The Mark Product Section now offers specific European release dates for T7 Games' upcoming counter-terrorism first-person shooter (thanks Frans). These dates are November 24, 2006 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and October 27, 2006 in the U.K., France, Italy, and Spain. On a related note, some new The Mark screenshots are available, they can be found on 3D Gamers.

The Panzer Elite Action: Dunes of War Product Section (thanks Frans) likewise narrows the European release dates for Panzer Elite Action: Dunes of War, Zootfly's standalone armored combat expansion. The site now offers November, 3 2006 as a release date for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the U.K., France, Italy, and Spain.

An English demo for Romanians in Space is now available, offering the chance to sample 2 Bad Design's space combat that's been released in its namesake Romania. The demo offering three quick missions that aren't included in the full game is available on the 2 Bad Design Website and mirrored on 3D Gamers and Gamer's Hell.

Strategy First announces that Brigade E5: New Jagged Union is complete, and the turn-based/real-time strategy game is due in North American stores next month:

Montreal, Canada, September 28th, 2006 -- Software publisher Strategy First Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Silverstar Holdings, Ltd. (Nasdaq: SSTR), is pleased to announce that the PC game “Brigade E5: New Jagged Union,” developed by Apeiron Co, has officially gone gold. “Brigade E5: New Jagged Union” is due to hit stores in North America October, 2006.

“‘Brigade E5: New Jagged Union’ offers our players a fresh view of a classical turn-based combat system. The Smart Pause Mode (SPM®) blends together advantages of both turn-based and real-time and lets the player experience realistic tactical combats in real-time but still have the comfort feeling of turn-based.” says Dmitry Ivashkin, lead Programmer for Apeiron Co. “In addition to the innovative game mechanics, players enjoy a rich arsenal of firearms, ammunition, advanced AI and an incredible variety of tactical solutions in single and multiplayer modes”, continues Dmitry Ivashkin.

“I am proud to announce the launch of ‘Brigade E5: New Jagged Union’ to North America. We have seen a lack of tactical strategy games in this market; it feels great to revitalize this category. The mercenaries in Palinero are officially ready for hire”, says Brock Beaubien, Strategy First’s Producer.

About Brigade E 5: New Jagged Union “Brigade E5: New Jagged Union” is set in the fictional, small tropical country of Palinero. Players are required to assemble a band of mercenaries and take control of a rapidly deteriorating situation in order to survive the imminent civil war and avoid having their country left in complete ruins.

As a tactical strategy title, “Brigade E5: New Jagged Union” offers players the opportunity to experience three different viewpoints of the conflict, or work outside the political structure to achieve their own goals towards global domination. Game play for the title is based on an innovative combat system called SPM (Smart Pause Mode) that successfully blends together the elements of both real-time and turn-based games.

Features:

    •Innovative combat system called “Smart Pause Mode” that blends together the elements of both RTS and TBS games.
    •Storyline and scripts of the game are written by Shaun Lyng, co-designer in the famous ‘Jagged Alliance’ series.
    •More than 100 accurately modeled firearms.
    •Varied ammunition types: grenades, body armor and specialized equipment.
    •Option to upgrade and modify weapons by adding various gadgets, sniper scopes, bayonets, mini grenade launchers, etc.
    •Selection of specially balanced maps for Death match (up to 4 players, up to 6 players per party)
    •Provides extensive LAN and Internet Multiplayer modes, with CTF, Death match and Fortress dynamic gameplay.

“Brigade E5: New Jagged Union” is due to be released in October, 2006. The game is rated M for Mature by ESRB.

For more information on “Brigade E5: New Jagged Union” please visit: http://www.strategyfirst.com/en/games/BrigadeE5/

Steam News has word on a new update for The Ship that's now automatically available for this Source-engine seafaring murder mystery game. The update includes an extensive list of bug fixes and other improvements.

A new movie from Tony Tough 2: A Rake's Progress offers a quick high-resolution look at the coming adventure game sequel, the clip is available on 3D Gamers, FileFront, Gamer's Hell, and Worthplaying.

