The Warzone 2100 Resurrection Project offers the free release of Warzone 2100, Pumpkin Studios' 20th century strategy game that's now GPL OpenSource as a result of the efforts of a group of dedicated fans, who have updated the game with OpenGL support and other nifty modern features. Mirrors of the full game for Windows, Linux, and Mac as well as a patch for owners of the original game are on FileFront and Gamer's Hell.

Gerstmann, GameSpot part ways on GameSpot offers the website's report on the departure of the long-time contributor Jeff Gerstmann, saying they cannot legally discuss the reasons behind this, but unequivocally denying that it was based on advertiser pressure (story), saying:

"Neither CNET Networks nor GameSpot has ever allowed its advertising business to affect its editorial content," said Greg Brannan, CNET Networks Entertainment's vice president of programming. "The accusations in the media that it has done so are unsubstantiated and untrue. Jeff's departure stemmed from internal reasons unrelated to any buyer of advertising on GameSpot."

• Deus Ex 3
  The Direction of Deus Ex 3 on 1UP is a Q&A with Eidos Montreal general manager Stephane D'Astous about plans for Deus Ex 3, confirming PC and consoles as targets, the visionaries behind the prior installments, the large fan-base of the series, and more.
• Bill Roper
  Creative Minds: Bill Roper on Computer and Video Games is a Q&A with the former Blizzard mainstay about his career in the games industry and his current role at Flagship Studios. Along the way they discuss his departure from Blizzard, the success of WoW, his thoughts on Diablo 3, the formation of Flagship, the studio's goals, and more.

• Age of Conan on GameSpy.
• The Club on Hooked Gamers.
• Jumpgate: Evolution on MMORPG.COM. Developer diary on accessibility.
• Sins of a Solar Empire on 1Up.

• Vigilance Wins People's Choice Award At I-ITSEC Serious Games Competition.
• 2007 1UP Award Nominees.

The Age of Chivalry Website now offers the non-beta edition of this Source engine modification set in Medieval times. The project, a couple of years in the making, requires Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source, or Day of Defeat: Source. Thanks Ant and Planet Half-Life.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Opinion: 'Five Key Points From The Activision-Blizzard Merger' on GameSetWatch.
• On the State of Game Reviewing.
• Give us Gameplay over Graphics please.
• RoleCraft: K.I.S.S. Your Character on WarCry.
• Analysts: Activision Blizzard Deal Could Spur Further Consolidation on Gamasutra
• Uberclok’s Thomas Glen talks about what constitutes a great PC in today’s market on GameZone.

• Xbox LIVE Arcade Ends Year with Arcade Hits and Fresh Lineup of Upcoming Titles.
• Gameloft Expands Brain Challenge for Xbox LIVE Arcade.
• ZANAC, Eternal Champions, and The Dynastic Hero Added To Nintendo Wii Shop Channel.
• Rock Band team offers free EA game for guitar repair delays. Thanks Mike Martinez.
• Activision-Vivendi Deal Raises Rock Band vs. Guitar Hero Battle to New Heights.
• Modal Kombat: Using real guitars to play videogames. Thanks Mike Martinez.
• Guitar Hero III Guitar Modded with Magnetic Switch and Touch Screen. Thanks Devicer.

• Chip problem limits supply of quad-core Opterons.
• NiBiTor (NVIDIA BIOS Editor) version 3.6 is now available. Thanks MVKTech.
• Organic transistor improves with age. Thanks Mike Martinez.

• DS gets downloadable content with official DSVision flash card peripheral. Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Comcast slapped: FCC places limits on cable giant’s market share. Thanks Mike Martinez.
• Microsoft's sex-obsessed RoboSanta spouts filth at children. Thanks Mike Martinez.

• ESRB Rating Distributions ...And What They Tell Us.
• Second Life's Got Some Vulnerabilities. Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Calgary man loses $20K after eBay sale hijacked. Thanks ASLayerAODsk.
• Facebook Loses Attempt To Remove Court Documents From The Web. Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Adieu, Adieu, To You and You and Dew! Thanks Mike Martinez. Did GameSpot lose Pepsi ads over Kane&LynchGate?…
• The 10 Most Irritatingly Impossible Old-School Video Games. Thanks Mike Martinez and Digg…
• EA: We’re Ready for Activision Blizzard…

Links!	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Play:	Fire in the Hole. Thanks Jason.
Links of the Evening:	Modded PC in NES console. Thanks Digg. Foodpairing.be.
Story:	Studio classics in need of facelifts. Map that named America is a puzzle for researchers.
Auction:	Billionaire buys truffle for record price.
Media:	Crysis - Mass Physics. The well of death. Wow!
Follow-up:	Oh my God It gets even worse.

The World in Conflict Website now offers the promised mod kit for Massive Entertainment's RTS game. Word is: "The World in Conflict Team is proud to announce the release of the official Mod Kit. The mod kit, along with the already released map tool WicEd, makes all aspiring modder's dreams come true. With a wide assortment of different tools, the mod kit let's [sic] gamers create just the mods they like, be it a small balancing mod with tweaks on unit stats or a full-blown total conversion mod. With extensive documentation, a strong online community and a dedicated mod wiki, the only limit is your imagination!" There's further information on this page, where there are links to versions of the mod kit with or without an included sample map as well as the aforementioned mod wiki. Downloads are mirrored on Gamer's Hell, Strategy Informer, and PixelRage.

