A break-in on the Epic Games Website is the latest in a rash of data breaches on gaming websites. Here's a note from Epic passed along by Mouser:

Our Epic Games web sites and forums were recently hacked. After some downtime, they're back up and running now.

The hackers may have obtained the email addresses and encrypted passwords of forum users. Plaintext passwords weren't revealed, but it's possible that those passwords could be obtained by a brute-force attack on the encrypted passwords. Therefore, we have reset all passwords. Your new password at the bottom of this message.

The Unreal Developer Network (UDN) hasn't been compromised. Thankfully, none of our web sites ask for, or store, credit card information or other financial data.

We're sorry for the inconvenience, and appreciate everyone's patience as we wrestle our servers back under control.

Tim Sweeney
Founder, Epic Games Inc

This interview on GameMarshal.com chats with Tore Blystad and Christian Elverdam of IO Interactive about Hitman: Absolution, the next installment in the stealth/action series. They offer an extensive explanation of the game's new "instinct" ability, action sequences, scripted elements, stealth, creative assassination options, animations/cinematics, and more. They also discuss the game's new engine:

Yes, the game is running on a brand new engine we call Glacier 2. This is a proprietary engine that we have created ourselves. Our big message this year for E3 is how we built all of the tech from scratch. What this allowed us to do is to look at all of the elements from the previous games in the franchise and work on them from a clean slate. We closely examined what worked in the previous games and what didn’t, and how we could improve the game and make it better for new and existing fans to enjoy. Our goal was to take what is the true foundation of the franchise and build upon it.

• Indie Games Summer six Pack on IndieGamesPack.com. Save 85%.
• Nimbus on Steam. Save 50%.
• Winter Voices Series on GamersGate. Save 50%.
  Still on sale (previously reported). Continue here to read the full story.

• Battlefield 3 on AtomicGamer.
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on Strategy Informer.
• Mass Effect 3 on AtomicGamer.
• Modern Warfare 3 on AtomicGamer.
• Orcs Must Die! on GameMarshal.com.
• Star Wars: The Old Republic on Strategy Informer.
• Tera on Strategy Informer.
• XCOM on Destructoid.

• Nintendo: Wii U reveal should have been clearer.
• Programming guru gives insight into Wii U tech.
• Rock of Ages rolling to XBLA on August 31.
• Activision wary of mobile games focus.
• Remedy recoups iPhone dev costs in 3 days.

• New versions of core EA franchises to hit iOS.
• Apple Reverses Course On In-App Subscriptions. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.
• Apple Recalls “Extremely Small” Number of Verizon iPads Over Duplicate ID Numbers. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.

• 5 Reasons Internet Access in America is a Disaster.

• AMD reveals pricing for eight-core Bulldozer processor- $320.
• Windows XP users will be lost in the iCloud. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.

• NOE shuts down Club Nintendo and website functionality due to phishing possibility.
• Computer glitch grounds US Airways flights. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.
• Fake UPS email has scareware attachment. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.

• Torchlight pirated over 5 million times in China, Runic CEO- “That’s fine with us.”. Thanks Digg.
• NSA Declassifies 200-Year-Old Book. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.
• Google sued over Chromebook name. Thanks [H]ard-OCP.

• Anomaly: Warzone Earth on PC Gamer.
• Duke Nukem Forever on PC Gamer.
• Guerrilla Bob on Christ Centered Gamer.

• Antec Sonata IV Case on AnandTech.
• Bitfenix Colossus Venom Edition Case on RBMODS.
• Corsair Graphite Series 600T White Case on Hardware Secrets.
• G.Skill Ripjaws-X Series PC3-14900 8GB RAM Kit on TweakTown.
• GIGABYTE Radeon HD 6870 OC Graphics Card on eTeknix.com.
• HP Envy 17 3D Laptop on t-break.
• Inxo S05 Case on EPIAcenter. In German.
• Inter-Tech XChange 400W PSU on Technic3D. In German.
• In Win Commander II 1200W PSU on AnandTech.
• Kingston SSDNow V100 vs. Patriot Torqx 2 128 GB SSD on Hardware Secrets.
• Lancool PC-K59 Case on Technic3D. In German.
• Logisys Blue LED Cooling Stand on Hardware Pacers.
• LSI 9265 MegaRAID on The SSD Review.
• OCZ Vertex 3 SSD on pcGameware.
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 on HotHardware.
• Steelseries Ikari Laser Mouse (White) on t-break.
• Zowie G-TF Speed Mousepad on XSReviews.

• MBE for Charles Cecil…

Well, E3 2011 is in the books. By most accounts the revelations from the show this year were a disappointment. Of course there are what seems like dozens of other trade shows before the end of the year, so there are ample opportunities to make up for this.

Compensatory Links:	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez and Acleacius.
Play:	Overwatch. Alienocalypse.
Links:	Portal Underground Poster Kit. Build your own kaleidoscope. Thanks Dark Roasted Blend. Problematic glass staircase in new courthouse.
Stories:	New Russian A.T.M.’s Are Built to Detect Lies.
Science:	Clean, cheap hydrogen production from water using cobalt catalyst. NASA Voyager Craft Discover Magnetic 'Bubbles' At Solar System's Edge.
Images:	Tetris Style Sticky Notes. Thanks TDW Geeks. 30 Dogs Shaking Off The Summer Heat.
Media:	How close to a train track can you set up a vegetable market? Thanks dakslf. Woman takes foul ball out of hands of child. How to make a grown man scream like a girl.
The Funnies:	Predictions.
Follow-up:	Los Angeles may give the red light to traffic cameras. Thanks Slashdot.