RipTen Videogame Blog » left-4-dead

Awesome Left 4 Dead Fan Film Features Way Too Many Cameos

Dave Oshry — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 01:05:17 +0000

Fan films come in all shapes and sizes. Large, small, dead and undead.

This latest fan film by Northern Five productions and AirsoftGI catches up with the cast of Left 4 Dead as they take down the unrelenting zombie menace.

However, just when they think that all hope is lost, it’s time for some random cameos!

Yeah, I don’t get it either.

Still a damn fine production however – with or without Team Xbox coming to the rescue…

Five O’Clock Fan Art: House of the Undead

Dylan Duarte — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 00:00:48 +0000

You know, why not? Who cares? House, good show that it is, has been on long enough now. I think a major revamp is long overdue.

Five O’Clock Fan Art is perfect for wrapping up the work day. You don’t want to think anymore, you just want to look at awesome things. And there’s nothing more awesome than a well crafted piece of videogame fan art. If you don’t agree, what the hell are you doing at a gaming blog?

I think mishinsilo is a little bit too creative.

Xbox LIVE Deal Of The Week 6/12 – 6/18

Chris Carlson — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 17:30:04 +0000

It’s that time of the week where Xbox 360 gamers can save on these hot deals.

This week you can save on a nice selection of zombie content up to 50% off….again. The Undead Nightmare Collection for Red Dead Redemption is first up this week. The second arcade game of the comical Dead Rising series returns with Frank West, with a massive savings of 50% off.

If you haven’t had the chance to meet the original cast of Left 4 Dead, you can pick up Left 4 Dead 2‘s The Passing for as little as $3.50 (280MSP). If killing zombies isn’t your thing and you’d rather feast on the flesh of the living, Stubbs The Zombie for the original Xbox has been discounted as well. An easy steal this week would have to be Dead Rising 2: Case West. For only being 400MSP you will get a nice chunk of time out of the game, not to mention you can team up with a buddy online and cause all sorts of havoc!

Zombie Week!

Undead Nightmare Collection - 1000MSP 38% Off
Dead Rising 2: Case West – 400MSP 50% Off
Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing – 280MSP 50% Off
Stubbs The Zombie - 1000MSP 33% Off
Twin Blades – 200 MSP 50% Off

Left 4 Dead Developers Signed to THQ, Promise Multiplayer Revolution

Sam Naylor — Thu, 26 May 2011 19:02:02 +0000

Left 4 Dead Developers Turtle Rock Studios have signed a deal with publisher THQ and promised a new multiplayer project.

Executive Vice President of Core Games at THQ, Danny Bilson, said:

It will make a similar impact [as Left 4 Dead] in the multiplayer space.

Unfortunately the full reveal will be after E3, so don’t look forward to a big reveal at the gaming conference in June. It’s a big statement to make that it will be as revolutionary as L4D, with the AI Director and massive focus on teamwork which that game introduced, but if they can make that much of a change again it can only be a good thing, surely?

EA Announces Free DLC “Outbreak” for Dead Space 2 (Screens)

Matthew Sims — Wed, 25 May 2011 17:45:53 +0000

Yesterday EA announced that the company would be releasing another add-on for the critically acclaimed Dead Space 2. Fans are of course happy with that, but perhaps fans lost their damn minds when it was revealed that the content would be free. That’s right, 100% free.

The new content consists of 2 multiplayer maps entitled The Academy and The Concourse in which you either play as the humans or the necromorphs in the game’s Left 4 Dead-esque multiplayer mode.

The Concourse map will need to traverse through an abandoned mall and map their way to the distress beacon outside. Of course, the necromorphs will seek to make this as difficult as possible.

The Academy map takes place inside of an elementary school located on the Sprawl. The humans must join forces to activate a decontamination pump to win the match and the necromorphs, of course, must try to prevent this in any way possible.

The good news about this DLC is that even if it completely sucks, it’s free. You won’t lose a thing if you download it May 31st. I mean, how could you not?

Is Portal 2 Valve’s Final Single Player Game?

