The next chapter in the Rome: Total War saga is now available to all armchair generals across North America. Rome: Total War – Alexander can now be purchased via digital download on www.SEGA.com and www.Totalwar.com. Experience the heat of battle as you command Alexander the Great’s armies as they sweep across the near and Middle East in a conquest for power and territory.

• Battlestations Midway
  Battlestations Midway Merges RTS and Action Games; Could a New Sub-Genre Be Far Behind? on GameZone is a Q&A about the World War II action/strategy hybrid: "You are always controlling one of your units, for example a battleship or a fighter squadron. You can drive or fly it, use all of its abilities, fire all the guns, drop bombs or torpedoes, engage in dogfights etc. Switching units is very simple, just press the D-pad or the switch unit key on PC, and you will be transferred to the next controllable unit on your side."
• Tabula Rasa
  Computer Games Online's Tabula Rasa Q&A is a Q&A with Starr Long filling in some of the blanks about NCsoft's upcoming MMORPG: "The number of NPC allies varies wildly across the game depending on where you are and what is going on. In heavily contested zones there are many allies. These allies will scale based on events and player population. Some instanced missions also have many NPCs but others might only have a few. In addition, the numbers vary based on the dynamic events in the game. For instance, you might get a mission to storm an occupied hill. You can choose to charge up that hill with just you and your group or you might have side missions like clearing a landing pad’s radar dish of an alien virus so that more dropships can land which, in turn, will provide more NPCs for your charge up that hill. We hope that the numbers of NPCs and players combined on any given large map will be in the hundreds."
• Starport: Galactic Empires
  RPG Vault's Starport: Galactic Empires Q&A discusses this little-known massively multiplayer action strategy game with designer Aaron E. Hunter: "Starport takes place in a gritty, realistic future, perhaps 100 years from now, when technological breakthroughs have led to a booming industry of space colonization. It is an era where law and order has yet to catch up with the speed of human migration and economics, a frontier time almost like the old west, but in space. :) Beyond that, Starport allows the players to write the rest of the story with their actions."
• Apogee
  3D Realms' Apogee Legacy Q&A #23 talks with Paul Schuytema, asking him their cookie cutter questions from this series, even though some don't apply, since the original version of Prey he was designing was cancelled before completion. He does reflect on his time at work on the abortive Talon Brave game: "3D Realms lured me away from FASA Interactive. I was working as the lead designer on MechWarrior 3 and Scott Miller approached me about being the project leader on Prey. While I loved the MechWarrior universe and working on the Mech game, the chance to help grow our own game universe and flesh out a deep and interesting game character was too good to pass up."

• Crysis on Computer and Video Games.

• Xbox 360--an energy hog?
• Miyamoto Wii Sports will be flagship title, Wiimote not finalized.
• Peter Moore on Wii (Party Console), Japan (Price Sensitive), J Allard (Busy).
• Aussie Pre-Order Customers Get Free Wii-PS3 Game.
• Psychonauts will be playable on Xbox 360.
• Need for Speed Carbon - First Info.
• New Naruto Rumblings From Japan.

• Microsoft's forgotten monopoly.
• Apple's mean-spirited ad campaign. I saw one literally seconds before seeing this article and was struck by the exact same thought.

• Robbie Bach to head up Xbox Handheld.
• Nintendo confirms theft of DS Lite shipment.
• Bluetooth being pushed to tar pits by wireless USB, says VC.
• Paramount Pictures Bring Outrageous to The Nintendo DS with Nacho Libre.
• Player X Launch Strike It Lucky.
• Spokesman: Accusations of iPod Sweatshops "A Vicious Attack."

• Verizon vexed: Vonage violating VoIP patents. Verily!
• Cable Still U.S. Favorite - Though not for much longer...
• TiVo seeking patents for ubiquitous media, DVR without borders.
• Apple to sell movies on iTunes by end of year.
• Clear Channel grabs Web share with music videos.

