• lazy sundays

    What Are You Playing This Weekend?

    We go once more into the breach, dear Survivors, with some additional Left 4 Dead planned for this weekend. Perhaps I'll call up my video-podcasting buddies for some much-needed training before our next session.

    There's a copy of Dead Space that also needs some attention — as does this made from scratch apple pie. Other than that, looks like I'll be shipping Meat Bun orders to those lucky enough to profit from our Black Friday blowout. And maybe I'll get some of that sleep back that I lost worrying about inventory flying out of stock...

    Anyway, what are your gaming plans for this post-Thanksgiving weekend? Any leftovers?

    4:00 PM on Fri Nov 28 2008
    By Michael McWhertor
    2,867 views, 167 comments

  • clips

    Kotaku Video Podcast (Now With Zombies)

    Yesterday Mike McWhertor, Mike Fahey and Adam Barenblat joined me in a friendly game of kill the zombie on the Xbox 360 while we talked about the flagging economy, our personal favorite games, whether the balance board is a gimmick or controller and why Zombie Tanks suck in Left 4 Dead. That's right Zombie Tank, I'm talking to you!

    Sit back, digest your Turkey and enjoy us... trying... to carry on... a conversation... while zombie hordes.... attack... and we wait for the.... boat. Dammit, I'm dead again.

    Remember to check out the Cooking with DS video from this morning if you're hankering for a second helping of Kotaku video today. You can also browse the Kotaku Video library over on iTunes which is packed full of time-wasters and nonsense. More »

    6:30 PM on Thu Nov 27 2008
    By Brian Crecente
    14,145 views, 139 comments

    Most discussed Sweetz: What idiot was playing the in the video? I love how he goes by the ammo pile 3 times and more »

  • valve

    Left 4 Dead Movie Posters Get Real

    Those deliciously pun-laden movie posters that precede each of Left 4 Dead's campaigns can now decorate the wall of your choice. Valve has put all four posters up for sale at its online store.

    The artwork for No Mercy, Death Toll, Dead Air and Blood Harvest adorns each of the posters, which measure 18" by 24". That's definitely smaller than some of us would have liked, but at $6.99 each (or $14.99 for all four), we can't really complain.

    Hopefully they'll sell magically and Valve will be forced to print them up at larger sizes to appease our consuming hunger. Did I mention I really like this game?

    Valve Store

    8:00 PM on Wed Nov 26 2008
    By Michael McWhertor
    8,797 views, 64 comments

    Most discussed CmdrBladeHearts: I checked out the "I hate Vans" and "I hate woods" shirts at their store. I think I detect a more »

  • left 4 dead

    Left 4 Dead Stats Show...

    ...that you're all a bit shit. More »
  • maximum risky

    Left 4 Dead Goes After Dark

    Lots of canned soundbytes to be found in Left 4 Dead. We like 'em! It can help lighten the mood, and also reveal a bit about each of the survivor's personalities. Take this clip, for example. This clip reveals a bit about Bill. And how, faced with prospect of the end of the human race, Bill's... baser instincts kick in. Clip's after the jump, because Bill's baser instincts (and accompanying social skills) probably aren't suitable for your place of work. More »

    6:20 AM on Tue Nov 25 2008
    By Luke Plunkett
    28,323 views, 85 comments

    Most discussed Egon's Cartoon Hair: Rule 34 - no exceptions! more »

  • left 4 dead

    I Didn't Know Left 4 Dead was an RPG


    It isn't, but this guy definitely role-plays the zombie-movie staple character of Terrified Whiner Sacrifice. Warning, this guy is loud and at times profane. Sounds like he's partly laughing at the end, but he completely freaks when the horde first moves in, and by the time the lobber (I guess that's what hit him) covers him in pus, he drops into full-terrified shriek mode. "Why did you let this happen to me?!?! You left me out there to die!!!"

    Update: Reader Atmosphere found a longer edit with a funnier ending. "Y'all used me like a pipe bomb!"

    Left 4 Dead Plan Gone Wrong [YouTube]

    3:00 PM on Sun Nov 23 2008
    By Owen Good
    20,282 views, 148 comments

    Most discussed biffboof32: I don't know, that was just extremely annoying more »

  • left 4 dead

    Dawn Of The Dead Mall Coming To Left 4 Dead

    Train yards and sewers are all well and good, but zombie-blasting has a history. A pantheon of classic zombie-blasting scenarios. And few are as iconic as the Crossroads mall from the Dawn of the Dead remake. Originally built for a standalone Half-Life 2 mod, this Crossroads map is now going to be made available for Left 4 Dead, soon as it's done. And it looks pretty done. Also looks pretty damn spot-on. There's a trailer after the jump if you feel like a walkthrough. More »

    12:00 AM on Sat Nov 22 2008
    By Luke Plunkett
    44,633 views, 146 comments

    Most discussed BenKenobi88: User mod, not Valve-made, just in case anybody asks. And while this is made of win...I really want to play in more »

  • brains

    Valve Wants To Look At Your Brains

    Let's clear this up - the creatures in Left 4 Dead are NOT after your brains. They aren't zombies, they are the infected. Valve Software though? They totally want to have a root around inside your gray cells.

    In piece written for Edge magazine, Valve's Gabe Newell spoke about how Left 4 Dead's AI Director analyses a player's actions to gauge how well they are faring and adjusts the game to suit. The kind of user input data that can be captured from a mouse or gamepad doesn't give the level of detail that Newell would like to see, though, so Valve are researching ways of using biometrics and even EEG's to examine a gamer's inner state.

    "There are new technologies where we can wire players up with EEGs and actually have direct exposure to their physical reactions to the games," writes Newell. More »

    3:20 PM on Fri Nov 21 2008
    By Stuart Houghton
    5,458 views, 63 comments

  • Round Up

    Frankenreview: Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)

    There's nothing quite as terrifying as hordes of hungry, screaming, mindless undead, roaming the streets in search of human flesh. Survival horror has known this for ages, yet most have failed to realize the key to truly horrifying zombie movies - togetherness. True zombie horror is taken from the way groups of humans deal with desperate situations, rather than the monsters themselves.

    Valve's new co-op intensive shooter Left 4 Dead aims to capture the more human side of zombie horror, pitting a team of four disparate survivors against the hordes of the damned, which is nearly as frightening as a lone game facing off against an assemblage of video game critics. Turn the corner slowly... More »

    8:20 AM on Thu Nov 20 2008
    By Mike Fahey
    22,248 views, 153 comments

    Most discussed mlubczyk: Mh. Gd gm bt md fr nch mrkt. f t's nt n th W, t's nt wrth tlkng bt. more »

  • left 4 dead

    Dude, Here's Your Thumb Contest Winner

    With half of the staff, and seemingly half of 360 and PC owners, enamored with Left 4 Dead, it's an absolute must that we let everyone know what become of that odd "Dude, Where's My Thumb?" contest developers Valve were running.

    The contest asked gamers to take a picture of themselves in front of one of their billboards in London, New York, Boston, Chicago, LA, Seattle or San Fran. The top 25 entries won a free copy of the game and the top winner, seen above, won a new gaming PC from AMD. Now about those tetanus shots.

    3:00 PM on Wed Nov 19 2008
    By Brian Crecente
    7,050 views, 56 comments

    Most discussed FACT.50: He's probably holding the part between the barbs, so no harm was likely caused in the making of this photo more »