The minigun and ammo belt are spot-on, and even the expression on the dude’s face is priceless. The only thing he really needed to do to complete the look was to shave his head and eat a few dozen steaks and a bag of protein powder before suiting up.

[Photo Credit: Robert Walker]

The gun was lovingly assembled by the guys at New Zealand’s extraordinarily talented WETA Workshop (the same WETA that does effects for movies like Lord of the Rings, Avatar and District 9). The gun is based on the Level 1 Sentry Gun from Team Fortress 2, and it actually can detect movement, track from side-to-side, light up and make authentic sounds.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Unfortunately, it doesn’t actually fire rounds, but I can dream, can’t I? Hopefully, they’ve got a Level 3 model in the works. I want my guided rockets.

[via YouTube]

The new campaign, fittingly named “The Passing,” is described as the most important in all the games, as it’s the culmination of everyone’s struggle for survival. “The Passing will become the most important campaign in the Left 4 Dead story, as all the Survivors are being called together in one campaign,” said Valve’s Doug Lombardi. “It will also be a huge offering of new gameplay content, with something new for every game mode plus a new uncommon common and weaponry.”

Let’s hope the new guys are a little less creepy than the Mudmen. As for the new game modes, the most interesting addition is referred to as a new type of co-op challenge – survivors vs. survivors in a race to the safe room? Sign me up. Too bad you can’t mix and match. I’d take Coach and Francis any day, for hilarity’s sake.

“The Passing” is set for sometime in early 2010.

Oh, not so exciting? Alright, try this: in some scenarios, AI team members lollygagged around instead of firing at Jockeys and Chargers. Definitely annoying. Ellis needs to wade in there with his shotgun and save my butt if I have a Jockey on my face. So that’s fixed. Jolly good.

And yeah, right, there was one other little detail, too… let me see, here’s the official release:

• Fixed bug where a burning witch could get into a state where she’s invincible.

What? Dudes, really: announce that one first. Seriously, everyone wants to burn the witch. We’re geeks, most of us; we love Monty Python and witch-burning hilarity is a sacred thing. If a burning, angry witch–already a formidable adversary–is unkillable, not only do I want that business fixed yesterday, but scream it from the roofops. HEY GUYS! You can totally kill those witches now. Sorry. Our bad.

Glad that’s settled.

Ah, nothing says Christmas like undulating peppermint tongue. Valve is offering up sets of cards for $15.95 apiece, in addition to their normal stock of t-shirts and other swag. Left 4 Dead is available, as shown above, but do you really want to go with last year’s zombie game? It’s time to get up in the new hotness, children:

All that’s missing from these Left 4 Dead 2 cards is me getting my hind end kicked all around the Dark Carnival finale. Fortunately, I can see that on my Xbox any ol’ time.

If, however, you prefer a little Orange Box excitement over the zombie apocalypse, you can also check out the Team Fortress 2 offerings. Here’s one of the two available sets:

Definitely beats reindeer.

[via Joystiq]

The news of the newest addition to the Elder Scrolls‘ lineup comes from an unusual source: a tie-in novel set after Oblivion. Or rather, a line about the tie-in novel’s place in the franchise timeline that referred to The Infernal City‘s taking place between the last game and the next game. That puts this unnamed-sequel some 200 years after Oblivion. Let’s hope that, in the intervening time, someone has figured out a way to allow you to decorate your houses without resorting to haphazardly flinging things at the bookshelves.

In other related news, there’s a rumor rolling around that we may be seeing a marriage of awesome with Bethesda’s parent company considering buying Valve. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not sure I could handle that. I’m about to lapse into paroxysms of extreme joy at the very thought.

[via Joystiq]

So what are you scavenging? Gas cans. The setup, at first, is not unlike versus in the first game; one set of players step into the shoes of the survivors, and others act as special infected. But instead of escaping, the objective here is to collect gas cans and bring them back, while the zombies do their best to ruin everyone’s day. The team that, in their time as the survivors, collects the most gas cans wins.

Other aspects Left 4 Dead players should be used to are still in effect here: infected players have limited spawn points, of course, and there are always all the other zombies. But the added fetch challenge stands to add a whole new dimension to the co-op game, which is out next month.

[via Game|Life]

The demo, available October 27 (just in time for the game’s November release) will feature not only the game’s new melee weapons, but of course, multiplayer action, because everyone knows it’s no fun much less fun to hunt zombies alone. More dangerous, too.

I may have already pre-ordered the sequel, but you can bet I’ll be getting in on some demo action. I’m dying to know whether or not the big guy hates vans (and everything else).

[via Joystiq]

Bright colors, blocky environments, and hordes of raging infected running around among the zombie-like goombas. This custom set of Left 4 Dead maps is based on the familiar scenes from the pantheon of Mario-associated games (and levels), but unfortunately, the only screenshot that shows a lot of zombies is the one above. I want to see zombies boiling out of a castle.

Recently, Valve has been talking about bringing user-generated content for Left 4 Dead to the Xbox 360, but of course, anything that steps on copyright won’t be allowed, so no Mushroom Massacre for those of us who are restricted to the console. Ah, tragedy.

