If this is World of Warcraft in its beta form, then we would do well to fear the hybrid super heroin they will ultimately unleash. My propensity for "crafting," if indeed that is an accurate term to describe clicking a button until some imaginary quantity is created, is well known - and this was before I was scanning the countryside in the style of Aragorn, selecting roots of a curative nature and making potions of various kinds while Gabriel was savagely mistreated by bears.

Gabriel gave me the impression that you might like to hear more news here from time to time, and something came up that fits the bill.

Quit whatever you're doing, it's not important. Maybe you're performing a surgery. Put the scalpel down. Maybe you're holding a runaway car back from rolling over a carriage which contains an infant. There's no baby shortage, and even if there were, they're apparently a lot of fun to make. Run over the roof of the car, go home, and open up a browser.

Penny Arcade reader Adam Fernandes was able to attend the Splinter Cell LA vs. New York event I mentioned a little while ago, and since it's germane to what we're talking about I decided to post it:

Today is a big day for our Penny Arcade Presents projects. Here's what's new today:

I thought for sure I had uploaded everything last night, but when I woke up this morning the server was under heavy load and wasn't displaying them. Either that or I dreamed I uploaded them, in which case... Wow. That's a boring fucking dream.

I'll go into it with much more specificity at a later date - maybe Monday - but Unreal Tournament 2004 is a great game and an almost ridiculous value. It's only flaw isn't in code - it's in the human beings that feel like they have a license to say whatever they want because they bought the copy that includes a headset.

What's more, it looks like they're giving away the Train level, for God's sake. The Train level really defines what this game is trying to get at as far as I'm concerned, I'd never give it away. Maybe that's just me.

I have a bad ass new Splinter Cell wallpaper for you guys. As I mentioned earlier James Rochelle is doing all the colors for this project and I think he did an awesome job on this piece.

There are maps in the game which depict the civil element of Vietnam, and put North versus South. Humans are suggesting that perhaps I was playing one of these maps when my avatar was speaking Vietnamese. I don't believe so, as I recall the flag that represents my country up in the corner. Sometimes I'm wrong about things, though.

Hawk from Applegeeks.com was cool enough to color the Ninja Gaiden drawing I posted yesterday. He’s got a real nice high res version of it available over on his site for anyone interested in using it as a wallpaper. Hawk does awesome work and it was a real treat to have him color one of my drawings.

Jesus, so what do I talk about today? UT2004 retail? Battlefield Vietnam? Pandora Tomorrow? I know a shit ton about Pandora Tomorrow, I could probably go on all day. The comic's about Battlefield, though - I suppose that's as good as anything.

I may not respond to all the mail I get, but I do read it all. I’ve gotten quite a few requests for a Ninja Gaiden drawing. Since I happen to be totally hooked on the game myself I am more than happy to deliver a little Ryu Hyabusa drawing.

I mean, they fight using extrasensory perception. Just because he can't read the back of a cereal box doesn't make him any less dangerous.

I just wanted to mention that Tycho and I will be taking part in a panel this Monday evening at Digipen. We will be discussing online games along with Geoff Zatkin from Monolith Productions. It costs ten bucks if you aren’t a WSA member, and you can register to attend right here. There isn’t a lot of space, so if listening to us yap about games for a couple hours sounds like fun to you, I recommend signing up ASAP.

You can check it out, if you want - look for it in the downloads section, along with the two alternate covers(!!!). Making a Splinter Cell story, even a side story like the one we're doing, is something I honestly consider a priviledge. We chose to dramatize a round of the multiplayer mode, and there's more than enough material there to work with.