• University opens school for hackers.
• What Do You Do When 80 Other People Are Using Your Social Security Number?
• Google Pages Used to Host Trojan Horse.
• Politicians smell votes in Sweden's file-sharing debate.
• Homeland Security Doesn't Extend To Telemarketing Calls.

• Opinion: Congress Should Grill Take Two. Thanks Mike Martinez.
• Opinion: Congress should concentrate on something more important. No link, that's just my opinion. ;)

• P.M. Studios announces that Strategy First is no longer the North American Publisher for ETROM - The Astral Essence (story), and they are at work on new American and Canadian distribution deals…
• Spielberg hones Craft? Famed director rumored to direct MMORPG movie based on, well, apparently nothing very concrete at all. Thanks Shacknews…
• Univ of Illinois conducts Gaymer survey…
• Guild Wars Hits Two Million…
• EA, 2K renew NHL license deals…
• THQ: WOW too strong to take on…

CDV Software Entertainment USA has shipped Cossacks II: Battle for Europe to North American retail today. Battle for Europe, the standalone expansion to the critically acclaimed Napoleonic-era RTS, Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars, builds upon the original game by adding new battlefields, missions, campaigns and expanded gameplay modes.

As part of their recently announced co-publishing agreement, CDV Software Entertainment USA and Buka Entertainment have shipped Hard Truck: Apocalypse to North American retail stores today. In the game, players will take on the role of driver, combatant and trader as they attempt to survive in a post-apocalyptic world of brigands and battles.

• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning on Worthplaying.

• Senate bill compromise paves the way for Net Neutrality Lite.
• Court sides with FCC on unbundling.

• A Nod From Knopfler I Want My A.M.D. (registration required). Thanks Neutronbeam. Money for nothing and M.I.P.s for free.
• Techgage - All American Computers.. An Inside Look.
• DriverHeaven.net - Inside Abit.
• Systemax Gaming PC Q&A on FiringSquad.
• Dan's Data - Atomic I-O letters column #58.

• Paper Mario says, 'OMG the GameCube isn't dead yet!'
• Hey Flower Children, These Wii Patents Are New.
• Miyamoto WiiMote Mic Debunked. Headset Possible.
• X360 Pad Upgrade Likely.
• Hidden J Allard Video On PGR 3 Site.

• The Magic That Geeks Do Portable N64.
• Personal Trainers Available by the Download (registration required).

• Forget Net Neutrality Just Take The Networks Away From The Telcos.
• Eyespot in the mix with legal video mash-ups.

• Yahoo worm demonstrates AJAX threat.
• Spam Accounts for Most E-Mail Traffic. And the rest is spam warnings. Thanks Digg.
• Net students 'think copying OK'.

• Battlefield 2: Armored Fury on Gamerz-Edge.
• City Life on Houston Vehicles.
• Darwinia on Next Level Gaming.
• Down in Flames on Worthplaying.
• Dreamfall: the Longest Journey on Boomtown.net.
• Rush for Berlin on GamingExcellence and EuroGamer.
• Shadowgrounds on FiringSquad and Gamerz-Edge.
• Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators on GamesFirst.

• Corsair TWINX2048-4400PRO 2GB RAM Kit on MADSHRIMPS.
• Gigabyte GeForce 7300GT Turbo Force Video Card on Legion Hardware.
• NZXT Precise 650W SLi PSU on PCApex.
• Patriot Memory 2GB PC2-5300 RAM on Overclockers Online.
• Rock Xtreme CTX Laptop on DriverHeaven.net.
• Sunbeamtech NUUO 550W PSU on Big Bruin.
• Swiftech MCX159-CU Cooler on Bjorn3d.
• VIZO Master Panel IDE + SATA Front Panel on ExtremeMhz.
• VIZO UFO 4 Port USB 2.0 Hub on Virtual-Hideout.
• Zalman CNPS9500 AM2 Heatsink on ProClockers.
• Zboard Merc Keyboard on XSreviews.co.uk.

• Video Game Makers Are Battling Sinking Stock Prices (registration required). Thanks Neutronbeam…
• Where the Newbies Get Mugged by Trolls (registration required). Thanks Neutronbeam…