L4D
Latest
Left 4 (Shaun of the) Dead mod in the works
Grab a Cornetto in celebration of this truly heroic, and overdue, mod effort: a group of amateur designers is working on Left 4 Winchester for PC, a Left 4 Dead campaign based on the classic zombie comedy (or zomedy, if you will) Shaun of the Dead. Each of the game's five chapters will take place in one of the movie's locations, including the Winchester Tavern, where the movie's zombie-filled final showdown happened.Unfortunately, according to the website, one of the mappers is concerned with the legal issues of basing the mod on a movie, and this hesitation may result in the project's loss of some of its work. We'll translate: don't expect this to be available immediately.[Via GameSetWatch]
Valve showing off Left 4 Dead 2's 'Swamp Fever' at Comic-Con
Click image for larger dancing zombies A red-hot press release just landed in our inbox, informing us that Valve will be on-hand at San Diego's Comic-Con to show off a new campaign in Left 4 Dead 2 titled "Swamp Fever." If you're at the show, the game is in the EA Gaming Lounge from 2-9 pm Thursday-Saturday, and 12-5 pm on Sunday, and can be found at the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter Hotel, 401 K. Street. The above image is the only piece of media we received from the new campaign, but it's enough to cause wild speculation. Can we get struck by lightning? Do zombies like dancing in the rain? Have the undead found Jesus? We need answers! While we track someone down to find out, feel free to sup on our fresh, new screens in the gallery below. %Gallery-67753%
August OXM comes with exclusive Left 4 Dead NXE theme
CVG reports that the UK version of Official Xbox Magazine will include a free, premium Left 4 Dead theme in its next issue's disc. We contacted OXM's US offices and have confirmed with Senior Editor Dan Amrich that the theme will also be appearing in same issue of the US publication. The theme, incidentally, was actually crafted by Valve. Amrich also mentioned that the disc will have five Left 4 Dead gamerpics as well. The issue should already be arriving in subscriber mailboxes and will hit newsstands next Tuesday.Oh, and the magazine has info about Left 4 Dead 2 in it too, so that's a plus. If you'd like to pick one up for yourself, keep an eye out for the Left 4 Dead 2 cover, which you can check out after the break.
Left 4 Dead 2 will last 'much longer' as a platform
Left 4 Dead 2 ... already? It's a question that Valve's Chet Faliszek has undoubtedly been answering all day. Wary of the negative connotations that come with annual franchises, Faliszek gave us a candid explanation. Put simply, Valve wasn't entirely satisfied with the original game. "Left 4 Dead 1, like I said, had some of those fundamental things that we wanted to change about it, like the changes to the director, which took really long periods of time and a really long period of testing," he said. "And so, those changes fell in line with the long period of time it takes to create characters and everything else. That's why we're doing Left 4 Dead 2, right?"A more refined game will also set the stage for a longer lifespan, with Faliszek having no qualms calling the EA-published Left 4 Dead 2 a platform, one that Valve sees "lasting for a much longer period of time" via updates and DLC. "We haven't decided anything yet, obviously, but we're looking at it and looking at Left 4 Dead 2 as being that platform to build on." There's a caveat, of course: "I would say definitely there's some stuff I think, like world-wise and location-wise, that we're saying, 'No, this isn't going to fit in this one, let's put this aside and maybe come back and revisit it.'"Valve hopes to produce more incentive for revisiting Left 4 Dead 2, with a new gameplay mode -- in addition to the unrevealed one shipping with the game -- already being considered. "There's a lot of ideas that we can start playing around with. But we first need to get this first layer down and settle it." We'll be settling the score with the zombie menace on November 17th.
GamerDNA's Left 4 Dead stats reveal power of Steam sales, promotions
Left 4 Dead on PC appears to receive a shot of zombie reanimation every time Valve's Steam service does a promotion, according to proprietary Xbox Live and PC GamerDNA statistics. The chart above, which is calculated based on "equal percentages of Xbox and PC users," shows that engagement on both platforms was almost equal for three months after release. The PC receives its first major bump during Steam's 50 percent off sale in February. Both platforms received a boost with the release of the free Survival Pack, but then engagement spiked dramatically during Steam's "Freaky Free Friday" promotion and stayed strong.Sam Houston, community manager at GamerDNA, tells us that typically the engagement graphs for games "start high and just drop off." He notes that Steam sales and promotions can obviously give a shot of adrenaline to a game's engagement. He questions, "Could Microsoft do something like that? Then it would appeal to both platforms pretty highly. But, you know, Valve owns Steam and the game, so they have more flexibility."