Bryce Wilson — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 05:37:20 +0000

It would appear that Valve, pioneers of Half Life, Portal and Left 4 Dead, are dropping out of the single-player experience race, with Portal 2 rumored to be their last foray into single-player campaigns.

The news has alarmed a lot of PC gaming fans, with Valve being one of the platforms leading developers of recent times, and even more so after the release of Portal 2 and it’s subsequent 96% score on MetaCritic.

The source for this claim is none other than Geoff Keighley. Geoff recently helped release an Apple iPad application titled “The Final Hours of Portal 2″.

Keighley is quoted as saying “Portal 2 will probably be Valve’s last game with an isolated single-player experience”. He goes on to say this news was given to him directly by Gaben.

What do you think?

If you’re still strangely on the fence about Portal 2, check out the RipTen review by clicking here.

Source: [MCV] via [PCR Online]

Five O’Clock Fan Art: Left 4 Dead

Dylan Duarte — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:00:44 +0000

With the new Left 4 Dead DLC eating everyone’s brains this week, this just seemed appropriate. Not that it’s ever inappropriate to show everyone Left 4 Dead fan art. Maybe at a funeral? Yeah, that’s probably inappropriate.

Today’s art is the work of Crossabre. Nice use of shadows! That’s something artists say, right?

Valve Releases Final Left 4 Dead Comic and “Sacrifice” DLC

Sam Naylor — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 19:19:49 +0000

Valve have announced that the last comic in the four-part “Sacrifice” series is now available to read, and the accompanying DLC is now available to PC users for free. The Xbox 360 version will be out later on today.

The DLC will automatically be applied to Left 4 Dead 1 and/or 2 when you restart Steam. The game is also 66% off right now, if you’re one of those people who doesn’t own one or other of the games, or indeed either of them. I can highly recommend both to anyone who asks. Why are they on sale? Well, Valve’s even got an explanation for that for you.

Valve Details L4D “Sacrifice” DLC Achievements and New Mutation

Sam Naylor — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 20:45:42 +0000

Valve has released the first chapter in their four-part Left 4 Dead comic series to tie in with the upcoming “Sacrifice” DLC for Left 4 Dead 1 and 2.

In Valve’s own words:

Find out what happens after the military rescued Francis, Louis, Zoey, and Bill at the end of the original Left 4 Dead in four weekly installments, each a whopping 40-plus pages of story and art. Then, download the new DLC “The Sacrifice”, where we put the story’s conclusion into your hands.

You can find the comic here.

The Sacrifice will be available for both games on October 5th for PC, Xbox 360 and Mac.

Valve has released the first chapter in their four-part Left 4 Dead comic series to tie in with the upcoming “Sacrifice” DLC for Left 4 Dead 1 and 2.

In Valve’s own words:

Find out what happens after the military rescued Francis, Louis, Zoey, and Bill at the end of the original Left 4 Dead in four weekly installments, each a whopping 40-plus pages of story and art. Then, download the new DLC “The Sacrifice”, where we put the story’s conclusion into your hands.

You can find the comic here.

The Sacrifice will be available for both games on October 5th for PC, Xbox 360 and Mac.

Valve have released a few more details about the upcoming “Sacrifice” DLC, including the included achievements and details on one of the new Mutations for Left 4 Dead 2.

The achievements are as follows (spoilers):

Sacrifizzle
As a Special Infected, incap someone who is trying to sacrifice themselves.
Supreme Sacrifice
Complete “The Sacrifice”.
Chaos Generator
Have all 3 generators running at once in “The Sacrifice” finale.
Barrel Rolled
Kill a Special Infected with an exploding barrel.
Kill Bill
Have Bill sacrifice himself for the team.

They reveal a little something about what we might be able to expect from the DLC, but nothing too big.

As for the new mutation, well, Valve aren’t letting too much out of the bag:

We don’t want to give away all 5 of the new Mutations, but we will give you a bit on one. Do you ever play Versus and wish you could be the Tank? Did you ever wish you could be nothing but the Tank? And when you died you spawned as the Tank? And all your friends were Tanks as well? The new Mutation Taaannnk!! is a little like that. And by a little, we mean exactly like that.

