Left-4-Dead posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Valve has followed through with its promise to bring bots to Left 4 Dead 2's Versus mode -- which was frantic enough before all the A.I.-controlled ghouls got added in. A recent patch added the functionality and made a few tweaks to the software development kit, which allows players to make awesome levels based on awesome Nintendo 64 games. Check out the full list of changes after the jump.

The Steam blog post announcing the patch's release promises that the changes will be integrated into the 360 version of the game via an upcoming title update.

Question: What's the only thing scarier than a looming horde of normal-speed zombies? Answer: A looming horde of normal-speed zombies with robot brains. That's the kind of nightmare we'll soon be facing once Valve puts the finishing touches on an update for Left 4 Dead 2, which will add Infected bots to the game's Versus mode to help balance out one-on-one games.

In addition, Valve's doing some tweaking to the zombie auto-spawning which occurs during the finale events in Versus mode. Apparently, the developer decided that the average 34.56% chance of survival for the human team was a little too low, and is trying to balance things out by disabling auto-spawning during the campaigns' climaxes. Of course, none of that will matter when the human team is attempting to escape from robot zombies.

Xbox.com has listed several new games as Platinum Hits, including Fable II (aka Game of the Year Edition), Halo Wars, Left 4 Dead, The Orange Box, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, Ninja Gaiden II, Kung-Fu Panda, Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, Sonic The Hedgehog, and Sonic Unleashed.

A Microsoft PR agent couldn't confirm the full list of new Platinum Hits (are we missing any above?), but said that if a game is listed as such on Xbox.com, it's a Platinum Hits title. The changes seem to have taken effect on major retailer sites, as GameStop and Amazon now reflect the discounted Platinum prices (if not always the the Platinum Hits branding), which range from $20–30.

With Orange Box requiring only one Jackson ($20), it's now literally a crime to not own it. Conversely, if you're dead-set on committing a crime, buy someone Sonic The Hedgehog or Sonic Unleashed at $20 each.

[Thanks, Stephen]

If you've been sitting around on your hands waiting for the next free opportunity to play Left 4 Dead 2 on Xbox Live with your friends, well, we think you're a bit strange and should likely find a better habit. That being said, you'll be happy to hear that the game will be free-to-play for all Xbox Live members (even you lower class Silver folks) next weekend, starting promptly at 12:00PM ET on Friday, January 15, and finishing up on Monday the 18th (also at noon, as confirmed to CVG by Microsoft). We can't imagine that those of you still holding out will be convinced of an Xbox Live Gold account's worth after just one weekend, but it certainly can't hurt, now can it?

Update: The free weekend has been confirmed for Europe only. A Microsoft representative tells Joystiq the company has "nothing to announce at this time" about a North American promotion. When asked if they had a timetable to announce something, the representative politely said that we'll hear something soon one way or another.

You've salivated over its pixelized undead for long enough, the day has finally come when you can play the retro, 8-bit version of Left 4 Dead that we first told you about in November. The free game is now branded Pixel Force: Left 4 Dead and is apparently the launching pad for a whole Pixel Force franchise forthcoming from creator Eric Ruth.

You can feast your fingers on the two-player co-op action right here.

[Via Blue's News]

Okay, this is it: The penultimate batch of offers in the long-running Steam Holiday Sale. For the final day of the long-running promotion, Valve has elected to re-encheapen some of the games that sold like hotcakes in the sale's earlier one-day discounts. Until 9 a.m. PST tomorrow, the following games will be available for the following prices:

• BioShock - $4.99
• Grand Theft Auto IV - $7.49
• Torchlight - $4.99
• Left 4 Dead 2 - $33.49
• Killing Floor - $4.99
• Defense Grid: The Awakening - $2.49
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl - $2.00 (Yes, two American dollars.)

We were far too busy a-wassailing yesterday to notice, but Valve released a soon-to-be-holiday-classic that we think is going to catch on like wildfire. It's the latest track from Left 4 Dead 2's quartet of bearded troubadours, the Midnight Riders, titled "All I Want for Christmas (Is To Kick Your Ass)." It's a lot like that one song with the similar title, only ... with more ass-kicking, we guess. Unsurprisingly, it's not suitable for work -- but incredibly suitable for your family gatherings. Click past the jump to rekindle that holiday spirit.

Left 4 Dead 2 on PC has just received a massive update, with both authoring tools for custom campaigns and a support package for those who just want to play custom games coming down the internet's chimney. That second part might not be so exciting if it weren't for the glorious detail that it "allows running ANY map [their emphasis], including custom maps made for the original Left 4 Dead."

