Amazon's listing for the PC version of Splinter Cell Conviction now lists an April 27, 2010 release date, a two week delay from the carved in stone April 13 release date announced just last month for the stealth action sequel. This is noted on Big Download, who confirmed this delay with Ubisoft, though they could not get a reason (for this frequently delayed game originally planned for 2007 it may have just be habit).

BioWare tweets about free Firewalker DLC featuring the Hammerhead coming for free to the Cerberus Network, saying this is due Tuesday, March 23, and offering this screenshot from the pack. They also tweet a release date for the Kasumi's Stolen Memory DLC announced last week, saying "Kasumi - Stolen Memory ME2 DLC launch date announced. April 6!" They offer this screenshot and point the way to this page for new details on the DLC.

Paradox Interactive today announces preorders and beta testing are now underway for Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West. The two are interrelated, as preordering Fatshark's wild western third-person shooter via Steam will gain you entrance into the beta, as well as a 10% discount. The announcement also states the game will launch on April 8. Word is: "Developed by Fatshark, Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West captures the spirit of the Wild West with team-based combat and a colorful cast of characters just itching to pull their triggers. Incorporating the unique Synergy system, designed to encourage co-operation and promote team tactics in order to achieve maximum gameplay experiences and rewards, Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West is primed to provide a heart-pounding adventure that reinvents the drama of the Wild West."

The BAFTA Website offers the winners of this year's BAFTA video game awards. Batman: Arkham Asylum won for best game, though oddly falling short in the best action game category to multiple award winner Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Left 4 Dead 2 is their best online game, while Empire: Total War was best strategy game.

The Lord of Ultima Forums announce that Lord of Ultima is now in open beta, offering everyone the chance to play EA Phenomic's in-development version of the web-based "online strategy game where you build your own unique city and play with thousands of other players." Thanks Big Download.

EA tweets that new PC server files are going out for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and that the Battlefield Bad Company 2 website has BFBC2 stats and a new Veteran page. On a related note, Steam offers sales of the Battlefield Bad Company 2 Squad Pack offering four copies of the military shooter sequel for the price of three. Here are the patch notes from Voodoo Extreme: Continue here to read the full story.

A post on IncGamers indicates participants in the StarCraft II beta test have been receiving additional invitations to recruit a friend in the beta for the RTS sequel. They have an additional note clarifying that opt-in beta invites are also still going out to those who have registered,. There seem to have been problems with the friend invites at first, but this has been cleared up, as they have word on a resolution: "Yes, all keys should be working now. Sorry for the inconvenience. Now go show your friends how to play StarCraft 2!"

Steam News has word on another Team Fortress 2 patch that's now automatically available to augment the previous patch for Valve's teamplay shooter sequel, updating the new community-built hats so they can be crafted and updating the Camera Beard and Medic Mask so they can be crafted as hats.

An update to the Left 4 Dead Blog offers 12 terms from the Left 4 Dead Dictionary, which makes me personally proud as a descendant of Noah Webster that survivors of a zombie apocalypse would take the time to consider etymology as well as ammo supplies. All kidding aside, the dozen terms they offer are actually Valve's shorthand for discussing level design. Word is: "Internally, when we are in the early design stages of a campaign, we need an easy way to discuss the design without having to constantly consult drawings or rough maps. To do this, we created the Left 4 Dictionary. The dictionary is a set of terms used to describe a space."

Apparently Ubisoft's Silent Hunter V and Assassin's Creed II are no longer for sale via Steam in the UK, which some had thought was due to Ubisoft's online DRM. VG247 has word from Ubisoft that this is not that case, as the games are still available via Steam in other territories, and that this was a "local business." Word is: "The games listed are available for sale in all other countries on STEAM. The fact it is not available on STEAM UK has nothing to do with the DRM but is linked to a local business discussion between Ubisoft and Steam in UK."

• PAX East 2010 announces all badges are sold out for the show at the end of this month. Here's the show schedule.
• Battlefield wins two awards at this year's Swedish Games Awards.

• Alpha Protocol on Eurogamer.
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction on GameZone.com.

• EA Sports confirms reorganisation.
• Cage wants to take Heavy Rain online.
• Wii, PS3 Shortages to Continue for Several Months, says GameStop.

