Left4Dead gets new DLC

While it may not give as much story as Left4Dead 2, it certainly hints at the fact that Valve isn't willing to drop development of it's first iteration. Along with the campaign will be a versus version and several survival maps full of glitches waiting to be exploited. The price is free (as usual) for the PC but it is $7 for the XBOX 360 version. Which brings me to my 2nd point.

Far be it from me to know the inner-workings of Microsoft, but I can tell you that they are the reason for the $7 price, not Valve (if it was, they'd charge for the PC version). Let's remember how much of a fuss Microsoft brought up when Valve released the Survival Pack for free. Sure, they have a point in that it takes up space on their servers, but Valve paid for that space and didn't even charge for the pack. Microsoft makes a certain percentage of money on every add on sale, and they make money for the hosting regardless of whether or not the add on is free.

Why Microsoft is getting so greedy is beyond me, they already get enough money from their software department to not even charge for XBOX Live, yet they do. They make enough money from their software department to not charge developers fees for hosting their add-on/arcade content, yet they do. The price, which I'm sure Valve had the true final say on, seems a bit high but let's face it, we're going to buy it anyhow.

Crash Course Campaign Due in September

August 4, 2009 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the next major downloadable content (DLC) update for its co-operative zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead (L4D), the #1 new game title on Xbox 360 and PC in 2008

Entitled "Crash Course," the latest DLC delivers new single-player, multiplayer and co-operative gameplay to both platforms. Targeted for release in September, "Crash Course" bridges the gap between the end of the "No Mercy" campaign and the beginning of "Death Toll" in the original game, expanding the game universe with new locations, new dialogue from the original cast, and an explosive finale.

While containing both Survival maps and a Co-operative Campaign, the primary goal of "Crash" is to deliver a complete Versus mode experience in just 30 minutes, resulting in a streamlined version of the game's existing Versus campaigns. A recharge timer for infected teammates has also been added, and item spawn behavior has changed for more balanced gameplay.

"Since the release of Left 4 Dead last November, the design team has been excited about creating new experiences for this world and allowing players to do the same, by releasing much of our internal toolset, like the Survival Pack and Authoring Tools," said Gabe Newell. "We're working with the fans toward the ongoing entertainment value of the product."

Left 4 Dead is an action horror game from Valve that blends the social entertainment experience of multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress with the dramatic, narrative experience made popular in single player action game classics such as the Half-Life series of games. Released in November of 2008, L4D has earned over 50 industry awards from outlets around the world and sold almost 3 million copies worldwide.

Left 4 Dead: Crash Course is targeted for release in September and will be available free of charge on the PC and for 560 Gamer points on Xbox Live.

For more information, please visit www.l4d.com