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FIVE THINGS WE WANT TO SEE IN LEFT 4 DEAD 3
Regardless of there being nothing official announced at the moment, it seems highly unlikely that we won't see a brand new Left 4 Dead in the future. Whether it hits next year, or if they launch it in 2012 to milk the "end of the world" theory, it's only a matter of time before it becomes official. To add fuel to the fire, a brand new rumor went live this morning in regards to the third Left 4 Dead.

While we thoroughly enjoy the Left 4 Dead series, we can't help but think it just needs "more". Below, we've compiled a list of five things that we want to see in the third Left 4 Dead in no specific order.

Character Creation/Keep Old Characters
Left 4 Dead, as a series, gives you a few characters to choose from with no customization at all. While the characters all have characteristics from your classic movie personas, isn't it about time we had the ability to create our own character?

Don't just give us the ability to create our own characters, but give us the ability to earn unlockable items as well. In regards to the items, we're talking about different clothing or appearance items. Keep the movie cliche theme alive, and save some of the most memorable or cliche items to the end for the players who put the most time into your games. Can anyone say Evil Dead cameo?

Along with creating our own characters, bring back all the characters from the original and sequel as playable characters online. Not only are you adding back in the nostalgia factor, but you're helping to eliminate people screaming over the fact that they couldn't use their favorite character when you have more choices.



More Levels & Map Editor
It seems like standard practice for Left 4 Dead to continue to include a small number of maps, and while the A.I. Director switches things up and keeps it fresh, we need more levels. One of the absolute best suggestions I remember reading earlier this year was by Binge Gamer.

The writer of the article suggested that Valve could create a Time's Square level that took place during New Year's Eve. The shear amount of zombies you could include in a level like that, not to mention the amount of things you could do with the environment, would be absolutely incredible. It's levels like that in which we need in the Left 4 Dead series.

Along with more levels, extremely creative ones at that, the series desperately needs a level editor. While it would be nice to get a full fledged map creator, we do realize that there are restrictions on consoles for what can be done. An online application that would allow gamers to edit or create levels, and then download them to their console would be ideal, but a simple map editor on the system will suffice just as much.

Being able to take the levels we're already given, and edit them to our liking would add an incredible amount of depth and replay value to the title. Custom gametypes at our disposal? We'd love that! Throw in the ability to easily share them with the community, and Valve could keep Left 4 Dead on the top of the most played list for Xbox Live (or the Playstation Network if they bring it to the console this time around).

In-Depth Leaderboards & Stat Tracking
Give us the ability to compare every single little stat that we could possibly imagine. How fast have you completed the No Mercy campaign compared to your friends? How many kills do you have akimbo versus with the assault rifle? Which one of your friends have killed the most zombies? Who has killed the most Tanks online? Which friend has the most kills in online multiplayer? These are all questions that we want Valve to simply answer for us by allowing detailed leaderboards.



Improve the Singleplayer AI

It's definitely no secret that the Left 4 Dead companion AI can be, well, terrible for the most part. While we do understand that the game is meant to be played online or with others, the singleplayer AI definitely needs to be stepped up for the next title.

We've all been there, getting annihilated by zombies and the AI does very little to help. Throw in the countless times that they don't even help the other AI out, and playing by yourself can be down right frustrating. How can Valve fix it? Well, we have a little idea.

While we obviously want them to step up the AI, we've thought about the idea of adding commands similar to what Army of Two offers. Using the d-pad or a command wheel, let us quickly call for help from our teammates or command them to come back. Giving us more control over the AI works, whether its to retreat or to keep exploring, it'll help solve a portion of the problem with the terrible AI.

More Games Modes/Custom Game Types

Now we're sure that Valve is already working on this, but Left 4 Dead 3 needs more game modes and custom game types. While Valve does a great job with giving gamers a mutation to experiment with, these kind of things should be at the user's disposal.

A game mode where two groups of survivors start on opposite sides of a huge map and have to make it to the safe house before the other? We're game. How about custom gametypes that we can set with friends where you're only allowed to use an axe? To keep the replay value high, it's something that has to be added into the title to keep things fresh.