The first patch for FIFA Manager 08 is in the tubes, offering tweaks and fixes for the latest installment in this sports management series. The patch is available on the game's official website, where word is: "After the patch is installed you can continue with your old save games (this does not apply for CaC in italy [sic] and austria [sic])." The 66 MB download is mirrored on FanGaming, FileFront, and Gamer's Hell.

Here's a little more controversy about Kane & Lynch reviews, already the subject of a firestorm over the GameSpot situation that surfaced last week (story). GameBump points out the Flash introduction on the Kane & Lynch: Dead Men features some finessed review quotes and scores that do not reflect the actual reception for IO Interactive's new action game. The intro lists the following blurbs, each preceded by five prominent stars: "'…it's the best emulation of being in the midst of a Michael Mann movie we've ever seen.' GameSpy," and 'A mercenary, a psychopath & a bundle of cash… what could go wrong? Game Informer'." The trouble is GameSpy gave the game three stars and Game Informer scored the game seven out of ten, and neither related quote is from the reviews, the GameSpy quote is from a E3 preview of the game, and it's not clear where the GameInformer quote/marketing blurb is from (presumably the print magazine). Finally, there's an article format Q&A with Jeff "Gertsmann" Gerstmann on Joystiq (thanks FiringSquad) where the ex-GameSpot editor cannot go into the reasons behind his parting with the website, but does defend his Kane & Lynch review, and says this recent experience does not leave him sharing the concern that "game writing is ethically bankrupt."

A Blizzard Entertainment Press Release offers an official FAQ on the just-announced merger between Blizzard and Activision (story). Also, the Activision/Vivendi Merger Q&A on IncGamers talks with Blizzard President and CEO Mike Morhaime about the deal, there's another Q&A with Morhaime on GameSpot, another on 1UP, still another on IGN, an article-format conversation on GameDaily, and Five Key Points about the merger on Gamasutra. Finally, News of Merger Sees Vivendi Shares Rise on Next Generation offers early returns on the financial implications of the deal.

A new patch for Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 evolves the sports sequel by kicking it ahead to version 1.20. A number of small issues are cleared up by the new version, which can be found on FileFront, Strategy Informer, and PixelRage.

1C Promotes Fantasy Wars with TOURNAMENT.

• Green buildings make employees see red.

• Reminder: Update your Friends of Friends setting.

• Push for faster net 'premature'. Thanks Mike Martinez.
• NBC officially removed from the iTunes Store. Thanks Ant and Digg.
• Six Apart Announces New Home for LiveJournal. Thanks Ant.

• Google crowdsources malicious web site detection to combat search poisoning.

• Can Activision Blizzard compete with EA for mindshare? Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on Gaming Nexus.
• Crysis on FiringSquad.
• The Witcher on RPGWatch.

• AMD Phenom 9700 Quad Core CPU on Guru3d.
• Biostar TA690G AM2 Motherboard on Trusted Hardware Reviews.
• EVGA 8800GT 256MB Video Card on Gamepyre.
• Gateway MT3705 Laptop CMOS reset, OS & CPU “Upgrade” on MADSHRIMPS.
• Gigabyte X38T-DQ6 Motherboard on Legion Hardware.
• GMC Noblesse K-1 Muse Multimedia Case on ThinkComputers.org.
• HighPoint External RAID on Bjorn3d.com.
• Inno3D GeForce 8800 GT 512MB Overclock Video Card on HEXUS.net.
• Kingston DataTraveler Mini Fun USB Flash Drive on The Tech Zone.
• Noctua NF-P12 120mm Fan on DarkVision Hardware.
• NVIDIA G92 Overclocked - GT vs. GTS 512 on TweakTown.
• NZXT Alpha Mid Tower Case on Hardware Canucks.
• OCZ Technology Vendetta CPU Cooler on Big Bruin.
• Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB PC2-9200 DDR2-1150MHz RAM on Overclockers Club.
• Saitek Cyborg Rumble Pad Controller on DriverHeaven.net.
• Scythe Mugen 5-Heatpipe CPU Cooler on Benchmark Reviews.
• Steel Series Siberia In-ear Headset on InsideHW.
• Ultra m998 Mid-Tower ATX Case on Virtual-Hideout.
• Ultra X3 1000W PSU on ProClockers.

It was eight years ago today that Quake III Arena was released. That strikes me as a long time ago for what I still consider to be a pretty modern looking game. Hey that reminds me, I never did beat Xaero… where's that disk?

Xaero Links!	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Science:	'Cooked fats' linked to cancers. Rare Mummified Dinosaur Unearthed Contains Skin, and Maybe Organs, Muscle.
Auction:	Ozzy Osbourne's bat coat fetches $3,300.
Media:	Reporter eats world's hottest chile [sic] pepper - poor bastard. I think stupid is the word. Being a Kickball Spectator is Dangerous. Megatron Vs Optimus Prime. NSFW.
Follow-up:	Don Imus back on the air.
Teh Funny:	ActionTrip Comic Strip: Ka-Ching!