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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!)

Left 4 Dead 2: now with 4 times as many pre-orders

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Nov 5th 2009 at 9:30PM }

As if blissfully dancing on the grave of its opposing and recently deceased boycott, Valve's shambler-shooting sequel, Left 4 Dead 2, seems destined to surpass its predecessor. Speaking to CVG, Chet Faliszek revealed that pre-orders for the game had quadrupled those enjoyed by the original game. "As we get closer to launch we see the reaction to the demo, pre-orders are four times what Left 4 Dead 1 was, people's excitement, the boycott itself and how it's changed..." he said. "I think people are just excited now."

Having tested what the power of the people can accomplish (most of all when wielding skull-smashing implements) Valve can finally let that excitement wash over them, content that fans have latched on to what's in the game -- and not what's missing. "Honestly I made the joke and it's true: If you put $20 in a box and charge $10 for it someone would complain you didn't put $50 in a box," added Faliszek. "Not to say some of the concerns raised aren't valid, but you're always going to have some kind of upset and that's not how we work. We work at looking at the project and trying to get it out."

Valve gets Left 4 Dead 2 out on November 17th.

New Left 4 Dead 2 TV spot, Scavenge mode walkthrough

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 4th 2009 at 4:20PM }

Just in case GameStop's Left 4 Dead 2 commercial was a little too slow-paced for you, Valve has released a new TV spot that's nothing but action. Of course, that action is culled entirely from the CG trailer that was leaked last month, so you won't see anything new here. You will hear something new, however, as the commercial has been injected with a thumping blues-rock soundtrack, making the whole thing feel like a big, sprawling, undead bar fight.

Come to think of it, it sounds like Joystiq Publishing just found its next game. No one has the rights to Undead Bar Fight, right? While we go do a little research, watch the trailer above and, after the break, watch G4's walkthroughs of the Scavenge and Survival modes.

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Pre-order Left 4 Dead 2, get a spiffy Team Fortress 2 hat

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 3rd 2009 at 4:20PM }

Left 4 Dead survivor Bill's hat is now available in Team Fortress 2 for those who pre-ordered Left 4 Dead 2 from Steam or "participating retailers." Though the hat does ... apparently nothing, it implies – in the immortal words of Destiny's Child – "I'm not gonna give up, I'm not gon' stop, I'm gonna work harder, I'm a survivor."

Some may hold issue with the fact that the Team Fortress and Left 4 Dead universes have collided; however, Valve has explained the phenomena, stating that "while conducting a science experiment on parallel dimensions, Bill's hat fell off a table into the Team Fortress universe." Done! That's all the justification required. Oh, and if Bill's hat isn't enough incentive to pre-order the zombie apocalypse survival simulator, know that the game is currently 10% off on Steam.

[Thanks, ZaxCG2]

Video: Censored Left 4 Dead 2 right 4 classification

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 3rd 2009 at 1:20PM }

Footage allegedly taken from Australia's censored version of Left 4 Dead 2 has made its way online ... and we feel it's inadequately preparing citizens down under for the future! Though the game will get Aussies used to facing down a charging zombie horde, it does nothing to desensitize them to the revolting gore that inevitably follows.

The censored version lacks exploding heads, dismemberment (courtesy of the new melee weapons) and burning corpses. Sadly, for those of us who have built up a considerable hatred for the undead scourge threatening our civilization, the fallen undead just fade into the ether. Check out the full video after the break and pray for Australia's survival when the zombie apocalypse comes.

[Via Destructoid]

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Left 4 Dead 2 demo, new Games on Demand available now

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 3rd 2009 at 12:20PM }

The demo of the zombie survival training game (also known as Left 4 Dead 2) is available now to Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Although the retail game completes the scenario snippet on offer, the demo certainly feels like "more of the same," albeit with the addition of some new melee and bullet-required weapons.

Also on the shooter front: Battlefield 2: Modern Combat can now be acquired through Games on Demand for $20. Far Cry 2 is also available outside of North America. As always, we feel it prudent to mention that the titles are likely to be found cheaper at a local brick-and-mortar shop (at the risk of running into shopper zombies!).

