If L4D the original was a glossy poster, L4D2 is a black and white fax of it.
Even though the original was mostly mindless action and simple tactics, there was a thin but rich layer of character and story. Some of the graffiti left behind by survivors was quite poignant; it felt just like the desperate writings of disaster survivors should, looking for loved ones they will never see again. Also missing are the little touches in the level design, and some of the things the characters say, like the theme that only teamwork will get us out of this, no matter our opinions of each other. That atmosphere is just not there in the sequel.
It feels the like the original team was promoted and moved on, and the job of the sequel was handed off to the journeymen; most sequels in any media feel like that (maybe because its true). It may also be that they concluded that most of the value for most of the purchasers of this game is in the multi-play, so let's not invest so much in the single-player game this time. It makes economic sense in the short run, but if you kill the golden goose how much economic sense does that make? A quick search for L4D3 news leads nowhere, but then that's Valve for you.
(later)
I worked my way through the single-player campaigns, finishing the main story, which was underwhelming. I saw the original L4D campaigns down the list, and wasn't quite sure what to make of it - will I be replaying through those old campaigns with the current survivors? No, its the old campaigns with the original campaigns ported forward to this engine. Now this is actually different and interesting. There are countless games from the past that I love, that I wish would be ported forward to keep them alive and interesting. That's something worth spending fortunes on, but sadly you hardly ever see it. I'm actually looking forward to this part more than the L4D2 game.
(days later)
Finished all original L4D games. It was somewhat interesting to play through with the new engine, but I can't say it met any need.
I'll try this Cold Stream beta; looks like it will go official soon.
