Valve has plans to extend your experience with its much-beloved survival horror co-op game,
Left 4 Dead.
First up, for all and sundry (well, PC and Xbox 360 owners - the guys who can actually get the game) is the first round of
Left 4 Dead downloadable content, dubbed
L4D Survival Pack. It will bring a new multiplayer mode, dubbed (wait for it...) Survival, to the table. It will also have two new campaigns for versus mode. The DLC is set for release this Spring.
For players of the game on PC, there's also a little something extra. Namely, Valve plans to release the Source Software Development Kit, which will enable users to create custom
L4D campaigns which will be "discoverable" (Valve's word) via the game's matchmaking system. The Source SDK is also due for release this Spring and will be free.
If you don't already get the game (and Marcus SPOnG strongly recommends that you do) you'll be able to pick up a 'Critic's Choice Edition', again set for release this spring. As well as the game it will include the above-mentioned DLC. Valve hasn't actually specified platforms for this edition, but for the time being we're going to assume that it's for both PC and 360.
"Since
Half-Life launched in 1998, Valve has made continuous efforts to expand the offering of its products beyond what's included on the day of launch", uttered Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "With
Half-Life and
Counter-Strike, and more recently
Team Fortress 2, we've learned that we're no longer making stand-alone games but creating entertainment services. With
Left 4 Dead we're extending that tradition by creating additional gameplay and releasing our internal tools to aspiring developers so they may also create and distribute new
Left 4 Dead experiences."
For more on
Left 4 Dead, see
SPOnG's dedicated game page.