Previously only given a “Spring 2010″ release window, Valve has let it be known that “The Passing“, the first downloadable content pack for Left 4 Dead 2, is shooting for a late March release on the PC and Xbox 360. This coming out of today’s X10 event where the content was shown for the first time and also where it was revealed that a new add-on for the ORIGINAL Left 4 Dead (not playable in L4D2) will follow about a “month or so” after the release of “The Passing“. There’s no details on that content at the moment, but we’ll be keeping our half chewed off ears to the ground.

Lastly, Valves Chet Faliszek stated to Kotaku that a L4D digital comic illustrated by Powers artist Michael Avon Oeming will be coming our way sometime after the release of “The Passing” DLC. Again, we’ll just have to get you updates once we have them.

So, looks like Left 4 Dead fans have plenty to look 4ward to…We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.

Now I know what you’re all thinking.  Why would this crazy writer put up a picture of the original Left 4 Dead cast when CLEARLY this new DLC is for Left 4 Dead 2.  Well my friends, if you bare with me, there is a reason for my insanity.

Valve has dropped the details on The Passing, the first DLC  for its Game Of The Year nominee Left 4 Dead 2 and the new content will feature the return of Bill, Zoey, Lois and Francis!  Now, before we all get excited and start fighting about who gets to be Bill, I should inform you that players will still be playing with Coach, Ellis, Rochelle and Nick, but will be crossing paths with the old crew at some point in the new campaign.  The nature of the crossing is currently unknown but honestly does it really matter?  Seeing the old crew in any way, shape, or form will be epic and bring back nostalgic memories of Bill and Francis bickering at each other while holding back a Tank and a legion of the undead.

Anyway, I digress; the DLC will bring more to the table then just a new mission, which for the record takes place between Dead Center and Dark Carnival.  The pack will also include a new Uncommon Infected, new Survival, Scavenge and Versus maps, a new co-op mode (currently a complete mystery), a new firearm AND a new melee weapon to play with.  All this will be coming in Spring 2010 to Xbox 360 and Steam.

Now, after reading this, can fans find a reason not to drool a bit?  I certainly can’t and with Valve being the Santa Claus of video game developers the odds are PC gamers will get this free and Xbox 360 owns will probably have to pay a small fee. We’ll of course keep you posted as more details emerge.

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PRESS RELEASE

SPIKE TV’S “VIDEO GAME AWARDS 2009″ PLANS GLOBAL DOMINATION

7TH ANNUAL EVENT WILL BE BROADCAST IN MORE THAN 180 COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES WORLDWIDE

Two-Hour Event Premieres LIVE On Saturday, December 12 At 8:00 PM ET

Halo: Reach To Exclusively Premiere At VGAs, Plus Spectacular First Looks At
Never-Before-Seen Titles Set To Rock Gaming Consoles In 2010 And Beyond

Nominees And Categories Honoring The Best In Video Games Announced With Sony’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Topping List With Eight Nominations

Voting Begins Today At VGA.Spike.Com and GameTrailers.com

New York, NY, November 18, 2009 – Spike TV today announced the nominees and categories for the biggest world-wide event ever to celebrate the video game industry, the 2009 “Video Game Awards .” The seventh annual “VGAs” will be a global event, broadcasting in over 180 territories and countries and gathering megastars from the worlds of video games, Hollywood, music, sports and more to honor the outstanding achievements within the video game industry during the past year. The two-hour event, taking place in Los Angeles, CA, will premiere LIVE on Spike TV Saturday, December 12 at 8:00pm, ET/PT (tape delay west coast). Beginning today, fans can vote for their favorite nominees at VGA.Spike.Com and GameTrailers.com.
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Left 4 Dead fans anxious to get their undead hands on the highly-anticipated sequel can sample a bit of the carnage today as the demo for Left 4 Dead 2, previously only available to those that pre-ordered the game, has hit Xbox Live.

Here’s a description of the game in case you’ve been under a rock:

The sequel to the best-selling and critically-acclaimed co-operative multiplayer smash from Valve, Left 4 Dead2 promises to become one of 2009’s top-selling games and set a new benchmark for co-operative action games. Left 4 Dead 2 takes place at roughly the same time as the original, and leads four new “Survivors” through the southeastern United States — from Savannah, Georgia to New Orleans’ French Quarter. The title adds melee combat, new monsters and weapons, the AI Director 2.0, and more to create a larger game than the original.

Sweet! Left 4 Dead 2 hits retail on November 17. Visit www.l4d.com for more.