Shortcuts:

Add Left 4 Dead 2 demo to your download queue [via Xbox.com]
Purchase and add Battlefield 2: Modern Combat to your download queue [via Xbox.com]

Valve explains why Portal's Companion Cube had to die

by Justin McElroy { Nov 2nd 2009 at 2:30PM }

When we cursed the heavens and asked tearfully why our beloved labradoodle, Cagney, had to die in a horrific snow plow accident, leaving behind her best friend (our maltipoo Lacey), the only answer we received was the stony ambivalence of a silent autumnal sky.

When we cursed Valve and asked tearfully why our beloved Companion Cube had to die by our own hands, Portal's writers calmly explained to Gamasutra that it was to develop a stronger bond with the Cube and teach the mechanics of the incinerator.

See how it's done, God? Was that so difficult?

Chet Faliszek crushes Left 4 Dead 2 DLC rumors

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 1st 2009 at 11:30AM }

Remember those pair of error messages that a few folks found in the demo for Left 4 Dead 2, referecing "Miracle" and "Apocalypse" DLC? Yeah, those ain't no thing. At least, not according to Valve's Chet Faliszek, who recently addressed the error messages while speaking at the Eurogamer Expo. "What, those error messages?" he reportedly said, "Why, those ain't no thing."

Of course, Kotaku's slightly more accurate transcription of this quote had Faliszek saying, "if you're reading in the forums and you're reading about the 'Miracle' DLC or whatever, that's test code." He added, "to get tested through Microsoft certification we had to do test scenarios with DLC. We haven't actually come out internally with what we're going to do yet." Hmph. We liked our version better.

Team Fortress 2 Pumpkin Patch update now live

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 30th 2009 at 3:20PM }

In our hurry to tell you about yesterday's two-hour-long Team Fortress 2 fire sale, we didn't really give you all the in-depth info about the accompanying Pumpkin Patch update which you so richly deserve. We'll rectify that now, but not before saying that a few short hours after the announcement was posted yesterday afternoon, the update went live! You can play it right now -- on PC, of course. Oh, you thought it might come to the 360? That's adorable.

The update will temporarily introduce a King of the Hill map called "Harvest" into the mix, complete with Halloween-themed elements like collectible candy, exploding pumpkins, and the ghost of Zepheniah Mann, who temporarily freezes passersby in a gripping, powerful spell of fear. Five Achivements are available during the festivities, as well as a number of "Mildly Disturbing Halloween Hats," or paper bags with scary faces painted on them. If you're lucky, you might just get the one emblazoned with Joan Rivers' visage. Aaaaah!

Video: Left 4 Dead 2's Realism Mode

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 29th 2009 at 5:20PM }

When we first heard that Left 4 Dead 2 would feature a "Realism Mode," our first reaction was to hide in the closet, swaddled in the comfort of old coats and dust bunnies. Left 4 Dead wasn't exactly an easy game to begin with, so hearing that there would be an even more realistic, more punishing difficulty mode was a bit difficult to swallow. Now, G4TV has been kind enough to assemble a brief walkthrough of one level played in Realism Mode and ... it really doesn't look all that bad.

X-Play's Abbie Heppe explains there are a few major differences. One, dead players will stay dead unless revived with a defibrillator -- keep in mind that each player can carry a defibrillator or a med kit, not both. Second, zombies must be killed with headshots, though it's hard to tell how strict this rule is in the video. Third, players have to be much closer to items in order to pick them up. Finally, there are many, many more witches. See it for yourself after the break.

[Via Evil Avatar]

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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]

Rumor: Left 4 Dead 2 demo files name two DLC packs

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 29th 2009 at 2:58PM }

A number of dirt-digging zombophiles have unearthed a pair of suggestive errors buried within the code for the Left 4 Dead 2 PC demo. These error messages are meant to appear after a player has been kicked from an online multiplayer match after failing to load a DLC map that the match host has selected for play. These disabled messages seem to indicate the names of what many now believe to be two DLC releases planned for the future: The "Miracle Pack" and the "Apocalyptic Pack."

Frankly, we think the game's already got its fair share of the Apocalypse, not to mention plenty of miracles, which is the only way we can explain how four people can survive continuous encounters with a city's worth of the walking dead. Still, we've contacted Valve to see if these two messages are a sign of more disastrous -- or miraculous -- things to come.

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.

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.

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