Thanks Dealzon for word on the sale on the Microsoft Store. The last day of the Steam sale sees a reprise of this year's most popular deals. Also, the discount percentages on the Microsoft sale do not reflect previous price adjustments as accurately as the Steam listings, so some of their deals are not as good as they may appear at first.

• Age of Empires II HD on Steam. Save 75%.
• Anno 2070 on Steam. Save 75%.
• Arma 3 on Steam. Save 40%.
• Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag on Steam. Save 25%.
• Batman: Arkham City on the Microsoft Store. Save 77%.
• Batman: Arkham Origins on the Microsoft Store. Save 54%.
• Batman: Arkham Origins on Steam. Save 50%.
• BioShock Infinite on the Microsoft Store. Save 54%.
• BioShock Infinite on Steam. Save 75%.
• Borderlands 2 on the Microsoft Store. Save 81%.
• Borderlands 2 on Steam. Save 75%.
• Call of Duty: Ghosts on the Microsoft Store. Save 37%.
• Call of Duty: Ghosts on Steam. Save 33%.
• Chivalry: Medieval Warfare on Steam. Save 75%.
• Company of Heroes 2 on Steam. Save 66%.
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Steam. Save 75%.
• Crysis 3 Hunter Edition on the Microsoft Store. Save 75%.
• The Darkness II on the Microsoft Store. Save 90%.
• Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition on Steam. Save 80%.
• Darkspore on the Microsoft Store. Save 75%.
• Dead Space 3 Limited Edition on the Microsoft Store. Save 75%.
• Diablo III on the Microsoft Store. Save 50%.
• Dishonored on Steam. Save 75%. Save 75%.
• Doom 3 BFG Edition on the Microsoft Store. Save 77%.
• Duke Nukem Forever on the Microsoft Store. Save 77%.
• Dragon Age II on the Microsoft Store. Save 65%.
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on Steam. Save 75%.
• Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition on the Microsoft Store. Save 83%.
• Far Cry 3 on the Microsoft Store. Save 70%.
• Far Cry 3 on Steam. Save 75%.
• Football Manager 2014 on Steam. Save 50%.
• Garry's Mod on Steam. Save 75%.
• Ghost Recon: Future Soldier on the Microsoft Store. Save 65%.
• Homefront on the Microsoft Store. Save 90%.
• Mass Effect 3 on the Microsoft Store. Save 72%.
• Max Payne 3 on the Microsoft Store. Save 90%.
• Medal of Honor Warfighter on the Microsoft Store. Save 75%.
• Metro: Last Light on Steam. Save 66%.
• Need For Speed: Most Wanted Limited Edition on the Microsoft Store. Save 65%.
• PAYDAY 2 on Steam. Save 55%.
• Prototype 2 on the Microsoft Store. Save 86%.
• RIFT on the Microsoft Store. Save 83%.
• Saints Row IV on the Microsoft Store. Save 45%.
• Saints Row IV on Steam. Save 60%.
• The Secret World on the Microsoft Store. Save 86%.
• SimCity Limited Edition on the Microsoft Store. Save 50%.
• The Stanley Parable on Steam. Save 40%.
• StarCraft II: The Heart of the Swarm on the Microsoft Store. Save 75%.
• Stronghold 3 on the Microsoft Store. Save 90%.
• Test Drive Unlimited 2 on the Microsoft Store. Save 65%.
• Tomb Raider on Steam. Save 80%.
• Total War: ROME II on Steam. Save 50%.
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine on the Microsoft Store. Save 90%.
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown on the Microsoft Store. Save 70%.
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown on Steam. Save 75%.

GameInformer has a follow-up to yesterday's news that the Deadpool game had disappeared from various online stores, confirming with Activision that the game's removal was intentional and permanent. The also confirm that several other games based on Marvel properties are no longer to be sold, suggesting that anyone who still wants any of them should grab up keys from wherever they can be found. The reasons for the removals are not revealed, though presumably licensing is involved, especially since this all happened at the stroke of the new year. Here's word on the other licensed games that have suddenly become scarce:

Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Spider-Man: Edge of Time, X-Men: The Official Game, X-Men Destiny, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine have now been removed from storefronts. If you have a desire for any of these games, it's recommended that you secure a retail copy as soon as possible. It's likely that no additional copies will be entering retail channels.

