GameTap has word they are going to make you their… well, that they are offering the chance to play Daikatana for free through the end of this year. To accompany the free play, they have posted a Daikatana Retrospective that looks at the storied history of this first-person shooter from John Romero and ION Storm, robot frog-induced warts and all.

GameSpot on Gerstmann offers an internal Q&A about the firing of editor Jeff Gerstmann in an incident they refer to themselves as "Gerstmanngate." The article looks to answer lingering questions over the action and reassure readers that it is not a negative reflection on their editorial integrity. While still unable to go into detail on why Jeff was fired, they attempt to explain the reasons for pulling and reposting both the text and video versions of his review, how Eidos reacted, the reasons the Kane & Lynch skin and ads were removed from the site, and how they are attempting to restore the credibility this incident has cost them, all the while maintaining that neither the lukewarm review nor advertiser pressure triggered the firing. Not done yet, they promise a webcast on the topic tomorrow.

The Flash intro on the Kane & Lynch: Dead Men Website has been revised, and while it still offers quotes from previews, rather than reviews of the game, the quotes are no longer preceded by the five stars they were decorated with originally (story), which created the incorrect impression the game had received perfect review scores from GameInformer and GameSpy. Thanks Mike Martinez and Kotaku.

BeyondUnreal offers a change log for the third beta version of Patch 1 for Unreal Tournament 3, Epic's just-released shooter sequel. The beta patch is apparently already running on some servers as it has been released via private channels.

The EVE Online Website announces the deployment of the new Trinity update for CCP's MMORPG, adding new features including an overhaul to the game's graphics engine. The site offers manual downloads of client patches, along with information on the update, but not much more for the time being, as it is locked down in an "extended downtime" mode to help roll out the patch. The Trinity Page is still live, however, offering details on the free expansion. Update: The EVE Insider Forums offer a dire warning that Windows XP users who updated the "Classic" client to the "Premium" client, using the content upgrade run the risk of hosing their Windows installation. The update shows how to see if your system has been impacted by this and offers possible solutions (presuming you haven't rebooted already), and says they are working on a solution for this.

Massive Entertainment announces plans to release another free map for World in Conflict early next week. The multiplayer map for the real-time strategy game is titled Countryside, and there's a screenshot on IGN.

The Official Penumbra Website is online, dedicated to Penumbra: Black Plague, the upcoming conclusion to Frictional Games' horror/adventure series. The site offers screenshots, a new trailer, and the first in a series of developer diaries chronicling the project. Also, a newly launched Ageod's American Civil War Website is live a home to AGEOD’s American Civil War: 1861-1865 – The Blue and the Gray, the upcoming military strategy game for which the title may or may not fit on the box.

A new movie is now available showing off Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory, the upcoming World War II strategy sequel from Fireglow Games. Word is: "In this trailer you will see that the famous proverb 'the best defence is offence' is not always right. Allied forces attack Germans in the beginning but German stands and then counterattack and capture an enemy strategic point." The clip can be found on AtomicGamer, FileFront, and Gamer's Hell.

• Frontlines: Fuel of War on IGN.
• Ghostbusters: The Video Game on Computer and Video Games.

• Most Important TV Event in the History of Video Games Airs on Unwatched Channel. Thanks Mike Martinez.
• Play.com Live tickets go on sale.

• Bring back the Sega Dreamcast. Thanks Ant and Digg.
• Xbox Originals are region-locked, workaround doesn't work. Thanks Mike Martinez.
• Stretch Armstrong Joins Cast Of Mass Effect: Glitch Edition.
• Universe at War Earth Assault Xbox 360 Screenshots.
• FIFA STREET 3 PlayStation 3 Screenshots.
• Yakuza 3 PlayStation 3 Screenshots.
• Ninja Gaiden 2 Xbox 360 Screenshots.

• Novell postpones today's earnings release.
• Linux kernel patch reveals TLB bug's workings.
• Google unveils Mac Developer Playground. Thanks Ant.

• Nokia's unlimited Comes With Music plan misses the boat due to DRM.
• Google launches iPhone-formatted homepage. Thanks Ant.

