The four stars of Valve's undead packed co-op shooter wage war against custom zombie hordes in brick form, photographic evidence of which can be further explored at the official Left 4 Dead blog. It's your best nerd-value dollar, we swear.

Legoland of the Dead [Left 4 Dead Blog]

The free MOD pack comes with Age of Chivalry, D.I.P.R.I.P., Insurgency, Synergy, and Zombie Panic.

"Valve has been supporting the MOD community since the company's inception, offering updates to the SDK, holding MOD Expos and being the first to bring a MOD to retail with Counter-Strike in November 2000," said Doug Lombardi, vice president of marketing at Valve. "The debut of these MODs on Steam marks the beginning of a new level of support for the MOD community by putting the leading MODs at the finger tips of over 15 million targeted gamers."

Once the MOD pack, available now, is installed it will appear in the Steam "My Games" list and the MODs will receive automatic updates just like other games on Steam. Also, the MODs support Steamworks, providing stat tracking and tighter integration with the Steam community.

Steam Powered

The five mods are Age of Chivalry, D.I.P.R.I.P., Insurgency, Synergy, and Zombie Panic. Full announcement on the jump.

As a part of our continuing efforts to support the MOD community, we will begin hosting selected MODs directly on Steam starting next week. The first five MODs to ship on steam will be Age of Chivalry, D.I.P.R.I.P., Insurgency, Synergy, and Zombie Panic. As always, owners of any Source game will be able to download and play all of these MODs for free.

Once installed, these MODs will appear in your "My Games" list and will receive automatic updates just like other games on Steam. Also, these MODs now take advantage of Steamworks, which provides stat tracking and tighter integration with the Steam community.

We're excited to see MOD developers get wider recognition for the hard work they have done, and we hope to support more MOD teams in the future. Watch for the official release next week!

Announcement [Steam]

In the short essay I talk about the origins of the word piracy (Daniel Defoe don't you know), and the absurdity of applying todays shrinking ownership rights to a situation closer to that origin. I also call for a sort of Gamers' Bill of Digital Rights. Not that anyone will listen.

If that sort of stuff floats your boat hop on over on the link to check it out. If it doesn't interest you, hop over there to read Tycho's take on my "wavy locks and hard-ass goatee."

The Origin Of The CD-Keys, Part One [Penny Arcade]

1UP confirmed with Gabe and Doug that the updates PC users are currently enjoying, which are coming to the 360 later this year won't be hitting the PS3. Why? Valve simply has no PS3 manpower to speak of. And EA is "not doing ongoing development on The Orange Box" on Sony's box.

It's simple really, if you don't have the people, you can't do the work. The balls is in Electronic Arts' court, as it's responsible for the PlayStation version. We just hope that the boys and girls at EA do right by the few of us who opted for the PS3 SKU — and will think about this kind of stuff in the future.

Team Fortress 2 Updates Not Coming For PlayStation 3 [1UP]

But Electronic Arts isn't the only company to ever use a built-in online copy protection system. A small company called Valve, publishers of such indie titles as Portal, Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2, knows all about the ups and downs of DRM and copy protection.

Back in 2004 Valve was at the heart of a hurricane of controversy surrounding the use of online authentication after their relatively new digital distribution system, Steam, ran into a hiccup and was unable to keep up with the online validations for mega-hit Half-Life 2. But things have run relatively smooth since then, with the exception of a major outtage in 2006. I talked to Valve's Doug Lombardi yesterday to ask how they've managed to smooth out the wrinkles of DRM with Steam and how their copy protection compares to Spore's.

"Half-Life 2 was one of the first games to require authentication to play the game and require it with an online component, prior to that you had CD keys," Lombardi said. "There was a lot of pushback about that at the time. It was two-fold. One was social engineering on the part of pirates. The other was Steam, in general, at launch time, was busted. It wasn't nearly as elegant as it is today."

"Since then we have stayed with the same system and put a lot of hardware behind it and made (authentication) more immediate."

Lombardi, and others I spoke to off the record, say that at least for digitally downloaded PC games, DRM and copy protection is here to stay. For Valve the biggest push is to lock down those "zero day" pirates. Day zero is the time between when a game goes gold and when it is available for purchase. Lombardi, and many others, are convinced that that's when a bulk of piracy occurs.