Stay tuned for more information as it appears. “The Sacrifice” DLC hits Xbox 360 and PC (free on the PC) on October 5, for Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2.

Left 4 Dead “The Sacrifice” DLC coming October 5th

Dave Ernst — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:22:57 +0000

The next chapter in Valve’s Left 4 Dead series, “The Sacrifice,” will be available on October 5. The DLC will cost Xbox 360 owners 560 MS Points ($7) while PC owners will get the content as a free update.

“The Sacrifice” is a prequel chapter and will advance the story previous told in “The Passing” DLC.

The next part becomes a little confusing, so try to follow along:

“The Sacrifice” will be available as separate downloads for Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 discs. If you chose to download the DLC for the first games, thecontent will get you the complete “Sacrifice” campaign maps, playable in cooperative, versus, or survival.”

The Left 4 Dead 2 content will get you “The Sacrifice” campaign with the original Left 4 Dead survivors. Additionally, if you have purchased (or downloaded) Left 4 Dead‘s “No Mercy” campaign, it will be playable in Left 4 Dead as well.

Valve Releases Part 2 of Left 4 Dead “Sacrifice” Comic Series

Sam Naylor — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:58:34 +0000

Valve have released the second part of their four-part comic series concerning the backstories of the four original characters as well as the events of the upcoming DLC of the same name.

This week it’s the turn of Zoey, and the comic can be read here. Valve have also released several versions of the comic for ease of access:

Thanks to the overwhelming worldwide response to the comic, we are going to make more versions of the comic available on the web. This will include the current version in jpg form, a pdf version , a jpg version with no text and a jpg version with no text, speech bubbles or sound effects. This should help get the comic localized and give people the raw panels to play with and make their own comic.

Next week will see the backstory of Francis, and will arrive on September 28.

Valve Releases Part One of Left 4 Dead Comic Series

Sam Naylor — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 23:19:51 +0000

Valve has released the first chapter in their four-part Left 4 Dead comic series to tie in with the upcoming “Sacrifice” DLC for Left 4 Dead 1 and 2.

In Valve’s own words:

Find out what happens after the military rescued Francis, Louis, Zoey, and Bill at the end of the original Left 4 Dead in four weekly installments, each a whopping 40-plus pages of story and art. Then, download the new DLC “The Sacrifice”, where we put the story’s conclusion into your hands.

You can find the comic here.

The Sacrifice will be available for both games on October 5th for PC, Xbox 360 and Mac.

Dismember Necromorphs Together in Dead Space 2 Co-op Multiplayer – Trailer

Garrett Hartman — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 14:08:33 +0000

Left 4 Dead in Space? Dead Space 2 multiplayer looks to be shaping up to be quite the visceral experience.

On the latest episode of Gametrailers TV, Visceral games officially unveiled their multiplayer plans. Looking to do more than a simple deathmatch mode, the focus is on teamwork pitting Human against Necromorph in objective based action.

With up to 4 players per team, cooperation is essential in completing each objective. Each objective level has a tie-in to the single player campaign. Failure to complete an objective is a loss.

While each human can choose different weapon types, team necromorph provides the option to choose between different zombie alien types: including the Slasher, Lurker, Pucker and Pack.

Dead Space 2′s multiplayer looks promising and it seems Visceral has put much thought into it’s execution. Dead Space 2 will be released on the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on January 25, 2011.

Watch the exciting multiplayer trailer below.

New Left 4 Dead DLC Announced

Brandon Fenty — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 06:42:50 +0000

The Sacrifice, new DLC for both Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, was revealed today by Valve. The DLC will be compatible with both games, so no matter which one you have, you’ll be able to play it.

The new DLC follows the survivors from the original campaign, and fills in the gap between the end of the first game and The Passing DLC for Left 4 Dead 2. The game is done from the perspective of the original game’s cast, and explains how they come to meet up with the Left 4 Dead 2 cast. As the name implies, you will also be able to choose who lives and who dies, rather than having to live with Valve’s decision (according to the current DLC, it’s Bill who doesn’t make it. Sad face).

