Has Valve leaked details on Left 4 Dead DLC?
Nothing quite gets you into the holiday spirit like the zombie apocalypse, and many gamers around the world spent their eggnog-laden nights meeting up with friends online to blast away hordes of zombies or, conversely, take turns killing off survivors in Valve’s latest co-op masterpiece, Left 4 Dead. The game has been received exceptionally well both critically and commercially, but of course that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Many bemoan the fact that the solo campaign is incredibly brief and the options for multiplayer aren’t quite as robust as expected. Seems like gamers might not have a reason to complain much longer though, as it appears Valve is all set to announce the first batch of DLC.
On a recent Kotaku podcast, Valve writer Cet Faliszek took some time to talk about what was on the horizon for Left 4 Dead. In the process, he let us all in on some tasty morsels we hadn’t yet heard about from the normally tight-lipped company.
"If it wasn’t the holidays and people weren’t taking all these vacations here at Valve you’d have seen that [DLC] announcement already," he said. "We’ll have an announcement shortly. I don’t know exactly when.
"That’s the kind of thing we’re looking at, having both the new versus maps and some new stuff coming out as well. We’re going to do the 360 at the same time as the PC and on the PC side we also have the SDK coming out."
New maps are always welcome, but I wonder what this "new stuff" he’s referring to could be. Perhaps new survivor characters or zombie classes? Or maybe it’s a mode that lets you change all those scary monsters into adorable pink bunnies who don’t want to eat you, but would rather hug you and barf rainbows all over you. Actually, that may be more creepy than the zombies so maybe Valve should just stick with the original plan.
In any case, we may not know what the DLC is, but we know the announcement is imminent. Keep your peepers peeled and we’ll bring you news on the specifics just as soon as we have them. At any rate, this here rumor is as confirmed as the impending zombie apocalypse as prophesied in Left 4 Dead.
TGR Verdict: Rumor Confirmed
Are there new PixelJunk games on the way?
If you happen to be a PS3 owner then you likely know all about the glory that is Q-Games PixelJunk franchise. PixelJunk Monsters is widely considered one of the finest downloadable games on PSN, and PixelJunk Eden is a trippy, mind-bending ride that manages to be both frantic and soothing all at once. Of course, when you are a successful developer people only expect more and more out of you, therefore the question for Q-Games has been a matter of "What next and when can we expect it?" According to Q producer Dylan Cuthbert, the answers are "plenty" and "soon."
In Cuthbert’s Happy New Year’s post on the PS Blog, the gregarious developer took some time to talk about his favorite games of ’08 as well as gush about his own company’s success. In his joyous rant, Cuthbert shared some good news with fans of the PixelJunk franchise, promising that more is on the way.
"Here’s to an amazing 2009 for gaming as I am sure it is going to be, what with two or three more PixelJunk titles coming out," said Cuthbert. He also took a moment to address an upcoming patch for PixelJunk Eden in the comments section, stating, "Around the second week or so of January there will be a patch which makes (among other things) the large crystals replenish a whole half of your oscillator meter instead of a third. That should help you with garden 7."
The promise of multiple new games from this quirky and talented development house as well as the news of a patch for Eden make my heart soar. Oh what boundless possibilities this new year holds! While we don’t yet have any details on the new games it’s likely a safe bet that you should plan on downloading them toot sweet once released, as they are nearly sure to be glorious.
TGR Verdict: Rumor Confirmed
Is Capcom planning another retro Mega Man game?
It’s hard to argue with the success of Mega Man 9, released earlier this year in downloadable form on Wiiware, PSN, and Xbox Live. Even though the game was hard as balls and looked like it jumped straight out of 1989, it was still beloved by the millions of nostalgic gamers looking to relive the Blue Bomber’s simpler days. Given the game’s success, we’ve been wondering if Capcom is willing to do it again with another Mega Man title, and the answer to that appears to be, "Maybe, if the fans want it."
In a recent interview with 1UP, Mega Man 9 producer Hironobu Takeshita took all sorts of questions regarding how the game was designed, how the stages were laid out, and even talked a bit about boss strategies and deciding specific weaknesses. It’s definitely a good read for anyone who loved Mega Man 9 and wants to dig a little deeper, but even more intriguing was the very last question posed and Takeshita’s response.
"1UP: Will we ever be lucky enough to get a Mega Man X9 — but with Super NES era graphics and music?
HT: It all depends on fans’ demand! We might see that day, as long as there is passion!"
Not a confirmation by any means, but definitely an invitation to series fans to flood the Capcom office with phone calls, emails and fan art demanding that this happen. It sounds like Takeshita would be more than willing to make another retro Mega Man game, but he needs a little prodding from the general public. So what are you waiting for people, get to prodding already!
This rumor’s still a long way from becoming fact, but we have to figure 1UP wouldn’t ask the question if they didn’t have some ideas and Takeshita wouldn’t have provided that particular answer unless something along those lines were being considered. There may only be a sliver of hope for this one at the moment, but that’s one more sliver than we had yesterday.
TGR Verdict: Rumor Somewhat Likely
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