"That's the biggest problem," he said. "I'd be willing to guess that well over 50 percent of piracy occurs then."

"I think our solution solves the game zero piracy."

The key to making a good authentication system, Lombardi says, is to not stand in the way of customers enjoying what they bought. A bad system is like telling a customer "Wait, before you go on this roller coaster you need to change your shoes," he said.

As with SecuRom, Steam's validation system has a number of options that are left up to the game developer to decide. Like how often a game need to be authenticated.

"They can make it the first time on purchase and never again or they can do it every hour," Lombardi said.

For instance the authentication and rights for Spore and The Orange Box through Steam are fairly similar:

Number of concurrent installations
Spore: While EA says a change is coming to allow deauthentication of computers, currently Spore can only be installed on three computers total in it's lifetime.
The Orange Box: There is no limit to the number of computers it can be installed on. You just install the Steam client, but can only play on one computer at a time.

Spyware
Neither Spore nor The Orange Box have anything akin to spyware built into their copy protection and DRM systems. Lombardi calls spyware, or even the perception of spyware, the kiss of death in the gaming business.

Authentication
Spore: An EA spokesperson told me that Spore only checks authentication when you first install the game.
The Orange Box: Every time you play the game online Steam checks your authentication.

Number of accounts per a copy
Spore: Despite what the manually erroneously states, only one account can be created per a copy of the game.
The Orange Box: One account per a copy of the game.

It seems as we move forward, toward disc-less gaming, DRM and online copy protection are inevitable. The only question is how they will be implemented. What do you think the DRM sweet spot is?

And what a mod - Portal: Prelude is huge, actually bigger than the original game. It has 8 new chapters, 19 test chambers, a new plot and over 400 lines of dialogue (with English and French subtitles!).

You will need Steam, a copy of Portal and possibly some other bits and bobs like Counter Strike Source - the developers have, rather endearingly, forgotten.

This trailer should give a taster of what to expect when the game is released later this month...

Portal: Prelude[www.portalprelude.com thanks to Greg H for the tip]

The rumors originate with The Inquirer, which cites well placed sources saying that such a purchase is not only possible, but imminent, as in "any second now". Our take on the rumor? Very iffy. These sort of stories generally don't just pop up one day, though of course Valve's Doug Lombardi has stated that they're willing to be bought. We've contacted Valve for comment and will let you know as soon as we hear back.

Google to buy Valve [The Inquirer]

Complete news release is on the jump.

CRYSIS WARHEAD COMING TO STEAM

Latest from Legendary Studio Coming to Leading Online Platform

September 12, 2008 - Crytek and Valve today announced an agreement to bring Crysis Warhead® and Crysis® to Steam, a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC games and digital content with over 15 million accounts around the world.

"The millions of gamers logging into Steam every week to play today's best PC games are going to love Crysis Warhead," said Avni Yerli, Managing Director at Crytek. "Crytek Hungary has done a terrific job creating this new experience while optimizing CryEngine 2, and we're looking forward to delivering it and the original Crysis as our first offerings on Steam."

"Crytek is one of the industry's great success stories, emerging new technology and talent," said Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve. "Crysis is one of today's leading PC franchises and delivering the original and Crysis Warhead via Steam is landmark for the platform."

The follow up to Crysis, one of the highest rated PC games of last year, Crysis Warhead will take players through the parallel story of Sergeant Michael 'Psycho' Sykes as he embarks on an intense, explosive adventure on the other side of the island. With waves of more challenging human and alien enemies to navigate through, players will once again be outfitted with the revolutionary Nanosuit and an arsenal of new weapons and vehicles to help Psycho complete his critical mission.Crysis Warhead will also come with Crysis Wars®, a tailor-made experience for multiplayer gamers, featuring three diverse match types and 21 maps.

Crysis Warhead and Crysis will be available for pre-purchase via Steam starting this weekend, and expected to be released in mid September. Both games are published by EA Partners. For more details, please visit www.steamgames.com and www.crysiswarhead.com.

Enter Raptr - a new social network for gamers founded by Dennis 'Thresh' Fong (he had to do something with all that prize money) that offers a way of tracking your friends and sharing what you are in to on several popular games networks.

