If you bought Left 4 Dead 2 on the PC, you might be pleased to hear that some modders have figured out a way to import all of the maps from Left 4 Dead into Left 4 Dead 2, playable with the new infected, new survivors, and the baseball bat. It’s a complex process compared to most mods, and it suffers from a few major problems at the time of writing, unfortunately.

The only new weapon that works is the bat, most of the campaigns crash on certain events, and some of the switches don’t work. If you can get past this, however, you’ve got 5 new expertly designed maps to play around with. I’m expecting that at some point someone (possibly even Valve) will create working versions of all of these maps for Left 4 Dead 2, so for now my advice is to keep your game files safe, and admire the work from a distance. I just hope that they patch in Francis as a playable character. I miss him terribly.

After my hands-on with the game at the MCM Expo a few weeks ago and a lot of time spent in the pre-release demo, I feel I’ve got enough experience to let you, our dear readers, know how I feel about the game. You may remember last year I did a similar thing with the original game, and I seem to have really rather enjoyed it. I felt that since I did one last year, I should run through some of my impressions of Left 4 Dead 2.

Can the sequel live up to the original? To answer that question, here are some words that I have typed on my computer which you will read.

As with last year, I only played the 360 version for a small amount of time, but again I felt very hindered by the controller. My tactics from playing Left 4 Dead 1 over the whole year on the PC just wouldn’t transition into the 360 version I played, like the ability to get headshots or aim for gas cans easily. I realise that with practice one can get better at this with a controller (and in fact I prefer playing Resident Evil 5 on the PC with a controller over the mouse and keyboard) but while playing I couldn’t enjoy the new aspects of Left 4 Dead 2 without a feeling in the back of my mind that this wasn’t even capturing some of the things that made Left 4 Dead so great. It didn’t feel as satisfying to kill the infected without the ability to pop their heads open or perform actions that require a swift aim.

That said, I don’t have a problem with this version and it must be pointed out that this is my experience, and not necessarily that of anyone else. The new weapons, especially the melee types, were the thing that caught my eye the most (and as such I spent a good portion of time hitting zombies with a frying pan). After only having access to about 6 weapons for a whole year, the new shotguns and assault rifles were very welcome, and all of the weapons feel just as they should- substantial. The Uzi-style guns and the pistols are always in danger of feeling weak in shooters but here they all feel just right.

Once I had a chance to play the PC demo, I was able to take a closer look at the new special infected. The Spitter, which shoots gunk at you from a distance which covers the floor and blocks off that area for a little while, can be very effective at breaking up the group. If you huddle in a corner and the Spitter gets you, you are going to have to get away from that corner sharpish. The Jockey is another hazard to teams that split up; he can ride a player wherever he feels like, which is usually into a molotov fire spill or spitter goo. Obviously this isn’t very healthy and he can cause adverse side-effects (i.e. death) if not rapidly removed. Similarly the charger can smash through a group of survivors and grab one, incapacitating him like a Hunter would. All of the new specials have a specific use and they should make versus mode even more fun that it was already.

The demo, however, doesn’t show much in terms of new environments. The newest things about the level on show are the daytime setting and the finale where one must get to a button to turn it off instead of just waiting around for a door to open. This makes it a bit more hectic, with the players being forced to make a move instead of just waiting it out. It does end up being a bit easy, however, even on harder difficulty levels. I think this may be because the demo shows off a lot of weapons and new items, which you are given quite a lot of. This makes taking down the horde a little easier than in a full-length campaign, since you can afford to take more risks and just spray all of your ammo away at them. At the moment Left 4 Dead 2 is looking like it has everything that was missing from Left 4 Dead 1, and I feel it certainly justifies a new game. The new survivors are great, too (especially Nick). I highly recommend you try the demo, which is out now on Steam and Xbox 360.

Boo! I hope that didn’t completely scare you, what with Halloween coming up and all the ghosts that totally aren’t fictional and monsters that totally exist coming out to haunt us. To celebrate this rather pointless special time of year, Valve have announced that Team Fortress 2 will be having a spooky update weekend.

The update will add five achievements to unlock some new ghostly hats, a new King of the Hill map (Harvest, a Halloween-themed map with a roaming ghost that will scare players stiff) and Pumpkin-bombs. It also seems that dead players will be able to interact in some way with the living. Not sure if this is restricted to this one map, but either way it sounds brilliant. The special runs October 29th-November 3rd.

