A new patch is now available for Call of Duty updating the World War II shooter to version 1.50 while a new patch for the United Offensive updates the add-on for CoD to version 1.5.1. The 36 MB Call of Duty patch can be found here while the 115 MB United Offensive patch is available here. Here's the deal:

The 1.5 patch for Call of Duty includes a new multiplayer map titled Tigertown - a small town located in Normandy, France which has been partially destroyed by heavy artillery. The environment is designed for Search and Destroy as American Airborne forces push their way up the town's hillside to knock out a Flak88 and Tiger tank heavily guarded by the German Waffen SS. The 1.5 patch also includes new commands for enhancing scripting, mods and tournament support, and HTTP redirection for servers running mods and/or custom maps as well as other gameplay updates (all for Windows).

The 1.5.1 patch for Call of Duty: United Offensive includes new commands for enhancing scripting, mods and tournament support, decreased CPU utilization on maps containing vehicles, and optimizations and improvements for single and multiplayer maps as well as other gameplay updates (all for Windows).

Additional updates for Linux-based systems will be released tomorrow, Friday, December 17.

A new patch for Warhammer: 40,000 Dawn of War is now available, updating Relic's Warhammer RTS game to version 1.20. The 5.1 MB download is available on 3D Gamers, Gameguru Mania, GameSpot DLX (registration required), and Worthplaying.

Steam News (thanks Frans) has news of an update to Counter-Strike: Source and the Source engine. Various bugs and other issues are addressed by the update, which also adds the Counter-Strike map de_prodigy.

New patches are now available for Aura: Fate of the Ages, updating the game to version 1.04. There are patches for the English, German, Italian, and Spanish versions of Streko-Graphics' puzzle/adventure game on this page (where they've got the title a little backwards) and the French patch is available on this page. Thanks Frans.

Halo.Bungie.Org now offers a new patch for the Mac edition of Halo, updating Bungie's first-person shooter to version 1.5 (thanks Frans). The updating brings the mac edition in line with the current version 1.0.6 of the PC edition of the game.

• Project: Snowblind
  The Project: Snowblind Q&A on GameSpot talks with designer Zak McClendon about their upcoming shooter and its past life as a Deus Ex game: "Warren Spector and the team at Ion Storm were amazingly helpful at an early point in the project, and much of their help and inspiration can still be seen in the huge number of weapons, abilities, and gadgets we give the player and in the multiple ways players will be able to meet the game's challenges. As the game moved forward, though, Project: Snowblind quickly evolved its own unique identity."
• Stargate SG-1: The Alliance
  The Stargate SG-1: The Alliance Q&A on Worthplaying is an in-house Q&A from JoWood about Perception's upcoming TV show tie-in: "Multiplayer will play an important role and we will integrate all the classic multiplayer modes like Death Match, Capture the Flag and Team variations of that. But there will be more innovative modes too, which make use of the unique Stargate setting, that we will reveal as we come closer to release."
• Guild Wars
  The Guild Wars Q&A on TeleFragged talks with ArenaNet's Jeff Strain about their upcoming MMORPG: "Our goal with our public events is simply to give everyone in the world the chance to login and play the game. Guild Wars breaks away from the traditional MMO approach in several areas, including the pace of combat, the leveling system, the skill system, the way you travel through the world, and the way the game is updated and supported over time. We think it is always better to let people experience the game directly rather than listening to us talk about it, so we decided early in the development phase to work toward these unprecedented global events during the alpha and beta stages of the game."
• City of Heroes
  There's a Jack Emmert Q&A on Kotaku talking about City of Heroes with the lead designer on Cryptic's MMORPG: "We knew comics were already having an upswing when we got started. Comics reached mainstream America and become a real industry in the 80s, it became a common fixture. Now you have this generation which has grown up with comics being a part of their culture and they are making the movies and writing the books."

This Press Release announces court approval of the sale of the assets of bankrupt developer Artifact Entertainment, which includes the MMORPG Horizons: Empire of Istaria. Here's word from Tulga Games' Managing Member, Chris Tulumello: "Working with the team to plot a course for the future for both the game Horizons and the company is a high priority. All the assets included in this sale are very powerful and very valuable. The fan base and subscribers to Horizons have been very vocal that the indecision caused by Artifact’s filing of voluntary bankruptcy was a cause for concern; they have wanted to know what the future holds for them, I can see with great clarity that the future looks very bright. I, along with all the resources of Tulga Games, are committed to the long term story arc of this wonderful product."

Version 0.2 of the Point of Existence modification for Battlefield Vietnam is now available. PoE is set in a near-future conflict in Sudan between forces from the U.S. and Russia. Thanks Ant.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• 'Mature' football video game in the works.
• Vivendi-Universal Announce The Incredible Hulk.
• NFL Street 2 Screens.
• Jump for the Super Screen.
• Driver Creator Quits.
• Mad Catz Licenses NFL.
• Konami Restructures.
• Killer 7 teases us again.
• Tales of Rebirth Early Impressions.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Open Letter to ATI on Gamer's Depot.
• Microsoft posts critical configuration patch.
• Multicore designs might force Intel off its bus.
• Microsoft Software to Remove Spyware.
• New CD copy-lock technology nears market.
• Opera version 7.54u1 is now available. Thanks Zariic.
• Uncertain Landscape Ahead for Copyright Protection.
• Focus group: Kazaa will meet Napster's fate.
• Can't focus on the teleconference? Join the club.
• TiVo giving away free TiVos tomorrow.

