OptimalGrid is a self-contained middleware designed for developers to create grid-enabled parallel applications without themselves becoming experts in grid or high-performance computing (article). The Linux compatible middleware now includes automatic distribution and provisioning on to Grid nodes. See how the first release of Quake II was made massively multi-player by running on a Grid. Get modified Quake II from Sourceforge to run with OptimalGrid and let the massive Grid games begin.

• The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
  The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II Q&A on GameSpot features Mike Verdu answering fan-submitted questions about the upcoming strategy sequel: "We're creating a bigger, richer, deeper Lord of the Rings strategy game that will immerse you, transport you, and enchant you as you experience the Middle-earth you've never seen. You'll fight epic battles in new places with new armies led by new heroes. You'll experience unprecedented depth of strategy with innovative RTS features that combine creativity and strategy. You'll see Middle-earth like never before with visuals that hit a new bar."
• Dungeon Siege II
  IGN's Dungeon Siege II Post-Mortem Q&A offers a postmortem with Chris Taylor on Gas Powered Games' RPG sequel: "The original design doc evolved as the game was developed, and in the end, we came pretty darn close. The thing is, just implementing something from a design doc is a small part of the game development process, much more of it happens in the overall consciousness of the team…many people on the team, I am sure, had things they wanted to accomplish (as is the case on every project), but will have to wait until an expansion pack, or another version to bring those ideas to life."
• Tycoon City: New York
  The Tycoon City: New York Q&A on Boomtown gets down to business with Paul Howarth of Deep Red Games about their upcoming mogul simulator: "We wanted to give players as much freedom of movement in the Story mode as possible without time or mission constraints, that’s why there’s no in-game timer ticking down while you’re desperately trying to complete an objective with the dreaded ‘Game Over’ screen looming large if you fail. Even though there are a set number of objectives the player must complete in order for them to progress to the next district in the game they can tackle those objectives in any order they choose and take as much time as they like with them."
• Phantasy Star Online
  GameSpy's Phantasy Star Universe Q&A talks with Sega at the TGS about the upcoming Phantasy Star game: "The biggest difference between PSO and PSU is that PSU puts a lot of emphasis on the story. It's a very story-based RPG. What we did was go back to the roots of what makes a great RPG, and listened to the fans. We first wanted to drill down on the story and use that as a foundation, and as a result you will get to experience over 40 hours of a robust, extensive offline mode. On top of that, PSU offers an online mode. The biggest difference between PSO and PSU in online mode is the lobby setup. In PSU, you now have an unlimited amount of space called a city. It's not just a lobby anymore; it's an entire city we built up."
• Simulations
  SimHQ's Developers Roundtable - The Future of Simulations - Part 5 concludes this feature that's allowed several simulation developers to sound off about the future of the genre.
• Getting Up
  The Marc Ecko's Contents Under Pressure Q&A on Game Chronicles discusses the upcoming graffiti game with its namesake designer: "This is not a graffiti simulator; it is about making graf as integral to the story development as the characters themselves. We went to great lengths to make this a rich graffiti experience, bringing in over 60 well-known artists to help create 1,000+ art assets that can be unlocked, added to your blackbook and placed throughout the game. We also have six legendary writers, from Cope 2 to T-Kid, who lent their voices and likenesses to the game and who serve as mentors to Trane, teaching him various tools and techniques in order to advance his skills from a toy, or beginner, to All City King. "
• Vanguard
  The Q&A with Darrin McPherson on Vanguard at Ten Ton Hammer talks about the Paladin class in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, Sigil's MMORPG: "As a protective fighter, the Paladin will be on equal footing with the Warrior, Inquisitor and the Dread Knight when it comes to tanking abilities. At that point the classes diverge into more specialized niches. The Paladin’s secondary jobs are group based buffs and heals. The Paladin also has access to Gifts of Virtue and gains Virtue Points that govern their use. Gifts of Virtue are powerful spells with varying effects – The Paladin’s first Gift of Virtue is (predictably) Lay on Hands, a powerful, instant cast heal."
• Horizons
  The Horizons Q&A on Ten Ton Hammer talks with Jason Murdick of Tulga Games about their MMORPG: "Horizons is in a state of improvement right now. Over the last eight to ten months we’ve been working hard to fix bugs, complete some of the things we have said would be in long ago, and establish a foundation on which new players to the game would enjoy themselves, while attempting to add content for the long-term players to keep them coming back."
• Keepsake
  An Exclusive Q&A With Yves Bordeleau, President of Wicked Studios, Re "Keepsake" on AdventureDot@RPGDot and RPG Vault's Keepsake Q&A - Part 1 with Yves Bordeleau and Bruno Parenteau each discuss the upcoming RPG.

Treasures of Aht Urhgan will be the third expansion for the game following Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia. It's unclear at the moment which platforms Treasures of Aht Urhgan is expected to be on and when, but considering that cross-platform versions of Final Fantasy XI are compatible with the same servers, a simultaneous release is likely. Such was the case with the game's most recent expansion, Chains of Promathia.

