Here are the results from last week's strategy poll:

VE Votes 2006: Best Strategy Game?
Company of Heroes [1116 votes]
Medieval 2: Total War [261 votes]
Battle for Middle Earth II [157 votes]
Star Wars: Empire at War [128 votes]
Heroes of Might and Magic V [120 votes]
Darwinia [101 votes]
DEFCON [94 votes]
Rise of Legends [69 votes]
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos [96 votes]

Week in Review 06:58 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (0 comments)
Rewinding the week that was:

• Left 4 Dead Announced - New co-op game from the makers of Counter-Strike
• Gears of War 2 & 3 Confirmed? - That's the rumor.
• Gears of War Hits 1 Million Units Sold - Quick-like, too.
• Halo 3 screenshots - More like Halo 2 HD!
• Wii Defects and Nintendo Support - Nintendo to Kiss your Wii and make it better.
• F.E.A.R. Extraction Point Review - 7/10
• 360 Video Marketplace Goes Live - Download HD quality programs from your 360.
• Dark Sector Screenshots & Trailer - This game has been restarted more than times than DNF.
• Microsoft Debunks Gears for Windows - Not gonna happen!
• All Dark Age of Camelot accounts Open - Free for next 10 days.

Age of Conan Screenshots 06:46 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: MMOG (4 comments)
Six new screenshots of Age of Conan, the upcoming MMORPG from FunCom (thanks Blues News):

(Click to Enlarge!)

Windows Vista Gaming Interview 06:28 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (5 comments)
The meat popsicles over at Action Trip interviewed Rich Wickham, manager over at Microsoft for the Games for Windows business division:

ActionTrip: We wanted to know more about future Vista and Xbox 360 compatibility. Could you offer us a more detailed insight on the way users will be able to connect their home PCs with their Xbox 360 units?

Rich Wickham: As you know, you currently can use your Xbox 360 as an extender with your Media Center PC. That integration is tighter in Windows Vista, and I think you'll see more and more folks connecting their devices on home networks. At home, I stream my photos and music from my PC to my Xbox 360, which is very cool.

Of course, we're also bringing Live to Windows Vista in 2007. Windows gamers will experience Live in titles like "Shadowrun," "Halo 2 for Windows Vista" and "Marvel Online." "Shadowrun" will support cross-platform play between Windows Vista and Xbox 360. I've played "Shadowrun" on Windows Vista against folks on Xbox 360 it's a lot of fun, and as you can imagine, there's plenty of Windows vs. console smack talk. We're also working closely with third party developers to make sure there are a broad variety of Games for Windows titles supporting Live in the future.

Alan Wake Preview 06:23 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: Action / Adventure (1 comment)
The chaps at Computer & Video games took an updated look at Remedy's Alan Wake:

Alan Wake is looking fantastic, but the new presentation has raised even more questions about gameplay, such as the weapons you'll have access to. "Wake knows how to use a gun, as he used to work as a nightwatchman, among other things, before he became a famous writer. However, when it comes to guns, he's definitely no Max Payne," answers Lake. "Resources are definitely limited, which is one of the ways we can build suspense. Bright Falls is famous for its annual Deerfest, so there are a few hunting rifles around, but you won't be tripping over ammo boxes. Although there is that army base outside the town..."

Also, what about the horror aspect: will there be full-on blood and gore in Alan Wake? "We're not making a horror game, we're making a thriller, and as such, suspense and anticipation are vital ingredients in creating the mood and the atmosphere in the game," continues Lake. "There will be horrific and surreal sights - the game contains wild, hallucinatory dream sequences, for example - but we feel confident that you can make them without resorting to gore. In fact, we feel that you can make the game more suspenseorientated and scary without that."

Game Emulators OK, Says U.S. Copyright Office 06:19 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Games: General News (1 comment)
It looks like the U.S. is easing up its stance on game emulators:

Computer programs and video game software that no longer have available the original machines required to run them on are also exempted, thus validating the use of select emulators. A bit of a monkey wrench in the emulator legality issue is that the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii all include some form of classic library emulation, possibly taking any game playable on current consoles, new or old, off the list of copyright exempted material.

"I am very encouraged by the fact that the Copyright Office is willing to recognize exemptions for archivists, cell phone recyclers and computer security experts," said Fred von Lohmann, an attorney with the civil-liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Frankly I'm surprised and pleased they were granted."

GameStop Employees Allegedly Fake PS3 Robbery 06:14 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: PS3 (1 comment)
Some GameStop workers had the bright idea of allegedly faking a PS3 robbery saying that the consoles were stolen at gunpoint. Too bad no one believed them:

Two employees are facing criminal charges following the reported theft of four coveted PlayStation 3 game consoles last week from an Elk Grove business, police said Wednesday.

Tauryn Robert Hodge and Gerald Anthony Keys, both 19, were arrested Tuesday on charges of suspected embezzlement, burglary and conspiracy. Hodge is facing an additional charge of filing a false police report. Both were employees of the GameStop on Laguna Boulevard.

On Nov. 16, a day before the consoles were to go on sale, Elk Grove police received a report from Hodge that masked gunmen had robbed his store.

Hacking your PS3 06:12 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: PS3 (1 comment)
Ready? Set? Hack!

Console hacking enthusiasts have already taken the first steps towards making the PS3 backup friendly, installing LINUX and using it to dump a 7.08GB ISO file from Madden 07 onto an external hard drive. Pool Boy over at PS3News points out that this is exactly how the PSP backup scene got started, and that the PS3 file structure closely resembles the one used in PlayStation Portable games.

Mouse & Keyboard for your 360 06:09 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - Consoles: Xbox 360 (6 comments)
Fancy hooking up a mouse & keyboard to your 360?

XCM has unveiled today the very first pictures of its XFPS 360 adapter for the Xbox 360 video game system. This cool device lets you connect a mouse and keyboard to your Xbox 360 via the USB port, in addition to an Xbox 360 controller and even a Sony DualShock controller.

As you may guess, this is not an authorized peripheral but definitely a much wanted adapter for those PC gamers that want to try Xbox 360 games but feel intimidated by a console controller.

PC Gamers will have the chance to play Shadowrun with both mouse and keyboard or the Xbox 360 controller; now, thanks to XCM, Xbox 360 gamers will have the same options.

In Other News... 06:00 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - In-House: In Other News... (5 comments)
Sorry for the slow news this weekend. The whole holiday thing killed it. Damn pilgrims and their stupid turkey. /shakes fist

Today's question:

Any suggestions for some questions of the day?