• Scarface
  The Scarface Q&A on FiringSquad talks with Ross Perez about Radical's upcoming game follow-up to the crime movie: "In the beginning, Tony reconnects with some old friends. Business gets going quickly, and before you know it you are running large amounts of yayo in from the islands and distributing it to all of the fronts you have purchased throughout Miami. The other cartel leaders take notice, and start organizing attacks on your fronts. To keep your business running, you weed out the rival gangs, install surveillance and ultimately place your own henchman to protect your fronts."
• Star Wars Galaxies
  RPG Vault's Star Wars Galaxies - Chapter 3 Smugglers and Scoundrels Q&A discusses the new chapter in SOE's MMORPG with LucasArts producer Jake Neri: "Chapter 3: Smugglers and Scoundrels delivers another round of the player expertise system, and we are focused on our Smugglers and Officers this tie. We are currently enhancing all nine of our professions to provide them with cool new abilities with which they can take their characters to new levels. Officers can also select from two paths, one that gives them specialty in helping their groups and one that allows them to call NPC reinforcements to help them in solo combat. We have a rabid smuggler player base that has been asking for this type of content for some time, and so it was easy to theme the chapter "Smugglers and Scoundrels" as it serves just that, the smugglers and scoundrels in our community. No offense to officers who see some really great new content as well, but it wouldn't sound right if it wasn't all about our smugglers."
• Uru Live
  Joystiq interviews Rand Miller of Cyan Worlds (thanks Mike Martinez), talking with the Myst co-creator about taking the game multiplayer in the revived Uru Live: "So this is an age that's much like a Myst age -- in fact it's almost reminiscent of Myst Island -- but this is one that you own. This is your real estate in the game. Everybody gets an instance of this, and as you go through the game, it begins to shape and form and grow, and conform to reflect where you've been and what you've done and what you've seen. Say for instance there's an age in one of the first episodic gameplay structures that we go through that we find a page that's rather mysterious. And when you pick it up and put it into this age book, it suddenly begins to rain in this age. So you suddenly have the control like, 'Oh, I want it to rain now in my age. I like that.'"
• Lineage II
  North American producer Adam Davidson talks about Lineage II’s 5th Chronicle on GameZone is a Q&A about the newly released chapter in NCsoft's MMORPG: "Chronicle 5’s increased 'soloability' is probably the most noticeable effort, amongst many other more subtle ones. We’ve continued to work towards making the early gameplay experience one that caters to a variety of play-styles, not solely those preferred in Asia. By making it faster and easier to progress through the early stages of the game, we hope to usher players through the learning phases and into the meat-and-potatoes of the product, the high-end game, in a more reasonable timeframe."
• Star Trek Legacy
  The new Podcast on Totally360 offers an interview with Gary Conti, Associate Producer on Star Trek: Legacy. Thanks Mike Martinez and news0r.
• Civilization Chronicles
  The Civilization Chronicles Q&A on Gamer's Hell talks with Firaxis' Brian Reynolds about the coming Civ remake. Want really dense fields of text punctuated with nonsensical symbols? You got it!

• Age of Conan on GameSpot.
• Aion: The Tower of Eternity on Hookedgamers.
• Alone in the Dark on IGN.
• Assassin's Creed on IGN.
• BioShock on GameSpot, GameSpy, and IGN.
• Dark Messiah of Might and Magic on Gamehelper.
• DEFCON on GamersInfo.net.
• Guild Wars: Nightfall on GameSpot.
• Half-Life 2: Episode 2 on IGN.
• Halo 2 on IGN.
• Half-Life 2: Portal on IGN.
• Half-Life 2: Team Fortress 2 on IGN.
• Marvel Universe Online on IGN.
• Need for Speed: Carbon on IGN. Online Featurette and Q&A.
• Pro Evolution Soccer 6 on Gameworld Network.
• Sam & Max: Episode 1 - Culture Shock on Shacknews.
• Shadowrun [next-gen] on IGN.
• Splinter Cell Double Agent on IGN.
• Star Wars: Empire at War - Forces of Corruption on GameSpot. Designer Diary #4 - Multiplayer Improvements.
• Stronghold: Legends on gameSlave.

