages in the order they appear. Merely surviving will go a long way toward point accumulation, but the accomplishments contain a few fancy tricks as well. Defibrillators appear to be involved, likely as a means to heal party members. Also mentioned are "bile bombs," which will score you an Achievement when used against a tank. Check out the whole rundown and a very special clown-based Achievement after the jump.

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At an event in San Francisco last night, Valve unveiled the new "Scavenge" multiplayer mode for "Left 4 Dead 2." Up until now Valve has only shown modes that have appeared in the first game, but Scavenge is definitely a departure from that.

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Valve is giving folks some extra love, so long as those folks are willing to plunk down some pre-order cash on Steam for "Left 4 Dead 2." Pre-ordering the game will net you early access to the "Left 4 Dead 2" demo (scheduled to release on October 27th) and 10% off the total price. But that's not all!

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