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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The rumor mill is chewing on a possible price drop for the PS3 this August to kick off EA’s latest Madden game. Unnamed inside sources have indicated to Industrygamers‘ James Brightman that “industry sources indicate Sony is planning a $100 price cut on the PS3 in mid-August, just prior the launch of Madden (8/18) and the start of the back to school shopping season. This will naturally be a positive for the industry.”

Those of you holding their breath with me at the end of Sony’s E3 2009 presentation only to be disappointed shouldn’t give up on seeing a PS3 price drop this year. At least PSP fans should be getting a price break on games and just more games altogether because of the PSP development kit price break announced at the press conference.

I could be paranoid, but I suspect there may be other reasons Sony is holding firm on the price of its overly expensive gaming console.

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Atari, Intel, and Sony are gearing up for the big Ghostbusters: the Videogame and movie come back this summer with a spellbinding promotion. You can show off you Ghostbusters pride with the new Ultimate Fan Widget. It’s compatible with most of the major social networks and your key to getting the latest updates hot off the press.

You can also join the Virtual Ghosthunt, a scavenger hunt application. You collect ghosts, finding them or leaving on your friends’ profiles to earn points towards a sweepstakes entry. Prizes include a custom gaming rig with Ghostbusters original decor and copies of the video game, of course.

Follow the jump for more details on how to capture your own Ghostbusters gadgets.

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Well, I have to admit that I was less than excited about E3 this year. After all, I was there in 2007, when the conference moved to a smaller format and a different venue. That year, and in 2008, the conference felt smaller and less important. Many of the ‘announcements’ we were receiving were things we had already reported on weeks before, and we’d even seen many of the trailers before.

Shawn mentioned all of this when he was talking about his PrE3 Blues. I mentioned then that I was unfortunately agreeing with him.

So, in the face of this crazy E3 week, how do I feel now?

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The Star Wars SAGA RPG is officially one of my favorite games to read lining right up there next to the old West End Star Wars D6 RPG, Pinnacles’ Deadlands and Kenzer’s Aces & Eights. While I’m currently buried in fantasy mayhem in my two ongoing RPG games every new SAGA release not only entertains me and enriches my Star Wars fanboyish knowledge of the galaxy far, far away, but it also demonstrates that if I ever get the opportunity to play in a game rather than run it I’m going to insist it be Star Wars SAGA.

Every time I begin a discussion of Star Wars with a game group I seem to have the same frustrating results.. “Star Wars would be great if I didn’t already know how it ended.” Is the most common response I get.

It seems a lot of gamers have their impressions of what adventuring in Star Wars can be locked into the films they enjoyed. I’ve even had the “Star wars is a generational saga about the Skywalker family and their impact on the universe” George Lucas paraphrase thrown back a few times.

Well guess what folks, that may be true of the George Lucas story and his cinematic campaign, but this is an entire galaxy full of folks. Lots of planets to explore, many cultures to experience and lately even, thanks to Dark Horse Comics and Bioware/Obsidian lots of time to play within. I professed my love of the Knights of the Old Republic setting in a previous column, and with the reveal trailer for the upcoming Bioware Old Republic MMO making fanboys lose it, I think the resistance to playing in that setting may start waning.

Getting away from the 800lb. Gorilla in Star Wars: The Rebellion, Darth Vader and even the later Expanded Universe canon of the Yuuzhan Vong and New Republic can be a challenge.

How do you tell your own tale in a world so universally loved?
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The granddaddy of the modern shooter – Wolfenstein 3D is finally making its classic conversion appearance on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next week in preparation for the upcoming Wolfenstein game due our August 4th.  Activision announced that the classic title is getting the downloadable treatment on June 3rd for Xbox 360, and the next day on PSN. Gamers who purchase and complete the original game will also apparently earn unlockable rewards in Wolfenstein (the new game) once they play through it in August.

While using the classic game as a promotion tool worked well for me with Quake 4 and Doom 3 (Quake 2 was included as a pack in bonus on the 360 Quake 4 Collector’s Edition, and the original Doom was bundled with Doom 3 on the Xbox) I know I’m going to pick this one up just to relive the glory of killing cyborg Mecha-Hitler as B.J. Blaskowitz, Ultimate American Hero.

The downloadable version will include all 60 original levels and still maintains its original “M” rating – though I admit I still find the gunned down nazi blood animations rivetting its hard to see this in comparison to a modern violent “M” rated title.

Cartoon Network and TenTon Hammer are teaming up to treat gamers to FusionFall swag. The game combines 3D platforming action with an online MMORPG setting  featuring super-deformed versions all your favorite cartoon network characters. Gamers entering the FusionFall Swag Giveaway can snag adult tees, kids’ hoodies, character clip-on charms, or FusionFall spawn balls.

We’ve got a family membership to FusionFall and it’s a pretty sweet deal. As you can imagine, FusionFall is very kid friendly, and we feel comfortable letting our older children play with or without us. Four of us can play together on family game nights for one low monthly fee. MMOs are always more fun with friends.

Details on the FusionFall Swag Giveaway are listed after the break.
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The Resident Evil 5 original soundtrack is in stores today ready to give gamers music to shoot zombies by. The OST features the chilling work of composers Kota Suzuki, Hideki Okugawa, Akihiko Narita and Seiko Kobuchi who bring ‘panic horror’ in the steaming jungles of Africa to life.

Of course the OST has already been pirated of is up on the Internet for download, but if you enjoy the series and the music that makes RE5 that much scarier, please purchase it legitimately. You can get a copy in retail stores, from iTunes, or as a complete digital release or individual tracks from the  Sumthing Else Music Works Distribution site. It’s $9.99 for a 3 CD set with almost 3 hours of music.
More details follow the break.
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The latest details and version release dates for Windows Vista Service Pack 2 are up on Tech ARP. The latest patch for the troubled Vista OS also applies to Windows Server 2008 bringing it up to Release 2. Microsoft is rushing SP2 out in hopes that consumers will buy Vista rather than waiting for the imminent Windows 7 release.

Personally I don’t have too much trouble with Vista. Once it’s lobotomized, it’s really not all that bad. Of course you’ll want to be extra vigilant with your spyware, adware, and virus programs, but I guess that’s the price you pay for the right to admin your own system.

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Magic the Gathering has been around a long time in the history of collectable card games but apparently the folks in the design and devlopment areas of Wizard of the Coast are not content to just keep cranking out new expansions for the mammoth card game. Come September it looks like players will get their hands on a new form of Magic called Planechase.

This new special deck is designed to mix up and make the game a bit more multiplayer chaotic. Apparently along with the four custom Planechase pre-constructed 60-card decks, built around the concept of elemental chaos, the set introduces some new mechanics like the oversized 10-card plane deck and the six-sided planar die. This new card type will display some of the famous planar settings of the game’s long running fiction as well as introduce new play factors that will influence all the players in a game. Details are vague at this point but expect to see and read more about the changes wrought by the Planechase set as the pre-release furvor spins up nearing the September 4, 2009 release for the set.