midnight-riders posts

We were sure that when the Midnight Riders web site went live the fictional Southern rock band in Left 4 Dead 2 was going to be featured in some kind of expansion pack for the zombie co-op shooter. While that hasn't happened (at least not yet) the band has popped up yet again with a last minute Christmas tune.

The song is titled "All I Want For Christmas is to Kick Your Ass" and while it's not as catchy as, say, "Silent Night" it's certainly in keeping with the band's general attitude towards life. We are still hoping to actually play these guys in a Left 4 Dead 2 expansion or perhaps in Left 4 Dead 3 (because you know Valve must be at least thinking about it).

[Via Kotaku]

Earlier this week we reported that the web site address seen in Left 4 Dead 2's Dark Carnival campaign for the Midnight Riders band was in fact an actual (and Valve owned) site in the real world. Today that site just got more interesting with lots more info about the fictitious Southern Rock musical group. For one thing we now know the names of the four bandmates (Ox on drums, Smitty on vocals and rhythm guitar, Jake on bass and keyboards and Dusty on lead guitar).

We also learn some of the history of the band and their last blog entry indicates that despite the "Green Flu" they still had plans to play a set at the Whispering Oaks Fairgrounds (now identified as being in Griffin, GA). There's also a link to a You Tube channel where two music tracks from the band can be checked out. While you can't buy their latest album, you can get the next best thing; the official Midnight Riders tour t-shirt (via a Valve store link). All of this makes us think even more that we may be getting a new Left 4 Dead 2 campaign before too long.

If you haven't gone through the entire campaign for Left 4 Dead 2 you might want to avoid reading the rest of this post . . . . ok, for the rest of you, you likely know that in the Dark Carnival campaign for Valve's just released zombie shooter sequel, there are mentions of the Midnight Riders, a fictional Southern rock band that was set to play at the amusement park at the center of the campaign before the infected apocalypse hit. Indeed the final campaign level has the four survivors facing off against the zombies on the Midnight Riders' stage.

The campaign level has posters for the group which showed a web page. Checking out the web page in the real world shows the image you see above. The big question: Is this just some viral fun from Valve or a hint that we could see a Left 4 Dead 2 DLC campaign featuring players controlling the rock group? Hey, there are four members there.