L4D2 pre-order demo out Oct. 27, public demo Nov. 3

Remember when Valve announced that the Left 4 Dead 2 demo would launch on October 27th? It turns out that date is actually the early access date for those who pre-order the game on Xbox 360 or PC (via Steam). Starting November 3rd, the demo will be available to all PC players and Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Xbox Live Silver members, as usual, will have to wait an additional week to demo the game on November 10th. Then again, if you only have a Silver account, you probably aren't too excited for a predominantly multiplayer game anyway.

The Left 4 Dead 2 demo will allow up to four players the opportunity to survive "The Parish" campaign. The PC version will be playable online or through a local network, while the Xbox version will feature the same options -- plus two-player split screen. Valve notes that the demo includes "all the new boss infected zombies and all the new melee weapons." So, please, do yourself a favor: grab a katana and start cutting fools down.