Left 4 Dead (Microsoft Xbox 360, PC) takes survival seriously - this is what we learned after seeing another trailer packed with footage from Turtle Rock Studios, Certain Affinity, and Valve's squad-based shooter. You don't want to miss out on the zombie rush, so hit that jump for the video!

Looks like the zombies will stay dead for a while, now that Valve and Turtle Rock Studio's Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360, PC) is pushed back to a Summer 2008 release. More updates in the full article.

Consolidation isn't just a buzz word in the gaming industry, it's also becoming common practice. Just a few days ago, Valve Corporation snagged another developer for its fold, and the recent addition wasn't very surprising: it was none other than Turtle Rock Studios, the people behind the development of Left 4 Dead (Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Xbox 360). More in store at the full story.

Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360, PC) left some FPS fans drooling for zombie blood at Shadow LAN 2007. Fortunately, those who were unable to squeeze themselves into the 500 seats that were available still have a chance to get their hands on the game. In this coming QuakeCon 2007, Valve will be hosting Left 4 Dead among other games that will be playable during the big event.

Kotaku reports to have received word from Valve confirming that participants will indeed be able to play developer Turtle Rock Studios' hottest offering. QuakeCon will happen in Dallas come August 2 to 5. Turtle Rock will be assisting anyone who wants to try his hand at disposing zombies in either single player or co-op.

Left 4 Dead is slated for release later this year. QuakeCon's doors are open to quench your thirst for brains before the real deal comes, Q4 2007.

We're sure you've been waiting to hear about the zombies versus survivors shoot out, Left 4 Dead from Valve and Turtle Rock Studios. Well, you're in luck as we got some eye candy for you today, in the form of images and a video.

Remember that report we did last month about Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360 and PC) being playable at this year's Showdown LAN? The upcoming game was indeed playable there and it is fortunate that a quick thinking gamer decided to shoot some stills and a shaky video (in this case, Mmaid2 from YouTube). In the video, we see some frantic action in game as players try and fend of the hordes of zombies coming at them. We're sure somebody got a panic attack from playing Left 4 Dead for the first time.

The images (courtesy of FileFront) on the other hand are of better quality, and shows us some stills of both sides in Left 4 Dead: the Survivors and the Infected. Anyway, check out the video and images. We'll bring you more when they become available.

The images are just lurking after the jump!

 

Everyone already knows that Valve's and Turtle Rock Studios' Left 4 Dead will be heading to the Xbox 360. So here we are again with a handful of new updates on the game.

Like Resident Evil Outbreak, Left 4 Dead is a co-operative multiplayer game. However, it is a first person shooter and character selection is limited to four people who have been labeled as Survivors.

It just so happens that the four are immune to the virus that has been spreading through the human population turning the rest of us into psychopaths. These are like zombies - weaponless and weak individually, but downright deadly in large numbers.

Multiplayer has players deciding if they want to be Survivors or a boss Infected. Personally, it looks like playing as an Infected looks more fun since it involves stalking and attacking Survivors. While you're weaker than the fleshy, tasty, and delicious humans, the Infected can respawn infinitely not to mention that the Survivors can only be revived three times at the most.

So will this be the next big thing on the Xbox 360? We'll have to wait and see.

 

There's been some buzz about Valve and Turtle Rock Studios' upcoming "Counter-Strike with zombies" game, Left 4 Dead for Xbox 360 and PC. Many of us are already hyped about playing some survivor fighting for his life by pumping lead, or as brain lovers looking for lunch (just imagine how fun it would be to watch a bunny-hopping zombie...).

It's been a while since the title was announced, but info about it are still scarce. We don't know much save for some available weapons and character types. Fortunately, we're finally getting a taste of the action:  a playable version will be made public on Showdown LAN 2007 event at San Jose.

As if giving everyone a glimpse of the game wasn't enough, free Half Life 2 copies are also up for grabs. Only 500 seats are available though, and Showdown's site show that all spots are taken. Well, let's just hope we hear good word after the event from those lucky enough to get in.

 

Want another dose of Counter-Strike crossed with George A. Romero movies? We already heard what Turtle Rock Studios (Michael Booth) and Valve (Eric Johnson and Doug Lombardi) had to say. Today we have some new screenshots from the co-op first person shooter, Left 4 Dead.

