Quite why Valve didn’t come to me first, I don’t know. Instead, they gave Rock, Paper, Shotgun an exclusive preview of their next game: Left 4 Dead 2.

All I can say is: AWESOME. According to the article, they’ve been working on it ever since the first one came out last November. Because of that, they’ve already slated a November 17th release. So what are you waiting for, go and read the preview! GO!

Holy Crap, it’s finally here! Valve announced today on the official L4D blog that they’ve just released the beta of the Left 4 Dead ‘Authoring Tools’, or SDK as they’re collectively known.

This is great news! All those mappers out there who have been working feverishly on their L4D campaigns, versus and survival maps can finally get their mitts on the behind-the-scenes magic that makes a proper L4D map tick. Zombie spawns, weapon and power up locations, all of that is now available. Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, the rumors are true: I’ve joined the 4.9% of the L4D population to have killed over 53,595 Infected. Does that make me better than you? Probably. Although I’ve never even come close to completing any of the other crazy difficult achievements (see my stats).

Ego stroking aside, how far along are you, the dear readers of this blog, with this achievement? I’d be interested to know the spread.

Today Valve made a new post on their blog detailing the in-depth player stat pages that they’ve now made available on the Steam Community. It makes for interesting reading, but even more interesting is reading your actual stats. Here’s my stats page, for the voyeuristic or just plain curious amongst you. They’re hardly stellar, but they are mine, so I feel a certain attachment to them. Please go easy on them in the comments, and feel free to link to your own for comparison (or bragging rights).

I just came across a thread on the Steam forums that is worth sharing. A forum-goer by the name of Phoebus seems to be maintaining a comprehensive list of weapon damage, running speed and other statistics. Here is the thread in question. Read the rest of this entry »

This is why I don’t like to play on public servers:

S. : no no
Limlik(Survivor) : arent you glad?
S. : u got no penis
{COF} CHIMERICAL : you and “a.” are bum buddies
A. : No
A. : Were butt pirates

So remember: When this is the first 5 seconds of conversation on a server you just joined, back away slowly and leave them to it. It’s probably for the best.

I just got done playing my first run through of Death Toll in versus mode. Although we didn’t get to the finale due to time constraints, I can sum the Survivor experience up in two words: FRIKKING HARD. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s official: The Left 4 Dead Survival pack is out. I could link to the release notes, but I’d much rather go back and play Last Stand again because IT’S AWESOME. My best time so far? 9:20

I’ve added a page with some link buttons in case any of you who read this blog want to promote it on your website/blog or in your forum sig. So that it’s easy to find, I’ve added a link to the page just under the main title banner. Take a look, then go spread the word about Francis and everything that he hates!

Valve have made some pretty serious updates in the last couple of weeks, especially with regard to versus mode. The Smoker got some serious buffs, Survivor melee got nerfed and the order in which the teams play through the stages now depends on points. Generally speaking I think that they’re for the better, and here’s why. Read the rest of this entry »