Something strange may happen today when you log into Team Fortress 2…

Quietly, and without fanfare, the guys at Valve started a promotion bundled with pre-orders of Left 4 Dead 2—you will receive a special hat if you own Team Fortress 2.  The promotion, attached to both Xbox 360 and PC, was announced yesterday.

The other interesting thing mentioned in this announcement is a subtle allusion to a tenth class in TF2. First hinted at in Left 4 Dead, it has slowly faded into the background as time has passed.

It is also worth mentioning that this is the first official cross-IP content in any Valve game. Valve’s tactics of subtlety and humor continue as Left 4 Dead 2 launch day approaches.

In yet another new game mechanic, Valve is releasing a “haunted” King of the Hill map for the weekend and other goodies for the Terrifying Team Fortress 2 Hallowe’en Special.

From October 29th to November 2nd, there will be the KOTH Harvest map available, with special holiday achievements, exploding pumpkins, and the ghost of Zepheniah Mann…

There are five new achievements and five hats available for the weekend.

Get in and play TF2 while it lasts; chances are that after the holiday, the hats and achievements will be gone.

What are you swinging at my head?

Now that Valve has finally unleashed the Left 4 Dead 2 demo, the Icrontic Steam group has been descending upon it in droves. I had a chance to play a round with some of the {IC} crew: Winfrey, Cola, and Sir Candle.

One thing that hasn’t changed a bit from L4D1 is “playing lobby.” We played lobby for a few minutes but quickly got the game launched.

The initial weapon loadout is relatively similar to the first game: a variety of SMG or a shotgun. Then you look to the left, and you see a frying pan. That’s when you know this is a whole different animal.

The rhythm of combat is similar to the first: horde, lull, horde, lull, with random occasional individual zombies coming at you before you can get too relaxed.

As we moved through the campaign, we all commented at various points that the game is noticeably more difficult, more wide open, and gives you many more ways to deal with clusterfucks.

The {IC} crew I played with were asked to give me their impressions on the demo. Is Left 4 Dead 2 worth the price of a new game? Is it more than just an expansion pack? (more…)

Just in time for Halloween, if you pre-purchased Left 4 Dead 2, you can have the demo by this Tuesday. For those that have already shelled out the money, you can begin to pre-load the demo now. Once Tuesday the 27th rolls around, you’ll be able to hit the ground running, axe in hand, and get a taste of that wonderfully gratuitous L4D2 zombieinfected living human gore.

If you preordered the demo at participating retailers, you should have received a demo pre-load code to get the goods. If you don’t have a code, contact the retailer for details. If said retailer is not participating in the program, then get a refund and buy on Steam.

The early access demo is being offered to PC and Xbox 360 customers. PS3 customers are once again denied, as there has been no definitive word on a PS3 release for the game.

The demo goes live for everyone on Tuesday, November 3rd.

A new Left 4 Dead 2 trailer leaked today

Zombie aficionados rejoice! Valve has released new details about the upcoming demo for Left 4 Dead 2.

The demo will allow players to preview the “Parish” campaign in teams of 1 to 4. The campaign is set in the New Orleans French Quarter, and will show all of the new infected boss zombies as well as the new melee weapons.

Players that pre-ordered the game will get to start chain sawing the undead as soon as October 27. The rest of the rabble will have to wait until November 3, when it drops for PC and Xbox LIVE Gold members. Standard Xbox LIVE members will have to twiddle their thumbs even longer until their demo is released November 10, or just 7 days before the full title launches.

So if you’re eager to start batting zombies, get the L4D2 pre-order, and join the apocalypse October 27. But don’t worry; no matter when you get the demo, there should still be plenty of shotguns–and shambling corpses–to go around.

You’d have to have lived under a big rock without wifi access to not know of the controversy around Australia’s banning of Left 4 Dead 2. It was decided that the game had excessively high levels of violence and gore directed towards the infected (read: zombies) whom the OFLC classified as ‘living humans infected with a rabies-like virus.’ For this reason, they refused classification, effectively banning the game from seeing store shelves. Many gamers have been up in arms regarding this decision–Australia was the only country to place such a ban on the game.