Another nice feature is the inclusion of the No Mercy campaign (the hospital level, one of the most popular from the original game) for Left 4 Dead 2 owners, allowing you to play the campaign with the updated weapons and zombie types. Original game owners will still be limited to the original weapons and zombies.

The DLC will be free to PC and Mac owners, while it will be released as a paid download on Xbox Live.

Steam Sale Day 7: Left 4 Dead, Mass Effect 2, Torchlight and More.

Bryce Wilson — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:34:40 +0000

The Steam Summer Sale has clocked over another 24 hours, and sadly the end is nearly in sight. However you can still pick up a plethora of bargains up until then, and up for sale today is the following! All prices are in United States Dollars and the savings run for the next 24 hours;

The Guild II + Pirates of the European Sea: Was 24.99, now 6.25 (Save 75%)
Flatout: Ultimate Challenge: Was 19.99, now 2.00 (Save 90%)
Left 4 Dead: Was 19.99, now 6.80 (Save 66%)
Torchlight: Was 19.99, now 5.00 (Save 75%)
The Void: Was 19.99, now 5.00 (Save 75%)
Mass Effect 2: Was 69.99, now 41.99 (Save 40%)
Shatter: Was 9.99, now 2.50 (Save 75%)

I think it’s a pretty average day, however I will possibly get Left 4 Dead. Torchlight is a brilliant game and for anyone who loved the original Diablo, you will feel right at home playing Torchlight.

FPS Alphabet: From Aliens to Zombies

Bryce Wilson — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 01:09:37 +0000

Join me as I take an in-depth look at an alphabetical list of games, publishers, and developers, that have helped to make the first person shooter genre one of the most robust around on both the console and the PC over the years.

This list pays tribute to the FPS highs and lows while trying to be as diverse as possible. Check it out, and let us know some you think in the comments section at the end. Let’s sing, shall we?

A is for: Aliens v Predator

Released in 2010, Aliens v Predator allowed players to play 3 separate campaigns as both the factions in the title plus as a Marine. The title went on to garner mixed reviews from critics both prior to and post launch, however it pleased fans and is still a much played title on Xbox LIVE and PC.

B is for: Battlefield Series

Spanning over 10 years and including 16 titles the Battlefield series has become a household name for many gamers. The original title “Battlefield 1942″ allowed players to enter the roles of four unique classes: Scout, Assault, Medic and Engineer. As well as 4 unique classes the game has allowed players to commandeer over 100 vehicles throughout its lifespan. With the release of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 only recently the series is still going strong and hard.

C is for: Call of Duty Series

Perhaps the biggest name in shooters, the Call of Duty franchise started off in 2003 and in only seven years has managed to move 55 million units worldwide taking over three billion dollars for Activision and Infinity Ward in the process. Modern Warfare 2, the latest spawn in the long running series went on to become the world’s biggest entertainment launch and to bring in over one billion dollars.

D is for: Doom

Originally launched in 1993, Doom has gone onto become perhaps the pivotal figure in popularizing console FPS and making it a force to be reckoned with. Telling the story of a Marine stranded on the planet Mars, who is assigned to protecting a corporation responsible for secret teleportation experiments. All goes awry of course and you’re left the only one alive and tasked with fighting through hordes of demons. Plagued with demonic imagery and gory death, Doom was a head turner for its time.

E is for: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

Sequel to Quake 4, Enemy Territory was set in the same universe as it’s brethren Quake 2 and Quake 4. Featuring heavily multiplayer orientated gameplay as well as a plethora of new vehicles Quake Wars went on to receive an average of 84% on reviews and still features a heavy modding community.

F is for: Fire Warrior: Warhammer 40k

Fire Warrior was a little known FPS title to grace the Playstation 2 and PC. Putting you in the boots of a Tau soldier during a campaign that was spanned over 24 hours. The game featured innovative Multiplayer for it’s time being one of only a few to offer 8 Player MP through the PS2 Broadband Adapter. Fire Warrior received mixed reviews from the press.