[via GoNintendo]

Crash Course may not be free for Xbox 360 players, but for only 560 Microsoft points ($7 in real money), you get an entire campaign as well as some other goodies. The new campaign, postered above, “bridges the gap” between the first campaign, No Mercy, and the original second, Death Toll. Considering the title, I’m guessing that No Mercy’s escape helicopter may not have been long for that zombie-riddled world.

The pack also includes a shorter and sweeter version of Versus mode that can be completed in only half an hour. I love Left 4 Dead like ice cream, but completing a campaign does take a significant chunk of time, so this is definitely good news.

Download it next month!

[via GameGirl]

Look! It’s the Winchester. Such a comforting and familiar site.The film fits surprisingly well into Left 4 Dead’s five-part campaign; players start off in Shaun’s apartment, move to his Mum’s house, then to Liz’s, and then to two stages in the Winchester.

The campaign is still in progress and it looks like they’re in the market for people who can work on it.

[Left 4 Winchester via Forever Geek]

If you can play such killer mods as the above, the replica of the mall from Dawn of the Dead, you wouldn’t want to give that up! But Valve has helpfully assured Left 4 Dead fans that all custom content from the first game will be immediately compatible with the second, which is due later this year.

[Kikizo via Co-Optimus]

I can’t decide if I would run the hell away or start high-fiving random people. Each reaction is equally likely at seeing an Aperture Science van, especially one that looks so official. Portal: the game that really sticks with you. Or follows you around, watching your every move.

[via Offworld]

Only a year? Sounds less-than-exciting, considering that there’s only been a few (free!) add-ons for the original, and the modding scene–always popular with Valve’s games–has not yet had much time to develop fully. For most companies, that might mean a sequel that just offers more of the same… the sort of thing that should just be an expansion.

Not so with the second installment of Left 4 Dead. There are some big improvements in the works here, and not only new locations (New Orleans), new characters, new weapons (chainsaw!) and new special infected. The AI Director will have even more power than before, including the ability to change the layout of the stages as you proceed. Perhaps even better for those of us who are complete masochists when it comes to the zombie genre (long live the original Dead Rising save system!), the creators are even working to make dirty little tricks less possible. You want to survive? You want to win? You’re going to have to do more than hide in a corner out of the reach of the violent masses.

Also? Frying pans. Oh yes.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Now they need to get to work on Left 4 Dead 3… the version that will use those newfangled Xbox 360 body controls.

[via RockPaperShotgun]

I honestly believe these may be the most amazing sugar cookies I’ve ever seen, but I may be biased on account of my raging adoration for all things Left 4 Dead. But check out those little faces! Not only are they pretty accurate, but they’re very well drawn as cookie decorations go. Jocelyn of Snack or Die reportedly used a food coloring pen to achieve those tiny facial features.

All that’s missing are a few sugary speech bubbles attached to the Francis cookies, extolling all of the things he hates, like vans and Ayn Rand.

[via Snack or Die]

Cross stitcher tracethekat made this entire set as a gift for Christmas, and in doing so, effectively rendered 95% of the world’s Christmas gifts less cool… but at least we know one person got lucky with the gifts!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s science to do… and by “science,” I mean “making my own versions of these.” Black-on-white, though. I’m a purist!

[via Sprite Stitch]

Each shirt is powered by a 2190mAh Lithium-Ion battery pack, stored in a belt pack. Right.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

He already ate some of the cake and he still says it’s a lie? Okay I’m just pissed off because I haven’t played Portal yet. Stupid inside jokes.

Just in case you need a constant reminder not to walk in front of any turret buddies you happen to encounter, a friendly soul at Etsy has immortalized the signs in the form of buttons. Your life will instantly become 20% safer if you wear these buttons.

Please be advised that the buttons are $10 for the complete set. Now if only they included tiny, tinny speakers with the voice of GLaDOS.

[via Etsy]

Survival mode sounds like the kind of thing that could be serious business. Many of the game’s fans have idly wished for even more of a challenge (as though the game’s expert mode wasn’t hard enough!) and who knows? With a name like that, I can hope it will deliver that very thing.

That’s not all Valve’s got up their sleeves for Left 4 Dead, however; the DLC will be released concurrently with a “Critic’s Choice” edition of the game that will include the new content, for those who have yet to pick up the game. PC players will also have access to the first Left 4 Dead release for the Source Software Development Kit (Source SDK), which means we’ll be seeing a lot of custom campaigns soon after. No prices yet, or a firm date, but Valve says spring.

[via Game Focus]

The My Little Ponies have enjoyed a wacky resurgence in the past several years, and that’s partially due to the custom ponies fad. As the above demonstrates, pony artists change hair, repaint eyes, and customize the pony’s body as well, and as with so many other crafts, video games are a popular theme.

That said, it’s still unusual to see not one, but two new Portal ponies this week!

While the first pony sprang from a more general inspiration with the game, this second is a clear homage to the Weighted Companion Cube, which I guess makes it the Weighted Companion Pony. Of course, the first one has the infamous cake (or does it?), so it would be a clear winner if we were talking about a pony vs. pony deathmatch of custom pony goodness. But since we’re not, you can enjoy them both.

[Portal pony via Hawty McBloggy; Weighted Companion Cube pony via Wonderland]