If you’re feeling left out of the Left 4 Dead buzz, especially after last week’s Survival Mode addition, worry not. Valve cares about your feelings. So much so that they’ve decided to throw out a free trial of the game for your enjoyment and peace of mind. Starting this Friday at 12:01 a.m. GMT you can grab a downloadable version on Stream. Bye bye zombies.

The trial version of L4D will have full access to the original game’s content and will also allow access to the Survival Pack. Catch? Only works for 24 hours. After that, your game gets turned into a pumpkin and you have to go back to a life of scrubbing floors.

Of course, you can always opt to pay for the game once the 24 hours are up and then you can ride off into the sunset with your zombiefied royal member of choice. Or, you know, shoot them in the head. Whichever makes you happiest.

Via | 1Up

Image: Valve

Microsoft likes to cut to the chase and skip all the teasing and foreplay, which is why they’ve just come out and said it: the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack is coming out on April 9. The company made it all official today by releasing a press alert with the info.

Alongside the news of the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack is the news of new Gears of War 2 maps, which are hitting the online servers on March 31.

Both of these will be available as downloadable content for 800 Microsoft points. Oh happy day!

Via | Kotaku

Image: Microsoft

Wii owners that have been waiting (begging and pleading) for an FPS game to add to their collection will want to check out the long-awaited conspiracy game, The Conduit. At long last.

Here’s the trailer:

Touted as the Wii game of E3 2008 this is definitely one to pick up.

Via | Product Reviews

Prepare to be impressed. The following short film entitled ‘Escape from City 17′ is based on Half-Life 2 and was apparently created with a $500 budget, no script, and no crew.

Best fan movie ever made? Decide for yourself.

Escape from City 17 - Part One

For what they were working with, it’s pretty damn amazing.

Via | Kotaku

Making its way through the Internet cyberstreets is this video which combines the awesomness of Halo 3 with … well, the V.A.T.S. from Fallout 3. And well … it’s best to be seen, rather than explained. But the end result is undeniably fun to watch.

Check it out:

Via | OXM

The demo for F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin is hitting the Xbox 360 Marketplace on January 22nd, so get ready!

According to Warner Bros., “The F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin demo will offer a glimpse of the action, terror and suspense of the full retail version of the game.”

You’ll get to run around in bloodstained hallways and battle your way through the city of Auburn.

Mark your calendars, kids. You don’t want to miss this one.

Via | OXM

Image: Warner Bros.

This newly released trailer of Black Mesa Source gives us a small peek into the upcoming fan-made conversion. Black Mesa Source is sure to breathe new life into the classic Half-Life game, bringing you new character models, textures, and multi-player modes.

All you’ll need to play is any Source Engine game on your computer. No need for Half-Life: Source specifically.

Release is scheduled for 2009.

Via | Joystiq

Just in case you weren’t thinking of picking up a copy of Gears of War 2, Epic has sweetened the pot with a couple of treats that may convince you otherwise.

The first is really quite fun and is described as a “Flashback Map Pack”. Gamers who purchase a copy will find a voucher that can be cashed in on XBL for a free download of a set of classic maps from the original GoW, including Canals, Subway, and Gridlock. The vouchers are good to go on game release day: November 7th.Buy new and get a voucher, buy used and lose out. Think of it as Epic’s attempt at controlling the seedy underbelly of used game profiteering by the likes of Gamestop et al.

The second will be available to those who brave late nights, long lines and fellow gamers in the Midnight Madness events on November 6th. You lucky folks will be treated to a gold Hammerburst. It does nothing different except for look prettier, but hey, sometimes we all need pretty things to get by. Pretty nifty looking weapon I suppose, though I hope in addition to being gold, it can also blind enemies with the glaring light reflecting off of its shiny, expensive surface. Then at least you’ve have some value added. They do suggest that it will help you locate teammates…so I suppose that’s something, as long as you all participated in Midnight Madness and actually have the golden gun.

Neither item is scheduled to be available and a purchasable download. As CliffyB from Epic puts it, they are meant to be “special gifts” for GoW super fans.

Via | GamePro

Image courtesy of Microsoft

Most of us hate airports enough as they are. You’re either running like mad, or waiting for hours, often beside people who drool, snore, smack when they eat, or generally smell horrendous. Imagine, if you will, taking your average, awful airport and releasing a dose of T-virus. Now you’re stuck there, with the same drooly, smelly people, and a deadly virus that quickly turns infected folks into zombie-like killers.

That’s essentially the story behind Resident Evil: Degeneration, where it’s been 7 years since the destruction of Raccoon City, and things appeared to be getting back to normal. The latest trailer for the CGI animated fright fest (a joint project of Capcom and Sony Pictures Entertainment) from Comic-Con suggests that things are far from normal, in fact, things are about to go very very bad.

Much like the Final Fantasy CGI wonder that was released way back in 2001, RE: Degen boasts technically impressive graphics, a built in fan base, and the branding benefit of already having one mainstream movie under its belt (starring Milla Jovovich in 2002) that didn’t get completely tarred by the critics.

What do you think? Interesting? Is the RE thing getting old? Do you miss Milla Jovovich as much as I do?

I think there’s something very sinister going on in the bowels of the Bethesda Softworks warehouses…

The developer and publisher of the highly anticipated Fallout 3 recently posted pictures on their blog that left me wondering if the game itself would be the only thing taking over retailers come this October. Shown lined up in perfect rank and file, legions of the Brotherhood of Steel stand at attention, just waiting for CEO Robert Altman’s signal to invade and conquer.

These aren’t your usual pint-sized replicas either, we’re talking 8 foot tall, scary, shiny things with very large guns. Follow the link to BethBlog below to see how dwarfed a Bethesda employee is by their own creation. Sure they may look like simple scale models, but I bet when they sit in the electronics department in the dark of a closed Wal-Mart somewhere near you, that these minions destroy all non-Bethesda products and strong-arm shoppers into buying multiple copies of the game.

Via | BethBlog.com