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Valve adds 4 vs 4 competitive matchmaking to Left 4 Dead on Steam

by David Hinkle { Nov 10th 2009 at 4:00PM }

With the release of Left 4 Dead 2 just on the horizon, Valve is making good on its promise to keep up support for the first game ... on Steam, anyway. Valve has flipped the switch on a new update, which adds Team Versus 4 on 4 competitive matchmaking to the mix -- something Valve has been promising was in the works since April of this year.

The update also fixes a pair of bugs in the game, dealing with a nasty game-crashing glitch that would occur as a result of a certain 'Crash Course' achievement (there's a joke in there) being unlocked and an issue where bots and computer-controlled special infected were being reported in the 'View Game Info' screen.

[Via Big Download]

PSA: Modern Warfare 2 won't unlock on Steam until Friday

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 10th 2009 at 2:00PM }

While those who suffered the slings, arrows and unbearable social graces of the Modern Warfare 2 midnight launch lines have been playing the game for half a day now, those who decided to purchase and download the game through Steam won't be able to unlock their copy of the game until Friday morning at the stroke of midnight. If you've bought a retail copy of the game, Steam will go ahead and unlock it now -- the delay only seems to apply to the digitally distributed version.

It looks like the game was initially delayed to unlock at midnight on Thursday, but at some point this morning, an additional 24 hours was tacked on to the postponement. Valve and Infinity Ward still haven't commented on why Steam users are being forced to wait -- we'll see if we can get an answer from them.

Left 4 Dead 2 pre-loading now available through Steam

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 7th 2009 at 8:30PM }

It was bad enough when Valve enabled pre-loading of the Left 4 Dead 2 demo, forcing potential zombicidal maniacs to stare at the game they have and yet don't for an entire madness-inspiring weekend. Now, the developer has begun allowing pre-loading of the full version of Left 4 Dead 2 through Steam. If you've pre-purchased the game through Valve's digital distribution platform (which still nets you a 10 percent discount off the price of the title), you can now put it on your computer, and just ... let it sit there until it finally unlocks on November 17.

In the immortal words of Tom Petty, the waiting truly is the hardest part. Except for the zombie apocalypse. We suppose that part is pretty difficult as well.

[Via Big Download]

Mass Effect price dropped to $10 on Steam this weekend

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 7th 2009 at 11:30AM }

Were you one of the seven people on the planet who managed to resist Mass Effect's "possible alien nudity" siren call? Prepare for your steely resolve to buckle: The game's only $9.99 this weekend on Steam. Despite any qualms we may have had with the game's completely broken inventory system, or the frequent appearance of three-toed sloth-powered elevators, we find it hard not to suggest dropping a Hammy to add this to your collection.

It might even help you decide whether you want to drop six Hammies on the upcoming sequel. Or a Grant and a Hammy, we guess, though that sounds like Denny's menu item. (Great, now we want some Denny's. Thanks for nothing, Valve!)

Modern Warfare 2 refused by digital distribution retailers; Steamworks to blame

by JC Fletcher { Nov 6th 2009 at 9:22AM }

PC gamers aren't the only ones angry about the way Modern Warfare 2 is shaping up. PC retailers, starting with IGN's Direct2Drive download service, have made the bold move to leave piles of money on the table by refusing to sell it. It's not in protest of the dedicated server issue or the multiplayer cap, but rather the fact that the game relies on Steamworks for updates, saving and Achievements; and Direct2Drive isn't thrilled about selling a game that requires the bundling of a competitor's product.

"At Direct2Drive," the statement on what would be the Modern Warfare 2 product page reads, "we believe strongly that when you buy a game from us, you shouldn't be forced to install and run a 3rd party software client to be able to play the game you purchased." The site offers an Amazon link to purchase the game, and a $5 coupon for other Activision titles on Direct2Drive.

Impulse and GamersGate won't be offering the Modern Warfare 2 either. Impulse tells VE3D that "the most obvious issue is the forced inclusion of a competitor's store that blocks us from carrying the game."

[Via Gamasutra]

Torchlight to explore retail shelves in January

by David Hinkle { Nov 5th 2009 at 8:30PM }

Torchlight, the action-RPG from Runic Games, is available right now via the game's official site or Steam. However, early next year, the game will also be available at brick-and-mortar shops, Joystiq sister site Big Download confirms. The news comes from Runic Games' head of PR, who says that a boxed version will hack and slash its way to retail shelves sometime in early January.

Currently, Torchlight is only compatible with Windows, but the team is hard at work getting it ready for Macs and is also preparing the game's first patch and mod tools. If you fancy yourself a fan of the Diablo series and have Steam, then give the demo a chance -- Torchlight was created in part by Diablo and Diablo II co-designers Max and Erich Schaefer, after all.

Gallery: Torchlight

COD4 on the cheap on Steam this weekend

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 30th 2009 at 4:40PM }

Just in time to wring a few more sales out of Call of Duty 4 before Modern Warfare 2 hits the market, Steam is marking the game down to $23.99 through Monday. We're told that's a 40-percent savings, which we're also told is rather considerable. What we know, however, is that Call of Duty 4 is an excellent electronic game cartridge, and it's easily worth the scratch. And seriously, at this point, there are approximately only twelve people that haven't played it.

So, we'd just like to congratulate Steam in advance for the $287.88 it will rake in this weekend.

