(not) missing in action

I promised myself not to begin this post with "Wow, what a long time it's been since I last wrote here!", but I guess I've already done it, if indirectly. The move to the new place is more or less complete, the server is nestled in its new home, and I'm ready to get back to this website. You might notice the mini-blog over to the left has quite a few new links - please take the time to check them out, because I've been collecting them for over a week. They're all worth a visit - I swear.

In terms of gaming news, I've managed to keep up to date - I just found myself with no time to relay it back through this site. Not a lot has been happening - if anything the big news is still the Half Life 2 source theft, and the self-proclaimed thief who did it. This made it to the mainstream tech media, which once again reinforces just how fucking serious this is. I'm guessing whoever is responsible for this delayed release and possible financial troubles of Valve will be right up there on the public's most wanted list with this guy, or maybe this guy.

In a truly commendable move, Gathering of Developers has made the entire version of Hidden and Dangerous available as a free download, in preparation for the sequel to be released later this month. The original came out shortly after Rainbow Six, which began the industry's sudden fascination with squad-based tactical shooters, but H&D still managed to come across as an original and fun game. Definitely give it a shot if you haven't already. Hey, it's free!

I'm waiting on Call of Duty with feverish anticipation. Ever since I read the preview in PC Gamer way back in June, I stuttered endlessly about it to anyone that happened to be standing nearby (thanks Cy). It seems that Activision has taken it upon themselves to release another demo - and is once again going the exclusive route. It was supposed to appear on PC Gamer's demo disc with this month's issue, but it was leaked shortly after the announcement on most gaming news sites. Some people were able to get it, although Activision did a pretty good job of getting it off the more prominent file portals. According to Acitivision the "Dawnville" demo will be made available online officially once the magazine hits newsstands. I heard some people complaining about the exclusivity, and I have to admit it's kind of lame if the demo is ready to go. Still, I will be picking up my issue as I do every month and won't have to deal with waiting for a download.

Some rumours were floating around this week about the classic Star Wars trilogy DVD set being released later this year. Now I personally find this hard to believe, what with my other prayers being answered next week. It doesn't make sense at this point, since Episode III is just over a year away. I always believed that a giant "Star Wars Saga" DVD box set would be revealed once the series was completed. However Lucas has done some pretty strange things (mostly just Jar Jar), and maybe they want to rake in a few extra bucks this holiday season. Who knows?

I've stopped playing The Temple of Elemental Evil and have been filling my time with NWN instead, and the latest MOHAA expansion which I've taken some time to put together a review for that should be up soon. I've also recently learned of the Morrowind Game of the Year Edition, which includes both expansions. I tried to get into the original game, but I found it pretty intimidating due to the massive game world and free-form quests. This may be the excuse I need to get all the expansions and buckle down with this excellently designed RPG.

life is funny, but not "ha ha" funny