• Codename Panzers
  There's an in-house Q&A on the Codename Panzers Website (thanks Frans) discussing the upcoming Phase Two sequel to Stormregion's World War II RTS game: "The greatest part of the axis campaign takes place in Africa. And the missions are with the Allies residing in Italy. Whoever finishes both campaigns gets to enjoy a bonus campaign in Yugoslavia. The story is more important to us in comparison to its predecessor. That's why we commissioned a world-famous author. Unfortunately, I can't say any more, except that along with the heroes from Phase One the Italian brothers Dario und Sergio turn up again."
• Lineage II
  The Lineage II Q&A on Computer and Video Games talks with the folks at NCsoft about their MMORPG sequel: "The ultimate high-end goal in Lineage II is to take control of large regions of Aden. To attain this degree of control, there obviously needed to be methods of having players compete against each other, hence the PvP combat systems. This is not intended to be a game where politics are decided by delicate negotiation!"

Yahoo! Games also announced the hiring of Patrick Ford and Thom Kozik, both from All-Seeing Eye. Inc. Ford will serve as director of video games products and Kozik will head business development. The deal will also integrate the eponymous game browser from All-Seeing Eye. All-Seeing Eye allows gamers to save buddy lists and to connect with each other when playing online multiplayer games.

• Guild Wars on Spoiled Brats.
• The Matrix Online on RPG Vault.
• The Sims 2 University on IGN.

• Empire Earth 2 on Worthplaying.
• Face of Mankind on RPG Vault.
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl on StalkerFiles and again.
• Tortuga: Pirate's Revenge on 3D Gamers.

• Lanning reveals 'politically controversial' game.
• Donkey Kong takes over February 4th.

• Software Should Not Be Copyrighted -- Lawsuit.
• Intel confirms dual-core desktop 'Smithfield'.
• Microsoft's alpha tester.
• Slashdot | ZigBee Wireless Standard Ratified.
• Zafi Worm Hides Behind Christmas Cheer.
• Hollywood Wants BitTorrent Dead.
• Google hit with trademark suit over 'Scholar'.
• Gates gives $42.6 million to fight malaria.
• 'Horoscopes' is AOL's most searched word. Actually it was HOROSCOPES.
• Dan's Data | Atomic I-O letters column #40.

The Chaos League Expansion Pack will be going under the name of "Sudden Death" and will provide Chaos League with not only a whole host of improvements but also the possibility of three new races to play as. Chaos League: Sudden Death is penciled in for a Summer 2004 [sic] launch in the UK.

Toronto, December 14, 2004. The Adventure Company, the world’s leading PC adventure game publisher, today announced that Sentinel: Descendants in Time, a thrilling real-time 3D Sci-Fi “Mind Game” Adventure, is available now for Windows® at retailers across North America.

The Tastan people surrendered to extinction many years ago; their only legacy being the legendary Tastan Tombs. Much speculation surrounds the tombs; some say they hold invaluable treasure, while others believe great wealth may be attained through the technology left behind by this advanced race.

As Beni, players enter the Caverns on a dangerous quest for riches. Along his strange journey, he encounters a sentinel charged with guarding the tombs. This sentinel, a holograph programmed with advanced A.I., awakens only when the tombs are disturbed. She appears to Beni throughout his quest, sometimes with a benign purpose, but other times with calculated intentions. Beni will soon realize that the sentinel is much more than she appears to be and her dark purpose threatens his very existence.

Players will explore eight brilliantly inspired and diverse 3D worlds drenched in rich color. The game offers a non-linear style of gameplay and more than 20 challenging puzzles of varied difficulty.

Sentinel: Descendants in Time is developed by Detalion and is rated ‘T’ for Teen in North America. The game retails for $19.99 USD.

For more information, visit http://www.adventurecompanygames.com/tac/sentinel and download the playable demo.

"We are committed to quality games and making this the best possible experience for players," said Jason Hall, Senior Vice President of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "Since this is our first MMOG, we are taking measured steps to ensure it will be polished and are investing additional resources into our community oriented initiatives."

The screenplay I wrote DOES differ in a number of ways from the games. I want to be very honest and forthcoming in saying that, and I know that I won't make any friends amongst the fans of the game in doing so. But it should be mentioned that it was never the goal of anyone involved in this film, from myself and the producers to the studio to the guys at id, to make a direct film adaptation of the game(s). The thought process has always been to create an extension of the Doom universe that will give fans an interesting new take on the themes that they've come to enjoy in the game. Because let's be honest here: as far as a completely immersive and cinematic experience, we were never going to top Doom 3 anyway, and we all knew that. Instead, we have toyed with some elements of the game, and yes, I am pretty much solely responsible for that, since it was my pitch and my screenplay that got made. Let me assure you, though, that the themes and elements that you love about Doom are ALL represented strongly in the film...just with some new twists.

