Valve: Left 4 Dead 2 multiplayer demo on its way

Doug Lombardi has told Joystiq that a multiplayer demo for Valve's Left 4 Dead 2 is planned for both the Xbox 360 and PC. According to Valve's PR guru, users who pre-order the upcoming zombie survival title at "participating retailers or [via] Steam" will gain "advanced access to the demo," which will eventually land on both platforms for all users prior to the game's November 17 launch.

Speaking with OXM at a recent London preview event, Lombardi discussed the strength of Left 4 Dead's "word of mouth," which has presumably fueled the need for a demo to the sequel. With groups calling for a boycott of Left 4 Dead 2 due to lack of content support for the original title, a demo may be the best way for Valve to prove why it believes its sequel warrants a full price tag. Although, strong pre-order numbers tell us the game is already on pace to decimate sales charts like a zombie tank.

Gallery: Left 4 Dead 2

Valve: Left 4 Dead 2 multiplayer demo on its way originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Valve: Left 4 Dead 2 multiplayer demo on its way,
pre-order customers get 'advanced access'

Doug Lombardi has told Joystiq that a multiplayer demo for Valve's Left 4 Dead 2 is planned for both the Xbox 360 and PC. According to Valve's PR guru, users who pre-order the upcoming zombie survival title at "participating retailers or [via] Steam" will gain "advanced access to the demo," which will eventually land on both platforms for all users prior to the game's November 17 launch.

Speaking with OXM at a recent London preview event, Lombardi discussed the strength of Left 4 Dead's "word of mouth," which has presumably fueled the need for a demo to the sequel. With groups calling for a boycott of Left 4 Dead 2 due to lack of content support for the original title, a demo may be the best way for Valve to prove why it believes its sequel warrants a full price tag. Although, strong pre-order numbers tell us the game is already on pace to decimate sales charts like a zombie tank.

Gallery: Left 4 Dead 2

Valve: Left 4 Dead 2 multiplayer demo on its way, pre-order customers get 'advanced access' originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I don't feel so good: Buy your own Left 4 Dead
health pack

"Here, let me patch you up."

Etsy user sindeegee had the bright idea to create, from scratch, one of Left 4 Dead's health packs. The final product nails the iconic look of the in-game item, and is sized at "8" x 10" l x 3" d." In short, it's totally big enough to carry all of your meds during the forthcoming zombie invasion.

The bad news is that there's only one of these things available. And it's going to run you $40. Ouch. We're also not exactly sure what you'd do with it, either. Carrying your books to class in this thing might get you a few crooked looks... until everyone realizes you'll be saving their asses during a zombie attack.

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Bank Heist Causes Bank Run in EVE Onlne [Eve
Online]

Last month, the swindling of more than 200 billion ISK resulted in an actual run on a virtual bank in EVE Online. The best part? The loot was sold IRL - just $5,000.

No, griefers from Something Awful are not claiming responsibility. Not that any of them would have the patience to play nice long enough to become a controller for EBank. User Ricdic was, and then he took the dough and sold it off, he says in order to place a down payment on a house and pay medical bills.

The heist dwarfs the earlier 100 billion ISK embezzled by an in-game investments manager. But 250 billion ISK was just 8 trillion of 8 percent of the bank's 2.8 trillion held in deposits. Still a tidy sum, but hardly the whole kitty. That didn't stop EVE Ebankers from rushing the teller windows once word passed of Ricdic's dirty deeds.

He has since been kicked out of EVE, as selling in-game currency for real-world value is a no-no according to the TOS. Had he kept the ISK in-game, he would not have been sanctioned - by CCP anyway. In-game depositors may have had something to say and/or do about it.

Billions Stolen in Online Robbery [BBC]

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Telltale: 'our engine doesn't run on the
PlayStation yet'

The reason why Telltale Games haven’t brought a title to PlayStation Network is simple: the studio hasn’t ported the engine yet.

Speaking with The Guardian about the Tales of Monkey Island series not hitting XBLA or PSN, Telltale designer Dave Grossman explained that the studio prefers to develop for one console platform for the “initial run” of episodic content. The logistics of a multi-console release for a series, according to Grossman, can cause insanity.

Insanity, by the way, isn’t good thing. Usually.

“They're all good channels,” Grossman continued, “so we like to spread the joy around a little bit. Wii seems like a great platform for this; also we've already got two other series currently running on XBLA (Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures and Sam & Max Save the World), and our engine doesn't run on the Playstation yet, so the choice [to have Tales of Monkey Island series on the PC and Wii] was easy.”

Nice. We're not detecting much of a PSN tease here, but anything can happen. Would you guys bother with a PSN release of Tales of Monkey Island or Sam & Max?

[via Joystiq]

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See the Little Sister 'makeover' of BioShock 2

Here on this most-blessed of all American holidays, The Fourth of July, I find myself sitting at home watching my wife play the original BioShock. Yes, nearly two years after its original release, she’s decided to finally dive in and visit Rapture.