Once you have signed in and chosen a nick, you can enter your IDs on Xbox Live, PSN, World of Warcraft, Steam and others, then start entering the games in your collection.

Where it can, Raptr will pull data from your various networks and update your profile with a list of your current games, achievements and the like. There are plugins for displaying your data on Facebook et al too, of course.

A free client for PC or Mac will display and update data from you and your friends in real time as well as suck data from any games you play on your box — less of an issue for most Mac geeks, presumably.

Raptr [via 1UP]

Never again! Thanks to the power of Steam, you can enjoy five X-COM classics — X-COM: UFO Defense, X-COM: Apocalypse, X-COM: Interceptor, X-COM: Enforcer and X-COM: Terror From The Deep — on the cheap. How cheap? How about $13.49 USD for all five? I thought so.

They're $4.99 individusally, making the Complete Package purchase with its introductory discount a no-brainer. Should get your mouse hand nice and limber for the forthcoming sequel.

X-COM Complete Pack [Steam]

Publisher Deep Silver had to recall the copies because of a printing error that left the game distributed without CD keys (that detail comes via Blue's News forums, which also have claims that some retailers are listing the game's new release as Sept. 15).

Now, obvious question, WTF about getting it via Steam? Hrm. Steam says it's available Sept. 6 — think rationally, what are the odds something goes out digitally before its commercial release? So consider that a moving target date that only means "not Sept. 5."

In the end, it's some bona fide facepalm when a game is delayed a second time (original date was supposed to be Friday) and then called back because of a printing error.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky Delayed Again, Recalled from North American Retailers [Shacknews]

Poorly-spelled platforming classics Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exoddus are now on the Steam network for a measly $9.99 a pop, with an "Oddworld Pack" featuring both games for $14.99.

For the first week, Steam subscribers can buy either or both titles at a special 10% discount. Which is nice.

www.steamgames.com

There were only a few noticeable changes in the Games Convention build. It was our first look at the updated models and skins for the four playable characters, each given a new coat of paint to help further distinguish them from the hordes of undead.

But it was the new touches of detail — and the promise of more Left 4 Dead — that sparked our interest once again.

Taking a page from the book of Portal (and Half-Life 2, really), Doug Lombardi from Valve told us that Left 4 Dead would feature subtle hints fleshing out the game's back story. Graffiti and scratches peppered the walls of the zombie filled city, with messages to and from survivors scrawled upon the walls of the game's safe rooms.

Since we don't know much about the who, what, when, where and how of the zombie apocalypse the game is set against, we look forward to rooting out the details.

And like Team Fortress 2, Valve plans to feed Left 4 Dead players with regular updates. New scenarios are definitely in the works as future downloadable content through Steam, but new monster types and new weapons sound like a distinct possibility.

But we'll save our fervor for Left 4 Dead's bonus content for later. For now, we just want the game.

The Sandvich is the Heavy’s first unlockable. It tastes as good as it looks and heals 120 health. Like in real life, the decision to eat a Sandvich must not be taken lightly; The Heavy is completely vulnerable during the four second eating process, and his loud, happy sounds of vigorous chewing will draw enemies like tiny ant cowards to a picnic. OF DEATH. On the bright side, the Heavy’s Sandvich supply is unlimited, so his only real concern is being caught short while enjoying this delicious edible device. The Sandvich is a great tool for a Heavy defending an area, as it gives him the ability to replenish health between enemy waves without having to abandon his post. Similarly, an offensive Heavy without a Medic can step back from the front line and grab a quick snack before resuming his rampage. Beware, however: the Heavy must set aside his shotgun to take the Sandvich, and enemy Snipers are much more dangerous for a Heavy wielding only a minigun.

Hit the jump to see the Sandvich in action. Be warned, it's gruesome.

Natascha [Steam]

Is Capcom satisified with the early reviews for Bionic Commano Rearmed? [Capcom]

While Hell's Highway doesn't reinvent the wheel, I found that it offers up enough changes to make checking it out worthwhile, especially if you've ever been a fan of the World War II shooter.

