Valve has announced a new downloadable content pack for both Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, called “The Sacrifice.”

In it, players will take control of Left 4 Dead’s Francis, Louis, Zoe and Bill in the events leading up to their recent cameo in Left 4 Dead 2 DLC, “The Passing.”

In The Passing, one of the original survivors had been written out of the game. In “The Sacrifice” players will be able to choose which of the original foursome dies.

 

Valve has released a title update for Left 4 Dead 2 that they say will address some “rage quitting” issues such as incorrect friendly-fire registration.

Valve has also addressed Tanks and Chargers in Versus mode. On the game’s official blog, the L4D Team writes:

Charger now receives 300 points for any Survivor that is insta-killed.
Charger now receives 100 points for any Survivor that is insta-incapped by a charge.
Any infected that causes a Survivor to stumble into a "ledge hang" situation will receive 50 points.

 

Valve today announced that the first game add-on for Left 4 Dead 2 - "The Passing" - is due for release at some stage on Friday (NZ time) exclusively for Xbox 360 and PC.

The first game add-on for Left 4 Dead 2 brings the original Left 4 Dead 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.

The Passing also introduces a series of weekly game mode events dubbed "Mutations." These week-long runs of new gameplay modes range from "Realism Versus" mode to "Chainsaw Massacre," which gives all players chainsaws with an unlimited supply of gasoline. There are over 20 Mutations planned, each playable on all L4D2 Campaigns. Mutations are exclusively available to owners of "The Passing" DLC.

 

Valve have today released some more details about the first downloadable content update for Left 4 Dead 2, titled “The Passing.”

“The Passing” will see the new team meet up with original zombie survivors Bill, Zoey, Francis and Louis in a small coastal town in the state of Georgia. The original four will appear as non-playable characters, aiding Coach, Ellis, Nick and Rochelle in the third map of the new campaign.

 

Valve has announced the first downloadable content for Left 4 Dead 2, called “The Passing.” The new campaign is set after the events of “Dead Center,” wherein Ellis, Nick, Coach and Rochelle escape from an overrun mall.

“The Passing” will see the new team meet up with original zombie survivors Bill, Zoey, Francis and Louis in a small town in the state of Georgia. It will also introduce a new uncommon common type of infected, a new melee weapon and a new firearm, and a “new co-operative challenge mode of play,” in addition to scavenge, survival and versus modes. Eight player co-op? Valve remain tight-lipped.

 

Valve has set up a website dedicated to the Midnight Riders, an in-game rock band who feature in the Dark Carnival campaign of Left 4 Dead 2. The teaser site simply says “coming soon” and shows the band’s four members.

OK Valve, you’ve piqued our interest with your enigmatic promotion.

 

Valve today announced the availability of the Left 4 Dead 2 demo to all PC gamers and all Xbox LIVE Gold Members. It had previously only been available to those that had pre-ordered the game.

The Left 4 Dead 2 demo features gameplay taken from "The Parish" campaign, set in the New Orleans French Quarter. Playable by 1 to 4 players over local or Internet connections on both the Xbox 360 and PC (with two-player split screen available on the Xbox 360), the demo features all the new boss infected zombies and many of the new melee weapons included in the full product. You can read more about the demo in our hands-on article.

For more information, visit the official site.

 

Valve has submitted an edited version of Left 4 Dead 2 for classification in Australia, the company's director Gabe Newell revealed at a press conference in Sydney yesterday. The game was effectively banned after it was refused classification by Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) three weeks ago, a decision which Valve is appealing.

Newell was surprised at the OFLC's refusal to classify the game as originally submitted. "I thought Left 4 Dead 2 would get the same treatment as Left 4 Dead 1," he said. Australia does not have a rating for games higher than MA15+, which means games with mature content that elsewhere receive higher ratings (such as R16 or R18 in New Zealand) are not able to be sold in Australia without being censored.

New Zealand gamers should not be affected if Australia does receive an edited version of Left 4 Dead 2. The game is currently being reviewed by the NZ OFLC, and Electronic Arts NZ told Gameplanet that because there is an R18 classification here, EA is "confident that an uncensored version of Left 4 Dead 2 will be available to NZ consumers." EA confirmed it would be able to bring in the global version of the game for NZ, regardless of what stock Australia received.

Here's today's roundup of top stories from elsewhere on the internet:

OnLive closes its biggest round of funding so far (GamesIndustry.biz) - Gamers might consider the service to be vapourware that will never get off the ground, but apparently some big corporations have faith in it. Cloud gaming service OnLive has closed a "major round of funding" from AT&T, Autodesk, Warner Bros, Lauder Partners and Maverick Capital. OnLive CEO Steve Perlman said the funding – an undisclosed amount – was much larger than previous rounds and "gives us a serious jolt of rocket fuel" as the company prepares to launch its on-demand gaming service this summer. It began beta testing in September.

Australian authorities split over video game ratings (News.com.au) - The recent decision by Australia's censorship board to refuse classification of zombie shooter sequel Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve is appealing the decision) has highlighted Australia's broken ratings system, which tops out at MA15+ for video games. Bringing in an R18+ rating would require all of Australia's attorneys-general to agree, but South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson is holding out. He said the interactive nature of video games meant they had a much greater influence than viewing a film or reading a book.