Update: The game is also super cheap from now until 2:00pm PDT; go buy it!

In celebration of a new batch of DLC for the game, Killing Floor is free to play for all Steam users for this weekend. If you decide to buy the game, it’s also 25% off. In case you don’t know what the game is about, I suggest you mentally combine Left 4 Dead, Horde mode from Gears of War, and the SAS voice acting from Call of Duty 4.

I’ve just been playing the game for the first time, and I must say it’s rather enjoyable. The guns feel powerful and the melee weapons are a blast to use. It’s quite challenging, too; plenty of monsters swarm in on you from all sides, which can get pretty chaotic. It looks awful, though, and the movement is a little clunky. Also, all the maps are incredibly dark, but with harsh light sources- I got annoyed at looking into a light and blinding myself constantly.

Still, despite the apparent lack of polish, I had a good time. I’ll most likely be going back and playing some more. I suggest that anyone who can run the game does so; the worst that can happen is that you don’t like it. It’s free, after all.

This may be the best trailer for a videogame I’ve ever seen. Hell, it might be the best trailer I’ve ever seen. Valve are getting great at making these short films; the characters shine through even with two minutes of screen time, and it makes me want the game even more. If this isn’t the purpose of a trailer, I don’t know what is.

It’s supposedly “leaked”, but I’m not buying that. Valve are careful about this stuff. It’s most likely been put out as leaked to get more press. I don’t know why, because I could watch this thing over and over again happily. It’s worth a post, leaked or not. Now excuse me while I go and enthuse a bit more over there.

The remake of LucasArts’ classic adventure game The Secret of Monkey Island has been bumped down to just £3.49/$5 on Steam today, in honour of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which is coming up on the Nineteenth. That’s what I like to call a good deal which you should probably take advantage of.

I bought the game on release (hindsight is 20/20), and I can confirm that this is a quality remake, and the art, while perhaps not perfect for everyone, is very high quality and the voice acting is absolutely fine. You can switch at any time to the classic style, too. I heartily recommend this, ye land lubbers and all that.

Shacknews reports that LucasArts will be re-releasing their classic Jedi Knight/Dark Forces series on Steam and Direct2Drive on Wednesday. The release will include all of the games in the series, even the expansion pack Mysteries of the Sith. This follows from their recent re-release of Knights of the Old Republic on Steam, as well as the re-vamped Monkey Island franchise.

Direct2Drive are also having a celebration of 5 years of not-bad service by having a pretty good sale. Everything is $5/£5 in the sale, which includes Bioshock and Saints Row 2 at the time of writing. The games will change soon though, so keep checking back for the best deal.

What you see above is the new special infected, The Spitter. You are forgiven for looking away, as it’s one of the strangest things I’ve seen come out of Valve’s art studio. the gallery below shows some new features of the game off, including some new weapons, the new types of zombie, and generally just the bleak looking swamp level. I can;t wait to get my hands on this game, if only just to shoot the monstrosity that is The Spitter right in the face with a shotgun.

Shacknews reports that Tripwire’s co-op survival horror game Killing Floor will be receiving a free update ’soon’, followed by some paid content after that. The free content includes a new level (foundry) and some new weapons, the Katana and the AK-47.

the paid content will include “four new playable characters including a Horzine foundry worker and a soldier in prototype Horzine body armor.” I don’t own Killing Floor, but as soon as it goes on sale, I’ll definitely give it a go. It looks like a more frantic and over the top version of Left 4 Dead’s Survival mode, which can only be good in my book.

In this preview of Left 4 Dead 2, some brand new details about the game have been revealed, including some new infected types and more details about the Swamp level. First of all, the level-specific infected, known as ‘common-uncommons’, for the swamp have been revealed. We already knew about the ones with fire-proof suits on, but the swamp level has ‘mud men’, who run quickly on all fours through the swamp, making them difficult to spot.

A new special infected is the ‘Spitter’, who provides a more long-range option for the infected. He spits out an attack (unspecified at this point, probably gob) that damages those who stand in it. The attck isn#t fantastically powerful but can hinder a team who stay in the area of effect too long. Finally, the preview mentions adrenaline and ammo packs (which replace pills and first aid kits). The adrenaline packs allow you to run past zombies without them slowing you down, as well as removing restrictions on your melee attack. Sounds good to me, although removing health packs seems a little odd. I trust Valve, though. They know what they’re doing.