The "Heavy Update" promo site also shows off the names, but not the details, of the Heavy's new Achievements. Those details may be under wraps until Team Fortress 2's new mode is revealed. We're hoping it has something to do with eating, as the Heavy has at least four gastronomically themed Achievements — Don't Touch Sandvich, Borscht Belt, Icing On The Cake and Konspicuous Konsumption.

The Killing Gloves of Boxing [Steam]

The developer is dolling out details on the Heavy Update throughout the week, with today's news drip focusing on a new officially released community map. Steel, a capture map, was created by Jamie "Fishbus" Manson. It will join a new map for the Payload game mode and five new maps for the unnamed new game mode.

Details on how the Heavy will be updated in TF2 haven't been revealed yet, but the goal, according to the game's official blog, was to "make the Heavy more viable when he has no Medic to pair with." Sounds, well, heavy.

Team Fortress 2: A Heavy Update [Steam]

Loved
The Art Design: Luc Bernard's artwork for Eternity's Child is what drew me to the title in the first place, and it looks even better in motion. The animation purposefully mimics 2D marionette movement to give the whole game a pop-up book sort of feel.

The Music: Sean Beeson's score for the game would be completely at home in one of the more whimsical Tim Burton films. Hard to believe this much work went into such a tiny game.

The Price: The game only costs $4.99 via Steam, for which you get the 20 levels that make up the first chapter and the promise of free addition chapters in the future.

The Level Editor: Just an extra bit of fluff that lets you mess about with Bernard's artwork or add your own to comedic effect.

Hated
The Story, Or Lack Thereof: Bernard wrote a wonderful background for the story involving a dark future where the earth has been flooded, the wingless hunt down the winged out of revenge, and nature is slowly being overtaken by the mechanical, all of which is addressed in a scrolling text opening and then never really visited again. Such an intriguing story needs to be explored, not ignored.

The Two-Character Mechanic: While it looks good on paper, having one character platforming and the other shooting feels completely unnecessary. Most of the time the two are completely separate, with Angel standing still while Rose shoots the enemies. When it is essential to run and shoot at the same time, the mechanic just feels unwieldy.

The Enemies: Aside from lacking variety, the enemies in Eternity's Child are a bit on the stupid side, especially the giant mechanical birds, who are a major threat until you realize that simply moving back past their activation point sends them back to their starting position. Move forward, shoot, move back, repeat.

Level Design: While the levels in Eternity's Child are beautiful, they seem to favor chaos more than order. Timing jumps can be a chaotic affair, while platforms in one particular level had no real sense of timing at all, causing me to sink into the ocean again and again until I was ready to strangle someone. At times I enjoyed the challenge; other times I felt I was being screwed by poor design choices.

It's important to note that Eternity's Child is still very much a work in progress, despite its status as a Steam release. Just yesterday the game was patched to make the giant bird enemies die a little easier, and Luc has informed me that more changes are on the way – removing the Destructoid robot, adding new achievements, and possibly getting rid of the particularly sadistic roller coaster level, which had me shouting curse words I hadn't used in years. It's nice to see the team actively tweaking the title, though I'm not sure it will be enough to reconcile the clashing of excellent artistic design versus sub-par gameplay.

Eternity's Child does have a lot to offer for $5 – beautiful graphics, enchanting music, and a level editor to muck about with – all it's lacking is solid gameplay to complete the package.

Eternity's Child was developed by Luc Bernard and Silver Sphere Studios, published by Silver Sphere Studios. Released on July 31st on on Steam. Played game to completion.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

There's no word yet on the official site for either Eternity's Child or Alten8, which is handling the port, on when it will arrive for Wii. When it does it'll have exclusive levels and four-player co-op mode. If you appreciate indie games, it'd probably be a nice gesture to crowbar the five bucks out of your account and support this one.

Eternity's Child on Steam [Steam, thanks reader Cpt_bongwater]

"It's about giving gamers more choices, more points of entry to get to the party, open more gates to the theme park as it were," he said. "It makes a lot of sense for us.

"The main idea is that this is Portal available as a download, and there is additional content as advanced challenges that will be available to you after you finish the critical path of the game."

But will we be seeing more of GlaDOS this time around, or perhaps an extended storyline?

"No," he said, breaking hearts everywhere. "That's for a game to be named later perhaps."

To check out our full interview with Lombardi and hear him pontificate on everything from Left 4 Dead Machinima to Steam as an archive for games hit up the link below.

