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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Valve has been hard at work on a new Team Fortress 2 patch, which should be going live within a few days time. This is not only good news for PC users, but for those who purchased The Orange Box for the Xbox 360 as well because Valve is also working on an update which will include all the goodies that were included with the PC version.

The patch for the PC will see the Teleporters being able to be leveled to 3 with the cool down decreasing as the character levels. Spies will be have the ability to recharge their cloaking skill when they pick ammo up off of the ground. Dispensers will also be able to level up to 3 and will not only heal faster, but generate metal faster as they level. Valve has also added a particle system and has upgraded the HUD to show stats such as death by critical hits, players that are over healed, and providing more information to medics when they are being hailed by other players.

In addition to these new changes and additions, gamers who have not had the opportunity to play Team Fortress 2 can now get the game for $10.00 over on Steam. If you have loads of money to burn, you can also get the complete Valve package for $99.99 which includes: Counter-Strike, Team Fortress Classic, Day of Defeat, Deathmatch Classic, Half-Life: Opposing Force, Ricochet, Half-Life, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, Half-Life: Blue Shift, Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life: Source, Day of Defeat: Source, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, Half-Life Deathmatch: Source, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Portal, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, and Peggle Extreme.

Left 4 Dead will already run you $49.99 so spend the extra $50 and get not only a good deal but a enough games to max out the memory on your PC.

We will be sure to let you know when the patches for both versions of Team Fortress 2 are to be make available, so you may wanna check back with us.

(Thanks VG247)

Valve has always had pretty popular games, and if their recent release of sales figures over the past ten years are any indication of the company’ success, well then they will have nothing to worry about for a very long time. Well, that’s barring some unforeseen gaming or spending catastrophe like a Superman 64 or a very bad heroine addiction.

Here are the numbers reported to Game Informer, then posted on Gamasutra and broken down in a pretty list by VG247:

• Half-Life – 9.3 million
• Half-Life: Opposing Force – 1.1 million
• Half-Life: Blue Shift – 800,000
• Half-Life 2 – 6.5 million
• Half-Life 2: Episode One – 1.4 million
• The Orange Box – 3 million
• Counter-Strike – 4.2 million
• Counter-Strike: Condition Zero – 2.9 million
• Counter-Strike: Source – 2.1 million
• Counter-Strike (Xbox) – 1.5 million
• Left 4 Dead (projected) – 3.6 – 3.9 million

The figures add up to a total retail amount of  32.8 million and if you include the projected Left 4 Dead numbers, it increases to 36.4 – 36.7 million. These figures also do not include digital sales of their products through Steam, which Valve is currently keeping under wraps for some reason or another. Be that as it may, the numbers speak for themselves, and whether you are a Valve fan or not, they are nothing to sneeze at by any means.

Game with Fame is giving Xbox 360 users a chance to play Rock Band 2 with T-Pain on Xbox Live on Friday, November 28.

If you’re an Xbox Live Gold member, and you want a chance to play with T-Pain, send a friend request to the the Gamertag listed below and be online half an hour before (2:30 p.m. EST) the Game with Fame session starts on Friday, November 28, 3:00 p.m. EST.

WHEN: November 28th

TIME: 3pm (EST)

WHERE: Chicago, IL

GAME: Rock Band 2

GAMERTAG: T Pain GWF

Should you get the chance to play with T-Pain let us know.

As we pointed out in yesterday’s story on the October NPDs, perhaps the biggest title to not make the list was Guitar Hero World Tour. It did come out in the last week of the month, but Guitar Hero III released a day later and still managed to claim four spots on the top ten charts despite going up against the likes of Halo 3, The Orange Box, Ratchet & Clank Future, and the impossible-to-kill Wii Play.

We contacted Activision to find out what their reaction was to the news and see how they’d spin it. An Activision representative told us, “Guitar Hero was the #1 game across all platforms on a dollar basis and the #2 title on a unit basis.” The dollar figure isn’t surprising, given that the biggest seller of the bunch was likely the full band kits which retail for $190 on Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3. And given the number of consoles the game was released on — the three aforementioned plus the PlayStation 2 (although the rep pointed out that the PS2 bundle has yet to release) — that would explain to a certain extent both why no single console made the top ten and how the game could be the #2 overall seller without any individual SKU making the top ten.

In addition to the PS2 bundle not releasing until November, the Activision rep claimed, “The biggest difference between this year’s launch and last [year's] is that our initial launch quantities were limited due to early supply constraints,” before reassuring us, “However, we will be steadily replenishing the supply throughout the quarter.”

Guitar Hero 3 was a mainstay in the charts following release, with at least two SKUs camping there for five consecutive months, from October 2007 – February 2008. The November NPDs should prove to be very interesting as both Rock Band 2 and World Tour seek to make the list after both failing in October. There are any number of reasons that could account for this — were gamers unaware they would be able to use their older instruments with World Tour and Rock Band 2, putting them off from purchasing it? Have people finally gotten tired of paying a premium price for music games, particularly in this economic climate? Or was the competition simply too much to overcome? Hopefully we’ll get some indication next month.