• City of Villains
  GamersInfo's City of Villains Q&A talks with pen-and-paper RPG designer Shane Lacy Hensley about his participation in development of City of Villains: "It's really a little of everything -- participating in core design of the game (what you can do, where you can go), what a zone looks like, what's cool about a zone, what is there to do in a zone. I also create the new villain groups, key characters, missions, and so on. I take part and give my two cents in most of the big picture questions as well, including power balance issues, though those are managed by other sub-departments within my group (design). "
• Silent Hunter 3
  The Silent Hunter 3 Q&A on HomeLAN Fed talks with producer Florin Boitor about the upcoming naval combat sequel: "The Dynamic Campaign is one of the main features of Silent Hunter III. The campaign is based on a huge simulation of the naval and aerial traffic for the U-boat theaters of operations between 1939 and 1945. It will be the players’ choice to decide where to fight during a patrol. The career will be influenced by their performance, however, they can progress to a certain extend without any objective constraints."
• Music
  The Music Q&A on Experience Gaming talks with Tom Salta about his musical contribution to projects such as Ghost Recon 2, Need For Speed: Underground 2, and more.
• Year in Review
  HomeLAN Fed Exclusives Games In 2004-2005 Q&A John Whitmore continues this year in review series by chatting with the director of development at 2015.

• Sony PSP Q&A on GameSpot Hardware.
• Microsoft, BioWare host tour of the frozen northern climes and the rich tapestry of Jade Empire and BioWare Rumors.
• Sony Announces Nine for PSP in Europe.

• Google to scan books from major libraries. Thanks Jim.
• Australian police given green light to use spyware.
• Chess Conspiracy Unconvincing.
• Linux: Fewer Bugs Than Rivals.

• Armies of Exigo on Games Domain.
• Bad Mojo Redux on Four Far Chicks.
• Chris Sawyer's Locomotion on Game Over.
• The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay - Developer's Cut on ActionTrip and GameSpy.
• EverQuest II on LoadedInc, Worthplaying and (first impressions) on GamersInfo.net.
• FlatOut on GameZone.
• Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone on GameSpot.
• Half-Life 2 on GamersInfo.net and (in German) on YiYas.
• Kult: Heretic Kingdoms on Gameguru Mania.
• Miami Vice on Gamers Europe.
• Pacific Fighters on 1Up and Next Level Gaming.
• Painkiller: Battle out of Hell on Gameguru Mania and GameMecca.
• Return to Mysterious Island on Adrenaline Vault and Review Outpost.
• Space Interceptor: Project Freedom on Cosmos Gaming.
• Torrente on GameSpot.
• World of Warcraft on Gameraiders and GameZone.
• Zoo Tycoon 2 on Next Level Gaming.

• Galaxy 6600GT PCI Express 128 MB Video Card on Tweak3D.Net.
• Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI NF4 SLI Socket 939 Motherboard on OCWORKBENCH.
• Gigabyte P4 Titan Series 8TRX330-L Motherboard on Techware Labs.
• Kingston HyperX PC2-5400 DDR2 1GB Dual Channel RAM Kit on InsaneTek.
• Kobian's 5.1 Home Theatre Speakers on bit-tech.net.
• Kreisen LT-30FMP 30-inch LCD HDTV Monitor on eCoustics.
• NZXT Nemesis Elite Mid-Tower Gaming Case on ExtremeMhz and OverClock Intelligence Agency.
• OCZ ModStream 520W PSU on Neoseeker.
• OCZ PowerStream 600W PSU w-Adjustable Rails (video) on 3dGameMan.
• Sunbeam Transformer Case on SystemCooling.
• Thermaltake Tsunami Dream Keyboard, Mouse on A1 Electronics.
• Transcend 128MB JetFlash MP3 Player on Bigbruin.
• Ultra Products 600W PSU on PimpRig.
• XG Sidewinder Case on ViperLair.

• J.P. Morgan takes long-term view on video games...
• Codemasters benches Club Football series...
• Video Games Go Live for Annual Awards Show...
• The third and final phase of beta testing of Battalion is now online...
• Project Entropia Player buys Island for 26,500 USD - Conversely, Slashdot | Blizzard Cracks Down on World of Warcraft Ebaying...
• After the Bell-Electronic Arts rises, Take-Two falls...
• Top Shareware Games of the Year 2004 on The Adrenaline Vault...
• XBN and GMR Gone...