Left 4 Dead May Get Machinima Maker Post Launch [Kotaku]

Personally, my favorite thing about the new update is that it reminds me that Day of Defeat: Source exists. It's like getting a free game! Again. More details at the official update page.

Day of Defeat: Source Palermo Update [Steam]

We also understand that Gamecock is "a welcome solution to the bloated and originality-starved video game industry." That's the press release talking again. We'll believe anything you say, press release! Command us!

Essentially, [Blizzard is] creating a new Iron Man every month, in terms of the gross revenue they're generating as a studio. Any movie studio would be shouting about that from the rooftops... We think the number of connected PC gamers we are selling our products to dwarf the current generation of consoles put together... There are tremendous opportunities in figuring out how to reach out to those customers.

Via game site Eurogamer, which a nice meaty article up on PC gaming and Valve that's full of tasty tidbits of data and choice quotes. Read it.

Valve: Why the PC is the future [Eurogamer] [Pic]

Playing the Steam version via local four-player set up, we ran through one of L4D's scenarios, likely the exact same one that EA showed last month. It involves a run through city streets and subway tunnels choked with undead (that's the fun undead, the sprinting, we-really-want-your-brains undead). The scenario ends in a dramatic helicopter rescue on a hospital rooftop and thousands upon thousands of bullet-ridden zombie corpses.

Getting there was all the fun.

Left 4 Dead is very much survival horror for the new generation, a white-knuckle paced take on zombie games. It's a step up in panic on par with the speed boost that the walking dead have been fortunate to receive via films like 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake. Trying to not only keep pace with your squadmates—and ensure that they don't get ensnared by a zombie tongue—but also with the parade of rotting hordes forces the player to focus like a laser between safe rooms.

Ammo may not be impossible to find, but unless one conserves, you might find yourself resorting to pistols. During one heavy sequence, I was depleted to nothing, relying on melee attacks to survive. You can restock at the safe room checkpoints found throughout each level, but it does pay to keep an eye on your ammo usage.

Aim will definitely be rewarded elsewhere in the form of not killing your teammates, something I may have been guilty of at one point. Fortunately, helpful icons pop up with important info like "Don't shoot your teammates!" and "Heal your friend!", an ever present reminder that there is no "I" in "team", but that there are two in "Friendly fire."

There are some nice touches scattered throughout that make Left 4 Dead stand out and these pop-up warnings come into play elsewhere. For example, in one area, you are warned that zombies don't like car alarms. In fact, they become enraged when they hear them. Unfortunately, it's sometimes hard to avoid hitting an alarmed car and rage sets in. You'll also see pop-ups that essentially say "Pull this level and expect mass hysteria." It's funnier when Valve does it.

Also funny? Zombies in hospital gowns.

Crecente mentioned the variety one will see in the Left 4 Dead bestiary, but didn't break it down. Here's what we saw.

In addition to the stock John Q. Zombie who can sprint, jump, climb and drop from above in an attempt to score some sweet gray matter, you'll face some more random spawns. Tanks, which you can hear coming yards away, will take multiple clips to bring down. Boomers will blow their guts all over you, making you a beacon for the undead. Witches will simply kick your ass. Better to leave them alone, but if you don't have a choice, you'd better unload on them as a team or you're going to get your head handed to you. Keep quiet and she may not notice you, but in the sewer we found ourselves in, we had little choice but to settle our differences with bullets.

And watch out for zombie vomit. It's rough on the eyes.

Left 4 Dead managed to keep the frenetic pace of mowing down zombie hordes at a fun and frenzied level through at least one level. We hope that the excitement can be maintained throughout the game's five scenarios. It's looking good so far and we expect to be pre-loading this one in anticipation of its November 4th release date.

You should too.

Exactly why most teammates are polite, patient, and helpful in a game that is violent and wildly popular is not easily answered, but I have some good ideas. The players seem older, and this may be because of its predecessor, Team Fortress Classic, which predates TF 2 by 10 years. Someone who is 24 may remember TFC, but someone who is 15 will not. I’m not saying it’s devoid of teenagers—but there are a lot more people in their 20s and there are a lot more women on voice chat online as well, signs of a more mature audience and community.