• Age Of Empires III on IGN. Saved from falling between the cracks by Frans.
• American Conquest: Divided Nation on IGN.
• Bad Day L.A. on IGN.
• Black & White 2 on Yahoo! Video Games.
• Blitzkrieg II on GameShark.
• Cold War on GameShark.
• Rome Total War: Barbarian Invasion on IGN. Faction Feature; The Sassanids.

• Black & White 2 on Krawall Gaming Network.
• Blood Magic on 3D Gamers.
• Frater on RPG Vault.
• Parkan II on 3D Gamers.
• Phantasy Star Universe on 3D Gamers.
• STACKED on 3D Gamers.
• X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse on the Official Site.

• Macworld Expo Boston cancelled.
• Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition 5.0 is updated. Thanks Ant and Broadband Reports.
• Mozilla Readies Patched Firefox.
• NVIDIA nForce4 Update Presentation.
• Hardware Analysis - ATI’s R520 architecture, the new king of the hill?
• ATI's Crossfire Limitation- Mountains Out of Molehills.
• NVIDIA C51 to help grab integrated chipset market.
• NVIDIA C51 arrives in Japan?
• Customers unimpressed with Microsoft licensing changes.
• Microsoft Scraps Old Encryption in New Code.
• Sony denies considering sell-off of financial unit.
• AnandTech's Price Guides, September 2005 - Motherboards.

• Next-generation consoles highlight Tokyo Game Show.
• Nintendo Reveals 'Revolution'-ary Controller in Keynote Speech. Thanks Frans.
• Hands On With the Revolution.
• Nintendo controller steals limelight from Microsoft's new Xbox.
• Microsoft seeks more control with Xbox 360.
• PS3 controller still not final.
• Video of CliffyB's Gears of War Presentation.
• Revolution ShakyCam™.
• Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 Trailer.
• Microsoft Release Xbox 360 Montage.
• Gradius to fly again on PS3.
• King of Fighters socking it to PS3.
• Iwata speaks.
• Frontier announces "The Outsider", its first 'next generation' project. David Braben hails a Golden Age of games.
• New Metal Gear Solid 4 Info.
• NHL 06 vs. 2K6 Feedback.
• Ahman Green hits Xbox Live.
• Bandai's Unozawa Says Cost to Develop New Games May Double.

• Konami Reveal PSP 3D Glasses.
• GripShift speeds onto PSPs.
• Telemantics confirms Widescreen Gizmondo.
• Tony Hawk SK8’s on to Nintendo DS.
• Ex-Eidos UK MD joins mobile entertainment company.
• Question of the Week Responses DS vs PSP Revisited.

• Congress shows off draft of new broadband legislation.
• Industry Positive on '96 Act Rewrite - A little something for everyone...
• Survey: Broadband Prices Up, DSL Down.
• Will the Internet Have a New Kid on the Block?
• Disney Deal Backs Digital Distribution.
• Microsoft talks Vista security in online chat.
• Internet Oversight Board OKs New Domains.
• Yahoo Adds Shortcuts to Search.
• Yahoo Moves Into the Hot Zone.
• Record labels send more letters to P2P services.
• Yahoo boss Semel tunes in to online TV.
• Secondary Google offering good for investors.
• Technology that took on a hurricane.
• A Million Nation States of One fears Google Balkanization.
• Music giants sue China's Baidu over music downloads.
• Decision Deferred on Porn Domain.
• Catalonia a 'virtual' nation as web lets .cat out of bag.
• Amazon and Coinstar - cash goes in, gift certificates come out.

• gDEBugger V2.0 Adds Performance Graph and Dashboard Views.

• Web site caters to young who battle in online games. Thanks Mike Martinez.

• In Search of the Next EverQuest on Killer Betties.

• Epson Stylus DX4800 MFP on TrustedReviews.
• Gigabyte GeForce 6600GT Silent Pipe Video Card on Tech-Hounds.
• i955x Motherboard Shootout on HEXUS.net.
• Logitech Harmony 880 Remote Control on Designtechnica.
• OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 Gold RAM on Legion Hardware.
• OCZ EL-DDR PC3500 Gold GX RAM on PCStats.
• Sony Vaio VGC-RA304 PC on TrustedReviews.
• SunbeamTech LED Screws on LAN Addict.
• Transcend JetFlash 110 2GB Flash Drive on Legit Reviews.
• Western Digital Caviar RE SATA 320 GB Hard Drive on XYZ Computing.

• Blackley: Game makers should call the shots...
• MMOLands has officially launched, and all Endless Ages accounts have now been transferred over...
• The Guild Wars Website has details on the new update to ArenaNet's MMORPG, which addresses some bugs. Thanks Frans...
• Steam News has word on another Half-Life 1 engine fix. Thanks Frans...
• Wells Fargo launches game inside 'Second Life'...
• Abstinent San Andreas ships. Hot Coffee now officially decaffeinated...