But while she’s looking towards the past, let’s take a look at the future of the series -- the new look of the Little Sisters of BioShock 2. “Reinvisioned” by 2K Marin for the upcoming game, the concept art shows off Little Sisters that look slightly more human, less surreal than the iconic children of the original.

At least that’s my take on it. More images after the jump and in the gallery. What do you think of the direction they’re taking?

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AX 09: Demon's Souls release date announced,
perks included

Demon's Souls is coming to North America on October 6th for the PlayStation 3. Priced at $59.99 in a standard edition, it will ship with an art book and brand new cover art. Additionally, the game will be served on new North American servers. Atlus calls out Final Fantasy XI's online experience as a reason for the new servers. Ooh, burn.

The Atlus Spoils program continues with a $69.99 "Stop Importing It" edition. It will come with a 150+ page strategy guide and a fancy slip cover, too. 

Again, both will be released on October 6th, which was announced here at Anime Expo for the first time. We'll get you pictures as soon as possible.

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Galaxy Online video game patch 0.030 release
notes

Galaxy Online (http://go.igg.com) has a new update ready for players. Some of the new features include, battle losses modifications, Elite pirate Instance, error and bug fixes and a whole batch of items.

The new content is a mix of battle tech and technology for assisting with development - the Titanium Alloy Drill, Gas Refiner, Cloning Lab, Purple Science Matrix, Red Arc Machine Arm and much more are all waiting to be put to use in constructing a powerful Galactic Empire.

Another big part of the update is the introduction of the Spacedock, which should make battles much more enjoyable, even for player who lose them often. Using the Spacedock, players who lost their fleets in battle can repair and redeploy a percentage of the fleets. The repair won?t use up any resources but just time. The percentage of recovered ships is related to Ship Repair Tech in the science tree. At the highest level 8, at most 60% of your fleets can be mended.

Here below is the list of items added to the game:

* P.A.M. - Extends Planet Trusteeship service
* Alloy Drill - Increases your planets' Alum yield by 30%.
* Gas Extractor - Increases planets' Gas yield by 30%
* Cloning Tank - Accelerates population increase by 30%
* Science Matrix - Increases the yield of Science points on planets by 30%
* Time Converter - Accelerates building construction by 20%
* Pocket Stargate - Increases flight speed of ships by 30%
* Arc Machine Arm - Accelerates ship building by 15%
* Industrial Pattern - Increases the work duration of Celestial Industrial Bases
* Combat Observation Platform - Enables you to watch combat
* Command Badge - Increases the maximum amount of effective ships on each grid of all fleets
* Resource Case - Use to get some resources.
* Science Case - Use to get some Science points.
* Supplies Case - Use to get some Supplies.

For more details, please visit http://go.igg.com/main.phpca-pub-5833246175841206

Read The Full Article:
http://gamezplay.org/2009/07/galaxy-online-video-game-patch-0030.html

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Readers pick best webcomic: Still a Few Bugs in
the System

Virtual Shackles only just appeared on the gaming webcomic scene, but has held its own in every Wrapup it's appeared on, usually netting one of the runner-up spots. However, their eighteenth strip -- a cautionary tale about the dangers of sentient camera peripherals titled "Still a Few Bugs in the System" -- managed to pull down first place in last week's WeeWebWrap. Congratulations, VirtShack! (Do you mind if we call you VirtShack? We feel so much closer to you now.)

Second place went to GameSpy's "The Life Cycle of a Videogame" (which missed top honors by a mere eight votes!) and Brawl in the Family's "The Lesson," respectively. If you've got a favorite gaming-themed webcomic to throw into the ring this week, act quickly! We'll be webcomic wrapping later today, shortly before we recklessly play with fireworks -- and after that, we may not have enough fingers left to throw any tardy entries into the fray.

Readers pick best webcomic: Still a Few Bugs in the System originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Part of latest Gears 2 patch probably not working
offline

Some offline Gears of War 2 enthusiasts aren’t happy with Title Update 4. In addition to adding XP to Horde mode, Epic Games added oomph to the smoke grenade. The sissy projectile now causes a momentary cringe effect on players during animations. While people seem somewhat fine with the change, they aren’t in love with the update. According to a few rabble-rousers on the game’s official message board, the added cringe effect won’t work offline.

Title Update 4 was released on June 3 and was accompanied by a bonus XP weekend deal, a celebration of sorts for the American national holiday. Instead of barbequing or risking their lives with mini-ballistics, Gears 2 message board users have been furiously posting in a thread about the issue. It’s currently over 65 pages long.

Apparently, national videogame tournaments that feature Gears 2 are still playing games over LAN, so this is a bummer for those who desire to compete with Title Update 4.

We can’t verify the offline cringe claim. It’s 2009 and the Internet exists. But we get your complaint: just give Epic some time. Dudes are probably off for the weekend.

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