Technical website Ars Technica decided to give the recently released Left 4 Dead 2 demo a test run, and in doing so, stirred up a little controversy. Overall, Ars gave the demo two thumbs up whereby Ars reviewer Ben Kuchera states,

This may be a controversial statement, but this does feel like a sequel to me, not an expansion pack. The new infected and items are going to add significant wrinkles to gameplay, and you’ll need to manage what you carry and why. There are harder choices to make, and more ways to die. And yes, it all looks and sounds better than the previous game.

Needless to say, this ignited a little firestorm in the forms. Although the Left 4 Dead 2 boycott is in the past, it appears there is still a lot of ill will towards the new game. One poster wrote:

I’ve had some people express the same sentiment to me. There’s not much I can really say except that if you don’t feel the game is worth sixty or fifty bucks, then either wait for the price to drop (and trust me it will drop) or avoid buying all together. If it still irks you, write a letter to Valve. I would like to say more on this, but I find the whole debate has grown stale. In any case, love it or hate it, Left 4 Dead 1 isn’t going anywhere and I’ll certainly continue to play long after Left 4 Dead 2 has been released. God knows, I have eight thousand more zombies to kill for the genocide achievement.

Teaching the controversy: the Left 4 Dead 2 demo is live! (arstechnica.com <- new window)