Games for Windows LIVE Forums have word from a member of the LIVE team that a patch is now available to address the recently reported stuttering issue with Grand Theft Auto IV. Word is: "Thanks for your patience, a new update is available that addresses the stuttering issue with GTA IV. Just log in and apply the new update." Thanks ReverendTed.

A Demigod Day 7 Report is a video of Brad Wardell introducing some of the folks at Stardock who are working on Demigod behind-the-scenes. There is also a Day 8 Status Report that outlines short-term and long-term goals for improving the action/strategy game. Also, Possible Solution- Game running slow is a short post about the possibility that Google Desktop is causing dramatic framerate drops in the game.

This Beta Sign Up Form is where to register beta codes received at BlizzCon '08 so that Blizzard can send word on how to become a beta tester for when the time comes, though what game this will be for or when this will happen are not specified. And this may not be for a while, as they say: "Be advised that it may be quite some time before this beta test begins, and this sign-up may not be for the next beta test to become available." Thanks Joystiq.

Mezmer Games announces Stalin vs Martians, their "historically inaccurate" World War II RTS game, will be released via digital distribution next Wednesday, April 29:

Mezmer Games today confirmed the official release date for the upcoming arcade-RTS game Stalin vs Martians, in which you fight as the Soviet Union’s Red Army to defeat the Alien invasion of 1942. The battle begins on April 29, 2009. The game is a joint development of BWF, Dreamlore Studios and N-Game Studios.

Stalin vs. Martians, as the name suggests, is a game both masterfully trashy and absolutely over-the-top. Fun and accessible, it takes a simple arcade-like approach to the genre of real-time strategy. The player controls the Red Army, as it defends Earth from the Martian Invasion of 1942, a highly classified military operation which even today remains a closely guarded state secret. Stalin himself conducts the mission briefings and later even becomes a playable unit.

“The game is ready for deployment,” said Tom Söderlund, Executive Producer at Mezmer Games. “Fans of historically inaccurate World War II games everywhere will rejoice.”

• The Saboteur on Eurogamer.
• Star Wars: The Old Republic on the Official Website and Threat of Peace, Issue #5.

• Alganon on Ten Ton Hammer.

• EA Announces Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu as Madden NFL 10 Cover Athletes.
• Saints Row 2 Ultor Exposed DLC Now Available For Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
• Rock Band DLC Week of 4/28 - Jane's Addiction Nothing's Shocking.
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 Features All-New Tournament Challenge Mode and Wii Exclusive Disc Golf Feature.
• NCAA Football 10 Screenshots.
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 screenshots.

Thanks Mike Martinez and Ant.

• The road to Jaunty- a look back at Ubuntu's history.
• Core i7 Dual Channel vs Triple Channel Memory Test on Ninjalane.
• Apple axes 1,600 full-time retail positions.
• Why do young techies want to be werewolves?

• Google Product Search for Android and iPhone.
• Report: average stolen laptop cost is $50K.
• Apple counts 1 billion app store downloads. Thanks Ant.

• Cable: DPI is good for us; Congressman- it's frightening.
• Joost Trying To Unload Itself, Time Warner Cable Reportedly Interested.
• Facebook users say yes to changes.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Hacking online games a widespread problem.
• Change4Life in shock U-turn on games.
• Google fixes severe Chrome security hole.
• Conficker infected critical hospital equipment, expert says.

• Judge Zings Sony's Lawyers Over $150K Payment to Inventor.
• ESA Canada Schmoozes Lawmakers with Games, Anti-Piracy Pitch.
• Quick Exit: ESA's Head Lobbyist Out After a Month.
• The Turntables Have Turned. 7 Studios countersues Genius Products for "unsavory business practices."
• Fund will help alleged Swedish pirates hit by new law.
• Wikipedia Threatens Artists For Fair Use.

