Posts tagged Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2 – DLC 1 – (Leeds United 4)
Dec 15th
We're hoping to get our Left 4 Dead 2 review out soon, but other commitments have held that up. Now the excuses are done, it's time to mention the first DLC pack for the zombie co-op sequel.
Zoey, Bill, Francis and Louis are due to appear in the first pack, which goes by the name 'The Passing' and features new single & multiplayer content for the game on both formats.
Pricing is currently ambiguously 'TBA', but will probably follow the old 'free for PC, chargeable for Xbox 360 because Microsoft smell' pattern, unless Valve are ready to trigger yet another PR cluster-fuck by charging across all formats.
Press release after the cut...
Left 4 Dead Crash Course hits – Microsoft screw pricing
Sep 29th
Valve have finally released Louis, Francis, Bill and Zoey back into the wild in a new official campaign for Left 4 Dead.
Set between (fan favourite) No Mercy & Death Toll, Crash Course attempts to copy L4D2's practice of linking the narrative of the campaigns by explaining how the duo trio erm, four survivors end up in the middle of nowhere following their rooftop escape from Mercy Hospital.
The campaign covers just two maps and is designed for quick-fire Versus games (as opposed to the more drawn-out marathon maps included).
Crash Course is available for free on PC via Steam and for 560 points over Xbox Live.
NB - Some admin kerfuffle somewhere down the line has meant it was released on XBL for 800 MSP. Major Nelson has advised everyone to not buy it at this price - changes have been made which are filtering slowly across XBL as I type.
Left 4 Dead Survivor Pack Details & Guide
Feb 19th
Those lovable scamps at GameTrailers have the exclusive on the Survivor Pack add-on for Left 4 Dead (skip to the final chapter if you don't care about the GTAIV DLC).
There's no footage of the new Survival mode (just lots of Dead Air & Death Toll Versus gameplay), but it turns out it is basically everything we expected - Gears of War 2 Horde mode in L4D clothing. Teams of players will compete on a worldwide leader board to survive the longest, with Source playing its usual 'track every stat under the sun' trick to make sure that my friend Pete will surely reign supreme on 'most shots that completely missed their targets' leaderboard.
Bit-Tech also has posted The Complete Guide to Left 4 Dead, which is worth a read as it outlines both tips and hints that even experienced players may have missed, plus a frank revelation about the Witch and her aversion to light.
More news as we get it. The pack is due in 'the Spring', which, according to Valve Time, is 42nd of Julember in the year of our Ant Overlords, 2078.
Thanks to Bit-Tech for the news & guide & Jon Culshaw for the Julember joke.
Left 4 Dead Survival Pack, SDK coming this Spring
Feb 5th
Valve have sent word that the Left 4 Dead Survival Pack will be hitting PC and 360 this Spring (there's no concrete date yet - this is Valve Time we're talking about).
The survival pack includes a new multiplayer mode funnily enough called Survival (no details yet on what that entails, we're waiting to hear back from Valve on this one) and two more campaigns for Versus mode (the two that were missing from launch). There will also be a new retail bundle including all this content.
Also in the spring Valve will release the Software Development Kit for L4D allowing you to dream up custom scenarios (someone please please make Shaun of the Dead, Cricket Bat and all).
Full PR after the jump.
Left 4 Dead Rescued!
Jan 15th
After the admission they slacked off earlier in the week over patched L4D, Valve have pushed out the latest update to their zombie population management sim over Steam.
Alongside a raft of much-demanded tweaks and fixes, major changes include the buffing of the Hunter's pounce move, general improvements to the Smoker class to make it useful and wholesale rejigging of Extra-Special Infected spawn management in the Versus mode (basically meaning more consistent Tanks & Witches for the unlucky humans to fight!)
Full list of improvements after the jump
Patches galore
Jan 13th
After a bit of whinging from their respective communities (not without warrant mind you), two of the biggest games of the last few months get some patch news worth talking about.
First up, Blues News are carrying news of an announcement on the Bethesda Forum that the first proper patch for Fallout 3 (cunningly carrying the moniker v1.1) is now available via auto-update on Games for Windows: Live, Xbox Live & the Playstation Network.
UPDATE - Manual patches are now available at your favourite download repository, but there's still no word on how long until the patch hits Steam.
Secondly, according to an unconfirmed rumour on Shacknews that was later confirmed, Valve have stepped up to the plate and admitted blame for the unpatched issues currently plaguing Left 4 Dead, including various Versus exploits and performance issues. Rumours blamed the issues on the Xbox Live certification process holding up the release but Chet Faliszek of Valve has pointed out that unlike a true GfW:Live game, the patching of the PC version is completely down to them, ergo it's their fault and the issues just kept mounting up...
"Also for the patching, the real key is to patch more often and not wait for everything to accumulate," added Faliszek. "Because of a perfect storm of events, this patch got larger than we would have liked and that really snowballed the time it is taking."
It's a bit unlike Valve, but if they keep releasing great stuff we'll let it fly! The patch is due later this week (next week if Valve time is too be believed).
Hit the jump for release notes for the Fallout 3 patch.
CNS List-o-tron-o-matic – Our Best Of 2008
Jan 7th
Because we're having a slow news time, what with there being a typical post-christmas lull, a global recession and nothing but a load of announcements & promises in the form of press releases (coupled with the fact we forgot to do it in 2008), here's the CNS Best of 2008
Left 4 Dead Review
Nov 30th
Andrew Bryant brandishes a uzi and a molotov cocktail menacingly as he attempts to cross a city full of mindless zombies.
Just another daily commute then!
L4D Merch – Movie Posters galore
Nov 27th
If you've even sniffed at Left 4 Dead, you can't fail to miss the lovely movie posters Valve made to represent the 'movies' you fight your way through.
Just to prove Valve are being their usual, giving-yet-capitalist selves, they've released the posters in their shop for $6.99 each or $14.99 for the entire set.
International postage is, sadly, $27 
Find the store here.
Thanks D-toid.
Left 4 Dead goes Gold – Zombie massacre preloading now
Nov 13th
Valve have announced that Left 4 Dead, their co-op zombie-themed multiplayer shooter, has gone gold and will hit Steam clients on the 18th November and retail on [insert country here]'s general game release date (Tuesday in the US - so same day as Steam, Friday in the UK)
The Infection Begins Next Week
November 13, 2008 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (Steam and Source), today announced its upcoming zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead, has gone gold and is now pre-loading to those who pre-purchased the game via Steam.
Left 4 Dead is the new survival action game from Valve for the PC and Xbox 360 that blends the social entertainment experience of multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress with the dramatic, narrative experience made popular in single player action game classics such as the Half-Life series of games.
Those who pre-order the game via Steam save 10% off the regular price and may pre-load the game so they are able to play at 12:01 am EST on November 18, 2008 when the game is made available.
The pre-order discount is also available for both the PC and 360 versions at participating retail outlets.
Playable in single player, co-operative, and multiplayer modes, Left 4 Dead is one of the most anticipated releases of 2008 and winner of numerous pre-launch awards, including Best of E3 from multiple outlets. The official demo for the game is available now through November 17 for the PC and Xbox 360.
There's a few technical hitches with the PC demo at the moment, but Valve are working flat out to fix them in time for release - check out the PC demo if you haven't already by pointing your Steam client here.
CNS will be posting an official review once the game has gone live and one of us has had the chance to play it.