• Google integrates AIM into Gmail.
• TiVoCast adds on-demand music videos. Thanks Ant.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• ESA Condemns 'Unethical' Research On Game Regulation.
• Oklahoma Politician Who Authored Video Game Law is Now ESRB’s Pal.
• Guarding Your Social Security Number.
• Rating antivirus software: vendors to agree on standard testing guidelines.
• Detroit prosecutor makes outdated violent games list for holidays.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Poll: Most Want Govt. Regulation of Games.
• If Microsoft's WGA Is So Successful... Why Change It So Completely?
• Marvel Looking To Follow In The Footsteps Of The Recording Industry.
• Equifax slammed with $3 million identity mix-up verdict.
• Itagaki Found Not Guilty of Sexual Harassment.

• EA's Next Big Move: Take-Two?…
• News Has a massive Deus Ex 3 secret slipped out? Is it a prequel? A cookbook?…
• How I Became A Game Designer…
• The Greatest Video Game Intros of All Time. Thanks Mike Martinez and Digg…
• Top 5 Most Memorable Events in MMORPG History. Thanks Ant and Digg…
• The Economist offers thoughts on the Activision/Blizzard merger. Thanks Pablo…
• Book Excerpt: Inside Game Design Harmonix Music Systems…
• Physics in Games A New Gameplay Frontier…

Happy Hanukkah! Woops, forgot that last night.

Second Night Links!	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Play:	Raft Wars. Thanks Jason.
Link of the Evening:	Konami Arcade Cabinet.
Stories:	Holy smoke! Police find cannabis in nunnery. Thanks brother19. If Led Zeppelin reunites, will they play Stairway to Heaven? Mafia Boss Swallows Secrets Before Dying. Thanks brother19.
Auction:	Ensemble Studios Complete Collection Signed. In support of Child's Play.
Images:	Cassini Favorite Image Contest 2007. Thanks Jim.
Media:	Experience the Best in Gaming 3D Graphics. Thanks Digg. Giant XBOX 360. Amazing Finnish Dorm Room Tetris in Video.

Gamasutra offers some reflections from Richard (Lord/General British) Garriott at the 2007 Independent Game Conference after the Destination Games/NCsoft designer was asked about the marketing of Tabula Rasa. While he feels the marketing (which he describes as a "black art") was "fine," he reserves some criticism for himself and the development team, saying something that hurt the game was the invitation of too many beta testers before the game was fun enough to be worth playing. Garriott commends the Guild Wars team for how well they handled their own testing, but has this to say about testing Tabula Rasa:

“We burned out some quantity of our beta-testers when the game wasn’t yet fun," he said, adding, "As we’ve begun to sell the game, the people who hadn’t participated in the beta became our fast early-adopters.”

He continued, “And the people who did participate in the beta, we’ve had to go back to and say ‘look, look, we promise: we know it wasn’t fun two months ago, but we fixed all that. Really, come try it again.’ We’ve had to go out and develop free programs to invite those people back for free before they go buy it. So the beta process, which we used to think of as a QA process, is really a marketing process.”

A new demo for Eschalon: Book I is now available, offering a sample of Basilisk Games' role-playing game updated through the most recent version 1.04 of the game. In addition to tweaks and bug-fixes the new demo includes two new maps adding over two hours of additional gameplay. The 67 MB download is available on AtomicGamer, FileFront, and PixelRage.

The Unreal Tournament 3 Q&A on Music 4 Games offers some sound thinking about Epic's shooter sequel by chatting with audio director Mike Larson and composers Rom Di Prisco, Jesper Kyd, and Kevin Riepl. Each participant offers reflection on his participation in the creation of the game's soundtrack.

As noted here, a new video is now available showing off the upcoming "uber" patch for Theatre of War, focusing on the "newly re-engineered" map editor the patch will include, though the patch will also offer scads of additional gameplay content. The clip can be found on AtomicGamer, FileFront, and Gamer's Hell.