• EverQuest: The Serpent's Spine on RPG Vault.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Judge says StreamCast liable in lawsuit.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Vivendi Games Acquires Secret Lair Studios and Studio Ch'in. Thanks Frans.
• Xbox 360 Getting an Upgraded CPU in 2007.
• Moore Talks ‘Wii-60’; Aims for Dual Owners.
• Miyamoto - The Interview, Part 1 on GameBrink.
• Gears of War ain't easy, defends Epic.
• Gears of War To Be Fully Co-Op.
• Play-In-The-Dark Glowing PS2 Controller.
• No Sega Genesis games on PS3?
• Katamari Damacy – A Critique, Part Two on GameCareerGuide.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Intel Quad-Core Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Previews on Extreme Tech, Hardware Secrets, Hot Hardware, HEXUS.net, Legit Reviews, PC Perspective, The Tech Report, and X-bit labs.
• Tech Trends Threaten Trade Shows.
• Demofall: Security, PC-sharing, nanotechnology touted.
• NVIDIA shares fall after downgrade.
• Atlona's Flat HDMI cable, available soon.
• NGOHQ has version 6.9 of the Chuck Patch Tool, which allows you to disable/enable ATI’s Chuck Patch on-the-fly.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Microsoft sets price for Zune, songs.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Rural Areas Left in Slow Lane of High-Speed Data Highway (registration required).
• BBC teams up with Microsoft for digital future.
• MySpace may be worth $15 billion.
• Craigslist founder says he won't cash in.
• Yahoo Acquires Video-Sharing Site Jumpcut.
• U.S. homework outsourced as e-tutoring grows.
• MLB pulls podcasts from iTunes Store.
• Dude, That Is So Not Funny.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Microsoft Re-patches Third Aug. Patch.
• Zero-day attacks continue to hit Microsoft.
• Sony issues global li-ion battery recall.
• Symantec Prediction of Mac Malware Faulty - No new dangerous Mac threats in first six months.

• Take-2 stock defies bad press over games. Thanks Mike Martinez…
• Games make you have sex. Thanks Mike Martinez…

I got sidetracked from cleaning the dogs when I discovered a splattering of tar on our poor damaged car worthy of the La Brea Tar Pits. I know when this happened, as I recently had the pleasure of waiting twenty-some minutes for road work to earn the opportunity to pass over a newly paved road. I have also learned it is probably about equally easy to scrub road tar off the road as it is to scrub it off a car.

Tarry Links!	Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
Links:	Video-game-inspired knitwear. Notstarring.com.
Stories:	Traveler Detained for Anti-TSA Message. Sushi's Popularity Threatens Tuna Population. Sorry, Charlie. Oops! Real ‘Itsy Bitsy’ songwriter still alive. Thanks WalterEgo.
Science!:	Finger length linked to female sporting potential. "Is, your uh, is your wife a sport, ay?" The Thin Pill. Parasitic weed sniffs out its prey.
Auction:	40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection, Sale 1778.
Images:	On the Rim of 'Victoria Crater'. First Images of Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo Cabin.
Media:	Excerpts from Uwe Boll's Commentary on Alone in the Dark. Half-Life 2 Physics - Ass Kicking Device (Rube Goldberg). Red Foreman would be so pleased. HEY! I Got a Job Delivering Sperm. That's the most normal part of the conversation.
Follow-up:	Hubble Camera Shuts Down.

CDV announces that Pacific Storm is shipping in North America, so Lesta Studios' World War II action/RTS hybrid is hitting stores a bit earlier than announced when the game went gold (story). A demo for the game was released in May (story), and here's the news:

CDV Software Entertainment USA and Buka Entertainment are pleased to announce that Pacific Storm has shipped to North American retail outlets. Pacific Storm is a combination RTS/Action title set in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Pacific Storm will appeal to both serious strategists and action-oriented gamers alike, with its combination of rich strategic elements and in-the-cockpit combat controls.