Left 4 Dead lets players take the role of any of the four survivors (much like any other zombie movie) or the "Boss Infected" zombies. Sounds fun, much like playing terrorist and counter-terrorist in Counter-Strike. Only in this title you choose between two gameplay perspectives: one who's trying to stay alive (hunted) and the one who's trying to eat people for lunch (hunter). In the screenshots, we see an assortment of zombies. We'd hate to get in the way of that big guy.

Anyway, here are the screenshots. Left 4 Dead is bound to hit the PC and the Xbox360, hopefully this year. In the meantime, stay tuned.

  
  
 

After knowing more about Left 4 Dead from Valve's project manager Eric Johnson and marketing manager Doug Lombardi, we now focus our attention to Turtle Rock Studios' founder Michael Booth and his opinions about their game bound to hit the Xbox 360 and PC.

FiringSquad was able to secure a chit-chat with Mr. Booth and various topics were raised, including main human characters and how different they are in terms of gameplay. To that, he said:

In Left 4 Dead, players may assume the role of any of the four Survivors or one of four "Boss Infected." Our AI technology allows games of 1 to 8 players - bots will assume the remaining Survivor and Boss Infected roles when human players are not available. The four Survivors have the same abilities and weapons available to them at the beginning of each campaign. However, it's the weapons you find and the tactical choices you make that define your role on the Survivor team.

He also mentioned the types of zombies in the game. There are the mobs of AI-controlled zombies (or as Booth calls them, "infected"), then there are five "Boss Infected" (the higher, more powerful zombies) - Witch, Boomer, Hunter, Smoker, Tank.

All of them, with the exception of the Witch could be played by human players. When asked about the main goals in each round of the game, he said:

Similar to Counter-Strike, the goal of the environments and objectives are designed to present immediately recognizable situations that also allow for unique combat, even when played multiple times. In this case, each of the four campaigns included in the first release are of the "Escape and Survive" variety for the Survivor team. However, each mission is set in different geographic places which naturally lend themselves to varied play styles and challenges.

Since the game is coming out on the Xbox 360 and PC, questions about Live Anywhere are inevitable. Unfortunately, Michael didn't want to talk too much about it as he mentioned that they haven't yet revealed any details regarding the 360 version just yet. Please stay tuned for more".

Stay tuned we will. Check out the word-per-word account of the interview by clicking on our read link below.

Left 4 Dead from Counter-Strike AI">Turtle Rock Studios and Valve is one of the most anticipated FPS titles this year. It is said to have a feel of Counter-Strike, only with a bit of a twist. Eurogamer was able to sit down with Valve's project manager Eric Johnson and marketing manager Doug Lombardi.

There hasn't been much info about Left 4 Dead but then we could literally see curiosities pique when we heard about zombies. The interview covered a number of things particularly the co-operative side of their titles. Left 4 Dead is a Turtle Rock developed game, built around Valve's Source engine and distributed over Steam. Basically, the development itself is as cooperative as the game itself.

According to Eric Johnson, co-operative games are not so easy to make as it seems as the experience for the members of a team are taken into account. When players get a single player experience out of the game "but at the same time nudging them fairly hard into playing cooperatively", then they know they've made a good co-op game. As for the zombies, Johnson said:

Mike [Booth, founder and head of Turtle Rock Studios] knew when he was designing the game that one of the things he wanted players to do was fight overwhelming odds. Zombies, or an infected strain that's gone wild, provides a pretty good fiction backdrop for that. We knew that part of what would make the game compelling for people emotionally was that kind of horror setting: us against the world, everything's attacking us including the world itself. It kind of gives you an automatic modifier for people's emotional state.

Both Valve and Turtle Rock pay much attention to their AI, specifically not to make it impossible to beat but crafty enough to give players a challenge. In comparison to Half-Life or Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead was said to be a much easier sell as it offers a very different setting and experience. In closing, Johnson says this about Valve's passion for first person shooters:

There are so many advantages with a first-person perspective, especially in single-player: making the player feel they are that person, telling the story through the eyes of the character. But when we think about the Half-Life games, we don't think about them as shooters, we think of them as telling a story where you're the star.

Hmm, we're still itching for more info about Left 4 Dead. We're sorely tempted to drop to our knees and pray for Valve and Turtle Rock Studios to release more info but then again, we'll just keep our eyes peeled for this zombilicious co-op FPS.