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Scale the wall and breech their defenses, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s skirmish, we open pandora’s box with the new God of War III Ultimate Edition, run down down the details of Netflix on the PS3, check out the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition, and ponder the newly announced Nintendo DSi LL.

With Modern Warfare 2 just around the corner, we examine some of the recent news that has cast a shadow over the release of this title; is Infinity Ward ruining their rep with players by charging more for less features with MW2 on PC? Long-running Japanese game mag Famitsu has given Bayonetta a perfect score? Is the game really that good and is there such a thing as a perfect game?

The Battle Cry of the week goes to the DSi LL for boldly establishing the new less-portable trend, Left 4 Dead 2’s avatar awards, the possibility of Goldeneye finally making an appearance on the Wii Virtual Console next year, and all those PC gamers who have vowed not to purchase MW2; are they planning to get some other way?

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While poking around the coding in the Left 4 Dead 2 demo, a few gamers reportedly found a text file indicating the possibility that the zombie shooter would contain avatar awards. Well, Valve has now confirmed that the game will indeed feature some fancy Xbox 360 avatar awards for fans to enjoy.

Though they never specified what the awards would be, Fade Guy from the Steam forums discovered the following possible awards:

• Med Kit – “earned by beating all five campaigns”
• Bull Shifters Shirt – “earned by winning 10 games of Versus”
• Left 4 Dead 2 Shirt – “earned by winning 10 games of Scavenge”
• Zombie Hand shirt – “earned by killing 10,000 Infected”
• Depeche Mode Shirt – “earned by rescuing Gnome Chompski from the Dark Carnival”

Pretty nice edition from the guys over at Valve and even if these aren’t the exact awards, it’s good that they are including this type of content for fans. I for one am hoping that more games include these awards as I think they are a cool addition to compliment the achievements you earn.  Agree? Disagree? Discuss!

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Surround their ships and ready the steel, its time for another skirmish of EpicBattleCry! This week, we check out the updates to the 360’s Games on Demand service, grab a big gulp of MAG at our local 7-eleven, congratulate FIFA 10 on its record breaking sweep through Europe, and lament the lame edits robbing Australians of experiencing Left 4 Dead 2 as it was meant to be.

First up this week we reluctantly march back onto the field to battle more DLC shenanigans. Dragon Age: Origins will see paid DLC available on launch day, we ask the tiny question “why?”, and debate why this content isn’t included with the game or timed more appropriately. Next up, we examine Randy Pitchford’s recent comments concerning Valve and their distribution platform: Steam. Pitchford claims the industry doesn’t trust Valve and that a competitor shouldn’t be acting as a distributor for other devs; is there any validity to his argument?

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to Epic Games’ Mark Rein and his firm grasp of how to utilize Natal in games, the latest episode of The Angry Video Game Nerd, the recently forgotten (but not forsaken) Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time, and the first player choice pick for October: Demon’s Souls.
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Looks like someone might have let the cat out of the bag.  The Japanese gaming site GNN has revealed what could be two new levels in the upcoming zombie slaughter fest Left 4 Dead 2.

The two campaigns are Dead Center and Hard Rain, which will apparently be the first and fourth levels respectfully. Dead Center appears to take place in what turns out to be every zombie’s favorite stomping ground, a shopping mall.  In contrast, Hard Rain seems to put players in a refinery of some sort with, as the name implies, lots of water to let the games weather effects flex their muscles.

Though as of now these two levels are in the rumor mill, it’s hard not to get excited about these posters.  They look pretty authentic and follow the art style of the previous posters to a ‘T’. Then again we live in a day in age where I can make a cat on Neptune look legitimate. Gotta love the Photoshop…We’ll just have to wait for Valve to grace us with their knowledge on this subject and of course we’ll update you from there.

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At a pre-TGS press conference held by EA, the giant pub/dev announced that a demo for the highly-anticipated Left 4 Dead 2 will be coming our way on October 27. Unfortunately, no other details were revealed. No available platforms, no maps, not even if it will be accessible to all or just those that have pre-ordered the game. Nothing. Still, we can’t wait.

What about you? We understand some of you are bummed that the sequel is coming so soon after the first, so let us know what you think in the comments. As always, we’ll keep you posted on any new details on the demo as they emerge.

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Swords at the ready and into the cave; its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! Welcome back everyone! After a brief hiatus, we’re back with another skirmish. This week, we run down the details on the BioShock 2 release date, check out the long awaited Fallout 3 DLC on PS3 and the accompanying Game of the Year edition, scope the leaked footage from Witcher 2, and morn the news that Left 4 Dead 2 has been banned in Australia.

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