An exciting new hybrid title, Pacific Storm mixes the strategic elements of RTS titles with the action of an arcade title. RTS fans and serious wargamers alike will enjoy classic strategy elements including resource management, unit and building construction and unit deployment, while action fans will be able to take the skies or seas as they directly control units in intense combat, changing the tide of individual battles, or perhaps the entire war.

Aspyr announces the North American edition of The Guild 2, saying the medieval life simulation sequel will be in stores mid-October:

AUSTIN, TX (September 28, 2006) - Aspyr Media today announced that the North American version of The Guild 2 PC game has gone gold and will hit store shelves in mid October. As the successor to the highly rated medieval life simulation, Europa 1400: The Guild, The Guild 2 continues in the way of its predecessor by offering players the opportunity to control the fate of generations of a large dynasty during the Middle Ages. This time around, players get to build more than one dynasty simultaneously while roaming through three different and beautifully crafted scenario maps, including a German Hanse campaign with the cities of Hamburg and Luebeck; Nottinghamshire and Sherwood Forest; and Lyon (France).

The Guild 2 has the perfect setting in which to rise through the ranks of society – the middle ages rife with intrigue and battles. Due to the chaos created after the end of the last crusade, shrewd shopkeepers and craftsman are able to acquire wealth and power as the nobles find themselves more and more dependant on the gold of businessmen. If upstanding citizenry is not what the player is after, they can instead choose the secret path of thievery to become a feared robber baron. The player controls every aspect of their character’s life. Their fate is completely their decision, but their decisions can change the course of history.

In addition to the game’s immersive single-player mode, The Guild 2 offers an unparalleled online multiplayer mode that was completely redesigned from the ground up for this sequel. Whether playing against a human opponent or the game’s powerful AI, every level of player will be challenged by The Guild 2.

In The Guild 2 players can:

    • Explore a beautifully crafted and immersive living world in real-time. Walk around the streets and run across the execution of a prisoner or a rich merchant being robbed by one of your opponents.
    • Choose from a wide variety of different careers. Be a successful merchant or a cunning thief and watch your dynasty thrive or fail.
    • Build their own character through role-playing features that allow them to create their own unique character and play in a party of up to 3 members with different strengths and weaknesses.
    • Traverse three diverse and beautifully crafted scenario maps, including realistic depictions of areas in Europe.
    • Choose special abilities, religion, and physical features.

Go to www.aspyr.com/product/info/53 to learn more about The Guild 2.

The Neverwinter Nights 2 Website (thanks Dan) has word of a slight delay to the release of the D&D RPG sequel and its toolset. The toolset for preorder customers is now expected on October 1 and the full game on October 31. An earlier mention of this (story) also characterized this as a delay, but this seems curious considering the game's release date has been set for October (story) and they promised the toolset to preorder customers one month before the game (story), so they are not cutting themselves any slack on this. Word is:

Atari and Obsidian would like to address the delay of the toolset ship date. As many of you know, the beta tests for both the game and the toolset are interlinked. We are happy to say that both beta tests have been *VERY* helpful for us. The dev team is making a number of changes that the community has brought o our attention and has therefore pushed both the game and the toolset launch out by a couple of weeks. The idea behind our pre-sell toolset release was to get people excited, not frustrate people. It has been something of a bumpy road, but we're almost at the end, so your continued patience and support is much appreciated. Please expect the toolset to be available on October 1st and the game to be available on October 31st.

Codemasters announces the imminent release of ArchLord, saying the MMORPG will ship in North America on Monday, and launch one week from tomorrow. They also announce that their experiment with the PLAYplus, a scheme whereby in-game advantages could be earned by paying more, has failed, and the game will follow a traditional monthly subscription model:

Thursday, 28th September (2pm UK) – ArchLord™, the MMORPG where one player will rule the world, [will ship to stores in North America on October 3rd] will launch on Friday 6th October, Codemasters Online Gaming confirmed today. It is also announced that the game’s subscription package will now follow the traditional standard monthly MMO payment model rather than the proposed PLAYplus system, which was tested within the game’s beta phase.