CDV Software Entertainment sends along an announcement of a release date for Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars, GSC Game World's sequel to Cossacks: European Wars, their historical real-time strategy game. They have slated the game for an April 2005 worldwide release, narrowing down a release window that previously covered the entire first half of the year, as was announced this summer when the game suffered a delay (story). Here's the thumbnail view of the game: "Cossacks II will put gamers in control of 19th-century European nations as they wage war, secure alliances and work to economically and militarily overpower their opponents. With an all-new enhanced 3D graphics engine and featuring more than 150 unit types and a realistic troop morale system, Cossacks II Napoleonic Wars will keep armchair emperors glued to their screens as they fight historical battles on an epic scale."

Rockstar Games Announces Grand Theft Auto San Andreas For Xbox is the press release announcing the Xbox version of the PS2 life of crime sequel. The announcement also offers a release date for the PC edition of the game, which will be released simultaneously with the Xbox edition on June 7, 2005 in North America, and on June 10, 2005 in Europe.

The English demo for The Settlers: Heritage of Kings is now available, offering the opportunity to sample the fifth installment in Blue Byte's strategy series. The demo is a hefty 419 MB download, which includes a tutorial and one scenario. The demo can be found on 3D Gamers, 4Players.de, Boomtown (registration required), Computer Games, FileFront, FileShack (registration required), Fragland.net, Gameguru Mania, Gamer's Hell, Loadedinc, and Worthplaying.

A demo for Hearts of Iron 2 is now available, offering the chance to sample Paradox Entertainment's World War II strategy sequel. The 89 MB demo has been made available on what turns out to be the 60th anniversary of the famed Ardennes offensive, the download is available on Boomtown (registration required), FileFront, Fragland.net, Gamer's Hell, Loadedinc, and Worthplaying.

An updated version of the Starshatter demo is now available, offering a new sample of Destroyer Studios' space combat game. Word is: "The new demo includes the training campaign, Operation Live Fire, and the first five days of the first dynamic campaign, Operation Highland, along with a few single missions and a few multiplayer missions that can be enjoyed entirely for free." The download can be found here (direct link) on the Matrix Games Website.

BattleGoat Studios announces plans to reopen the Supreme Ruler 2010 beta test:

Due to continued demand, BattleGoat Studios is pleased to announce the re-opening of the Supreme Ruler 2010 Beta to new applicants. David Thompson, Lead Designer, explained the decision to add more testers, “We’ve had excellent success with our Beta to this point, but we’ve had an incredible amount of interest from people that missed the original signup, particularly many dedicated contributors to our forum (http://www.bgforums.com). Now that we’re wrapping up the final features, it’s the perfect time to get additional testers involved.”

Applications to join the Beta can be made at http://www.supremeruler2010.com/beta

• Dragonshard on 1UP.
• Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich on IGN.
• GTR on Worthplaying.
• Psychotoxic on GameSpot.

• ALFA Antiterror on GamersInfo.net.
• Bloodline on Doupě.cz.
• Vivisector: Beast Inside on the Official Website. Thanks Frans.

The official Star Wars Galaxies Website has a development update for the sci-fi MMORPG outlining the addition of 20 new members of the development team for the project (thanks Gianthatr). Word is: "These new folks won't have any affect on the in-progress Combat Upgrade, which has been fully staffed since Publish 10. More details on the Combat Upgrade will be coming out in January as we enter the alpha testing phase of that development. Where these new people will help most is in allowing us to add more content, work on the non-combat professions and get to the galactic civil war enhancements sooner." Also, the City of Heroes Website (thanks Barry) has details on Issue 3: A Council of War, the next update to Cryptic Studios' superhero MMORPG.

The Space Hack Website offers an outline of the various names Space Hack is being published under in various territories (thanks Frans). Here's an answer key to decode the confusion:

Germany - Novasphere 13
France - Space hack
UK - Maximus XV Abraham Strong Space Mercenary
Spain - Space Hack La Ultima Biosfera
Taiwan - Space Hack

The game will be soon published I Russia and titled Mercury 8. At the beginning of the 2005 Space Hack will premiere in Poland.