G is for: Goldeneye

Where would any First Person Shooters, especially console ones be without perhaps the father of all FPS? Goldeneye was a Nintendo 64 exclusive released in 1997 to reviews that even now are impressive. During the 2001 Top 100 Games of All Time by Game Informer, it came in ranked in at 16th whilst a similar poll by Game FAQs ranked it at 7th. Either way, Goldeneye is the proverbial father of FPS on consoles and could even see a remake sometime in the future.

H is for: Halo Series

Launching in 2001 on the Xbox console, Halo is and will always be the most recognizable name alongside the Xbox and Xbox 360. Featuring in-depth campaigns, beautiful sound tracks and a multiplayer mode used by MLG, it will be a sad day when Bungie parts way with the series after Halo: Reach launches at the end of 2010. Inspiring Machinima shows, thousands of fan made montages and reviews all over the internet, it is safe to say everyone has heard of Halo at some point.

I is for: Infinity Ward

Definitely deserving on a place in this comprehensive FPS alphabet tribute, Infinity Ward has gone on to produce shooters at a level yards ahead of other developers. Whether it is the crazy hype that follows them or their devoted fan base, IW is forever etched into the tomes of FPS history. Whether the development of their titles is ever the same again is hard to say after the dramas that have occurred in the last three months.

J is for: Jurassic Park: Trespasser

Released in 1998 and billed as the literal successor to the Jurassic Park 2, this game essentially flopped. Receiving a review of “1″ by Computers and Video Games and billed as a “dog” by the same people, Trespasser contained horrible game mechanics and required a heavily modified and up to date PC to run it even back in 1998. 12 years later the game still features a heavy modding community and the game is still played.

K is for: Killzone 2

The beaming light at the end of the tunnel that is Playstation 3 shooters. Featuring an extensive and in-depth campaign alongside a multiplayer mode supporting up to 32 players, Killzone 2 is quite the shooter. Receiving an average score of 91% as well as going on to sell over a million units this title is a commercial success as well. It’s interesting to note too, that all in game voice as added after the game was done by having artists around the world record their voice then send it to the studio.

L is for: Left 4 Dead

Everyone knows Left 4 Dead, right!? One of the most co-operative games to grace a market full of “Pop ‘em and Drop ‘em” single player experiences, Left 4 Dead features intense combat, hordes of undead and an awesome story to boot. Developed by Valve, a long running developer of quality First Person Shooters, this game has seen a sequel produced as well as long running support for the original. The game also featured an awesome AI system called “The Director” that placed Zombies and Special Infected randomly so no two play throughs of a level were the same.

M is for: Medal of Honor

Due for release worldwide on the 12th of October, Medal of Honor is looking to reboot and revitalise the long running and obviously stale franchise that has all been set in World War 2. Moving the setting to modern day Afghanistan, players will take the reins of a “Tier 1 Operator”, a soldier in an elite group tasked with dangerous, and sometimes stealthy missions. At times players will also take control of a US Army Ranger to partake in bigger battles.

N is for: No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.’s Way

Right, after reading possibly the longest game title in history here’s a bit of info on the game. NOLF2 was a FPS released in 2002, following the astounding success of the original No One Lives Forever title. This did equally well incorporating new gameplay features, graphics improvements by the bucket full and eventually went on to claim Game of the Year courtesy of GameSpy.

O is for: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising

A spiritual successor to the original title (I call it a spiritual as it wasn’t produced by the original developers and didn’t have the same feeling, or performance), this game was a letdown to all involved, even Codemasters. Players had access to a huge island, 227km2 to be exact, that Codemasters bragged about time and time again. Turns out the player only gets around 5km to play around in. Originally meant to have monthly DLC, the game was dropped from support by Codemasters only 4 months after launch.

P is for: Portal

Portal, such a beautiful and unique game. Although you do shooting, it’s only of the namestake; portals. A puzzle game set in the First Person perspective Portal sees you take the role of Chell, a female test subject locked inside the bland white halls of Aperture Science. Featuring puzzles that will break your brain and a simple gameplay premise, Portal has gone on to be loved by critics and fans alike all over the world. It’s even been good enough to get a fully fleshed out sequel at the end of the year.

