Valve sends an explanation for why Half-Life 2 is not being activated at this time in spite of the couple reports of it being available at retail already:

Half-Life 2 For Sale?

If you have purchased a copy of Half-Life 2, we are sorry you are still waiting to play. This is not Valve's choice. Vivendi is insisting that the game has not yet been released, and has threatened that Valve would be in violation of its contract if we activate the Half-Life 2 Steam authentication servers at this time.

Thanks for your patience and we will update you when we have more news to share.

A final Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault trailer is now available, showing off some of the historical accuracy in the World War II shooter sequel. The movie premiered on FilePlanet (registration required) and now mirrors can be found on 3D Gamers and Worthplaying. Also, an Armies of Exigo movie is now available, showing off Black Hole Games' RTS game. The original version of the clip was corrupted, so not all the mirrors of this one are valid at this time, but the working 18 MB clip (the corrupted one is listed as 22 MB) can be found on 3D Gamers. Here's the description of the clip: "The short movie provides a glimpse into the epic battles between two powerful races - Empire and Beasts - as each attempt to claim victory over the world of Exigo." Finally, a new The Settlers: Heritage of Kings trailer shows off BlueByte's upcoming sequel, available on 3D Gamers, Gamer's Hell, and Worthplaying.

• Blitzkrieg II
  The Blitzkrieg II Q&A on GamersInfo talks with Mario Kroll and Eric Standop from publisher CDV about Blitzkrieg II, Stormregion's upcoming World War II strategy sequel: "To sum it up, Blitzkrieg II will continue to include all the things that were great about the original, place it into a true 3D world, and then build upon it to make many of the enhancements that we and our fans have been contemplating. Think of it as a historically accurate World War II in a box, with great graphics, all of the significant historical action of that conflict, and realistically functioning units that reward realistic combat tactics and core force preservation."
• Pariah
  James Schmalz on Pariah on PlayMoreConsoles discusses Digital Extremes' upcoming shooter: "In the single-player it will be quite different from Unreal Tournament. Our goal with the gameplay is to make the player think strategically before they act so there will be times when running-and-gunning will not be the best approach to a situation."

Gaming Side's HILL Project on IGN reveals development of an upcoming space-based shooter in the works at French developer Gaming Side. Here's a bit:

HILL Project uses RenderWare to power a real-time 3D shooting engine that looks to be similar to titles such as Gradius and R-Type. Unlike those games, however, HILL Project allows players to switch between two different views at any time (pseudo Top-Down and top-down) while also enabling them to equip and upgrade their ships with new weapons in the downtime between each level. This real-time perspective switching will reportedly play a heavy role in the strategy needed to complete each level, while an experience point system modeled after those found in RPGs is expected to be just as important.

This Warcraft III Bonus Maps Page now features a new bonus map for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, a map for the RTS expansion that was originally distributed through the Blizzard Insider newsletter (thanks Frans). Here's the description of the map titled Hinterland Raid: "Deep in the woods, you'll track down the enemy encampment and prepare to launch a final, decisive strike. Assemble your forces quickly: the peril is great, and time grows short."

This Atari Support Page (thanks Frans) now features a patch for Chris Sawyer's Locomotion, updating the transportation sim to version 1.76. The update addresses several issues and bugs.

A new Dungeons & Dragons Online Update (thanks Frans) features the November Producer's Letter about Turbine's upcoming D&D MMORPG from Judith Hoffman, executive producer on the project. Also, RPG Vault's Dark and Light Peek #1 is online, with "Information and visuals on the latest additions to the beta of NP Cube's upcoming massively multiplayer endeavor."

• RPG Vault Mythic Entertainment Visit Report offers thoughts on DAoC: Catacombs and Imperator.

• Telledar: Chronicles Decline on GamersInfo.
• World of Warcraft on RPG Vault.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath.
• Nintendo Releases US Game Commercials.
• Halo 2 Guide on 1up.
• Halo 2 Lands in England.
• Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits vou Gut und Bose.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Intel's Montecito now expected in 2006.
• Pentagon Envisioning a Costly Internet for War.
• Free E-Mail Inboxes Get Fatter.

• Anarchy Online: Alien Invasion on Gaming Nexus.
• Castle Strike on Adrenaline Vault.
• Codename: Panzers on The Armchair Empire.
• EverQuest II on 8Dimensional and (first impressions) on IGN.
• Full Spectrum Warrior on Gamesradar.
• Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude on GameZone and Warcry.
• Men of Valor on The Gamers Temple.
• The Moment of Silence on Adventure Gamers.
• Painkiller: Battle out of Hell on IGN.
• Scrapland on Game Industry.
• Terrorist Takedown on GameSpot.
• Tribes: Vengeance (in German) on GameCaptain.de.
• Zoo Empire on Game Chronicles.
• Zoo Tycoon 2 on Warcry.

• Alphacool NexXxos XP Water Block on MADSHRIMPS.
• Elitegroup ECS 755-A2 Socket 754 Motherboard on PC Perspective.
• Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-9 nForce4 Ultra Motherboard on PCStats.
• Kingston Hyper-X Ultra Low Latency PC3200 1GB RAM on SystemCooling.
• Logisys Janus Gaming Case on Phoronix.
• Mentor HSMT-UD Headphones on Legit Reviews.
• Sky Hawk IMC-6371 Mini Barebone System on 3dGameMan.
• Ultra X-Connect 500W PSU on EXTREME Overclocking.
• Waffer PC AirCon PAC 400 System Cooler on OCTools.
• Zalman CNPS7000A-ACu HSF on PC Mechanic.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• October U.S. Games Sales Up 35 Percent..
• Invasion of the Video Game Ads...
• Now EA takes on music biz....
• Disney plans Incredibles growth...
• Place in digital worlds - Are we there yet?...

The weather is not being quite as uncooperative as we'd expected so far, and it looks like we are going to be able to get in some outdoor activities to tire out the little smurfs. We actually got a little of dusting of snow overnight, but after worrying we were not going to be able to get out and play, I won't get too disappointed that there isn't enough snow to make a snowman... that'll come soon enough.

Links of the Day:	Profanity Adventures. Contains, well, profanity.
Stories of the Day:	Girl in piñata found during border check. Thanks Judo Chop.
Science!:	Egypt to Test Tutankhamun Mummy for Cause of Death. Atlantis Hunt Reveals Structures in Sea Off Cyprus.
Media of the Day:	DUI Arrest. Thanks Ant.
Auction of the Day:	PC Half-Life 2 End (Ending) Sequence Screenshot!. Thanks heitol.
	Thanks Mike Martinez.