Tripwire has released an update for the cooperative survival horror title Killing Floor. The game should update automatically when you start Steam eradicating bugs and nerfing some exploits. Players will also get a few perk tweaks to balance out those exploit fixes. You’ll find a full list of fixes and tweaks after the jump.

One more thing. There’s still time to get in on the “Killing Floor Grindhouse” custom map making competition. However you’d better get a move on. If you want to score that $10,000 cash prize you have less than a month to get your entry together for Wave 1. The full contest rules are available at the official “Killing Floor Grindhouse” map contest site.

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I’m a fan of machinima productions, from the high quality like Red vs. Blue and the “Still Seeing Breen” music video to the Neverending Nights series, its amazing what a few creative gamers and cinematographers can come up with using video games as their tools. Well stumbling around the net I found an interesting article at LowPings.net featuring a number of interesting Half-Life 2 machinima that I’d previously not seen before that feel more like professional cinema productions than fan films.

The post includes some roughs and I found Combine Nation, which is like Combine Cops, and Ignis Solus which is like an existential art piece with flamethrowers. We keep having this debate as games not being or creating art.. but these cinema pieces definitely show that while you may debate the merits of games themselves, as tools of creation they can be something quite a bit more.

The post also links to some interesting series like Maintenance Man, Freeman’s Mind and Escape from City 17, a live action production I mentioned a few months back.

Here’s a quick reminder of how awesome video editing can make HL2 a tool for movie creation:

Any way you cut it the convergence of games and cinema is here.. lucky us, we just get to sit back and enjoy the results. I’m always on the look out for new series or shorts, feel free to share your favorites in the discussion boards in this post and maybe we’ll highlight them in a future article.

Some of the best things about Team Fortress 2 were the videos for each team player. The personality quirks (read insanities) make everything better… including crash test dummies. Here’s your mandatory laugh for the day folks…

Just a quick.. ” Why have you not bought this yet? and if you were waiting.. don’t!” sort of new post regarding this week’s Steam bargain - Sega’s Empire: Total War.

I realize there are a lot of folks out there who don’t have the patience for or interest in a historical strategy title but let me leave you with one really cool detail: Empire has Ship to Ship fighting on the high seas with pixel level physics and modeling.. you can actually shoot through an opponent’s boat and hit another enemy on the far side!

Come on.. who doesn’t think that is one of the most awesome things to even get simulated in an RTS?

So don’t wait, run and pick up the Steam version of the game for 50% off this weekend. Its worth the full price but why not just save yourself some money now? Yes, for the record, this is an official endorsement.. this game rocks!

You probably remember Steve’s post where he talked about the L4D2 ‘boycott.’ Now everyone’s favorite irate TV host, Adam Sessler, is weighing in on the controversy.

I haven’t really weighed in on this one yet, but it’s about time.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? Quite simply, you’re nothing more than a bunch of over-entitled babies.

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While the controversy regarding Left 4 Dead 2 continues to fester and fans and haters alike debate the merit of Valve’s choice to continue the series in a full game rather than as downloadable expansions or free updates, its still nice to watch the future of Zombie slaying, survivalist nightmares in action.

Earlier today gaming blog Kotaku posted a five minute preview segment of gameplay from Left 4 Dead. The footage includes the melee weapons in action, some new special infected footage and more suntanning zombies than you can shake a stick at.

I previously commented on why I think this was a bad move for the developer but I’ll likely be the first to admit I’m “jonesing” for some new L4D options, the original offerings are growing stale so like a zombie smack junkie.. well Valve you’ve got me on the hook for the next one as well if this video is any indication.

In wake of recent announcement that Valve would be releasing Left 4 Dead 2 this November, a small part of its community has responded with reception that would otherwise seem warm only to a zombie’s touch. The Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott Steam Community Group is not only upset with the recent announcement of a L4D sequel, but they feel that, no thanks to Valve, they have literally been Left 4 Dead. The group is not only a representation of L4D fans willing to boycott the full-blown sequel come November, but it also serves as a movement to educate the masses and point out repercussions a timely sequel will have on the present day L4D community.