Q is for: Quake 3

Quake 3 Arena was released in 1999 and focused exclusively on Multiplayer fraggin’ action. Featured in some of the most exclusive Cyber athletics competitions around the globe, as well as played on thousands of dedicated servers through PC, Quake 3 is one of the pillars in competitive shooters and eSports. A port to the Xbox LIVE Arcade has also been planned.

R is for: Rainbow Six

A father of the tactical First Person Shooter genre, Rainbow Six features heavily based realistic combat along side a well written and thought out story by world renowned author Tom Clancy. Relying on players to accurately plan missions as opposed to blaze in all guns firing, this 1998 title is fun and enjoyable to play even today.

S is for: Shattered Horizon

For anyone that has benchmarked their PC Graphics and CPU before Futuremark should be a name you know. Well their first foray into the video game world and out of the Benchmarking tools world was quite an impressive one. Set in 2049, players take the role of an un-named Human on the Moon shortly before it explodes due to a huge mining accident. Combat is set in a Zero-Gravity environment challenging players whilst providing something new and unique. Critiques have given great scores with most even encouraging Futuremark to create a franchise.

T is for: Timesplitters 2

A cult classic if there ever was one, Timesplitters 2 is a FPS like no other. Placing players in the role of a space marine in 2401 whilst Humans are at war with a race named “TimeSplitters”. Instead of invading the Humans, the sentinel beings instead use things called “Time Crystals” to travel through, and alter time placing Earth into ruin. Featuring an awesome split screen mode and hours of fun, gamers around the world can only hope we see a sequel!

U is for: Unreal Tournament 2004

Like it’s brethren in the form of Quake III, UT2k4 is a heavily multiplayer orientated experience. Featuring vehicles for the first time, as well as a new game type titled “Onslaught” UT2k4 went on to win numerous “Multiplayer Game of the Year Awards” and to set the future benchmark for Multiplayer First Person Shooters.

V is for: Valve

V is for Valve, a long running American game production and publication company founded in 1996. Makers of revolutionary titles such as Half Life, Half Life 2 and new products like Left 4 Dead, they have firmly cemented themselves in gaming life. As well as their gaming exploration, they also invented the most popular and widely used Digital Content Distribution platform: “Steam”, saving PC users all of the world thousands of dollars.

W is for: Wolfenstein 3D

Another innovator of the First Person Shooter Genre, Wolenstein 3D gained most of its success through its Shareware agreement, basically allowing everyone to give out and to have as many copies as they wanted, but only one level. Of course you had to buy the full release to get the others! Being one of the first PC FPS games to implement Psuedo-3D, Wolfenstein 3D has become a retro favorite, but was also covered in controversy. Featuring levels constructed entirely of Swastikas and heavily Nazi party based imagery, many weren’t happy. One of the final bosses was even Hitler himself.

X is for: X

Not even I knew this game existed. That’s how hard it was to find. Released in 1992 on only the Gameboy, X puts you in the role of a tank commander tasked with completing numerous random missions. They include convoy protection through to defending whole bases. The game was listed by Famitsu as being one of four, in the most influential Game Boy games ever created.

Y is for: You Are Empty

A game I actually regret playing, You Are Empty puts you in the shoes of a high ranking Communist in Stalin-era Russia. The game features pathetic graphics for its time, a dismal gameplay experience and the stupidest ending I’ve ever encountered. No matter what you do you encounter the same clip montage ending in the destruction the Twin Towers in 2001. It scored a 1.5 courtesy of Game Informer reviewer Brent Todd. A little generous, I would’ve only given it a 0. DO NOT PLAY THIS, EVER!

Z is for: Zombie Panic! Source

One of, if not the most enjoyable community mod I played for Half Life was easily “Zombie Panic”. Zombie Panic! Source is a Half Life 2 redux of the original title that features content heavily emulating the classic Zombie movies and games of the world. Featuring four game modes, two of which are very similar to ones included in Left 4 Dead 2, Zombie Panic! Source is free to download off of Steam and well worth it.