Valve have updated Left 4 Dead today with a patch that adds a lobby browser to the game. This is an important addition to the game; not only does it mean we are able to make our own decisions about where we want to play, but it means that the inevitably great community maps are much more widely available.

Instead of having to go to a map site, downloading a map, and hoping that someone else has done the same, one can simply browse the lobbies for a map they would like, and download it in-game. Hooray for custom maps, and hooray for no longer being treated like children!

As you can see in the (brilliant) above image, Valve have revealed a certain sports bat will be featured in Left 4 Dead 2. Yes, the cricket bat, likely a homage to the fantastic zombie film Shaun of the Dead, will be available for use. Perhaps I should be berated for posting something that is probably a little trivial and not newsworthy- that was my initial reaction.

However, by doing this post, I am able to simultaneously post a picture of a zombie being smacked by a cricket bat by a man in a hat with the English flag on it, and praise a brilliant British film. This is the first time I’ve ever felt patriotic, and it’s all thanks to zombies.

Oh, and as a bonus for those who clicked the read more button, I’ll tell you why I haven’t been updating recently: I’ve been on holiday in England.

Sure, I posted about Empire: Total War yesterday. This is important enough to warrant another post, though: the game is now 50% off (as is the Special Forces Edition) on Steam. If you like strategy games and don’t own this game, your “it’s too expensive” excuse is now void- this weekend.

Remember, those of us who already own the game are still being treated this weekend: the huge patch includes a load of free units and, perhaps best of all, frame rate optimisations. If there was one thing wrong with Empire, it was the nasty frame rate on grassy maps. Nothing game-breaking, but noticeable- at least on my machine.

True to their word, Valve are going to release a Left 4 Dead update next week, focused mainly on the community maps that have been created, and pushing for more to be made in the coming months. The update includes a much better matchmaking system, support for community maps, the full, non-beta SDK release, and obviously support for new maps, models, and textures (via an “add-ons” section).

This is an important update for PC fans of Left 4 Dead, since we’ll be getting a whole load more maps made by the community. Going on the support for TF2, there’ll be a lot of great maps, both well designed and ridiculously silly. I urge everyone with the skills to make a L4D map to do it!

A huge Empire: Total War update is heading to players on Monday, Shacknews reports. Update 1.3 will include processor optimisations for a better frame rate, 14 brand new units, balance changes, and a host of bugfixes. In short, this is a huge update which has free stuff included, and you should be very happy if you’re a Total War fan. Hit the jump for the patch notes.

We’ve worked on implementing the multi-threading in the game for multi-core processors and made many optimisations that will also help increase performance on single core machines.

Players will see huge benefits through increased frame rates particularly in land and naval battles.

14 Free Units have been included in this patch, adding a large amount of diversity to the playable factions and the armies the player will face. These units replace ‘generic’ equivalents giving each faction a unique identity on the battlefield. Here is a description of each free unit available in the update:

Prussian Grenadiers

Wearing a distinctive brass fronted mitre cap, the Prussian Grenadiers are an explosive force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

Spanish Guardias de infateria

These elite guard infantry are charged with protecting the monarch and are a potent force on the battlefield.

Swedish lifeguard horse

This cavalry regiment forms part of the monarchs’ household guard. Superbly drilled, they act as a shock force on the battlefield.

Holland Horse Guard

Armed with heavy cavalry sabres, these disciplined cavalrymen represent the elite of the army.

Prussian Garde Du Corp

The Prussian Garde Du Corp are a replacement for the Prussian standard Household cavalry. These heavy horse shock troops are best used to break enemy lines and overrun enemy positions. With a strong charge and fearsome attack, these riders make short work of those who would oppose a Prussian monarch.

Prussian Life guard

The Prussian life guards are equipped similarly to line infantrymen. However their uniforms are altogether more splendid, marking them out as a superior force, in arrogance if nothing else. They do a good job as garrison troops and are dedicated to the crown.

Russian Grenadiers

This new Russian unit is great for assaults and their grenades pack a mighty punch!

Spanish Guardias De Corp

The Spanish Guardias De Corp replace household cavalry for Spain. With almost unbreakable morale, on the charge they are almost unstoppable.