Glancing at their Steam Community page, the group’s leaders have even gone to the trouble of establishing a manifesto outlining major points in their global argument that having a L4D sequel right now is a bad idea. Major points in the manifesto that stick out are that the group are foremost believers in Valve’s dedication to improving its past and current products, that until L4D2 hits shelves judgment can not be made, and that L4D2 will essentially split the community. I’ve copied and pasted the entire manifesto at the tail of this article.

The Left 4 Dead 2 boycott movement is, as of today, 20,000+ and growing strong. They have sent their manifesto to Valve. They have established a moderated public forum from which anyone can voice their opinions (assuming you behave). While this particular editor (and fellow zombie annihilator) will not be joining their ranks, I do find their sincerity and professionalism quite refreshing. They are off to a good start and I wish them luck.

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Grab your chainsaws because Valve wowed gamers this morning with promises of more intense cooperative zombie killing in Left4Dead2. The sequel to the wildly popular FPS adds new survivors and zombie bosses as well as weather effects, but the addition I’m looking forward to is melee combat with improvised weapons. Players will be able to pick up baseball bats, frying pans, and chainsaws of course. Left4Dead2 promises to be a game you can really sink your axe into.

Of course L4D2 is a mature rated game so I’ve put the new video after the jump. Check out the Left4Dead2 E3 teaser trailer after the jump.

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I’ll likely get hung for this post but I’m going to vent a bit anyway. Today during the Microsoft Press Conference at E3 2009 there was a reveal trailer for the next Left4Dead installment. Normally I’d be ecstatic about such an announcement, and initially I was - when I watched the trailer along with the Crackdown 2 teaser - but once the high faded a bit I realized how not OK I am with this whole sequel concept.

Left4Dead is less than a year old. It shipped with a very slight amount of content, only got added value with the later Survivor patch and is only now getting mod support from the community and rather than expand it and give us a more reasonably sized game.. we’re being fed a sequel.

More Zombie killing is a goal I subscribe to religiously. I love Left4Dead, I played the heck out of it for months until the 4 basic scenarios wore dry and even the injection of new content with the recent patch didn’t work to vary or sate that apathy much. The original gang isn’t done, I want more adventures, more maps and scenarios and frankly more value from that initial purchase - just as Valve promised.

The trailer and accompanying press release also worry me because the features they tout for the upcoming continuation don’t seem earthshaking or innovative, or like additions that don’t belong in a patch for the original game. What I’m referring to is the addition of more melee-centric weapons and combat, and an upgraded AI Director. Then there is this statement:

“Featuring new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, Left 4 Dead 2 offers a much larger game than the original with more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, and maps for Survival mode available at launch.”

Who is responsible for L4D not having a great selection of content, modes or characters?

Well the same people who are now expecting us to shill out full price yet again to support their hype machine. I’m an ardent supporter of Valve over the years but this move really bugs me. We’re still waiting on Half-Life 2 Episode 3 to wrap that story up - 4 years later - and yet they can crank out another money grab in the form of an L4D sequel. Valve doesn’t patch or fix problems with the 360 version of the Orange Box, yet they can produce an entirely new L4D product? Something smells here and while the “freeness” of the Survivor patch is a great move in an industry increasingly based on selling you parts of their completed game after release as a continued revenue stream, I am afraid with the current information in hand I may have to change my position on Valve and its formerly consumer friendly posture.

The new title is scheduled to ship on November 17th for Xbox 360 and PC, just in time for the Christmas rush, and features an apparent Southern US setting and characters including “Inbred Tank” and a multi-ethnic survivor team. I’m sorry but I think I’m going to take a pass here.. until I see something that shows a sequel was needed to the game, and this is not just more than a simple tech upgrade with new maps and re-skinned characters. You can view the full details of the press release after the jump.
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The largest update to Team Fortress 2 ever has been released!

In celebration, Valve are making it a free-to-play weekend (starting now) for TF2 as well as making the full game 50% off ( = $10 USD) at the Steam Store during the period.

To recap, here are the upgrades the Sniper and Spy class are getting:

Sniper

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