Well that’s it for our comprehensive alphabet of FPS goodness. Some titles like Half-Life are missing, but I believe this is an awesome collection, and I hope you agree! If not, I’ll be more than happy to respond to your comments and suggestions below. Thanks!

L4D Mod “I Hate Mountains” Released, Complete with Original Voice Actors

Dylan Duarte — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 04:25:32 +0000

After more than a year of work, the dedicated fans behind the Portal: Prelude mod for the game of the same name have released “I Hate Mountains”, a new campaign that works for both the Left 4 Dead original and the sequel.

The idea was to have a campaign more nature-oriented, which I agree is a hell of a lot spookier in a zombie apocalypse. The maps are, in order, Lost in the Woods, Climbing the Manor, The Underground Way, Lumberyard Evacuation, and Lakeside Finale. And, as mentioned in the title, a guy at Valve had the original Left 4 Dead voice actors record lines for it. That’s pretty swell right there.

To download the mod, head over to the official site. You can check out the kick ass trailer below.

[Thanks ShackNews]

Girl Bakes Boyfriend Left 4 Dead Cake, Vault Boy Cake Approves

Chad Lakkis — Sat, 29 May 2010 15:57:00 +0000

There are two very lucky men out there right now, and both are probably suffering the effects of an extreme sugar high thanks to the baking efforts of their loving girlfriends.

The Left 4 Dead cake (shown above) was one girl’s second video game themed gift to the man she loved. Her boyfriend told reddit that the first was a Portal cake that he received a few years prior. As for the beautifully well done Vault Boy cake below, it was no doubt crafted with an equal amount of love.

Time to start shopping for some Bejeweled sized wedding rings boys.

Sandvich and Health-Pack Cakes are Credit to Team

Sam Naylor — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:39:27 +0000

I know video-game cakes are a bit of a faux-pas on gaming blogs these days, but I don’t care. User “woodsman707″ on Reddit, like any good father, celebrated his son’s birthday with the above Sandvich cake his daughter’s with the Left 4 Dead Health-Pack below.

Even though I don’t think they look tasty (I know, I know, blasphemy), I do think they look brilliant. Hats off to the baker who made them, and the father who had the idea.

Left 4 Dead and L4D2 Cast to Meet in New DLC

Sam Naylor — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:09:55 +0000

RPS reports that the cast from the original Left 4 Dead will meet the cast from this year’s Left 4 Dead 2 in a new update and DLC pack in early 2010. Valve have announced that the update will be for Left 4 Dead 2 and that the campaign will feature the eight characters’ meeting.

This is big news for Left 4 Dead fans, and therefore me. I am a bit worried, however, that when Francis and Nick meet it’ll resemble the old “Unstoppable force, immovable object” axiom. Besides that, this may be the best idea for content for the game that Valve have ever had. The new survivors are great and all, but nothing compares to Francis, and I just want to see my old buddy again. Hopefully this will also pave the way for Left 4 Dead 1 DLC in a similar vein as well, to get us all back playing that.

Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the first game add-on for its co-operative zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2), is in development and targeted for release in early 2010.

Dubbed “The Passing,” the first game add-on for L4D2 brings the original Left 4 Dead (L4D1) Survivors down south for a meeting with the L4D2 cast, while delivering new single-player, multiplayer and co-operative gameplay for the PC and Xbox 360.

Targeted for release in early spring, “The Passing” takes place just after the Dead Center campaign of L4D2. Set in a small town in rural Georgia, players assume the role of the L4D2 Survivors as they meet with the L4D1 characters.

In addition to the new co-operative campaign and associated narrative, “The Passing” will include new arenas for Survival, Versus and Scavenge mode and introduce a new co-operative challenge mode of play. The Passing will also include a new “uncommon common” zombie class, melee weapon, and firearm.

“The Passing will become the most important campaign in the Left 4 Dead story, as all the Survivors are being called together in one campaign,” said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve. “It will also be a huge offering of new gameplay content, with something new for every game mode plus a new uncommon common and weaponry.”