• Should You Buy the Apple iPad or Wait?
• 8 things you didn't know about Windows Phone 7.

• Catalyst Performance - AMD's ATI Catalyst 10.3a Driver Performance.
• Multicore requires OS rework, Windows architect advises.
• Microsoft removes VM hardware requirements, improves XP mode. Thanks Mike Martinez.
• AMD forms Fusion strategy, Offensive for 2011 set.
• Intel Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.

• Report: Google to leave China on April 10. Thanks Ant via Slashdot.
• Microsoft Pulls Bing App From Non-U.S. Stores.

• Jerry Bruckheimer: The 1.5-Minute Interview on BitMob…
• Aliens in the garden- the secret origin of Plants vs. Zombies. Thanks Mike Martinez…
• ELSPA to rebrand this summer…

Link of the Day: Posthumous Cult Favorites: Games That Endure. Thanks Ant.

A playable demo is now available for Future Wars, offering a sample of this turn-based strategy game from Radon Labs. Word is the demo contains five missions in the game, and both English and German languages are supported. The demo is available from Headup Games and mirrored on 4players.de, AtomicGamer, ComputerGames.ro, Gamer's Hell, and WorthPlaying.

Ubisoft, Microsoft. and GameStop announce the official Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction debut on April 1, 2010 at the Les Deux Nightclub in Hollywood, CA, with ten other first-to-plays scheduled in GameStop locations across the U.S. Word is the events will feature Xbox 360 co-op gaming sessions for Splinter Cell fans and celebrities, and they say "these events are the perfect time and place for Splinter Cell fans to get their Sam Fisher fix before the game hits store shelves on April 13, 2010." Various competitions are scheduled to give away Xbox LIVE Gold memberships, copies of Splinter Cell Conviction, and Splinter Cell Conviction beanies. The announcement is accompanied by the new trailer embedded below showing off the GameStop Xbox 360 preorder bonus of the SPAS-12 Suppressed Shotgun. Continue here to read the full story.

A German-language playable demo is now available for King's Bounty: Armored Princess, offering a sample of the sequel to King's Bounty: The Legend. No need to break out the phrase book if your English is stronger than your German, as an English-language demo for the fantasy-themed adventure sequel was released last year. The German demo is available from Gamer's Hell.

Steam News has word that an updated version of the Just Cause 2 demo is available (as of yesterday). The new demo for Avalanche Studios' sandbox action game adds a benchmark along with some bug fixes (thanks StaQuix). The complete change list follows. Continue here to read the full story.

Paradox Interactive has filed a lawsuit against SouthPeak claiming they are owed upwards of a half-million dollars for games sold as part of a non-exclusive distribution deal, reports Gamasutra, saying SouthPeak's reported "insolvency" is alleged to be at the root of the missed payments. They quote the legal filings: "SouthPeak has failed to comply with its payment obligations even for game units which it previously reported to Paradox, and SouthPeak's executives have informed Paradox's executives that SouthPeak is currently financially unable to satisfy its payment obligations to Paradox under the Agreement." Paradox claims that SouthPeak reacted to termination of their agreement in February by stating they would seek the return of unsold inventory from retailers, of which Paradox says: "There is no rational business reason for requesting such returns; it is contrary to the provisions in the Agreement for post-termination handling of product." They are seeking an injunction against the return of any goods, claiming they would be "irreparably harmed" by such a move. SouthPeak was also sued late last year by TimeGate Studios over missed royalty payments.

With the release of Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight in Europe today, EA announces the real-time strategy sequel is now deployed worldwide. The announcement makes mention of the game requiring players be online at all times and also offers a reminder of the recent free releases of Command & Conquer 2: Tiberian Sun and Command & Conquer 2: Tiberian Sun – Firestorm. Here's word on the game:

Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight delivers an innovative new approach to strategy gaming, now with more intense battles and more competitive play amongst friends with fresh new missions that are streamed directly into the game. Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight sticks to the action-packed gameplay fans have come to love while introducing class-based systems that are persistent across all game modes while taking the game online for a more refreshing and social gameplay experience. Whether conquering alone, in co-op mode or in an all-new 5v5 objective-based multiplayer mode, Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight will dazzle fans with its many plot twists and larger-than-life battles between GDI and the Brotherhood of Nod, led by the enigmatic Kane.

