The new episode of
GameTrailers TV has the
promised previews of upcoming Valve content. The
Left 4 Dead DLC announcement chats with Valve writer Chet Falisek, who reveals plans for
The Sacrifice, new DLC planned for both
Left 4 Dead 2 and the original
Left 4 Dead (both Windows and Mac editions), which will offer a storyline that explains what happened to the character who died in The Passing DLC (we are avoiding that spoiler, but be warned it is freely discussed in the interview), though the DLC will also offer the chance for another survivor to make this sacrifice. Also, the Left 4 Dead 2 version of the DLC will also include the No Mercy DLC pack from the original Left 4 Dead. Erik also discusses the four-part, 150-page digital comic which will precede the DLC release with further story elements. They conclude by confirming that they have plans for more DLC releases in the future.
GameTrailers TV also has their
new preview of Portal 2 which includes gameplay footage from the upcoming platformer sequel and an explanation of some of what to expect from the game from Valve writer Erik Wolpaw. Along the way we get more details on the game's story and how co-op mode will work, with Erik explaining that gameplay is changed with four portals in play, and how if they find a way for one player to solve a co-op level, then it is considered broken.
Steam News has word on a new patch that's now automatically available for
Team Fortress 2. The new version addresses a bug in the teamplay shooter that would activate Birthday Mode a few days earlier than it was supposed to.
Eurogamer.net - Realtime Crisis.
In the longer term, however, I suspect that the impact of RTW's demise will be felt by the UK games business for many years to come. The company's failure is not entirely a shock - it launched an MMO-style game which was hugely expensive to develop, but which received poor reviews, a combination which would be a fatal blow to most game companies. The scale of the failure, and the context in which it has happened, however, will have a major impact on how the industry does business.
Grilling today: we have some grass-fed beef for burgers, and a few chicken breasts. The chicken breasts are considered very daunting for grilling, as they can be easy to dry out, but I tend to have pretty good success with them. I do have to confess that a little of this may be the magic that comes out of
this bottle, as I have tried quite often to come up with a homemade marinade that compares, and have never even come close.