Valve launches Steam Guides, opens Left 4 Dead 2 Workshop

Continuing its focus on community engagement, Valve has added a new feature to its distribution platform that lets users create and share game guides. Called Steam Guides, the section can be found via the Steam Overlay or from any Community Hub (another recent addition). The guides can range from something as limited as a character build or a full blown gameplay walkthrough, with the ability to add a table of contents, images from your desktop or those in the Steam Cloud, YouTube videos, tables and custom text.

Along with that news, Valve has released a patch that enabled the Steam Workshop for Left 4 Dead 2, providing the community with an official central location to share user-generated content such as new campaigns, clothing, weapons, skins and more. So far, the L4D2 Workshop has 245 entries including some of the most popular add-ons, such as the Back to School campaign and a Lord of the Rings Helms Deep survival map in which you defend the fortress of Rohan from thousands of infected enemies until Gandalf arrives.

In somewhat related news, Australians may soon be able to play the full version of L4D2. Back in 2009, the nation's Classification Board rejected the game twice because it failed to meet the group's MA15+ designation. At the time, that's as high as games could be rated as the country didn't offer an R18+ classification, forcing Valve to ship a censored version with less gore, such as decapitation. However, an R18+ rating has since been added and Valve's Chet Faliszek has revealed that the developer is looking into its options.