Indie developer Realtime Worlds announces the third and final closed beta test for APB: All Points Bulletin is now underway, and that those interested in participating still have the chance to sign up for the beta on this page. Here's word on the online crime game: "Incorporating frantic third-person action into a persistent online multiplayer world, APB will offer a whole new perspective on MMO gaming: this is ‘Mass Mayhem Online’. Those fortunate enough to gain access to the closed beta will be able to experience the near limitless customisation and brutal urban combat APB has to offer."

The 2K Sports Website now offers a patch to update the PC edition of NBA 2K10 to version 1.1. There are no patch notes or details available for the new version, but this is apparently for the US edition of the basketball simulation, and a patch for the European edition is to follow. The download is mirrored on AtomicGamer, The Patches Scrolls, and WorthPlaying. Update: The 2K Sports Forums now also offer the European patch, which is mirrored on The Patches Scrolls.

The Ubisoft Forums announce the availability of a playable demo for The Settlers 7, the next installment in the long-running strategy management series (thanks Xirix). The 2.6 GB download is on German website Pfanni, but word is it is a multilanguage demo, and a mirror of the demo is now available on AtomicGamer, FileFront, Fileplay, Gamer's Hell, and WorthPlaying. On a semi-related note, the Mac edition of the gam is now available for preorder from Macgamestore, which will come with a free copy of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence. A set of system requirements accompany the demo, which are clearly for the full game, including mention that Ubi's DRM requiring a persistent online connection is present in both the game and the demo. We've run the specs through Google Translate and posted them below.

Continue here to read the full story.

A post in German on GamesMarkt indicates that Koch Media is taking over distribution of the Codemasters catalog in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. According to a story about this on German site PC Games.de, this move is part of a new distribution deal for fiscal 2011, and the deal includes F1 2010, Bodycount, and Colin McRae: DiRT 3. Thanks Sebastian.

Rockstar Games announces that Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City will be coming to PlayStation 3 and PC this April after being previously expected in March. Word is: "The new release date for Episodes from Liberty City - and the two downloadable episodes The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony - on those platforms is now April 13th in North America and April 16th in Europe. This new date will enable us to rectify these changes for Sony Europe, and still allow for a level playing field for all of the Grand Theft Auto fans that have been waiting patiently for this release. In the meantime, we’re moving full speed ahead towards the new game release date. On that note – please be aware that the Grand Theft Auto IV PlayStation 3 leaderboards at Rockstar Games Social Club will be down for maintenance for one week starting March 22nd as we work on their re-launch in support of Episodes from Liberty City."

Peter Molyneux and Gaming From (and for) the Heart is a video interview with the Lionhead designer who does a walk-and-talk through the wasteland while describing the state of gaming to a seemingly disconnected young lady (thanks Ant via Digg). He talks about the feeling of being "imprisoned by this box" that developing for the console gave him, and how new technology like Natal is changing that. He also discusses the rich future he sees for social gaming, before moving along to the Fable series and the upcoming Fable 3, which he says is all about making the player feel powerful. He also waxes about the "big emotional button" they will push with adding the element of "touch" to gameplay. Of course no Peter Molyneux interview would be complete without creating lofty expectations, and true to that he concludes explaining his excitement over creating games where "characters that can meet you," saying:

Imagine a character on that screen that meets you and engages with you and sees you and has empathy with you - that changes everything man, it really does change everything, because there isn't any narrative arts or character development that is being defined in the movie industry... we would be something totally new and totally different and I truly believe that when we get experiences where you feel that you are, as a player, noticed, then I think we're going to get stuff we have never even dreamed about.

Matrix Games has the release of a new patch to update their Field of Glory gaming system to version 1.1.2. Word is: "The comprehensive 1.1.2 update will update both Field of Glory and its expansion, Rise of Rome, and comes with a fix for a crash that may occur when routing units, a number of new scenarios by users, in addition to a few other fixes and tweaks." They also warn: "This update is required to continue using the multiplayer feature in both Field of Glory and Rise of Rome."

• Multiplay i-Series » i39 Tournament Signups.
• World of Warcraft nominated for 4th Annual Art Star Awards. Thanks Ant.

