As revealed last week, two of video games' biggest zombie-centric franchises will be bumping uglies when crossover content for the PC versions of Resident Evil 6 and Left 4 Dead 2 hits in in two weeks. This video shows what it looks like when Coach, Nick, Ellis and Rochelle take on the BOWs of Capcom's global apocalypse, with Special Infected enemies from L4D2 popping in to mix things up. Remember this undead mash-up won't cost anything so look for it as an added option on April 5th.

Valve has announced that they are adding an "experimental virtual reality mode" to their multiplayer first-person shooter Team Fortress 2. It will be playable by anyone with an Oculus Rift developer kit. The mode will be released in the coming days.

The full release from Valve:

Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, and Left 4 Dead), today announced the addition of an experimental Virtual Reality mode to Team Fortress 2. The new mode will be released in the coming days as part of an update to the popular Free to Play game.

Anyone with an Oculus Rift Developer Kit will be able to use their device to play all of Team Fortress 2 on the PC. All game modes and classes are supported with the new Virtual Reality mode.

"When we first played an early version of Virtual Reality mode in Team Fortress we were blown away by the immersion we experienced.", said Joe Ludwig at Valve. "VR is just getting started, but it is going to have a big impact on gaming. This update will let us share that experience with more of the Team Fortress community."

"Valve's done an incredible job bringing Team Fortress 2 to virtual reality! TF2 is the most-played game in my Steam library, so you can imagine how excited I am to play it in the Rift with all of our backers," said Palmer Luckey, Founder of Oculus VR, Inc.

In addition to gaining access to the new Virtual Reality mode, owners of the Oculus Rift will also be granted a unique Oculus Rift in-game hat. Steam codes to redeem for this item will be sent out by Oculus.

Team Fortress 2 is Valve's Free to Play team-based online game. The game has had more than 350 updates since its release with The Orange Box in 2007.

Okay, step one: Get an Oculus Rift dev kit. Step two: Play this. Step three: Get that Crysis mod that Nathan Andrews made and play that.

Suddenly, the mother of all zombie apocalypses is about to happen. This just wound up in our inbox:

Capcom and Valve are pleased to announce the Resident Evil® 6 x Left 4 Dead 2 project. This crossover project between two of the interactive entertainment industry's most respected publishers will see characters from Left 4 Dead™ 2 featured exclusively in the forthcoming PC version of Resident Evil® 6, while enemies from Resident Evil 6 will invade the PC version of Left 4 Dead 2. All content will be made available completely free for fans of either game to access and play.

Owners of Resident Evil 6 PC will be able to select one of four survivors from Left 4 Dead 2's iconic cast – Coach, Nick, Ellis and Rochelle – when playing PC exclusive mode, The Mercenaries No Mercy. Each character will have a special customized weapon load-out created just for use in Resident Evil 6. In addition to the four survivors, two of the infamous Special Infected zombies from the Left 4 Dead franchise – the Witch and Mini Tank – will also make a cameo appearance in this mode, relentlessly attacking players regardless of whether a character from Left 4 Dead 2 or Resident Evil 6 is chosen. This new and exclusive content will automatically be downloaded in the background to all owners of the PC version of Resident Evil 6 from April 5.

Making the leap to the PC version of Left 4 Dead 2 will be some of Resident Evil 6's most fearsome enemies – Lepotitsa, Napad and Ogroman. All three characters were brought to life in Left 4 Dead 2 by Valve's renowned developers using its Steam Workshop tools. Owners of the PC version of Left 4 Dead 2 will be able to face a new deadly challenge when Resident Evil 6 characters infect Valve's classic zombie title this spring.

Commenting on the crossover project, Chet Faliszek from Valve stated: "We're huge Resident Evil fans, so when the opportunity arose to work directly with Capcom to combine L4D2 and RE6, we jumped at it."

Resident Evil 6 Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi added: "The Resident Evil 6 team really enjoyed working on this crossover, and we're confident that our fans will have a great time with it too! We hope you enjoy this unique content."

More as we learn it.

Update:


Here's a developer diary from RE6 producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, courtesy of Capcom.