• PopCap releases Peggle add-on for WOW…

Publisher Gala Networks Europe and Russian developer Nival Online announce Allods Online, an upcoming subscription free MMORPG based on the Allods series of RPGs (the Rage of Mages series in North America and Europe). The game is described as fantasy meets space opera, and they claim the over $12 million in funding behind the project is "the largest games development budget in Russian history." Here's a bit on the game:

Allods Online will feature classic fantasy MMORPG gameplay that fans of the genre’s most successful titles can enjoy. It features extensive questing, intense player-versus-player combat, grand exploration, in-depth character development and plenty of social interaction. In the Astral, players will have the chance to put their wits and brawn to the test in larger-than-life Astral battles, the game’s giant fights between competing ‘Astral ships’ manned by multiple players. Adventurers from all over the world will have to choose between six races and eight character classes before choosing their allegiance between the two warring factions: the League and the Empire.

The game of the weekend on GamersGate is Space Siege, where they have the action/RPG from Gas Powered Games for $4.99, which is 75% off. Impulse is now offering $4.00 off preorders of Stalin vs Martians, the RTS game to be released next week. Steam's Weekend Deal is 66% off The Orange Box, so this bundle of Half-Life 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2, and the two episodic Half-Life 2 expansions is $9.99, a $20.00 savings off the regular cost of TOB, and almost $75.00 off the individual prices of those games. The GoGamer 48 Hour Madness Page has a large number of sale offerings, though you may need to hurry, as the date indicates they've been listed there for well over 48 hours already.

Armaholic now offers a patch for ARMA that will update version 1.14 of Bohemia Interactive Studios' modern military shooter to beta version 1.16. The patch has fixes for a couple of issues with ATI accelerators, clears up a BattlEye registration problem, and attempts to address a problem that can cause the game to crash. Thanks Larry.

Ars Technica reports that game rental service GameFly has filed a complaint against the US Postal Service over game discs that are lost and damaged in the mail. GameFly contends that discs are broken by the mail sorting equipment, a problem that persisted after they started using a protective insert that doubled its shipping costs. They say between one and two percent of the games they ship are damaged, but that preferential treatment of similar mailings by Netflix and Blockbuster prevents them form suffering similarly (though no breakage figures for either of them are provided).

inCrysis announces Wednesday, April 29 is the planned release date for the version 1.5 Crysis Wars patch announced earlier this week that will add a new map to Crysis multiplayer. Word is the patch will be released at 18:00 CET, which is noon Eastern time.

Citing "reliable sources," MCV reports a rumor that Warner Bros. is gearing up to make a bid for Midway, the developer and publisher that's been struggling for years, and even more so since being sold off by media mogul Sumner Redstone last year. They describe Warner's interest in IP like Mortal Kombat and Stranglehold (which is apparently a franchise), but the possibility remains that Midway's IP and studios may be sold off separately. They offer a direct quote from their source: "Warner is pretty confident that they will get Midway – which will be an immediate boost to their portfolio. The deal isn’t done yet. Midway is still open to offers from other potential buyers – but Warner looks to be favourite to wrap it up. They look ready to put the money on the table."

MCV reports that British publisher Empire Interactive has entered administration after what's described as a last-ditch attempt to find a buyer for the struggling company was unsuccessful. According to the report, employees of the company's London office were sent home this week, and Empire is "in the process of making all employees redundant." Word is Russian distributor and publisher Noviy Disk seemed interested in picking up the UK publisher of the FlatOut series, but those talks fell through. Administrator KPMG is expected to make an announcement about the fate of Empire on Monday.

IncGamers and Strategy Informer report on attending an event with Cryptic Studios in London today where July 14, 2009 was revealed as the release date for Champions Online in both the United States and Europe. The event is apparently still ongoing, so more on the superhero MMORPG may be revealed today. Update: IncGamers has pulled their report, as this information was apparently under embargo, but the genie is out of the bottle now. Updated update: Cryptic obviously agreed about the genie, and this date has now been officially announced.