Spanish Grenadiers

These are a replacement for the standard Spanish Grenadiers with a distinctive bearskin hat to mark them out as exemplary on the battlefield.

Swedish ‘Lifeguards of foot’

These are a highly trained replacement for the standard Swedish guard. They are often used as a force in a system that defends a monarchy and can be relied upon for utter loyalty and deadly accuracy in the field. Their professionalism is reflected in their fearsome battle reputation.

Holland Guard

The Holland Guards from the United Provinces are superior line infantry units. Carrying smoothbore muskets, they were traditionally chosen to protect the royal family and have an incredibly high morale, often making them the last troops to break in a fight.

Scots

The Scots are a Highland ex-patriate infantry used by the United Provinces, renowned for their deadly charge.

Swiss Infantry

Very disciplined infantry of the United Provinces with quick reload and excellent marksmanship.

Mamelukes

Mamelukes are fearless light horsemen, deadly when deployed against a broken or unsupported enemy.

Additionally the Spanish nation has had a new uniform design to better reflect its historical look.

Audio:

Sound loading has been made asynchronous, so heavy disc access is reduced to a minimum. This makes loading times faster and reduces any instances of ’stuttering’. Unit group sounds have also been improved, for more realistic group movement. The primary sound library (Miles DLL) has been updated to stop occasional clicking. And we’ve added more sound variation for unit deaths and musket fire.

Campaign:

* Several crash bug fixes in saves, movement, agents and logic.
* Various optimisations have been made to AI and path systems to reduce the campaign map turn times.
* When the pirates are destroyed and re-emerge they now maintain a status of at war with all and are unable to enter into diplomatic negotiations.
* Added small ships on domestic trade routes from the trade nodes to home regions moving in the correct direction, i.e. with the flow of trade.
* The AI should now no longer repeatedly sign a diplomatic agreement and then break it the next turn. Treaties are more valuable and adhered to.
* We’ve fixed some border trade agreements allowing greater numbers of bordering factions to properly trade with one another.
* Movement arrows now reflect the range of the selected units, not the whole army/navy.
* AI will no longer counter-offer and ask for more money than the player has available.
* Fixed commerce raiding taking money from blockaded trade routes.
* Fixed navies getting stuck when forced to retreat from ports (tactical retreat).
* Fixed rare inability to attack certain ports.
* Fixed middle mouse button camera drag stopping working occasionally.
* Made emergent factions be at war with the faction they emerged against if that faction is human.
* Fixed various movement extent crashes.
* Changed background income for minor factions.
* Fixed diplomatic relations with emergent factions.
* Tactical withdrawal will now always leave armies on the landmass containing the settlement of a region.
* Changed war score system to make the AI more likely to accept peace.
* Fixed crash when embarking and disembarking armies at ports.
* Fixed trade ships not being correctly registered in trade nodes after splitting forces.
* Fixed government change diplomatic effect.
* Improved commerce raiding display on trade screen.
* Faction specific text is now used in diplomacy.
* Prevent players cancelling the movement of fleeing agents.

Balance changes

Units

* Charge bonus generally increased across the board for all units and melee defence reduced.
* Greater diversification of stats between different unit types designed to emphasise differences and improve balance.
* Redone costs for all units for multiplayer to improve game balance which better reflects the actual battlefield worth of each unit.
* Mob formation added in for Native American, irregular and some skirmisher units.
* Spot distance for light infantry, skirmishers, irregulars, light cavalry and missile cavalry increased allowing them to spot hidden units at longer distances.
* Russian line infantry stats have been boosted to allow them to compete more with other factions’ line infantry.
* Movement speed of all unit types reduced by 10%.
* Ammo for light infantry increased to 20, line to 15.

Land battle morale

* Charge morale bonus reduced from 10 to 4.
* Recent casualties, extended casualties and total casualties morale penalties increased slightly for higher percentages.
* Rear and flank exposed morale penalties increased.

Fatigue

* Fatigue penalty for melee reduced from 18 per tick to 10.
* Running fatigue penalty for heavy and light cavalry reduced from -3/-2 to -2/-1.