Or maybe it's the medic class. Or the critical hits? Or the team atmosphere ....

Steve at PlayNoEvil had an interesting take on the article, pulling out the critical issue as "the topic of griefing and how Valve's Team Fortress 2 seems to have less 'annoying griefing' because the game provides structured 'official griefing'."

Since a lot of griefing and abuse on Xbox Live and elsewhere comes from the rather inarticulate swearing of teenagers, perhaps the simple fact of giving players powerful, fun, but non-obscene, racially insensitive, or other insults makes the need to swear ... less.

Perhaps there's something to the idea. Hopefully there will be more interesting 'anthropological' explorations of games from this relatively new column in the future.

The Game Anthropologist: Team Fortress 2: Radical Departures [GameSetWatch via PlayNoEvil]

On top of the main weapon tweaks, the Pyro is also getting the Axtinguisher, which we've already covered, The Flare Gun, teased in yesterday's Meet the Sniper vid, which allows you to set opponents ablaze from afar, and The Backburner, a flamethrower for the sneakier firebugs out there. While it lacks the compressed air feature, The Backburner guarantees critical hits from behind while granting the Pyro 50 more health.

Hit the link below for the full skinny on the Pyro update from Valve, including the two new maps and a full list of updated Pyro achievements!

The Pyro Update [Team Fortress 2 - Thanks David!]

Not bad! Looks like we won't be getting any sleep Thursday night as we expend many, many, many hours in 2fort matches attempting to unlock... whatever this thing is. Thanks to Bob for the screen grabs!

For those still unconvinced by the magic that is TF2, another free weekend via Steam is just around the corner, kicking off Friday at 11 AM PDT. Huzzah!

The Axtinguisher does half damage as a regular axe, unless the target is on fire. Then it's an automatic critical hit. So my friend Sander, who plays Pyro relentlessly, will now add "swing ax if anyone gets close" to his "backpedal and barbecue" combat strategy.

Valve didn't say when the new stuff hits, only that it's "almost completely wrapped." This latest build incorporates feedback from the April update to the Medic class. That one delivered three new unlockable weapons. However, in addition to the Axtinguisher, Valve says there will be "significant changes to the Pyro class for everyone," regardless of unlocked items, but didn't specify. So stay tuned.

Axtinguisher, Other Changes for Pyro in the Works [Steam]

The unquestionably good news, however, is word from Valve that "Meet The Sniper" is due next in the series of expertly crafted class videos.

Pyro unlockables next for Team Fortress [CVG]

Gamasutra has a nice wrap up of an event held at Valve's Washington offices; the topic was (surprise!) PC gaming. On the question of whether PCs are really lagging behind:

"Is there a crisis in [PC] gaming?" asked [Gabe] Newell, who led the first segment of the talk. "You know, 'Piracy killed my game,' 'Console numbers are huge,' 'People don't want to play their PCs in the living room' - all these stories get written over and over again, and our view is that it's exactly the opposite. PC is where all the action is, and there's a perception problem."

Also on the agenda was a discussion of piracy (and indicator of "unserved customers"), the worldwide PC market, and how Steam and Valve fit into this whole PC new order.

PC Has 'Perception Problem,' Piracy Reflects 'Unserved Customers' [Gamasutra]

Steamworks & Steamcloud - In Summary [Rock, Paper, Shotgun] [Pic]

For the full breakdown, hit the link below, but just as a snapshot I've compiled a hypothetical PC using the components most popular amongst the surveyed users:

- 2,048.0 Kbps network speed (31.13% of users)
- 2GB+ RAM (38.19% of users)
- GenuineIntel processor (58.47% of users)
- Single core CPU (59.14% of users)
- 2.3 Ghz to 2.69 Ghz Intel CPU (15.71% of users)
- 250GB+ HDD (32.58% of users)
- NVIDIA GeForce 8800 graphics card (9.35% of users)
- 4:3 display (73.88% of users)
- 1280x960 desktop resolution (39.18% of users)
- Realtek AC97 Audio sound card (17.91% of users)
- Windows XP (80.94% of users)
- System language: English (58.73% of users)

[Valve Summary Data]

Ubisoft Still Hates Most Of The World [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Everyday Shooter [Steam Games]