Matrix Games has a new patch for Gary Grigsby's War Between the States, updating the Civil War strategy game to version 1.040. The update is apparently complex enough to require some homework, as word is: "The v1.040 update includes a number of important changes to gameplay, such as an accumulating time factor that influences leader initiative, lower initial amphibious transport capacity, reduced Confederate ironclad production and adjustments to supply costs for depots and forts, among others. It is strongly recommended that players read through and print out the Rules Addendum (added to the Documentation folder by this update) to see all the important changes with references to the relevant manual sections. The in-game tutorials have been updated to reflect the rule changes, but the video tutorials do not include any of the rules changes that have been included in the patches made since the initial game release in June 2008."

Battlefront.com announces Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943 is now available for digital distribution or mail order, offering a World War II real-time strategy sequel focused on the battle for Tunisia. A playable demo for the game is available, and here's a bit on what the game encompasses:

Theatre of War 2, covers the events of 1943 during the operations in Tunisia. Players have the option to lead the German Afrika Korps of Rommel in their last full-scale attack or be at the head of the opposing English and American armies, led by Montgomery and Eisenhower, during 15 missions in three campaigns.

The game presents more than 40 types of different vehicles, new types of units, improved graphics and sound, a new advanced visual system taking into account the observation angle or smoke screens, combat inside buildings and hand-to-hand fighting, a brand new interface, improved soldier AI (e.g. soldiers independently search for cover) and an improved infantry damage system. Special attention is being devoted to multiplayer and user created missions.

The Guild Wars Website has more on the promised fourth anniversary content for ArenaNet's online RPG. The article has extensive details on a number of new and improved features, with each feature also getting a sub-page with even more images and details. The game's fourth anniversary is April 28, and the celebrations are now underway to lead up to the date. On a related note, ArenaNet announces that sales of Guild Wars has now surpassed the six million unit milestone.

• Guitar Hero: Van Halen Now Available For Pre-Order At GameStop.
• Joker exclusive to Arkham Asylum PS3. As a playable character.
• Quarterly Xbox Sales Up "Almost 30 Percent".
• PSN update: bundles of DLC on offer.
• FFXIII Demo Drives Massive PS3 Sales In Japan.
• Hindus worldwide to intensify protest against Sony's Hanuman video game.

The Soldat Website has a new version 1.5 of this free multiplayer action game, or pretty new, as it looks like the patch came out last week (thanks Gamer's Hell). The change notes outline what's different in the new version, including a number of new maps. Downloads of the new version are mirrored on AtomicGamer, FileFront, and Gamer's Hell.

MLB Dugout Heroes announces this subscription-free sports MMOG will go live on April 27, though the open beta will continue to run between now and then if you want to check it out right now. Here's the party line on the game and how it works: "MLB Dugout Heroes is the first fully licensed and online-based PC baseball game in North America, featuring all Major League Baseball players and stadiums from the past and present. In addition to the MLB-licensed game features, MLB Dugout Heroes has many unique gameplay attractions including its unique and realistic leveling system which allows players to grow stronger and better as they continue through the game. In addition, special points are given to players as they complete baseball missions (quests) given daily or weekly, and these points can be used to purchase new players, uniforms, items, and more."

Planet Half-Life - Expecting Too Much?
The bottom line with any type of game, whether it’s professional or amateur is, it’s being made for your enjoyment with a lot of hard work being put into it. You aren’t guaranteed a single thing, so stop acting like the developers who make these products work on your unrealistic schedules and concede to your overly-ambitious goals. They don’t. There will always be a better development team that can produce something that looks nicer, but those less-than-perfect products may be a thousand times more fun, and you’d know this if you didn’t judge a book by its cover.

Gamesquad.com - Captain, Report to the Bridge.
Personally, I believe gaming is all the poorer for the choice. While cockpit space sims have a lot to offer, so does the bridge simulator. There is a world of difference of being responsible for a crew of one and being responsible for a crew of hundreds; a situation that requires the need to set watches, organize boarding teams, and dispatch repair crews. Let’s face it; if you die in a fighter…you die alone. As a bridge commander, you are not just playing with your life, but the lives of your crew. What is more, as the operation of your vessel is very much a cooperative effort, success is a warm feeling shared with your virtual cohorts. As such, bridge simulators often evoke more than a bit of role playing on the part of the player, something commonly underwhelming in most go-it-alone cockpit sims.