You like what you see? Not if you're in Australia!

Valve recently submitted a modified version of the game for classification by the OFLC. This modified version has a significantly less amount of gore. Decapitation and dismemberment were removed, blood splatter is almost completely non-existent, and the ever-ambiguous ‘piles of dead bodies’ issue has been solved by removing dead zombi-, err, rabies-infected living humans, as soon as they hit the ground.

Word from down under early this morning tells us that the OFLC has given a rating of MA15+ to this modified version of Left 4 Dead 2. This means that the game will see Aussie store shelves. In the Classification Board’s report, they made note that this was made possible by the removal of considerable amounts of gore from the gameplay.

Here’s to hoping you’re not an Australian gamer that enjoys mature violence and gore. Sure, now you’ll be able to buy the game, but in this situation, nobody wins.

Today Valve announced that their upcoming Left 4 Dead 2 will have a fourth, entirely new game mode.

This mode is called “Scavenge,” and it pits players against both the clock and the Infected.

In Scavenge mode, Survivors are given a set amount of time to collect gas cans to refuel generators located in each map. The gas cans are located around the map, and they add time to the clock when used to fill the generator.

The Infected have to stop the Survivors from refilling the generator, and can do that by destroying the gas cans, killing the Survivors, or running down the clock. Infected can choose to play as any of the old Infected characters as well as the new Spitter, Jockey and Charger.

The four-man teams will have the opportunity to play as both Infected and Survivors in each round, and the team with the most gas cans wins.

Look for the new Scavenge  game mode when L4D2 drops November 17th.

Yesterday, Valve announced a new $25 million ad campaign for the upcoming game “Left 4 Dead 2.” Valve states that the pre-orders for L4D2 have been flying off the proverbial shelves, and is predicted to be the fastest selling product in Valve’s history.

Valve intends to run advertisements during Monday Night football and UFC broadcasts, put ads on billboards, and on lifestyle and technology websites (Hey!). They’ll be showing television broadcasts internationally as well, with tons of print and online advertisements.

Left 4 Dead 2 is being billed as a game that far surpasses its predecessor, with the AI Director changing weather, world objects, pathways, and the zombies to suit each survivor team. There are also new zombies, weapons and more campaigns than the original L4D. (more…)

Available immediately

EA’s presence on Steam just got a bit bigger, with six new games available on the download service immediately. The games are:

• Need for Speed: SHIFT
• Battlefield 2: Complete Collection
• Medal of Honor: Airborne
• Godfather
• Godfather 2
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3: Uprising

The recent release of Battlefield 2 patch 1.5 breathed some new life into the game, bringing with it the expansion packs Euro Force and Armored Fury. However, the complete collection available on Steam today also includes the Special Forces expansion.

Sometimes the very best gaming deals for consoles are the “Greatest hits” series; when a great game gets long in the tooth and doesn’t command retailer shelf space and the hearts and minds of the gaming populace any longer, publishers will often reinvigorate it by making it a “greatest hits” title.

Microsoft calls them “Platinum Hits”, and today added five titles to the “Greatness is Earned” banner: “Grand Theft Auto IV” (Rockstar Games); “Street Fighter IV” (Capcom); “Left 4 Dead” (Valve); “Saint’s Row 2” (THQ); and “Star Wars–The Force Unleashed” (LucasArts).

That means a couple of things for you. Most important, of course, is that these games are now $19.99.  However, many retailers are offering “Buy 2, get the third free” right now on the Platinum Hits series, meaning you can pick up three great games for about $40. That deal is going on through October 31st.

This is a good chance to pick up on any of these titles that you may have missed the first time around. Good things come to those who wait.

Today Valve announced that they are taking pre-orders for Left 4 Dead 2. You can pre-order via select retailers (for the Xbox 360 or PC versions) and through Steam. Pre-order perks include a 10% discount as well as an exclusive in-game melee weapon, the American Baseball Bat. In addition, those who pre-order will get early access to the demo, which is slated for October 27th.

Left 4 Dead 2 is scheduled for full release on November 17th. Except for in Australia.