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New Left 4 Dead 2 TV spot, Scavenge mode walkthrough

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 4th 2009 at 4:20PM }

Just in case GameStop's Left 4 Dead 2 commercial was a little too slow-paced for you, Valve has released a new TV spot that's nothing but action. Of course, that action is culled entirely from the CG trailer that was leaked last month, so you won't see anything new here. You will hear something new, however, as the commercial has been injected with a thumping blues-rock soundtrack, making the whole thing feel like a big, sprawling, undead bar fight.

Come to think of it, it sounds like Joystiq Publishing just found its next game. No one has the rights to Undead Bar Fight, right? While we go do a little research, watch the trailer above and, after the break, watch G4's walkthroughs of the Scavenge and Survival modes.

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L4D mod 'Dead Before Dawn' recreates Dawn of the Dead remake

by David Hinkle { Nov 3rd 2009 at 10:30PM }

The Left 4 Dead modding community is really kicking decomposing zombie butt lately. We've seen Raccoon City, some of our favorite Super Mario 64 spots, and even Shaun of the Dead's Winchester pub all realized in the game's zombie apocalypse framework. Now we bring you another mod that pays homage to a zombie film: 'Dead Before Dawn,' a mod based on the 2004 remake of George A. Romero's classic, Dawn of the Dead.

The new mod opened to public beta this Halloween and features a variety of locales stripped from the movie, along with its own snazzy campaign poster. The folks behind the mod even went so far as to create their own title sequence (though their version features far less Johnny Cash than the movie's). You can shamble on past the break to check it out.

[Thanks, Gutfree!]

Gallery: Dead Before Dawn

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Chet Faliszek crushes Left 4 Dead 2 DLC rumors

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 1st 2009 at 11:30AM }

Remember those pair of error messages that a few folks found in the demo for Left 4 Dead 2, referecing "Miracle" and "Apocalypse" DLC? Yeah, those ain't no thing. At least, not according to Valve's Chet Faliszek, who recently addressed the error messages while speaking at the Eurogamer Expo. "What, those error messages?" he reportedly said, "Why, those ain't no thing."

Of course, Kotaku's slightly more accurate transcription of this quote had Faliszek saying, "if you're reading in the forums and you're reading about the 'Miracle' DLC or whatever, that's test code." He added, "to get tested through Microsoft certification we had to do test scenarios with DLC. We haven't actually come out internally with what we're going to do yet." Hmph. We liked our version better.

Video: Left 4 Dead 2's Realism Mode

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 29th 2009 at 5:20PM }

When we first heard that Left 4 Dead 2 would feature a "Realism Mode," our first reaction was to hide in the closet, swaddled in the comfort of old coats and dust bunnies. Left 4 Dead wasn't exactly an easy game to begin with, so hearing that there would be an even more realistic, more punishing difficulty mode was a bit difficult to swallow. Now, G4TV has been kind enough to assemble a brief walkthrough of one level played in Realism Mode and ... it really doesn't look all that bad.

X-Play's Abbie Heppe explains there are a few major differences. One, dead players will stay dead unless revived with a defibrillator -- keep in mind that each player can carry a defibrillator or a med kit, not both. Second, zombies must be killed with headshots, though it's hard to tell how strict this rule is in the video. Third, players have to be much closer to items in order to pick them up. Finally, there are many, many more witches. See it for yourself after the break.

[Via Evil Avatar]

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Rumor: Left 4 Dead 2 demo files name two DLC packs

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 29th 2009 at 2:58PM }

A number of dirt-digging zombophiles have unearthed a pair of suggestive errors buried within the code for the Left 4 Dead 2 PC demo. These error messages are meant to appear after a player has been kicked from an online multiplayer match after failing to load a DLC map that the match host has selected for play. These disabled messages seem to indicate the names of what many now believe to be two DLC releases planned for the future: The "Miracle Pack" and the "Apocalyptic Pack."

Frankly, we think the game's already got its fair share of the Apocalypse, not to mention plenty of miracles, which is the only way we can explain how four people can survive continuous encounters with a city's worth of the walking dead. Still, we've contacted Valve to see if these two messages are a sign of more disastrous -- or miraculous -- things to come.

