Left 4 Dead 2

Whoa there, hotshot! This ain’t no celebration of videogame sound design – we’ve done that. Here, rather, are the games that come alive when piped through headphones directly into your brain. After all, brilliant audio will sound even brilliant-er when it’s loud, bassy and in dangerous proximity to your ear drums. But it’s not always about the music; sometimes you’ll want to slap on a pair of headphones during the most unconventional soundscapes - like say a pair of women in tight shorts GRUNTING VERY LOUDLY. Got your attention? Grab your best cans (not those) and read on…

Greetings. Yup, we know we're late with the podcast today, but rest assured it's worth the wait. If only to hear Cundy chat about a big package of nuts he's brought into the studio. Nathan would like a grab at them - will Matt let him? All is revealed inside this week's TalkRadar UK.

We gamers can be real dicks. We're spoiled, entitled, and seem to feel that we’re owed great games. And we want them for free. We’re called out as dicks from time to time on forums, and when we step back and look at it, we must admit  have a hard time disagreeing. Gamers have a nasty habit of biting the hands that feed us. Don't believe us? Ponder these colossally boneheaded gamer behaviors, ripped right from the pages of history...

We’ve all read countless “best franchise of all time” lists, and while they’re fun to write and then to argue about, there’s an inherent problem with the “all time” part – you have to consider the 30+ years of gaming history before you get to the modern generation. Heavy hitters like Zelda, Mario, Halo, Warcraft, Metal Gear and GTA are virtually guaranteed a place on the list, so how can there be much room left over for games of right now?

That’s why we’re ousting the old guard and choosing the best of the current generation. No decades-old legacies to consider, just the stuff that’s been dreamt up since 360/PS3/DS/Wii took control beginning in 2005. Our only criteria: you gotta be a NEW game that’s blossomed into a full-blown series and will likely carry on for years. And before we even start, sorry Red Dead – you either began with Red Dead Revolver (last gen) or are a fresh start with Redemption, meaning you’re not quite a “franchise” just yet...

Zombies and videogames go together like parasitic viruses and juicy human brains. Especially in recent years, we've had an almost ridiculous glut of zombie games, each one providing its own take on the living dead. While you may at first think of zombies uniformly as mindless flesh-eaters, you'd be surprised at what a wonderfully diverse bunch of characters they can be. Sure, the mindless flesh-eating part still stands, but there's a lot more to your average ghoul than that.

From the axe-wielding maniacs of House of the Dead to the classic rotters found in Resident Evil, there's a surprising amount of variety and depth to the common garden zombie. Read on and celebrate the diversity of animated cannibalistic corpses in all their decomposing finery...

Once more friends, it is time for the GamesRadar UK team to sit around a microphone and spout gloriously tangental, occasionally informative nonsense about games for the delight and disbelief of your noble eardrums. Taking up this week's talking duties is the verbal triforce of Matt Cundy, Justin Towell and 'Uncle' Dave Meikleham. Give it a listen. Pac-Man and Ewoks ensue... 

Lend it your ears: 

 

Tomorrow, someone is going to die. The Passing DLC for Left 4 Dead 2 is scheduled to release on April 22. It’s long been confirmed that the new campaign will bring together the survivors from the original Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2. But it was also recently revealed that one of the original’s cast members will be called on to sacrifice himself (or herself) so that the rest of the group can move on. We have some theories about why we think Louis will die. But which character do you think will be the one who says goodbye forever?

Are we the only ones who miss the days of listless, slow shuffling zombie hordes? Now a days, it seems like every Johnny Skull Muncher has been training for a decathlon. Honestly, we blame all that research that's clearly gone into zombie hamstring-strengthening over the last decade. So in honour of every speedy member of the undead who's ever sprinted at us to scoff the contents of our craniums, here are the most energetic zombies ever.

In a recent episode of GameTrailers TV, it was revealed that one of the original four survivors from Left 4 Dead will die in the upcoming Left 4 Dead 2 DLC, The Passing. During the course of the new campaign, one character will be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice so that the rest of the group can continue. But which one will be meeting their maker when the new content releases?Maybe it’ll be Bill. After all, he’s old,