A post on the Matrix Games forums has first word on Distant Worlds: Return of the Shakturi, an upcoming expansion for Distant Worlds, Code Force's pausable real-time, 4X space game. The expansion has not yet been officially announced, but they say a "Coming Soon" forum and a product page with a full feature list will be posted some time this week. In the meantime they offer a few screenshots, and say to expect the add-on's release before Christmas. Thanks Rigs.

Duke Nukem: The Once & Future King on Maximum PC is an article with a few interviews on Duke Nukem Forever, the recently revived first-person shooter sequel. There are conversations with Brian Martel and Randy Pitchford from the game's new home at Gearbox Software, as well as a conversation with George Broussard from original Duke developer 3D Realms. Along the way Broussard defends against the accusation that the game's extended development cycle was the result of perfectionism: "I wish there was an easy or dramatic answer for what took so long but there just isn't. It was just never ready. We had lots of development issues along the way. It wasn't a quest for perfection as some silly article in Wired implied last year. I think what hurt us the most was licensing engines and trying to change them too much. Shit happens and after delays the options are to continue or kill the game. I never wanted to kill the game. We got things turned around dramatically in 2007-2009, with a lot of new hires, and most of the game as it exists today was created in that timeframe." Thanks VG247.

Here are the top ten bestselling titles on Valve's Steam service for the past week.

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops
2. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Digital Premium Edition
3. Fallout: New Vegas
4. Football Manager 2011
5. Sniper: Ghost Warrior
6. Sid Meier's Civilization V
7. Left 4 Dead 2
8. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
9. Counter-Strike: Source
10. Risen

Amazon.com: Holiday Central in Video Games. Black Friday prelude.

• Age of Empires III on Games For Windows. Save 99.7%. That's right, $0.10.
• Fallout: New Vegas Digital Collector's Edition on Direct2Drive. Save 36%.
  Still on sale. Continue here to read the full story.

• HMMA Honors Music in Media at Annual Gala.

• Shenmue City announced as social game for Japanese phones and Yahoo Games Online platforms.

• Ready, set, fall- PC prices coming down as component costs decline. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.
• HP Inkjet Printer Settlement. Thanks Ant.
• The Future of Windows- What We Want from Win 8. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.

• US Air Force worried over location apps. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.
• TSA pat-down leaves traveler covered in urine. Thanks Devicer.

• The 19 Senators Who Voted To Censor The Internet. Thanks Acleacius.

• Two Worlds 2 on Technic3D. In German.

• Crucial 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3 PC3-10600 RAM on Overclockers Online.
• Fenrir EVOlution Cooler on InsideHW.
• GIGABYTE HD 6850 Graphics Card on t-break.
• OCZ Agility 2 60GB SandForce SF-1200 SSD on ModSynergy.com.
• Thermaltake JING CPU Cooler on RBMODS.

Thanks Ant.

• Natural Selection 2 closed beta status report…
• Matt Chat 82: Interview with Rebecca "Burger" Heineman Pt. 1…
• Replay: Boogerman and Retrospective: Need for Speed and Retrospective: Myst…
• 16-Bit CPU in Minecraft…
• Eek! I’m a Geek! - FoxTrot.com…

We're celebrating today at the BlueTower, as it is my birthday, the second most important event on this day in history after the revelation of who shot J.R. Ewing. We'll celebrate with a heap of food from our new amazing local BBQ joint, and rooting for the Giants versus the Eagles tonight. And if an important game for Big Blue wasn't apropos enough for the occasion, tonight is a blue moon (thanks Devicer) of all things! Go fig!

Blue Links:	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez and Acleacius.
Play:	StormWinds - Mary Reed Chronicles. Doodle Devil.
Links:	Beers For Thanksgiving. Top 10 Bizarre Cases of Mass Hysteria. Thanks Neatorama.
Story:	American Lung Association's Top 10 cities with the dirtiest air.
Science:	Have we found the universe that existed before the Big Bang?
Images:	Astronauts Tweet AMAZING Photos From International Space Station. The Ghosts of World War II's Past. Thanks The Flying Penguin.
Media:	Rick Mercer mocks TSA airport security. The Green Hornet Movie Trailer #2. Funny parking FAIL. Thanks The Flying Penguin.
Follow-up:	A Crack in the Code Kryptos Is Keeping (registration required). Thanks Slashdot. Cats’ Superior Drinking Habits Make Me Love Dogs (registration required). Thanks j.c.f.