Play Left 4 Dead 4 free this 'Freaky Free Friday' on Steam
Have you been abstaining from zombie slaying until the cost of entry dropped to the low-low price of free? If so, you're in luck. Valve is making Left 4 Dead available to all Steam users for free this "Freaky Free Friday" with a 24-hour trial version available at 12:01AM GMT. However, you can download and preload the game and the free Survival Pack DLC right now to get ready for a day with the undead.We suggest calling in sick to work, ditching school and skipping Aunt Mabel's funeral (she might be a zombie herself, after all) if you haven't been a part of this game yet. Just don't blame us when you yearn for more undead cleansing the next day and end up (*gulp*) spending money! %Gallery-22771%
Reminder: Left 4 Dead's free DLC now available [Update]
Update: Left 4 Dead's free "Survival Pack" DLC is now available on Steam for PC zombie hunters.This is just a friendly reminder that human brains are delicious and, if the idea of them being devoured during the inevitable zombie apocalypse doesn't sound appealing, you should fight the future by downloading Left 4 Dead's free "Survival Pack" now. The DLC enables the new "Survival" mode (think Horde from Gears) and also adds the Death Toll and Dead Air levels to Versus mode.Practice like your future depends on it, survivors.[Queue up the DLC from Xbox.com by clicking this link.]
Evolution of Left 4 Dead's box art
Valve artist Jeremy Bennett reveals on Left 4 Dead's official site how the puntacular box cover we've come to know and love fear came to be. Bennett explains that the earliest box art attempts focused on the characters, but that led to issues with positioning because none of them was supposed to be the "central character." Making any of them the prominent figure would have been misleading; however, spacing issues were presented when the artists tried to include the characters equally.The piece goes over the five covers up for consideration before the left-handed zombie hand was finally agreed upon. It's an interesting look behind the curtain of box art design and we even learn about Valve's market testing at its local GameStop.
Left 4 Dead 'Survival Pack' lunges for Xbox 360 on April 21
Valve has revealed that its upcoming DLC pack (which is free, by the way) for Left 4 Dead will be available to Xbox 360 gamers on April 21. For the unaware, the pack includes a new Survival mode, which pits the human survivors against wave after wave of attacking zombies. The update also includes Versus campaign support for two more maps: Death Toll and Dead Air. Let the undead griefing begin!
Steam's Left 4 Dead sale increased purchase infection by 3000%
Left 4 Dead saw a 3000% increase in sales during its Steam sale last weekend. Valve's Gabe Newell revealed the stunning figure during his DICE keynote, in which he also announced the digital distribution service saw its customer base increase 1600% that same weekend. G4 noted that the Valve overlord believes those figures broke the game's launch sales.Steam has certainly been experimenting with numerous sales lately. Valve has even hired an experimental psychologist to maximize buzz and marketing around the online retail sales. Wait, now Valve doesn't just want our wallets, they want our braaaaaaains too? Taking the whole zombie thing a little seriously, perhaps?[Via Shacknews]
Left 4 Dead DLC 4 free
Valve has announced that the price of its upcoming Left 4 Dead DLC, which includes a new "Survival" mode and "Versus" mode support for two more campaigns, will be set at ... zero dollars for both the PC and Xbox 360 versions.Wow. Our posts are really short when we can't find anything to complain about.
First Left 4 Dead DLC announced
Valve is looking to expand its multiplayer-focused Left 4 Dead in 2009, sending word that survivors should look forward to a variety of bonuses throughout the year. First up is the L4D Survival Pack, which is set for a spring release and promises to add a new game mode, "Survival," along with two more full campaigns for Versus mode. If you've been holding off on purchasing the game (there's no good excuse, by the way), you'll be pleased to note the upcoming release of a "Critics' Choice" version of the game, which includes the aforementioned DLC. The next tidbit is only for the PC gamers: Valve says it's unleashing the Source SDK, for free, this spring. It will allow PC gamers to customize and create their own campaigns and ... did we mention it's free? We imagine those folks making that Resident Evil 3 campaign are especially excited about this.Sadly, there isn't any info as to how much the L4D Survival Pack will cost, but we'll pass along word as soon as we can.
Dead Space, Mirror's Edge pass 1m unit sales; Left 4 Dead nears 2m
While Rock Band and FIFA 09 stole the headline (and let's not overlook Need for Speed Undercover selling 5.2 million copies), EA's new IPs were also battling an unpredictable market this past holiday. Unfortunately, both Dead Space and Mirror's Edge lost -- or, got lost in the traditionally crowded end-of-year release splurge. Neither game made EA's "highlight" reel, and both were tucked away in a carefully disguised statement of defeat: "Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, Madden NFL 09 and NBA Live 09 each sold over one million copies." Consider that Dead Space and Mirror's Edge's development costs surely far exceeded those of EA's perennial sports installments (not to mention, EA's trio of top sellers mentioned above) and it's easy to qualify the new IPs as underperformers.Going by the sales figures, at 1.8 million units sold, Left 4 Dead isn't exactly a standout either -- but it does go down in EA's "win" column. As an EA Partners game, Left 4 Dead didn't cost EA development bucks; and while that means a lesser share of gross revenue, the game's decent sales performance has likely equaled greater profit for EA compared to the results of its new, in-house IP.Where does EA go from here? Well, a "new" Dead Space game can signal one of two things: (a) EA is confidently moving forward with its plan to build compelling, new franchises; or (b) EA is morphing its compelling, new franchises into redundant, tired formulas. If the latter, don't blame EA. Our money does the dictating. EA just follows along. Source - EA Q3 2009 Earnings Conference Call Script [PDF]
Left 4 Dead Valentine's cards over here!