The PLAYplus payment system allowed players to choose from a range of monthly subscription packages, each offering different levels of in-game incentives at varying price points. Following experimentation with the system within the beta test and monitoring the feedback from thousands of ArchLord community members, the PLAYplus system will not be implemented for the game’s release.

ArchLord will now launch with a standard monthly subscription of UK £8.99, US $14.99, Europe €12.99 (plus applicable taxes). The single monthly subscription will also include free credits for all players to redeem against in-game enhancements. All players will receive the same amount of credits as part of the single monthly subscription, providing a level playing field for all subscribers.

Ed Relf, Director of Marketing, Codemasters Online Gaming, commented: “We have listened to our community and delivered. From the start of the test of the PLAYplus system, we had an open dialogue with players to monitor reactions to the system. Thanks to their feedback and continued support, we are pleased to confirm that ArchLord will now launch with a single standard subscription package. “Here at Codemasters Online Gaming we place great importance on our open dialogue with players and our ability to react positively to their constructive feedback. We wish to thank all players that spent time testing PLAYplus and the detailed feedback they provided us, which assisted in reaching the final subscription decision.”

Codemasters Online Gaming is currently evaluating a series of other additional in-game benefits to reward the games most loyal players with more details to follow soon. There are still places left in the ArchLord beta for the final week, to join the beta test pre-order ArchLord now by visiting www.archlordgame.com/preorder

Football Manager 2007 is Gold is the press release announcing the completion of development on Football Manager 2007. Here's word on availability of the various editions of the soccer management sequel:

Football Manager 2007 will appear on PC, Mac and Intel Mac across Europe on 20th October 2006. Football Manager 2007 on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, plus Football Manager Handheld 2007 on Sony PlayStation Portable handheld entertainment system (PSP) will both be available before Christmas 2006.

The Cryptic Studios Website (thanks Frans) now offers a teaser movie from Marvel Universe Online, the just-announced comic-themed MMORPG. The clip can be found in the menu that runs down the right side of the page.

• Marvel Universe Online
  Q&A Decrypting the Marvel 360 MMOG deal on GameSpot talks with MGS about their coming superhero MMORPG: "Ever since we signed with Marvel, we wanted to work with Cryptic. These things take time. What is exciting about having Microsoft in the partnership is not just the technology that allows live cross-platform play, but to have the resources to build out a fantastic MMO experience and maintain it over 5, 6, 7 years and beyond. There's not a lot of publishers out there that actually have the resources to do it. So for us, we were looking for the long term. We knew who the best partner was right from the get-go. Again, it takes time to hammer out all the little details. So we were looking at them right away, and lucky for us we ended up signing them a couple of months back and we're making that announcement today."
• Super Columbine Massacre RPG
  The Super Columbine Massacre RPG Q&A on Electronic Sports Television talks with the creator of this controversial project based on the Columbine school shooting: "think the potential for misunderstanding is definitely there--by those who hear about it as well as those who play it. It's important to understand elements of satire and parody as they relate to the game; much of the game is a play on conventions of video gaming as well as how the press spun the shooting itself. It's not a piece of work that I want people to merely take on a literal level. By including quotes from Nietzsche, Breton, TS Elliot, etc. I wanted to give players a metaperspective: the shooting is part of a larger social fabric, and should be considered more carefully than simply to blame guns, games, etc."
• Shot Online
  The Shot Online Q&A on MMORPG.COM is an article-format conversation about sporting MMORPG.

• Age of Conan on GameSpot.
• Dark Messiah of Might and Magic on Gamehelper.
• Pro Evolution Soccer 6 on Gameworld Network.

