Were you miffed at those silly people who went out and pre-ordered Left 4 Dead 2 just to brag about getting early access?  Think "patience is a virtue" is just for squares?  For the patient or lazy, your day has come, as the Left 4 Dead 2 demo has finally been released to all Steam users and Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers.  Xbox LIVE Silver members can download the demo next week, on November 10.

The L4D2 demo features two parts from "The Parish" campaign, set in the urban New Orleans French Quarter. Here you can play with three other friends over the internet or have a co-op buddy next to you if you're using an Xbox 360 to mow down the Infected hordes, including the three new Special Infected and the Uncommon Common Infected.

To aid you on your way, you can try out new melee weapons such as chainsaws, frying pans, axes, baseball bats, and others.  A new set of guns and items will also be available to deal with the Infected hordes and help support teammates to increase their chances of survival.

Those who have yet to experience Left 4 Dead will also be able to witness the AI Director at work, which will dynamically control the game with your performance.  Weapons, enemies, objects, and pathways will change depending on how you're playing.  Each game session will never be played the same way.

The Left 4 Dead 2 demo clocks in at over 2GB for Xbox 360 players and just over 3.6GB for Steam players so be prepared to set aside a few hours towards your bandwidth.