Civilization Fanatics' Center First Chat with Firaxis Log is the aftermath of a recent IRC session with the folks at Firaxis to discuss Civilization III in all of its unedited glory. In addition, they have also put a couple of edited renditions of the proceedings, in the form of a log in Q&A format as well as this log which separates all the newly reveled information into a neatly bulleted list.

• UFO: Aftermath
  There's a UFO: Aftermath Q&A on Gamer.Hr talks with ALTAR Interactive PR manager Jiri Rydl about the upcoming X-COM-inspired strategy game discussing various aspects of gameplay in detail.
• Warcraft III
  There's a Warcraft III Q&A on Worthplaying that offers some answers to fan-submitted questions about the now-gold RTS sequel.
• UT2003 Audio
  There's an Interview with Starsky Partridge on Unreal Tournament World (thanks HomeLan Fed) talking with the Digital Extremes audio designer about his contribution to Unreal Tournament 2003.

Why Rockstar Games Rule on Wired (thanks HomeLan Fed) is an article on the rulingness of this game company and their "stylish, streetwise games aimed at guys who listen to Eminem albums, follow Xtreme sports, and admired MTV's Jackass." There's an Enclave Preview on the Adrenaline Vault with a look at Starbreeze Studios' upcoming third-person Xbox fantasy game.

Console Reviews

• Final Fantasy X (PS2) on EuroGamer.
• Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force (PS2) on Computer and Video Games.

A new version 5.32 of Æon's Stats is now available, updating the free version of this shareware log file analyzer/stat compilation utility. The new version adds Medal of Honor: Allied Assault support and Soldier of Fortune II support. Binaries for Win32, Redhat (7.1) Linux (object code included), and Mac OS X are all available.

A new version 5.0 of The Heretic Fortress is now available, described as the final version of this version of Heretic II that offers enhanced multiplayer mayhem. The new release adds a new "get excalibur" mission type, bot support, new maps, new sounds, new models, and more.

GameSpot's Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix Game Guide is online, offering general strategies for weapons, combat, stealth, detailed level walk-throughs, multiplayer tips, and cheat codes. Also, there's a Jedi Knight II Saber Guide on FragWare.net offering tips on the use of the lightsaber.

There's a UTCV Q&A on 4Unrealers discussing the Unreal Tournament Challenge Voting modification with one of its creators in a Q&A that's also available in the site's native Spanish.

• Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project on Gone Gold, Adrenaline Vault, Gaming Horizon, and GamePen.
• NASCAR Racing 2002 Season on Gamitopia.
• Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix (in German) on GameCaptain.
• Stealth Combat (in German) on YiYas.

• Ghost Master on GamesFirst.
• Star Trek Elite Force II on GamesFirst.

• Abit BD7II-RAID Motherboard on PC PowerZone.
• Cooler Master ATC-201SX Case on Systemcooling.com.
• eVGA GeForce4 Ti4600 Video Card on SubZeroTech.
• GlobalWin Cak16 Cooler on BurnOutPc
• IWILL P4R533-N i850E Motherboard on Tweakers Australia.
• Lian-Li EX-10 I-O Adapter on Tek Sector.
• Socket 478 Cooler Round-up on Tweakers Australia.
• S/U/M/A/ Platinum GeForce4 Ti 4200 Video Cards on Digit-Life.
• TDK S80 2.1 Speaker System on BlargOC.

• The Morrowind Website now offers a new Adamantium Helm of Tohan plug-in to the Elder Scrolls RPG...
• A new version 2.5 of the Ultima 1: A legend is reborn Tech Demo is now available...

Happy Father's Day to all of you. I'd like to take the occasion to extend my personal wishes to my three-pack of dads (biological, step-, and -in-law). I'd also like to wish my beloved MrsBlue a happy birthday today, though she is playing the jewel of denial on this one, so let's all humor her and just pretend that's not happening (I guess I blew that one already).

We attended a wedding of a dear friend yesterday, she and her new spouse are theater people, and the ceremony was on stage done up as a play... very fun stuff there, sort of legally binding Tony and Tina's Wedding... life imitating art imitating life, or some such thing.

Link of the Day: superfancy.com (Flash required).
Image of the Day: Annular Eclipse The Ring of Fire (APOD). Thanks .f00Dave and The ShanMonster.
Follow-up: Got Silk. NY Times free registration required. Thanks j.c.f. More on those spider-goats.