• Alan Wake on ToTheGame.
• Bionicle Heroes on 3D Gamers.
• BioShock on 3D Gamers.
• Crossfire on ToTheGame.
• Kane & Lynch: Dead Men on ToTheGame.
• Runaway 2 on GBASE.
• Warhammer: Mark of Chaos on ToTheGame.
• Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania on 3D Gamers.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• ESRB must play every game in its entirety says proposed legislation.
• Crying Net-Neutrality Wolf - Real infringements are going to be hard to get away with.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Buena Vista Games acquires Climax Racing.
• Bethesda Softworks Announces Oblivion for PLAYSTATION 3 and PSP System.
• Blu-ray cost 'non-existent' says Harrison.
• Reggie to Dish Up Wii in NYC. In NYC, Reggie with no last name means "Jackson."
• Price seems key feature in video-game consoles. Newspaper discovers basic economics.
• Destroy All Humans 2 Q&A on FiringSquad.
• GamersInfo.net's Interview with Carl Chen, Project Lead for Rule of Rose.
• Guitar Hero 2 Announced for 360.
• Bringing home a barrage of Xbox 360 trailers.
• X06 Gears of War impressions on Joystiq.
• 360 to crack Japan - Xbox boss.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Intel announces vanguard of quad-core push.
• Symantec says Vista will reduce consumer choice.
• AnandTech IDF Fall 2006 - Day 2 Geneseo, Santa Rosa, Memory Roadmap and More.
• New Wii features Message Board & Play History.
• Choosing An LCD Monitor (Part 2) Response Time.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Three Systems, One Goal See Your Favorite Shows Anywhere (registration required).
• The Slingbox into the HD Generation -- Kind Of.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• What Are The Limits To Online Anonymity?
• What's The Line Between Good Samaritan Hacking... And Extortion?

Jack Emmert Keynotes Serious Game Summit D.C..

• Why the PlayStation 3 Will Bankrupt Sony.
• Editorial: Pirates vs. Ninjas. Can't we all just get along?

• The Ant Bully on Gamesradar.
• Call of Juarez on HEXUS.gaming.
• Civilization IV & Warlords on Internode Games Network.
• Coffee Tycoon on Gameworld Network.
• Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach on Internode Games Network.
• Faces of War on Gamesradar.
• Just Cause on Gameworld Network, Gamesradar, AtomicGamer, and (in German) on GameCaptain.de.
• Keepsake on Game Industry.
• Mage Knight Apocalypse on GamePro and GamersInfo.net.
• Secret Files: Tunguska on EuroGamer.

• ABIT Fatal1ty AN9 32X AM2 Motherboard on OCTools.
• ASUS P5B Deluxe WiFi-AP Edition (i965P) Motherboard on OCWORKBENCH.
• ATI Radeon X1950XTX 512MB Video Card on Motherboards.org.
• Bigfoot KillerNIC on GotFrag Hardware.
• Cooler Master Mystique 631 Case on ThinkComputers.
• Cooler Master NotePal P1 Laptop Cooler on Virtual-Hideout.
• Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 Case on 3dGameMan.
• Inno3D GeForce 7600GS AGP Video Card on NGOHQ.
• Inno3D GeForce 7900 GS Video Card on nV News.
• Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard on Techgage.
• Logitech MX Revolution Mouse on AnandTech. Thanks Mike Martinez.
• OCZ Tempest Cooler on DriverHeaven.
• Palm Treo 750v Mobile Phone on TrustedReviews.
• SanDisk Extreme IV 2GB CF Card-Reader Bundle on TrustedReviews.
• Thermaltake Mozart Tx - Dual AMD Systems on Legion Hardware.
• Vantec NexStar LX Network Attached Storage Enclosure on hardCOREware.net.
• XG Magnum 600 EX PSU on techFEAR.
• Zalman HD135 HTPC Case on techPowerUp.

• IGN: X06 Definitive Conference Analysis…
• MAME and MAME32 versions 0.109 are now available. Thanks Ant…

I think I have a dog day afternoon here, as the pups are getting a little itchy. They aren't that smelly or dirty, but I think they need baths nonetheless. It's like the old joke- I take a bath once a week, whether I need it or not.

Itchy Links!	Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.
Link:	D20 geek-ring. In case you were still getting dates.
Story:	High school star experiences 'beetle'-mania. Thanks WarPig.
Science!:	Distraction tactic wipes out allergies. Methane Emissions Rising (But You Wouldn't Know It), Study Says.
Media:	Splitting Balls with a Nickel. Go ahead, try and keep a straight face. Do not try this at home kids...eating an apple in ONE BITE!!
Teh Funny:	ActionTrip Comic Strip: KO.