Electronic Arts deal with NFL raises questions discusses whether EA's exclusive NFL deal (story) makes financial sense for the publisher. On a related note, there's another petition protesting EA's exclusivity on Petition Online. There are editorials decrying the move on the Quarter To Three Forums and Dubious Quality. Meanwhile, EA May Not Win the Battlefield is an article on the possibility that EA's DICE offer (story) will be rejected, as seen here in Swedish (thanks Staffan). But they may still... no voting has taken place yet, so this is just a Swedish rumor at this point.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• GTA Europe?
• Windows Media Center Extender for Xbox review on WhiningDog.NET.
• Enthusia Dated in Japan.
• Web teaser for Katamari Damacy sequel goes live.
• Kessen III Details Released.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• NEC develops CD, DVD, HD-DVD drive prototype.
• Don't use Google desktop search in your business, warns Gartner.
• Yahoo Maps Offer Live U.S. Traffic Conditions.
• Yahoo tests video search engine.
• Broadband Reports | Verizon Open Relay Crackdown - Quiet shift confuses many e-mail users.
• Bush Prepares for Possible GPS Shutdown.
• Adobe smoothes kinks in Acrobat (thanks Ant). Ray Davies never had such kinks.

These all popped out of this morning's Tech Bits.

• Apple Fights Back Against RealNetworks.
• RealNetworks promises iPod lockout fix.
• Inside the Mac Revolution. The revolution will not be compatible.
• Slashdot | Apple Offers Mac OS X 10.3.7 Update.

ASoldiersWar.com announces that the A Soldier's War BF1942/Desert Combat campaign will be getting underway on of January 1, 2005.

As promised, the Gearbox Software COGs Program is now accepting applicants for this new contractor program. The page outlines prerequisites as well as helpful tips for applicants.

There are Driveable Strider Mod V0.2 Details on Half-Life 2 Files. Wee!

• Armies of Exigo on Gaming Age, IGN, and Game Revolution
• Axis & Allies on Gaming Illustrated.
• Blitzkrieg: Rolling Thunder on PC Gameworld.
• The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay - Developer's Cut on Games Domain and IGN.
• Deer Hunter 2005 on Worthplaying.
• FlatOut on Adrenaline Vault.
• Half-Life 2 on Sphinx's Sanitarium.
• The I of the Dragon on Gaming Nexus.
• Kohan II: Kings of War on The Gamers Temple.
• The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth on ActionTrip.
• The Moment of Silence on LoadedInc.
• Need for Speed Underground 2 on 3DAvenue.
• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within on Game Over and Prodigious Gaming.
• Return to Mysterious Island on Worthplaying.
• Sacred Plus on Realgamer.
• Sid Meier's Pirates! on GamersInfo.net and Game Revolution.
• The Sims 2 on 1Up.
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines on Computer Games Romania.
• World of Warcraft on GamersInfo.net, GamersInfo.net (again), and (first impressions) on EuroGamer.

• ASUS P5AD2-E Motherboard on LostCircuits.
• ATI Radeon X700 XT 128 MB PCIe Video Card on SimHQ.
• ATI Radeon X800 XL Video Card on Beyond3D, PC Perspective, and The Tech Report.
• Beantech 8-1 USB 2.0 Card Reader on Hard-h2o.
• Galaxy 6600 GT AGP Video Card on Guru3D.
• Kingston 1GB Ultra-Low Latency PC3200 HyperX Dual Channel Memory Kit on Adrian's Rojak Pot.
• Logisys Silver Pitbull 500W PSU on Phoronix.
• NVIDIA GeForce 6200 Video Card with TurboCache on bit-tech.net, Gamer's Depot, and The Tech Report.
• Roku SoundBridge M2000 Media Receiver on Designtechnica.
• Soltek SL-915GPro-FGR Motherboard on Ninjalane.
• Swiftech Mcw6002-64 Waterblock on Red & Blackness.
• SwifTech: MCX462-V vs. MCX462-U Cooler Comparison on OC-Service.com.
• Ultra Dual Channel 512MB PC4000 Premium RAM on ViperLair.
• Ultra Products UV Wizard on Overclockers Online.
• Vantec 11-in-1 Mobile Memory Card Reader on A1 Electronics.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• The SpikeTV.com Video Game Awards 2004 results are in the hizouse....
• Lab to study emotion of gaming...
• A Comic Strip Takes Video Games Seriously (Almost) (registration required). Penny Arcade are teh m0guls...
• Video War Is a Break From the Real Fight (registration required)...
• A Push to Restrict Sales of Video Games (registration required) and Illinois Seeks to Curb Explicit Video Games (registration required) and Game Ratings - U Is for Unheeded (registration required)...
• Codemasters now offers downloads of a free port of Treasure Island Dizzy, an old C-64 game. Thanks Adam...

Just not clicking here today... I'm not feeling 100%, I'm running way behind, and I have to rush off to visit Dr. Toothy today... Oh well, a little laughing gas will help all the stress melt away... look what it did for Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet... hmmm, bad example.

Play Time:	Springfield Snow Fight. Thanks Rzarector.
Links of the Day:	Tastes Like Chicken?
Stories of the Day:	Twin sisters both deliver sets of twin boys on same day. Drinking game puts Perth man near death. School distributes satanic sex calendar. Thanks Hump.
Science!:	Eskimos Seek to Recast Global Warming as a Rights Issue (registration required). Slick trick could save marine ecosystems. Plant to Make Clean Power from Turkey Droppings.
Images of the Day:	Airliners.net Photos: British Airways Boeing 757-236. Thanks Jim. X-mas Tree Hat
Media of the Day:	Magic Milkshake. Thanks Maimas.
	Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.