Thanks Joker961.

• Update PlayStation Move lag analysis.
• Free MAG "Trooper Gear" DLC Coming Next Week.
• Microsoft loads up 56 Achievements in Game Room.
• Rock Band DLC Week of 3/23 - X, Little Fish, Ace Frehley, Carrie Underwood & more.
• Sony Move Advertisement Takes Shots At Wii, Natal.
• GameStop: Used game buyers uninterested in free DLC.
• Halo: Reach beta matchmaking and UI details surface.
• Why ModNation Racers is only capable on the PS3.
• Heavy Rain Walkthrough.

• Palm posts third quarter results- disappointing sales, more net loss. Hands down. Thanks Ant.
• What Could You Buy for the Cost of an iPad?

• Microsoft announces Windows 7 SP1. Thanks Mike Martinez via Slashdot.
• VIA Announces Integration with Microsoft RemoteFX Technology. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.
• SCAN announces exclusive NVIDIA Fermi launch event.
• Tech Equipment Tax Deduction Tips. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.

• Comcast Confirms 100 Mbps Is Coming. Thanks Ant.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• "Piracy" sounds too sexy, say rightsholders.
• HTC Says Will Fight Apple Lawsuit, Stresses Innovations.
• Yet Another DRM Failure Leaves Customers High And Dry.
• Court- Cyberbullying Threats Are Not Protected Speech. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.
• Internet piracy taking big toll on jobs. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.

• Gratuitous Space Battles: The Order on GameShark.
• Metro 2033 on Ars Technica, CNET, GameTrailers, The Independent, Mirror.co.uk, MTV Multiplayer, and Stuff.co.nz. Thanks Joker961.
• Napoleon: Total War on GameShark.

• AeroCool Qx-2000 µATX Case on Hi-Tech Reviews and ThinkComputers.org.
• Crucial Ballistix Tracer 6GB DDR3-1600 RAM Kit on Big Bruin.
• ECS A890GXM-A Motherboard on PureOC.
• Epson WorkForce 610 All-in-One Printer on Hardware Secrets.
• GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R Motherboard on Overclockers Club.
• HIS Radeon HD 5670 Graphics Card on Tweaknews.
• HIS 5870 V iCooler Turbo Graphics Card on Guru3D and TweakTown.
• Intel H55 Motherboard Shootout on TechSpot.
• Koolance VID-AR587 GPU Water Block on PureOC.
• Patriot Viper II Sector 5 2000MHz 4GB RAM Kit on Legit Reviews.
• Scan 3XS SMART pre-overclocked Core i3 530 bundle on HEXUS.net.
• Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB SATA 6G Hard Drive on HotHardware.
• XFX Radeon 5750 XXX Graphics Card on Overclock3D.

• Blitz Games Studios announces completion of new senior management structure…

I've been suffering from itchiness for a few weeks that's been getting progressively more annoying. I first noticed it around my neck and jaw line, and it has also been noticeable on my nether regions, clearly delicate areas. I've always had sensitive skin, so I spent some time trying to isolate whether this was some new laundry detergent or something, with no success. Then MrsBlue read me a list of side-effects that came from our new pharmacy when I filled my prescription for Protonix for my LPRD, and sure enough, itchy skin is one of them. I've been pleased with how this drug has addressed my reflux, but this itching has got to go, so I think I need to talk to my doctor about trying something new.

Itchy Links:	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez.
Play:	The Pretender: Part Two. Jetpack Jackass. Civet's Odyssey.
Links:	The Top Ten Sexiest Video Game Characters. Thanks Digg. Itch chair scratches the backs of lazy meatbags.
Stories:	Wal-Mart 'appalled' at announcement telling blacks to leave store. Homeowner associations block guests. Thanks Slashdot.
Science:	Architects float prison-in-the-sky idea. New Finding Puts Origins of Dogs in Middle East.
Media:	Jon Stewart-Glenn Beck Parody. Thanks Acleacius. Lorry shunt motorway footage sparks probe. Thanks nin.
Follow-up:	Details Emerge on Futurama's "Rebirth" (and Return). Scientists create fully-functioning, 3D invisibility cloak.