Surviving's the game

We've finally gotten a few solid details regarding Left 4 Dead's upcoming Survival Mode, courtesy if IGN. We already knew that it would be similar to Gears of War 2's Horde mode, in which the players are pit against endless waves of enemies, but everything else up 'til this point has been speculation.

According to IGN, the mode will take place in sixteen levels. Fifteen of these will be taken from existing maps, and one is a brand new lighthouse level (which the developers claim is the hardest). You start off with the chance to set yourself up: Grabbing weapons, health kits, and gas tanks, then when you're ready, the surviving begins. Regular zombies are quickly joined by special infected, and it's not uncommon to have many running around at once (including Tanks!), so you had better stay co-ordinated if you want to stay alive for long.

There will be plenty of ammo and health packs lying around the maps, but it doesn't sound as though they re-spawn, so you can't stay in the same place for too long. Instead, it's a case of using up everything you can, then trying to get to another supply point. Some of these points remain locked until the match begins, so you can't just collect everything at the start and hold onto them until needed.

Medals will be awarded depending on how long your group survives, but there has been no mention of new achievements yet. This brings me to another interesting point: The matches will only be five to ten minutes long. In fact, the developers say they've never made it past the nine minute mark, although this will probably change depending on which map you're playing. This is excellent for those who want to satisfy their lust for blood, but don't have time to get started on one of the hour-long campaigns. Once your group is dead, your time will be uploaded to an online leaderboard, so everyone else can see how fantastic your zombie killing skills are (or aren't).

So overall, it sounds like a lot of fun. And lets not forget that the update also unlocks the Dead Air and Blood Harvest maps for use in multiplayer, along with a Software Development Kit (SDK) for PC players, allowing for full gameplay customization. Although no release date has been given yet, we can expect it sometime before the Critics Choice Edition of Left 4 Dead hits stores on April 21st.

Here's a video which shows off the new mode, along with the lighthouse level: