A recent post to the Command & Conquer Blog updates us on progress on the upcoming free-to-play Command & Conquer game (thanks Ant). This includes an explanation of why they are not actually hyping this more, saying: "We’ve decided to actually let the game speak for itself, instead of starting the typical marketing noise you normally would expect. That being said, it might be a few more months before we reveal more information – we don’t just want to tell you about the game, we want to show you." It also outlines plans for an extended beta test beginning next year:

So looking at where we are right now with our game and the ongoing service that comes with Free 2 Play games actually makes me believe that this game can become a great Command & Conquer. And we will be working together with you – The Fans - to make it better and better. As planned right now, the Beta will start in the first half of 2013, and will be the longest running beta phase in franchise history.

NeoGAF translates rumors from a Chinese website called ChipHell that claims to have details on Battlefield 4 leaked from EA China, as unlikely as that sounds. The details they list seem plausible, which proves nothing, so feel free to take this with a grain of MSG. This goes so far as to include a precise release date, saying the next installment in the military shooter series is due on October 23, 2013 (though the game's beta test is only slated to commence a month before, at the earliest). Thanks Joao.

There's a postmortem for Homefront on Polygon taking a look back at the development of Homefront. This is more true to the term postmortem than most such articles, as it outlines how this lead to the demise of KAOS Studio, the game's developer that started off as the team behind the Desert Combat modification for Battlefield 1942. This holds no bars, as shown by the title: "How mismanagement, incompetence and pride killed THQ's Kaos Studios." This covers the difficulties the team faced after the departure of founder Frank DeLise, the economic pressure of running a studio in New York City, the Chaotic way Homefront was planned and pitched, the "endless pre-production" the project endured, an eleventh hour attempt to dial the game up to eleven, the almost miraculous way that some imported THQ talent completed the game, the difficulties of their final crunch, and more, all leading up to how the studio was eventually closed in spite of the game selling over two million copies. Thanks Joao.

Here are the 10 bestselling games on Steam for the past week according to Valve:

1. Football Manager 2013
2. Left 4 Dead 2
3. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
4. Natural Selection 2
5. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
6. Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
7. Borderlands 2
8. The Walking Dead
9. Dishonored
10. Dead Island Game of the Year Edition

• Forza Horizon: Dan Greenawalt gets thoughtful.
• 343 Industries cracks down on Halo 4 sexism. Thanks HARDOCP.

• iOS 6.0.1 already jailbroken -- for some devices. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Barnes & Noble Cuts Prices on Older Nook Tablets. Thanks HARDOCP.
• AnandTech - iPad 4 GPU Performance Analyzed.

• Google Wallet may get physical... with a real card, rumors say. Thanks Slashdot.
• NJ residents displaced by storm can vote by email. Thanks Slashdot.

• One in seven North American home networks full of malware. Thanks HARDOCP.

• Two members of piracy group IMAGiNE get prison terms. Thanks Acleacius.
• Apple hides Samsung apology on its UK site so it can't be seen without scrolling. Thanks Ant via Slashdot.
• Wizards of the Coast Sued for Magic: The Gathering Online Patent Infringement Claims.

• Painkiller – Hell And Damnation on Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown on CPU Gamer.

• AMD A8-3850 CPU on RBMODS.
• Canon PowerShot G15 on TechReviewSource.com.
• CmStorm Scout 2 Computer Case on RBMODS.
• Gear4 Angry Birds Black Bird Mini Speaker on Test Freaks.
• Microsoft Surface Tablet on Hardware Heaven.
• Sapphire Pure Platinum A85XT (A85X) Motherboard on eTeknix.

Thanks Ant.

• The City of Steam-o-Meter offers a way to influence development of the beta for City of Steam as well as keep tabs on planned features for this upcoming MMORPG…
• Stella version 3.7.4 updates this "multi-platform Atari 2600 VCS emulator…
• VC&G Interview: Nick Newhard on Monolith's Blood…
• Cliff Bleszinski: "Since I'm now unemployed I can finally tweet more about my balls." Thanks Morris…

Well now that things are getting back to normal here, it's clearer to us just how badly the superstorm impacted other nearby areas as this has left a lot of families without homes, much less electricity, with wintery temperatures on the way to exacerbate things. As is often the case, seeing the power of the forces of nature can be a humbling reminder of how much of the idea that mankind has mastered our environment is an illusion.

Illusory Links:	Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play:	Portals
Stories:	Boeing Dreamliner makes U.S. debut Sunday morning. Thanks Slashdot.
Images:	New York Magazine Cover Featuring Incredible Photo of Blackout in Lower Manhattan.
Media:	Jimmy Kimmel - YouTube Challenge - Halloween Candy. Most Hilarious Chili Challenge I've Ever Seen. NSFW. Is It Possible Pop A Wheelie On A Moped With 4 Passengers?
The Funnies:	FoxTrot.
Follow-up:	New York Neighborhood Celebrates as Power Comes Back On.