It seems like we’ve officially hit the holiday video game surge, and Microsoft isn’t taking that lightly. As if next week weren’t going to burn our wallets enough with games like Fable 2 and Far Cry 2, Xbox Live will be getting one old and one semi-old favorite added to the list of games. The most interesting of these is probably Portal: Still Alive, which is essentially a standalone version of the hit title bundled in Valve’s Orange Box, but with some added bonuses. The XBLA version will include the original game, plus 14 extra challenge maps and six advanced maps for your extended enjoyment. The game will become available for download on Wednesday, Oct. 22.

Before that though, Xbox Live subscribers will be treated to an old favorite that once turned the term “hot coffee” into a dirty sexual innuendo. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will join the Xbox Originals to remind you what GTA was like before impressive physics and online multiplayer were introduced. It was a simpler time, when a man could get his character eat enough fast food to turn into a waddling mass of gangsta flesh; a time that Niko Bellic wouldn’t be able to replicate. Also, bicycles! GTA:SA will be hitting Xbox Live on Oct. 20.

Oh come on, video game companies! I’m still in the middle of Dead Space and Saints Row 2! At this rate, I’ll be stuck in front of my TV until next year just to play all the games getting released this month. Or I’ll probably just keep playing TF2 as usual…

It should come as no surprise that WoW would be number one in sales on the PC charts, but for one company to have five titles in the Top 10? That is a testament to the popularity of the games it creates. Blizzard is no stranger to being the dominant company in the NPD charts though, and as you can see below, the week of August 17-23 was no exception:

• 1. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest
• 2. The Sims 2: Double Deluxe
• 3. World of Warcraft
• 4. Spore Creature Creator
• 5. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
• 6. The Diablo Battle Chest
• 7. Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice
• 8. Call of Duty 4
• 9. The Orange Box
• 10. The Warcraft III Battle Chest

It is also no surprise that the Spore Creature Creator is up there, nor CoD4 or even The Sims 2 for that matter. I have even stopped batting an eye at the Nancy Drew game because despite what we choose to believe, even little girls like PC games too. However, what is shocking to me is that The Orange Box is still in the Top 10 after all this time- maybe this is because of all the Team Fortress updates and the like, because I would think that Portal and Half-Life 2 would be old hat by now.

Codemasters has announced the EU release of Book 14: The Ring Forges, the latest free content update for LotRO Shadows of Angmar.

Book 14: The Ring-forges of Eregion brings a wide array of changes to LotRO, including the addition of Eregion, the continuation of the epic questline, and preparations for Moria.  Codematsers has also been hard at work adding even more player-requested features to the game.

Highlights:

• Eregion: Journey to where the Elven Rings were forged
• Epic Quest: The epic quest continues with world events that open up the adventure to every player across all servers
• Moria Prelude Quests: Aid the Fellowship of the Ring as they prepare to leave Rivendell and make their way toward Mordor.
• Dungeons: The loot dropped in all instances and raids is being upgraded, and bosses and mobs are being adjusted to make for even better play experiences! Now is the time to prepare for the dangers that dwell in Moria
• Animation Improvements: LOTRO continues to polish the experience
• Animations and sounds for each Minstrel skill using their equipped instrument (no longer just the Lute!)
• Monster play emote animations for Orc, Uruk, Spider and Warg
• New animations for 12 emotes – plus three new animated emotes

You can get the EU Patch by hitting the badge below. Full release notes are listed after the jump.

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Valve’s Doug Lombardi has cleared up what sort of “bonus content” Portal: Still Alive has in store for fans. The answer? Nothing you can’t get with the PC version. Plus, there won’t be any extra dosage of everyone’s favorite homicidal AI, GladOS.

“It’s just a series of new challenges,” Lombardi told OXM. Valve sees Still Alive “as another way for people to experience Portal, without having to buy the full Orange Box.”

Those new challenges he referenced are the same levels that first appeared in the flash version of Portal, which were later realized in full 3D in the real Portal. According to GameSetWatch, there won’t be any new GladOS lines, either, which is quite unfortunate but understandable. Valve doesn’t want the story to be shaped differently on 360 than it is on PC and PS3.

With this news, the game has gone from a must-buy to something I just consider to be “nice to have on the Marketplace.” The only chance I’ll be buying Still Alive now is if the game has some interesting achievements and doesn’t cost much.

Budding PC game developers have a reason to rejoice. Havok, as promised, has released its physics and animations for PC as a free download.

Havok was used to create the well known titles, Stranglehold and The Orange Box. It was also used in Shadowrun and Superman Returns, but don’t let that dissuade you.

You can grab the program on the Havok website.