Nothing says, "Love me forever," like a Valentine's card depicting a vomiting Boomer, a tongue-twisted Smoker or a weeping Witch from Valve's cooperative shooter, Left 4 Dead. Keyword there is "cooperative." Valentine artist beavotron posted a handful of Left 4 Dead themed cards over on the Penny Arcade forums, allowing anyone to print and give them to a (real or imaginative) significant other. Just know that if your lover doesn't accept the zombified sign of love, your relationship just wasn't meant to survive.[Via Aeropause]
Left 4 Dead gets PC patch, Xbox 360 version 'in the coming weeks'
Though Left 4 Dead provided one of the best multiplayer experiences of 2008, it wasn't without its share of issues. Valve has taken care of a ton of them this morning with a new patch for the game currently being vaporized for absorption through Steam.Sadly, the fixes aren't available for the 360 version of the game, though Valve says they'll arrive "in the coming weeks."You'll find the full fix list after the break. You know, it's high praise for L4D that even its bugs sound cool. "Players can no longer grab ladders while flying through the air after a Tank punch." Is there anyone who could read that bug and not know they were in the presence of something radical?
Left 4 Dead update hits 360 "in the coming weeks"
Valve sends word that an update for the PC version of Left 4 Dead is now available, with an update for the 360 version planned in "the coming weeks." The update includes lots of bug fixes as well as many improvements to the versus multiplayer mode. As a general improvement, the Infected HUD now shows the status of other Infected teammates, which is nice. Several changes and improvements have been made to the various Infected classes, including increased pounce damage for Hunters, changes to the Smoker's tongue mechanics -- sounds like it's harder to melee the tongue now -- and reduced autoshotgun damage against Tanks. Perhaps most notable to those that play a lot of versus, the percentage chance that either a Witch or Tank will spawn is now the same for both teams. Hopefully that will quell the constant cries of "no fairsies!"Find the complete list of fixes and improvements after the break. We'll be sure to let you know when the update hits the Xbox 360.
Left 4 Dead patch released, safe rooms are safe
You'll be pleased to know that on top of the server-side patch, Valve has just released a title update for Left 4 Dead that's a client-side patch for stopping hackers and exploiters. You know, because nobody likes dealing with a dozen witches while in a safe room. Safe rooms are meant to be safe. Valve confirmed with Joystiq that patch not only fixes all the cheats from working online, but also prevents the L4D shenanigans from working on system link.
Left 4 Dead receives title update on Xbox 360 [update]
Left 4 Dead has received an update on Xbox 360, which ... actually, we haven't a clue as to what it did. We've contacted Valve for details regarding the inoculation. Perhaps Valve's statistics have revealed more nasty cheaters that needed to be squished.Update: Valve has confirmed that the title update is the client-side fix meant to address the previously mentioned cheating. No more system link and user-hosted shenanigans for you![Thanks, Rhylin]
Left 4 Dead Bloody Valentine winning weekend
To help promote the upcoming horror flick My Bloody Valentine 3D (in theaters Stateside January 16th), Xbox.com is hosting a Left 4 Dead Bloody Valentine Play & Win weekend where prizes can be won and zombie killing is guaranteed. From January 9th through the 11th, those who registered and play Left 4 Dead online have a chance at winning one of the seventy-four 4000 Microsoft point prize packs and maybe even a Valve autographed Left 4 Dead poster.Delicious prizes, delicious gaming and delicious brains!
Joystiq's Top 10 of 2008: Left 4 Dead
<< BACK (4) COMMENT NEXT (2) >> "So there we were, just the four of us on the pier, the boat nowhere in sight and a tank charging at us through the trees..."You've probably heard plenty of variations on this story over the past few weeks. But what's more surprising: That Left 4 Dead's horrifying scenarios seem so unique game-to-game that players think stories about them would be entertaining, or that we've heard so many of them and still can't get enough?It's simple, both in plot -- four survivors try to escape the zombie apocalypse -- and in gameplay. But through its simplicity, L4D is able to address some multiplayer problems that might have seemed unsolvable just a few months ago.