Team Fortress 2 knocked to $2.49 ... for the next two hours [update: it's over]

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 29th 2009 at 3:35PM }

Update: The sale is over. We hope you managed to grab TF2 -- for yourself or a friend -- while the getting was good.

Original: Actually, it's less than two hours now, so what are you waiting for? It's two dollars and fifty cents! It's usually twenty whole dollars. Go buy it. Now. Go!

If you grab it now (or if you already have it), you can enjoy the first annual Team Fortress Haunted Halloween Special, which will bring new haunted maps, exploding pumpkins and update-specific Steam Achievements. We'd write more, but that would only waste more time. Time you could spend buying Team Fortress 2.

[Via TF2 Official Blog]

Oh, hey -- Painkiller: Resurrection released

by David Hinkle { Oct 29th 2009 at 1:00AM }

So here we were, thinking about how odd it was that a demo for Painkiller: Resurrection stealthily released onto the intertron last week after hearing nothing about the game for, oh, like six months, when all of a sudden we noticed that the full game is also now available. In fact, the release was so secretive, even the game's official site doesn't know you can't pre-order it anymore.

You can grab it for yourself on Steam for $29.99 right now or if you want to save $10 -- and don't mind a disc case taking up space on your shelf -- you can grab it for $19.99 from Amazon.

Torchlight demo released on Steam for frugal fantasy fans

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 28th 2009 at 11:20PM }

Your money is precious, like a precious, precious flower, made out of a precious crystal of some sort. We understand your hesitance to drop a wad of cash -- or in this case, a lone $20 bill -- on unfamiliar IP. Fortunately, so does Runic Games, developer of the recently released top-down RPG Torchlight.

The studio has answered the call of the "try it before you buy it" contingency and added a demo for the game to Steam. It's there right now, and it's free, and it has Diablo-ish sensibilities. If that's as enticing to you as we think it is, you can click right here and make it your own.

Left 4 Dead 2 getting Avatar rewards

by David Hinkle { Oct 28th 2009 at 4:02PM }

Over on the Steam forums, there was some hullabaloo earlier about potential Avatar awards for the Xbox 360 version of L4D2, all stemming from uncompressed files found on a dedicated server for the PC demo. Well, we're glad to inform you that Valve has confirmed Avatar awards will be included with the game (via G4) and that there will be a total of nine different Avatar rewards, six of which we currently know about.

These awards will run the gamut from a med kit backpack to a frying pan prop right down to Rochelle's Depeche Mode shirt you see above. And, unlike some other Avatar awards, you won't need to max out Gamerscore to get 'em; L4D2 Avatar awards unlock after you've completed more manageable tasks, such as winning ten games of Versus or killing 10,000 infected.

If you want to see some of the items in the flesh, head past the break for a virtual tour courtesy of G4.

Continued →

Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl at $5 on Steam until Monday

by Xav de Matos { Oct 27th 2009 at 11:00PM }

The highly under-appreciated shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl is on sale for the low price of $5 on Valve's Steam platform until Monday. Developed by Ukrainian-based GSC Game World, the 2007 shooter takes place in an alternate reality where a second nuclear disaster takes place in at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.

Normally priced at $19.99, Shadow of Chernobyl is a steal at $5; however, as solid as the FPS is, it also includes numerous video game storyline cliches like an amnesiac protagonist and flesh-hunting mutants. Where are all the games with flesh-hunting amnesiac mutants, right?

[Thanks, Dave]

L4D2 pre-order demo MIA on Steam

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 27th 2009 at 5:57PM }

We knew that the pre-loadable Left 4 Dead 2 demo on Steam would send withering waves of madness through the world's populace, but we never considered what would happen if the demo failed to materialize on the promised date. Steam users have been reporting that the demo is still unavailable, and Steam's own events page -- pictured above -- notes that it won't be available until early tomorrow.

The delay seems to only affect Steam users at the moment, as the Xbox version of the demo is currently available on Xbox Live Marketplace for those that have the redemption code. We've contacted Valve regarding the delay and will update this post as soon as we have more information.

Aussie Steam users get low-violence Borderlands by accident, fix incoming

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 27th 2009 at 4:00PM }

Oops! Australia has become so synonymous with censorship that even distributors are starting to get confused. Despite the unedited version of Borderlands passing the OFLC's ratings board successfully, it turns out that a "low-violence" version was accidentally uploaded for Aussies on Steam.

2K Games Australia is apparently working on getting the correct version onto Steam before the game launches in a few days. This does not affect the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game, which will be presented in what can only be described as "full violence" mode. Now, with luck, Australia will have the exact opposite problem with Left 4 Dead 2's launch.

[Via Big Download]

A world of data from the World of Goo birthday sale

by JC Fletcher { Oct 26th 2009 at 5:30PM }

Following the completion of the World of Goo birthday sale, 2D Boy gathered up all the statistics it had from the "pay what you want" sale and connected them all into a big pile of interconnected info blobs. After the last stat update, when the developer revealed that many people were buying the game for one cent, something magical happened! The average price went up by a noticeable amount.

Linux users were, on average, more generous with their purchase prices (maybe they offset the money they don't spend on operating systems?), and Swiss buyers were the most "generous," according to a metric that compares average purchase price to a country's per-capita GDP. The most generous individual? One "Stuart", who handed over $150 for a copy of World of Goo!

Meanwhile, the average purchase price for the WiiWare version was $15 -- because the sale didn't apply to that version.