Fans of Secret of Monkey Island, the 1990 point-n-click adventure game, will undoubtedly remember the infamous "three trials" scene, in which protagonist Guybrush Threepwood proclaims to Mêlée Island's pirate leaders that he, too, would like to be a pirate.

Here's the iconic scene, Team Fortress 2 style. And it's extremely well done. Enjoy.

[SFM] I Wanna Be a Pirate [YouTube via Tim Schafer]

Can't it be both? Coming soon to iOS and Android, Blitz Brigade is a team-based online multiplayer shooter. It's set during World War II (can't you tell?) and features vehicular combat, five character classes, single-player challenges and trailer music that sounds like it's being performed by a Team Fortress 2 cover band.

It's Team Fortress 2! It's Battlefield Heroes! Since this trailer was released last Friday (it was late Friday, past caring time) the YouTube comments have been dominated by discussion of which game Blitz Brigade is trying to be. Why not give Gameloft the benefit of the doubt? Perhaps this is a completely original creation that just bears a striking resemblance to...*falls over laughing*

Reader Brandon passed this video along yesterday, which he helped make, wondering if we'd ever seen it. I had to say "no", which tore me up inside, because it is absolutely perfect.

Sadly ineligible from winning a Saxxy award due to its use of copyright material, that won't stop it winning hearts here today, because if there's one thing Team Fortress 2 needs more than less hats, it's more Queen.

QUEEN FORTRESS [YouTube]

Valve just recently moved Steam Workshop out of beta, and we're already seeing a ton of great mods ready for your clicking.

We've had access to mods before, that's nothing new. But Valve's Steam Workshop completely streamlines the process of adding them in, making the ability to have smarter AI, new weapons and newly skinned enemies an easier process than ever before. And databased, too!

So what's out there now, roughly four days after its official release? Here are a few that caught my eye.

Beautiful, changing skies

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A Helm's Deep map

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An Aperture space station map

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Playing as friggin' velociraptors

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A Crash Bandicoot map

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Warrior Bug enemies

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A super-sexy Coach in formal wear

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Team Fortress 2's Scout as a Hunter

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The Gabe Newell of Boomers

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Team Fortress 2's Heavy, Pyro and Spy will all be playable characters in the PC version of Sega kart-racer Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. We didn't like the game all that much, but many readers did, so... this is good news, PC/Valve-loving folks!

The game will be out on PC at the end of the month.

This news also should please anyone who plays six-degrees-of-separation with video game characters. See, Sonic has fought all the Nintendo characters in Smash Bros. and now Sonic has raced against TF2's characters. The Heavy was in Telltale's Poker Night, which also starred the rabbit from Sam & Max and others. One step closer to Kevin Bacon!

You may remember that, nearly four years ago, Australia's classification board refused to classify Left 4 Dead 2, effectively banning it from sale in the country. At the time, Australia's ratings system for video games topped out at MA15+, which basically means suitable for teenagers. Valve released a highly sanitized version of the game just for Australia, disappointing many and calling attention to the country's insufficient ratings policies.

Well, in the three-plus years since, Australia has gotten its act together. On Jan. 1, a new R18+ rating went into effect (Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge was the first to claim it.) Fans down under are wondering if Valve is keen to revisit the subject with a fully unedited Left 4 Dead 2. Writing on Valve's official forums, Chet Faliszek says yes.

"We have been exploring the options here and what we can legally do," he said.
"We will have more information on this when we understand the issues fully and how we are moving forward."

The game was submitted and refused, the decision was appealed, and the appeal was denied. It sounds like Valve isn't yet certain if Left 4 Dead 2 is eligible for a re-review under a new rating, or if an old decision is final no matter what.

Still, any expense of resubmitting Left 4 Dead 2 for classification "doesn't worry us," he added. "This is something we want to do."

Valve investigating R18+ options for Left 4 Dead 2 in Australia [GameSpot]

Some people might tell you that Donkey Kong 64 is an awful game. According to 10 year old me (my age the last time I played that game), they'd be wrong. But, hopefully everyone can agree that the Donkey Kong rap is fantastic?

Now, take that catchy tune, and add the Left 4 Dead zombies. What do you get? This amazing thing by YouTube user EdbotnikThe's.

Keep an eye on the witch.

L4DK Rap [EdbotnikThe's]