Artillery Changes

* Calibration area for cannons and howitzers reduced. Accuracy of non-round shot shot types reduced to compensate.
* Muzzle velocity of round shot for cannons increased to make them fire lower and bounce more, accuracy also increased.
* Lethality of shrapnel pieces reduced to match canister shot, range also reduced to 350.
* Load time for special shot types for howitzers increased slightly, and range reduced to 350.
* Calibration area for mortars increased, accuracy of round shot increased to compensate. Reload time increased slightly.
* Accuracy of 18 lbr horse guard artillery restored to 65.
* Hit points of gun trains increased to 50, all guns and caissons to 25.

Yes, it’s propaganda to get you to join the armed forces. However, a free game is a free game, and the perfect price tag makes it worth mentioning at least. America’s Army 3 is out now on Steam, free to all. The game features Steam achievements and Steam Cloud support, meaning your keyboard setup will remain across all of your computers. I’ve not had a chance to play it yet, but like I said, a free game is a free game, so I’ll likely at least try it out. If anyone has played it, let us know how you feel in the comments.

Valve, being the classy gentlemen (and ladies) that they all are, have responded to the concerns of the Left 4 Dead 2 boycott group that popped up following the game’s announcement.

In an interview with Kotaku, Valve president Gabe Newell attempted to calm the fears of those who are under the impression that a new Left 4 Dead game coming out so soon would mean no more updates for its predecessor.

“Doing a sequel in one year is new for Valve. But providing ongoing support for our titles after the initial launch isn’t – it has been part of our philosophy since Half-Life was released ten and half years ago. We see no reason to change that and will continue to support the over three million customers in the L4D community.”

And more to the point:

“Some in the community are concerned that the announcement of L4D2 implied a change in our plans for L4D1. We aren’t changing our plans for L4D1.”

“In addition to the recently released Survival Pack, we are releasing authoring tools for Mod makers, community matchmaking, 4×4 matchmaking, and more new content during the coming months for L4D1. We also agree with our customers that there needs to be an interoperability plan for players of L4D1 and L4D2, as multiplayer games are driven by the cohesiveness of their community.”

As I wrote a few days ago, I trust Valve. They’ve always been great to their community and I see no reason why that would change. I can totally understand people’s initial apprehension to a sequel this soon, but do they really think Valve is just going to pull a 180 and start screwing people over?

The group claims that releasing the sequel this soon after its predecessor will “split the communities and decrease the quality of multiplayer gaming… The announced content of Left 4 Dead 2 does not warrant a standalone, full-priced sequel and should instead become updates (free or otherwise) for Left 4 Dead.”

“Left 4 Dead has not yet received the support and content which Valve has repeatedly stated will be delivered. Therefore, we – the members of this Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott – promise to abstain from the purchase of Left 4 Dead 2 until our requests are addressed.”

If this were any other case, I would be inclined to side with the group. The thought of a sequel this soon does rub me the wrong way. However, I’m willing to make a special exception for Valve, hands-down one of my favorite developers. I trust them not to screw me over, so if they saw fit to make a sequel this soon, I imagine its for good reason.

As far as the group’s claim that the new content doesn’t justify a full sequel, I don’t know if I agree with that. I’m no developer, in fact I’m pretty much dumb as a tack, but things like zombie dismemberment and a melee mechanic seem pretty complex to me. But what do I know? I’m just a writer on the interwebs.

The group asks that Valve continue to release DLC for the first game and launch the sequel as either a discounted expansion or a free download.

I’m curious to know what everyone else thinks of all of this. Thoughts?

EDGE

Yes, it’s real. It was an April fool’s joke, and now it’s real. Snipers will be throwing jars of piss around. Jarate, when it spills on an opponent, grants 35% less damage resistance (they die faster) and, in the case of the Spy, shorts out the cloak. Jarate can be washed off with water, and it can be used on team-mates to put out any fires that may be happening in, on, or around them. The Sniper achievement titles have also been announced, and you can find them after the jump.

Australian Rules

Be Efficient

Be Polite

Beaux and Arrows

Consolation Prize

Dead Reckoning

De-sentry-lized

Dropped Dead

Enemy at the Gate

Friendship is Golden

Have a Plan

Jarate Chop

Jarring Transition

Jumper Stumper

Kill Everyone You Meet

Kook the Spook

My Brilliant Career

Not a Crazed Gunman, Dad

Number One Assistant

Parting Shot

Pincushion

Rain on Their Parade

Robbin’ Hood

Rode Hard, Put Away Wet

Saturation Bombing

Self-destruct Sequence

Shafted

Shock Treatment

Shoot the Breeze

Socket to Him

The Last Wave

Triple Prey

Trust Your Feelings

Uberectomy

William Tell Overkill:

Today’s update brings us the Ambassador, the replacement for the Spy’s Revolver. The Magnum-inspired gun features an engraving of the victim’s mother on the barrel, as well as the accuracy of a sniper rifle. Such a powerful weapon, though, is hindered by a cooldown between shots. Even so, it is probably one of the most aesthetically pleasing weapons yet. I’m willing to bet it’ll sound suitably epic, too.