All your old favorites like the Mushroom Kingdom (with zombies) and Lego (with zombies) -- totally playable in Left 4 Dead 2. The only thing that the Left 4 Dead 2 Team asked for in return was "to get to play your custom maps" in their game, so let's all do them a favor and get right on that. We're personally hoping to see a Back to the Future 2 (with zombies) mod by the weekend.

[Thanks, Cj]

Valve's just served up a fresh update for Left 4 Dead 2 that aims to give our fellow survivors a gnawed-off leg up on the zombie horde. Most of the fixes deal with backend issues, streamlining the lobby system, and making official dedicated servers preferred when searching for team matches. The game now also has Russian subtitles for our comrades defending the Red Square (which, of course, is really a Burger Tank in the deep south). Remember: communication is paramount to winning the war against the undead.

Head past the break for the full patch notes.

Not content with unleashing a full-blown zombie apocalypse, Valve has come up with the second most socially awkward event imaginable: inviting characters from the original Left 4 Dead to hang out in the sequel's first DLC campaign. Bill, Louis, Zoey and Francis will meet with the stars of Left 4 Dead 2 in "The Passing," which Valve VP of marketing Doug Lombardi calls "the most important campaign in the Left 4 Dead story, as all the Survivors are being called together in one campaign." It's targeted for release in early 2010 on Xbox 360 and PC.

In addition to a co-op campaign (set in rural Georgia) and a new "co-operative challenge mode of play," The Passing will offer new content for Survival, Versus and Scavenge modes. Playing as the L4D2 cast, you can also expect to encounter a new melee weapon, firearm and "uncommon common" zombie.

We can't wait to meet up with last year's survivors again ... oh, assuming they really are still survivors.

In its ongoing support of Left 4 Dead 2 on the PC, Valve has issued another patch for the game, fixing a number of problems including physics crashes and hit boxes on the Charger, Jockey and Spitter. Some of the exploits PC gamers have stumbled upon have also been eradicated, including incapped survivors improving their weapon accuracy by holding the crouch button -- though we wouldn't call that an exploit so much as a natural evolution in the face of the zombie threat. Good, old-fashioned human ingenuity is what will win us this war, people!

You can head past the break for the full patch notes. An update for the Xbox 360 will be available "later this month."

No More Heroes' girl-crazy otaku protagonist, Travis Touchdown, must have found the Cosmic Key, because he's crossed over into the world of Valve games -- specifically Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2.

The L4D mod uses Travis to meet the game's quota for one leather-clad survivor, putting him, in his usual red jacket and Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly T-shirt (but no beam katana), in the place of ultra-pessimist Francis. While an L4D2 mod could address the lack of stabbing and cutting, it would seem mod creator ash_link isn't a fan of Valve's sequel, so, yeah ... that's probably not happening.

The Team Fortress 2 mod does about the same thing, replacing that game's Scout with a pint-sized, katana-wielding Touchdown. Head past the break to see for yourself. Seriously, go watch the video now.

[Via Destructoid]

Not that we've ever run across an invincible, burning Witch, but we'd say it's probably a great thing that Valve decided to fix that particular bug in Left 4 Dead 2. You see, apparently there's a glitch that allows Witches to become invincible if set on fire, the upshot of this being that the Witch is both invincible and on fire. Sound scary? You bet your ass it is. The patch also fixes a bug that prevented the launch of the game on certain machines. Yet another tweak fixes a bug where "bots would not shoot at Jockeys and Chargers while approaching to save a teammate." Yeah, that one seems kind of important too.

To quote the immortal words of the musical revolutionaries known as Widelife, "all things just keep getting better!" For the purpose of this post, "all things" include Steam's post-Thanksgiving deals, which seem to have hit critical value mass today. Resident Evil 5 for $24.99? Borderlands for $33.49? Ghostbusters for $9.99? Left 4 Dead: Game of the Year Edition for $7.49? Daddy like.

Once again, if you don't like the games which have had their prices temporarily torn in twain, tune in tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. PST for the next batch of deals.

We know how boring most holly jolly holiday cards can be, so we were glad to see that a handful of Valve-ified greeting cards are now available for purchase at the game maker's online store. Featuring characters from Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, and Team Fortress 2 in compromising holiday situations, there's no doubt that we'll actually – finally – send out greeting cards this year to everyone in our little black book. We're quite partial to the handful of TF2-themed images you see above (just look at The Spy, back with The Scout's mother!), but we're sure there's something for everyone in your list of Source Engine-loving holiday card receivers.

[Via Big Download]