Left 4 Dead 2 getting Avatar rewards

by David Hinkle { Oct 28th 2009 at 4:02PM }

Over on the Steam forums, there was some hullabaloo earlier about potential Avatar awards for the Xbox 360 version of L4D2, all stemming from uncompressed files found on a dedicated server for the PC demo. Well, we're glad to inform you that Valve has confirmed Avatar awards will be included with the game (via G4) and that there will be a total of nine different Avatar rewards, six of which we currently know about.

These awards will run the gamut from a med kit backpack to a frying pan prop right down to Rochelle's Depeche Mode shirt you see above. And, unlike some other Avatar awards, you won't need to max out Gamerscore to get 'em; L4D2 Avatar awards unlock after you've completed more manageable tasks, such as winning ten games of Versus or killing 10,000 infected.

If you want to see some of the items in the flesh, head past the break for a virtual tour courtesy of G4.

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L4D2 pre-order demo MIA on Steam

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 27th 2009 at 5:57PM }

We knew that the pre-loadable Left 4 Dead 2 demo on Steam would send withering waves of madness through the world's populace, but we never considered what would happen if the demo failed to materialize on the promised date. Steam users have been reporting that the demo is still unavailable, and Steam's own events page -- pictured above -- notes that it won't be available until early tomorrow.

The delay seems to only affect Steam users at the moment, as the Xbox version of the demo is currently available on Xbox Live Marketplace for those that have the redemption code. We've contacted Valve regarding the delay and will update this post as soon as we have more information.

Left 4 Dead 2 commercial hits a home run ... for GameStop

by Randy Nelson { Oct 27th 2009 at 12:00AM }

Okay, we won't deny it -- the first TV spot for Left 4 Dead 2 is pretty cool. After all, it's got the four survivor characters in a baseball stadium filled with the infected undead, one of which gets knocked into the bleachers (or at least a few feet through the air) by a baseball bat. But as much as it's an advertisement for the game, it's also one for GameStop, driving home the fact that the American baseball bat is available only through pre-order at the retailer. Good for them!

It's a bit of a downer, though, for those who've reserved the game elsewhere. Or what about the people who just walk into a store on release day to snap up a copy? We've got it! The next ad should feature the survivors being ripped apart by zombies, with the tagline "Pre-order or Die!" We mean, a company's eventually going to go there someday, right?

Left 4 Dead 2 demo pre-loading available, madness to follow soon after

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 24th 2009 at 2:30PM }

Valve recently began offering pre-loading of the Left 4 Dead 2 demo which pre-orderers will be able to play this coming Tuesday, October 27. This sounds like a sweet gift, but in reality, it's a double-edged sword on which you probably be impaled. See, if you'd like, you can download it now -- but you won't be able to play it until Tuesday, giving you three days to fester in your impatience, all the while gazing at the demo which you have and yet you don't. Sounds to us like a recipe for a slow-boiling sort of madness.

However, the alternative is that you don't pre-load the demo, and waste precious time downloading the game on Tuesday -- time which could be spent hitting the walking dead with sports paraphernalia and gas-powered agricultural implements. This fact alone could send you down an inescapable spiral of depression.

So, what's it going to be? Madness, or depression? Sure, neither are extraordinarily pleasant -- but hey, you get to play Left 4 Dead 2 early. We don't want to hear your complaining.

Rumor: New Left 4 Dead 2 CG trailer leaked, epic

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 22nd 2009 at 3:05PM }

After learning about the final two campaigns in Left 4 Dead 2, we now have a brand new trailer, either via legitimate leak or sneaky viral marketing. Either way, Valve seems intent on impressing us.

Awesomeness may not be something that can be quantified in traditional units of measurement [these come close -- Ed.], but we're prepared to say that this Left 4 Dead 2 trailer contains at least 8 quarts of it. That's enough for the whole Little League team -- which, incidentally, shouldn't be anywhere near Left 4 Dead 2. It's rated M, you know. The rest of you, however, should watch it, and watch it hard.

Warning: Minor plot spoilers, most of which involve killing zombies.