Today, Meet the Spy was released! Oh, it was leaked, wasn’t it? Never mind. The true video is finally out: the HD version. It’s glorious. Also today is the list of the achievements for the Spy’s unlocks (which you can see after the jump). One that is noteworthy is the “Valve corporate achievement”: “Fail to understand what ‘Private’ means on YouTube. Needless to say, it’s been achieved.

Achievements:

1. A Cut Above
2. Agent Provocateur
3. Burn Notice
4. Come in From the Cold
5. Constructus Interruptus
6. Counter Espionage
7. Deep Undercover
8. Die Another Way
9. Diplomacy
10. Dr. Nooooo
11. For Your Eyes Only
12. FYI I am a Spy
13. High Value Target
14. Identity Theft
15. Insurance Fraud
16. Is It Safe?
17. Joint Operation
18. May I Cut In?
19. On Her Majesty’s Secret Surface
20. Point Breaker
21. Sap Auteur
22. Sapsucker
23. Skullpluggery
24. Slash and Burn
25. Sleeper Agent
26. Spies Like Us
27. Spymaster
28. The Man from P.U.N.C.T.U.R.E.
29. The Man with the Broken Guns
30. The Melbourne Supremacy
31. Triplecrossed
32. Wetwork
33. Who’s Your Daddy?
34. You Only Shiv Thrice

Valve’s Youtube channel leaked the ‘Meet the Spy’ video earlier today and, because this is the internet, it was instantly re-uploaded by another user. Here it is for you to enjoy (make sure you choose HD)- and enjoy you shall. I reckon this is the best ‘Meet the…’ yet; we get to see so much more of the personalities of the characters and their relationships with each other. There’s not much more to say, really. Just watch the video.

Today Valve announced that the Authoring tools for Left 4 Dead are in beta and ready to download from the “Tools” tab on Steam. Using this, users can play with:

• Updated version of Hammer, the source level editor
• Updated suite of command line compiling utilities
• Updated Particle editor
• Updated Faceposer
• Example maps, common infected, props, and explosives

Valve are updating the matchmaking system to make the community maps available to all players. If you’re thinking of making something for Left 4 Dead, go here for more info. All us regular players will be able to reap the benefits of awesome community maps in “a few weeks”.

Welcome back to Team Fortress 2 update week, brought to you by Dapper Rouge: The catalogue for the Gentleman Scoundrel. Over the last few days we’ve been introduced to the Razorback, a shield to go on the Sniper’s back and protect him from spies (giving them a shock and making their knife unusable for a period of time). We’ve also been completely fooled by Valve, who have revealed that the Spy will also be part of the update.

His new toys include the “Dead Ringer” spy watch, which will leave a fake corpse of the Spy on the ground while the real Spy is cloaked for eight seconds. The “Cloak and Dagger” spy watch will grant a cloak regeneration ability, allowing spies to remain hidden forever while he’s standing still.

Telltale games is 5 years old! To celebrate, Steam is featuring a sale on their season packs: Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People, Sam & Max Season One and Sam & Max Season Two. My advice is to get Sam and Max, both seasons if you can afford it. Although I haven’t played Strong Bad, I do know that the Sam and Max games are some of the funniest games to be released in recent years.

Sure, this is a little late. Give me a break here, okay? This week Valve will be releasing info on the Sniper update for the PC version of Team Fortress 2. I’ll update Ripten every day with the new stuff they announce, just as I did with the Scout update. Day one showed us the Huntsman, a bow to replace the Sniper rifle. It kills and pins enemies to the wall, and leaves arrows in the wounded flesh of the ones who don’t die. Simple stuff, but looks pretty fun.