• XBL Silver Members Facing Content Lockout.
• Don Mattrick: Xbox Success is Built on More than Just Halo.
• Xbox 360 DivX-XviD Playback Tested (Verdict It's Almost Perfect). Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Graphics performance can be improved in certain multiple-GPU scenarios on a Windows Vista-based computer. Thanks [H] Enthusiast and Voodoo Extreme.
• Michael Bay Slams Microsoft’s “Dirty Secret.” Says Redmond wants both HD formats to fail.
• Apple gives free iPods to kids affected by California wildfires.

• Online Privacy: Rise and Fall of Facebook’s Beacon.
• Reality-check or rip off? People spending millions on virtual gifts. Thanks Mike Martinez.
• Microsoft kills Santa Claus. Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Ratings Don't Keep Kids From Violent Games.
• Critics rap Microsoft safety study of IE, Firefox.
• Did 'Bonnie and Clyde' Use Spyware?

• High-earning spammers face tougher sentences.
• Gigabytes vs. gibibytes class action suit nears end. Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts on GameShark.
• Dawn of Magic on Gaming Nexus.
• Empire Earth III on Gaming Nexus and Play.TM.
• Kane & Lynch: Dead Men on Gamehelper.
• Napoleon’s Campaigns on Out of Eight.
• Tabula Rasa on 2404, About.com, GameShark, and Ten Ton Hammer.
• Timeshift on Gas Bandit Gaming.
• Unreal Tournament 3 on GameZone, GamingHeaven, and YouGamers.

• A-DATA PD-18 Flash Drive on Pro-Clockers.
• Apevia X-QPack 2 SFF Case on bit-tech.net.
• ASUS C90S Whitebook on HotHardware.
• ASUS M3A32-MVP DeLuxe-WiFi-AP Motherboard on Hardware Secrets.
• ASUS ROG Series X38 DDR3 Maximus Extreme Motherboard on TweakTown.
• Corsair Flash Padlock Flash Drive on Hi-Tech Reviews.
• ezGear ezVision Video Glasses on I4U News.
• Foxconn Mars Intel P35 Express Motherboard on PCstats.
• Fujitsu LifeBook N6460 Notebook on OZ Hardware.
• Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2H mATX Motherboard on PC Perspective.
• Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6 Motherboard on Hardware Logic.
• HANNS.G HG281DPB 28" Widescreen LCD Monitor on Barry's Rigs 'n Reviews.
• High-Speed DDR3 SDRAM Comparison on X-bit labs.
• Hitachi Desktar 7K1000 Hard Drive on Computing On Demand.
• HP Blackbird 002 on Digital Trends.
• Leadtek GeForce 8800 GT Video Card on X-bit labs.
• OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB PC2-6400 DDR2 RAM on Guru3d.
• SilverStone Temjin TJ-10 PC Case on HEXUS.net.
• Thermaltake MaxOrb CPU Cooler on TweakTown.
• Ultra Power Partner 325 Watt 5¼” PSU on OCIA.net.
• Ultra STAQSeries 3.5" e-SATA HD Enclosure on Hi-Tech Reviews.
• Ultra X3 600-W Modular PSU on Modders-Inc.
• Vantec NexStar MX Dual HDD Enclosure on Virtual-Hideout.
• XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog XXX 512MB Video Card on XSReviews.co.uk.
• XFX nForce 680i Motherboard on Overclockers Club.

• A guide to the best Battlefield 2 mods…
• Activision’s Chief Looks for Gaming’s Next Moves. Thanks Mike Martinez…
• GAME Gets Provisional OK For GameStation Takeover…

Another sure sign of the changing seasons comes from my own mind, as I'm starting to get the bug to make some chili, which only happens after a bit of cold weather. Time to start looking for some habanero peppers and a side of beef!

Beefy Links!	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Link of the Morning:	The Guild. Gamer sitcom.
Science:	Ethanol E85 fuel loses cost-benefit test to diesel. Thanks jimnms. Study Shows Why the Flu Likes Winter. For Sleepy Drivers, Coffee vs. Napping.
Media:	GTA IV - Boxart Timelapse. (second) Luckiest man alive. Newscasters Do Story on Butt Implants.