Left 4 Dead: Crash Course out next week

By Tom Bramwell Published 23 September, 2009

Plus: Xbox 360 patch now, L4D2 demo date.

Valve has announced that the Crash Course downloadable content for Left 4 Dead will be released for PC and Xbox 360 on 29th September.

Elsewhere, Joystiq reports that Valve's Kim Swift announced a 27th October demo release date for Left 4 Dead 2 during an EA press conference in Tokyo, although specifics were not discussed.

In yet more Left 4 Dead news, the developer also issued an Xbox 360 patch yesterday that introduces elements like the special infected HUD tweaks showing team-mates' recharge times.

That's presumably so that people who choose not to download Crash Course still have parity with the people who do when they come together on other campaigns.

However, the patch has upset a few people on the Valve forums, where there are some impressively moany rants about the volume of item spawns in Versus mode. Attagirl!

Valve hasn't said anything about whether that's a bug yet, but we should find out by this time next week.

Crash Course bridges the gap between the No Mercy and Death Toll campaigns in the original game, and has been designed for shorter, 30-minute Versus mode games, as matches using the existing campaigns can take around two hours to complete.

Look out for our review of Crash Course around release. It's free on PC and 560 Microsoft Points (£4.76 / €6.72) on Xbox 360, something Valve explained to us recently.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (24) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Goodfella #1 2 years ago

    PC ftw!

  • Colin8703 #2 2 years ago

    I thought that this was due today.

  • BabyJesus #3 2 years ago

    Valve get so much shit from their community when they are one of the few good guys left in the industry.

  • rotmm #4 2 years ago

    @BabyJesus,

    I think this is part of the reason that so many game devs no longer take part in their corporate forums.

  • hiddenranbir #5 2 years ago

    Next week?! Next week!? Rabble!

  • Slipstream #6 2 years ago

    That rant thread...lol

  • Hobo #7 2 years ago

    Thought this was out today since it's meant to be part of that "Game With Fame" thingy that's happening to day. Quite disappointed that it's still a week off yet!

    Perhaps Zombie Apocalypse on XBLA this morning will soften some of the blow!

  • penhalion #8 2 years ago

    Valve get so much shit from their community when they are one of the few good guys left in the industry.

    Given that it's the community that put valve where they are today I think valve are obligated to listen to them. After all if the community goes, then counterstrike and L4D simply die a death. Who the heck do you think is buying and playing Valves stuff in the first place!

  • dsmx #9 2 years ago

    Rabble, Rabble, Rabble

  • RedPanda #10 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • bodypopper #11 2 years ago

    Dear Valve,

    I want Half Life 3 tomorrow. I don't care if it's buggy and unfinished I want it and I want it now or I will cry and cry and cry because you are so mean for being a business that makes money and doesn't force people to buy its games.

    Yours faithfully.
    Mr B Popper esq.
    Tunbridge Wells

  • penhalion #12 2 years ago

    @RedPanda

    Valve do a great job most of the time. I just hate it when people think that they should ignore the community just because of a few muppets within it. It's also silly to think that Valve can do no wrong and that the community should be greatful to them for anything they do.

    At the end of the day the reality is that Valve simply wouldn't be where they are today without the very community that people are now slagging off. It's ironic that Valve themselves seem to be the only ones that recognise this and are trying their best to please the loyale fans they have.

  • BlitzwingHaz #13 2 years ago

    Its all fair enough saying that these people are just whining, but have any of you played the update yet? I really hope it hasn't unbalanced things the way they're suggesting. I thought the versus mode was fine as it was.

  • JensonJet #14 2 years ago

    I really don't understand why Crash Course is being released. It appears to be some half-assed attempt to show that Valve are supporting L4D as promised. Forget it, we all know it's turned into a quick and easy money making scheme pumping out Left4Dead games every year (perhaps with the odd year off in an attempt to appease the die-hard fans). Why not just save any new content for L4D2. The original game will surely die a death when the sequel appears. Given the choice I can't imagine many would choose an extra chapter to a game that has just a month of life left over having six whole chapters for L4D2... which could have then turned it into a 6 hour game! Amazing.
    Edited by 1 at 23/09/09 @ 11:19

  • Toothball #15 2 years ago

    I'll be getting this on both sides. Should be plenty fun.

  • BadDevotions #16 2 years ago

    hooooooray! i have been literally hanging for this!

    /clears up mess in his trousers

  • DAN.E.B #17 2 years ago

    have to aggree i love L4D its the best game ive played in years.
    but the much talked about DLC never really happend which was a massive shame i mean two stages a year later WTF?
    Now 2 is a couple of months away i think it would be a waste of time to carry on churning out DLC for the first one, they may as well concentrate on 2 and make sure it has a lot more support this time round.

  • UberFrog #18 2 years ago

    Also charge xbox users for the L4D2 demo!

  • carlitoswagon #19 2 years ago

    "the boats here, run, get on the fucking boat!"

    "fuck him, he'll never make it!"

  • PlugMonkey #20 2 years ago

    Forget it, we all know it's turned into a quick and easy money making scheme pumping out Left4Dead games every year (perhaps with the odd year off in an attempt to appease the die-hard fans).

    Christ.

    Personally, I judge games on the merit of the content they bring me, not on how long they've been in development. If L4D2 has enough content to justify a purchase, I'll buy it. If L4D3 has enough content to justify a purchase, I'll buy that too. Whether it comes in 2010, 2011 or 2012 is utterly irrelevent.

    Any 'die-hard' fan who is 'appeased' by a year's hiatus can fuck off and die, as far as I'm concerned. They are a waste of functioning kidneys.

  • organica #21 2 years ago

    Forget it, we all know it's turned into a quick and easy money making scheme pumping out Left4Dead games every year (perhaps with the odd year off in an attempt to appease the die-hard fans).

    Hilarious. I suggest you visit the Dictionary site of your choice and look up the words 'industry' and 'business'. Then have a long, hard think at what this might have to do with a group of people working (for actual real-like non-Monopoly money) to produce a product to sell to other people.

    Also - longer development times appease die-hard fans? What the hell?

    I usually steer away from antagonism but... dude. Seriously.

  • TheTingler #22 2 years ago

    Wait, wait, wait. There's something there I just can't get my head around.

    People... play Left 4 Dead... on something other than a PC?

    :p

  • Diabeu #23 2 years ago

    I don't care about HL, honest
    L4D gave me hours of fun with my friends, it's simple as fuck yet entertaining
    but there's no way I'm gonna spend 560msp on one campaign - btw what kind of price is this? why not 534msp?
    oh, and I don't buy this "MS forced us" thing - but that's my problem and my paranoia

    cheers,

  • BlitzwingHaz #24 2 years ago

    Its not even a full campaign you'd be getting apparently, just the first 2 chapters.
    I want it but its not worth the price imo, especially with the map packs for Arkham Asylum being free (plus I'm skint) :(