[Via Shacknews]

L4D2 pre-order demo out Oct. 27, public demo Nov. 3

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 15th 2009 at 12:40PM }

Remember when Valve announced that the Left 4 Dead 2 demo would launch on October 27th? It turns out that date is actually the early access date for those who pre-order the game on Xbox 360 or PC (via Steam). Starting November 3rd, the demo will be available to all PC players and Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Xbox Live Silver members, as usual, will have to wait an additional week to demo the game on November 10th. Then again, if you only have a Silver account, you probably aren't too excited for a predominantly multiplayer game anyway.

The Left 4 Dead 2 demo will allow up to four players the opportunity to survive "The Parish" campaign. The PC version will be playable online or through a local network, while the Xbox version will feature the same options -- plus two-player split screen. Valve notes that the demo includes "all the new boss infected zombies and all the new melee weapons." So, please, do yourself a favor: grab a katana and start cutting fools down.

Left 4 Dead 2 boycott abandoned 4 demise

by Justin McElroy { Oct 14th 2009 at 2:16PM }

The 41,000 member group formed to boycott Left 4 Dead 2 has reached its end, following Valve's pledge to add more content to the original game (which is already being made good on). As of October 21st, the collective will be disbanded after succeeding in its quest "to get Valve's attention and have them support original L4D."

Fresh from his free studio tour (courtesy of Valve), group co-founder "Agent of Chaos" wrote, "Our goal wasn't to steer people away from L4D2, it was to get Valve's attention and have them support original L4D." So, by utilizing a boycott that wasn't intended to keep people from buying a game, you managed to force Valve to do something they certainly would have done anyway.

Dear Internet: You are getting predictable.

[Via HotBloodedGaming]

See Left 4 Dead fan-made mod 'Mushroom Massacre' in action

by David Hinkle { Oct 13th 2009 at 5:00PM }

Remember that Mushroom Kingdom mod DoritoClock was working on for Left 4 Dead? Well, he's making progress and now has some new areas of the campaign to show off: the exterior of Peach's Castle and Super Mario 64's first world, Bob-omb Battlefield. He even added the latter's Chain Chomp!

It seems DoritoClock has also been reading our diary, because he's compiled a 10+ minute video walkthrough of all the areas. You can find that video past the break, but if you're anxious to see that Chain Chomp munching on a few undead carcasses (like we are), prepare to be disappointed. It's a work in progress, folks.

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Left 4 Dead 2 Achievements confirm final campaigns, detail new features [update]

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 12th 2009 at 6:00PM }

The Achievement aficionados over at Xbox360Achievments.org have uncovered the Xbox 360 Achievements for Left 4 Dead 2. The Achievements offer some insane challenges -- "Survive a campaign on Expert skill with Realism mode enabled" -- and, if accurate, also confirm the recently uncovered "Dead Center" and "Hard Rain" campaigns. The Achievements also detail some new features and confirm other rumored features, most notably a defibrillator which can be used to revive teammates. Also mentioned is an adrenaline power-up to boost speed, deployable ammo upgrades and ... a bile bomb. We really hope that last one does what we think it does.

Head over to X360A for the full list (warning: watch for spoilers ... and Tanks).

Update: A Valve representative has confirmed the veracity of the two posters as official, saying simply, "They're legit."

'Dead Center' and 'Hard Rain' are final Left 4 Dead 2 campaigns [Update: They're real!]

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 11th 2009 at 8:30PM }

Update: A Valve representative has confirmed the veracity of the two posters as official, saying simply, "They're legit."

Original: It is with much necessary reservation that we bring you the two purported Left 4 Dead 2 campaign posters for "Dead Center" and "Hard Rain" that you see above, completing the set of five campaign missions. Found over on Taiwanese website GNN, we're highly skeptical of their veracity for the time being, but felt their quality at least bared mention -- if this isn't real thing, it's damn impressive. Being Danny Doubters though, we're still a bit thrown by consistency differences when compared to the game's other three posters. We've sent a note to Valve for comment, so until we hear back, the images will remain strictly in our "unconfirmed" pile.

In the meantime, ponder this: "Dead Center" translated by Google from Mandarin Chinese is "Death Marketplace." Fact!

[Thanks Lockwolf!]