Daedalic Entertainment is now offering the fourth chapter in The Dark Eye: Blackguards via Early Access on Steam, saying the fifth and final chapter will follow "in the upcoming weeks." Here's their quick description of the game: "Blackguards is a turn-based RPG with strategic combat and combines the studio's high standards of storytelling and unique characters with thrilling action and an elaborate 3D environment. Challenging quests lead the player through a dark story of doubt, treachery and loss."

Items that went on sale yesterday afternoon. More items will go on sale later today.

• Batman Arkham City Game of the Year Edition on GamersGate. Save 75%.
• Borderlands 2 Game of the Year Edition on GamersGate. Save 50%.
• Castle Story on Steam. Save 33%.
• Hammerwatch on Steam. Save 66%.
• The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing on GamersGate. Save 50%.
• Just Cause 2 on Steam. Save 80%.
• Metro Last Light on GamersGate. Save 66%.
• Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition on Steam. Save 66%.
• Natural Selection 2 on Steam. Save 90%.
• Sid Meier's Civilization V on Steam. Save 75%.
• Total War Rome II on GamersGate. Save 50%.
• Total War Rome II Nomadic Tribes Culture Pack on GamersGate. Save 50%.
• Total War Rome II Greek States Culture Pack on GamersGate. Save 50%.
• Valdis Story: Abyssal City on Steam. Save 75%.
• The Walking Dead Pack on GamersGate. Save 75%.
• The Walking Dead: Season 2 on Steam. Save 25%.
• You Need a Budget 4 on Steam. Save 75%.

• Top 5 Games of 2013 - Zero Punctuation Video. NSFW.

• Infinite Space 3: Sea of Stars on Kickstarter. December 2013 update.
• The Repopulation on the official website. End of December 2013 update.
• Wasteland 2 on Strategy Informer.

• Deep Down - 2014 PS4 Trailer.
• PS4 - PlayStation Plus - Free Games Trailer (January 2014).
• The Last of Us not ruled out for PS4.
• Major Nelson Radio 498: Our favorite games of 2013.
• Official PlayStation magazine January subscription sale - save up to 46%.

• 10 Mobile Tech Predictions for 2014.

• AOL Sells Winamp And Shoutcast Music Services To Online Radio Aggregator Radionomy.
• Google's new social networking patent is truly comical. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Google's Bump to shut down this month, team will focus on Google products.

• Windows 8.x claims 10% market share, but Windows 7's massive gain is the real story. Thanks Ant.

• Wireless networks exposed as electricity grid weakest link. Thanks HARDOCP.
• Undaunted by major Snapchat leak, Stanford marching band pays homage to homegrown app at Rose Bowl.

• Court Rules No Suspicion Needed for Laptop Searches at Border. "Just cause" becomes "just 'cause." Thanks Slashdot.
• Digital Rights Ireland needs help! Nearly bankrupt after fighting record industry censorship. Thanks Ant.

• ASRock M8 Barebones - My Steam Box on AnandTech.
• ASUS Radeon R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB Video Card on TweakTown.
• be quiet! Shadow Rock TOPFLOW on Silent CPU Cooler.
• G.SKILL Ripjaws 1866MHz 8GB DDR3L SO-DIMM Memory Kit on Legit Reviews.
• Gigabyte Z87-UD3H on ocaholic.
• Netgear ReadyNAS 716 on AnandTech.
• Noctua NH-U12S CPU Cooler on Benchmark Reviews.
• Samsung 840 EVO mSATA SSD on Technology X.
• Sapphire Radeon R9 290X Tri-X 4GB Graphics Card on PC Perspective.
• SanDisk Optimus Eco Enterprise SAS SSD on TweakTown.
• Silverstone Raven Z RVZ01 Mini-ITX Case on PC Perspective.

• The Year of Gaming Begins! Play More for Less in 2014 With GameStop…

We are in the midst of a winter storm here in the northeastern U.S. that may dump as much as eight inches of snow on the area before its done. We're actually on the fringe of it, as it looks like areas north of us will get it far worse, so here's hoping everyone has battened down the hatches.

R.I.P.: James Avery, star of 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,' dies at 68.
R.I.P.: Juanita Moore, Oscar-nominated actress, dead at 99.

Stormy Links:	Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play:	Battalion Commander 2.
Links:	The Top 10 Grossing Films Of 2013.
Stories:	New Year's Twin Babies Born in Separate Years. Target: Some gift cards not properly activated
Science:	How Sleep Deprivation Decays the Mind and Body.
Images:	What your favorite drink says about your politics, in one chart.
Media:	True Facts About The Armadillo. Three-Dimensional Mid-Air Acoustic Manipulation [Acoustic Levitation]. Thanks HARDOCP.