Day two has brought us a load of new maps. Pipeline is a race to the finish with two bomb carts, with an uphill section at the end. Sawmill is an arena map set in a grassy, rainy landscape, and features, well, sawblades. Nucleus is a futuristic arena map that features a central point that comes out of some sort of pod. Very snazzy. Mor eot come every day until the update hits.

I’m having a blast with PopCap Games’s Plants vs. Zombies. It’s been universally eulogized, and for all the right reasons, and like PopCap’s other games, it doesn’t require a supercharged system. Those of you that own the $10 Steam version will be pleased to know that an update has been issued to add 12 achievements to the game- and they aren’t so easy to obtain.

Hit the jump for the achievements.

Source: Destructoid

Home Lawn Security: Complete adventure mode.
Morticulturalist: Collect all 49 plants.
Towering Wisdom: Grow the Tree of Wisdom to 100 feet.
Nobel Peas Prize: Get the golden sunflower trophy.
Better Off Dead: Get to a streak of 10 in I,Zombie Endless.
China Shop: Get to a streak of 15 in Vasebreaker Endless.
Immortal: Get to 20 flags in Survival Endless.
Cryptozombologist: Discover the top secret zombie.
Walk This Way: Hypnotize the lead dancer zombie.
Spudow!: Blow up a zombie using a potato mine.
Explodonator: Blow up 10 zombies with a single cherry bomb.
Ask Me About Mustache Mode: Enable Mustache Mode.

Plants vs. Zombies, the brand new puzzle/strategy game from Popcap Games, has been released. You can download the game from here or here, at $9.99 and $19.99 respectively. Why you’d pay $10 more for the non-Steam version I have no idea, but if it works for Popcap, good for them.

Popcap, of course, are the creators of both Bejeweled and Peggle, two games that are renowned for their ability to drain away time at an amazing rate. PvZ looks set to do the same thing. You can see for yourself with the demo (which you can get from either of the above links).

Steam users will be able to access Left 4 dead completely free all weekend, starting at 12:01am GMT. Impatient players can pre-load the game so they can play the second it becomes free by going here and downloading the game ready to play. Obviously, I recommend you do this if you don’t already have the game- with the new survival pack and extra maps, the game’s even better than it was when I gave it a 10 out of 10.

On a slightly related note, check out this interview from Shacknews with Valve’s Robin Walker. It’s an interesting read for Team Fortress 2 fans, with a few details about the upcoming unlocks (hats!).

Steam news is reporting that the official Dawn of War II soundtrack is available to download. Simply go here, scroll down, and download the archive. The 20 tracks are in 320Kbps, so that should keep all but the most avid audiophiles happy. Game soundtracks, for me, are in a strange category. They’re most often brilliant, but rarely the kind of thing you’d listen to on a normal occasion. They’re sort of the gentleman’s suit of the music world.

The tracks are courtesy of Relic Composer, Doyle W. Donehoo and Audio Lead, Jason Ross with contributions by artist Noah Stacey and Noobie Noobinson, as well as THQ, Games Workshop, and Steam. Hit the jump if you need to know the tracklist in full.

• 01 There Is Only War (opening title).mp3 – 2:55
• 02 Angels Of Death (Space Marine Theme).mp3 – 3:02
• 03 Primarch’s Honour.mp3 – 4:37
• 04 No Mercy No Respite.mp3 – 4:39
• 05 March Of The Waaagh! (Ork Theme).mp3 – 3:05
• 06 Purge The Xeno Scum.mp3 – 4:39
• 07 Forged In Battle.mp3 – 4:39
• 08 Ancient Rites (Eldar Theme).mp3 – 3:05
• 09 The Green Horde Rises.mp3 – 4:40
• 10 Khaine’s Wrath.mp3 – 4:35
• 11 Attack Of The Heretics.mp3 – 4:38
• 12 Xeno Presence (Tyranid Theme).mp3 – 3:04
• 13 For The Craftworld.mp3 – 4:41
• 14 They Come In Waves And We Push Them Back.mp3 – 4:40
• 15 The Great Devourer.mp3 – 4:36
• 16 To Battle Brothers.mp3 – 4:43
• 17 Hunting The Hive Tyrant.mp3 – 4:42
• 18 The Emperor’s Victory.mp3 – 2:05
• 19 Show Me What Passes For Music Among Your Misbegotten Kind (credits roll).mp3 – 13:31
• 20 Meridian Nights (Noobie’s Grim Dark Future Remix).mp3 – 2:36