• Kiddies Play the Classics - /bangs head on desk. Pretty funny stuff.
• Marathon Turns 10 - Halo what?
• Penny Arcade Holiday Strip - All five parts.
• Battlefield 2 Preview - BF-news
• Close to Combat: First to Fight Preview - C&VG;
• The Settlers: Heritage Of Kings Preview - C&VG;
• Hearts of Iron 2 Q&A; - Rabid Pooch
• VU Games Dec. Newsletter - Assorted VU Games coverage.
• GameSpy GoTY - It's Halo 2.

Mercenaries Preview 12:24 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action / strategy (4 comments)
Gamespy shot up a preview of Mercenaries, the soon-to-be released 3rd person shooter from LucasArts:

If you haven't heard much about Mercenaries, you're not alone. This little gem has flown under most people's radars, but I have a feeling that's all about to change once a few more gamers get a chance to drive, shoot, and blast their way through a wide-open, fully destructible version of North Korea. The reason your character (surprise, a mercenary) is in the troubled country all stems from a son's disagreement with his father. Actually, it's a little more complex than that. See, President Kim, in an attempt to leave a lasting legacy, decides that communism actually isn't the best system for Korea, and sets up a meeting with delegates from the South to discuss reunification. His son, however, has different plans, and ends up killing everyone present, including his father.

MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf Ships 12:20 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - consoles: xbox (11 comments)
Microsoft sends word that MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf shipped out to stores today:

MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf was developed by Day 1 Studios, creators of the original MechAssault for Xbox, in conjunction with FASA Studio, the developers of the award-winning MechWarrior and MechCommander series for Windows and Crimson Skies for Xbox. In MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf, gamers can step outside the 'Mech and live the life of a human pilot in a fresh new single player game. Tanks, VTOLs and BattleArmor offer players plenty of opportunities to rain destruction on their opposition in both single and multiplayer games. Xbox Live gamers can enjoy a whole new level of strategy, as BattleArmor-equipped players 'jack enemy 'Mechs and VTOLs drop supplies to their teammates. Both online and off, MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf offers players an unparalleled gaming experience.

In Other News... 12:18 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - in-house: in other news... (25 comments)
Welcome back to the "we're actually off until Jan 3rd but posting anyways" edition of Voodoo Extreme. They showed John Carpender's "The Thing" last night on one of the movie channels I get and I had forgotten how cool of a movie it was. I know I've seen it before but it was so long ago that it was like seeing it for the first time. For some crazy reason when I was tuned in I had "The Swamp Thing" in my noggin, but those are of course two entirely different films. Really cool flick, I recommend giving it a look if you get the chance. Since it's about that time of the year, today's question is:

What are your New Year's Resolutions?

Far Cry Bonus Pack 10:22 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action (1 comment)
Crytek has released a 12 multiplayer bonus map pack for Far Cry which you can download here. Thanks to Blue's News for the link.

Silent Hill 4: The Room Demo 09:48 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action / adventure (1 comment)
3D Gamers is hosting the demo release of Silent Hill 4: The Room which was originally from PCGUK. It comes in at a smidge under 500 megs and offers quite a taste of the full game.

Vault Morsels 02:51 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (0 comments)
Today from The Vault:

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords Wrap Report, Part 2 Obsidian's Producer and Lead Designer conclude their highly informative examination of the award-winning RPG. *Includes five exclusive Xbox screenshots*

World of Warcraft Tips of the Week #4 Another pair of suggestions that may be of use to both newbies and experienced players in Blizzard's virtual realm

Guild Wars Media #9 To complement their feminine counterparts from last week, instances of ArenaNet's six playable male archetypes *Six exclusive screenshots*

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Multiplayer Videos 02:45 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action (4 comments)
Oblivion Lost sends word that they've kicked up video footage of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl which was shown off at the recent Intel-Samsung Fair in Kiev/Ukraine.

Misc. Interviews 02:28 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (0 comments)
Cracks the whip -- Get back to work slackers! Assorted interviews from around the 'net:

• Alpha Anti-Terror - Experience Gaming
• Games In 2004-2005 Q&A;: Donald Case - HomeLan
• Games In 2004-2005 Q&A;: Mike Legg - HomeLan
• Games In 2004-2005 Q&A;: Steven Kent - HomeLan
• Games In 2004-2005 Q&A;: Tom Ohle - HomeLan
• Games In 2004-2005 Q&A;: Tony Barnes - HomeLan
• Guild Wars - Computer & Video Games
• Gothica III - World of Gothic

In Other News... 12:01 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - in-house: in other news... (36 comments)
Looking at the week ahead for PC games it's a bust. You have to fast forward to around 2/8/05 for anything interesting. So, in a couple months we have Knights of the Old Repubic II (with bonus), Project Snowblind (sorta like Deus Ex) and um, that's about it. March doesn't look too bad with Pariah, the Doom 3 expansion pack, Star Wars: Republic Commando, The Bard's Tale, Battlefield 2, Imperial Glory, Freedom Force vs Third Reich, Guild Wars, The Matrix Online (maybe), Stronghold 2, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and more. Damn, March looks hot! Too bad it isn't for another three months. :(

Yawn; nothing much is going on, but hopefully news will pick up as the sweatshops make people return to work.

Today's question is: Suggestions for a new poll topic?