First Forest Footage and More - 7/16/08

G4TV has posted a new Hands On with Left 4 Dead featuring the first forest footage ever. The video is below, check out 1:38 for the great looking forest and 2:01 for a peek at the new pipe bomb. Also seen is the first video of the new Francis character design. Notably absent is any talk whatsoever of infected gameplay, and with the game coming out in a few months it is very troubling to those of us that were looking forward to this aspect of Left 4 Dead.

The beginning of the scenarios seem to have been reworked a bit as Mike explains that a news chopper flies by the apartment telling the Survivors to get to the hospital.

Xbox 360 Fanboy enjoyed the PC version of Left 4 Dead and included some pictures of the setup that Valve put up at E3. Joystiq also liked it. 1UP's preview explains new "safe zones", which are "complete with ammo dumps and health packs, allow for mid-level breaks in the action -- a chance for everyone to regroup, take stock, and prepare for the next invasion". We're not sure if they mean checkpoints or if they're something new. BusinessWeek still refers to the makers as Turtle Rock and explains the way the campaign mode used to work, so they don't really have a clue.

Out of all of this, something that caught the eye of some community members was the following from GameSpot's Updated Hands-On:

Thankfully, you're given the ability to restart from the most recent checkpoint, but all the emotion you put into surviving still makes it quite a downer when you fail to do so.

For all of you that were disappointed by BioShock's respawn system that really negated any disadvantages or fear of dying, its influence has now spread to Left 4 Dead. You will no longer go back to the very beginning of a scenario after your team gets wiped out at the finale, you will be able to start right back up at the start of the finale. This is GREAT news for those that didn't want beating a scenario to be an accomplishment. For the rest of us, thanks Valve.

Finally, Kotaku has posted a three-part video interview with Doug Lombardi. It has some Left 4 Dead content but mainly focuses on Valve and Steam.