• Free Realms on Ten Ton Hammer.

• MCV Awards 09- The winners revealed.
• GameX advisory board announced.
• GameCity 2009 Free To Attend.
• Win A 2048MB 4850X2 on Big Bruin.

• Demigod on IncGamers and Out of Eight.
• Fallout 3: The Pitt on RPGWatch.
• Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets on GamersInfo.net.
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning on MMORPG.COM.
• A Vampyre Story on ITREVIEWED.

• AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Processor on AMDZone, AnandTech, Bjorn3d, Futurelooks, Benchmark Reviews, EXTREME Overclocking, Guru3D, HEXUS.net, HotHardware, I4U News, Icrontic, Legion Hardware, Neoseeker, Overclockers Club, PC Perspective, TechSpot, The Tech Report, and TrustedReviews.
• ATI Radeon HD 4890 CrossFireX vs. GeForce GTX 285 SLI on -bit labs.
• ASUS Rampage II Gene micro-ATX Motherboard on Elite Bastards.
• Cooler Master Storm Sniper Case on HardwareLogic.
• Corsair Flash Survivor on TheTechLounge.
• Cresyn C750E In-Ear Earphones on OCIA.net.
• Elgato EyeTV Hybrid USB TV Tuner on Everything USB.
• EVGA X58 3X SLI Classified LGA1366 Motherboard on Hardware Canucks and VR-Zone.
• FSP POWER_MOD 700 Watt Modular PSU on TweakTown.
• GIGABYTE MA790XT-UD4P Motherboard on X-bit labs.
• HP Pavilion dv6t Laptop on TechReviewSource.
• Intel Core i7-975 XE- D0 Processor on X-bit labs.
• In Win Allure Case on Hardware Bistro.
• In Win Metal Suit GD AL-13 Mid Tower Case on ThinkComputers.org.
• Logitech Cooling Pad N100 on ITREVIEWED.
• Razer Goliathus Mouse Mat on techPowerUp.
• Revoltec FightMouse Pro on Overclock3D.Net.
• Sony CyberShot DSC-T900 Digital Camera on Digital Trends.
• XFX GeForce GTS250 Graphics Card on Motherboards.org.

• Activision has High Moon working on Transformers, Radical on Spider-Man…
• UAC station locked Screensaver. Thanks Ant…
• PANGYA has re-launched its open beta, offering the MMO golf game previously known as Albatross 18, which was arguably a better bad title than PANGYA…

I'm doing a little overdue tidying up here in my office, as I've allowed the clutter to get a bit more out of hand than usual. Most frightening is the wire collection in a crawlspace that has taken on a Katamari Damacy quality of swallowing everything around it. From a quick inspection, it includes an amazing array of obsolescent cables, including serial cables, parallel cables, and a bunch of proprietary things that I can't even remember. I fear when I finally get around to trying to untangle it I may just get to the point where I take a wire cutter, or perhaps an axe, to the whole mess.

Tangled up in Blue Links:	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Play:	The Enrichment Center. Red Moon. Slurm.
Links:	Tofulator. Jasmine the Rescue Dog. Thanks Neatorama.
Stories:	Some communities are printing their own currency. Thanks theAntiELVIS. The Force Is Strong for Scottish Cop Who Admits 'Jedi' Religion. Thanks theAntiELVIS. J.J. Abrams on the Magic of Mystery.
Science:	Fructose-Sweetened Beverages Linked to Heart Risks. Study: Pollution helps plants absorb C02. Mission Impossible- The Code Even the CIA Can't Crack.
Auctions:	Mapping a Human Genome, via an eBay Auction. Race car powered with chocolate, made with carrots and potatoes. Thanks Slashdot.
Media:	Angry Video Game Nerd- The Odyssey. New Meme- Auto-Tune the News. Why Guys Outnumber Girls on VideoSift.
Follow-ups:	Parasite behind European honeybee colony collapse, researchers say.
The Funnies:	Abstruse Goose » Friends. Thanks Digg.