With life events I have let not only my staff here at BTGN down but also the community that has kept the site online for the last 4 years. I feel that partial news posts once every 3 weeks just isn't going to cut it and it hasn't for the last year and for this I apologize.

So with that said I am shutting the doors to BTGN until I can redirect more time and dedication to the site. I am personally still at heart a hardcore gamer and will frequent the forums of MEC from now on and will keep checking BTToons for their newest comics. BTGN is by no means dead... It is just taking some time off the web

It has been fun the last 4 years guys, make sure to check out the new LOTR game, Lord of the Rings: Conquest over at MEC and I am looking forward to talking about the new Hobbit movie.

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So as most of you know I have an outside job that I happily allow to occupy a huge chuck of my time in the real world. Outside of that I have my lovely family, friends & of course BTGN that I devote the rest of my time too. But with that said I am finally happy to announce the Grand Opening of my own Store! So here is my little announcement.

Howie's Game Shack will be opening its 3rd location in the Inland Empire on April 19th 2008. Howie's Moreno Valley will have 173 PC & 70 Xbox 360's loaded with today's hottest games. iZ3D will be hosting a $2,500 CS 1.6 Tournament & Monster babes will be on site handing out Free Monsters. Stop on by and ask for TheHammer at the front counter and get a Free all day pass and a whole bunch of other goodies.

So if you live in the area come on down on the 19th and I will hook you up. I should also mention we are hosting a huge Guitar Hero 3 tournament on May 3rd.

More info here

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Relic has launched their website for Dawn of War II. Featuring just a few first glimpses of the game, you can check out a CG video teaser, some in-game screenshots - from what looks like a heavily modified Company of Heroes engine - and a whole bunch of other info.

The website is available here.

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Relic today announced that a sequel to 2004's 'Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War' is in the works, and scheduled for a 2009 release.

The game was announced in a press release. Here is a short excerpt:

"We started with everything fans loved about the original Dawn of War and then added more than they ever could have hoped for in the sequel into Dawn of War II," said Tarrnie Williams, general manager, Relic Entertainment. "Leveraging our critically acclaimed Essence Engine 2.0, gamers will develop and lead an elite strike force through Games Workshop's war-torn universe, engage in devastating combat among the ruins of fully destructible battlefields, and be immersed in an ever-changing single-player and co-op multiplayer campaign."

Relic community manager Buggo has hinted that a few previews for the new game will be shown at the upcoming Relic Appreciation Day, in Vancouver.

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REDWOOD CITY, Calif., – April 1st, 2008 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), the world's leading interactive entertainment company and Pandemic Studios, one of the world's leading independent game developers, today announced 'The Lord of the Rings™, The Battle for Middle-earth™ III - The Wizards of the East *', the third installment in the immensely popular series based on the Academy Award winning movies by Peter Jackson and the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. The game's single-player campaign mode will be set in the East of Middle-earth, where gamers may experience the events and untold history of the Blue Wizards.

"The story has not been developed at all from Professor Tolkien's canonical works," said Mark Skaggs, director and senior producer of the project, "so we feel there is a lot of room we can work with."

Professional writers, Mathew Everett and Michael Ivey, famous for their previous work in The Legend of Zelda CD-I games, said, "We're really excited about this game. We decided to have one Blue Wizard fall to corruption and combat the other with the forces of eastern Middle-earth. It's going to be really emotionally driven."

'The Lord of the Rings™, The Battle for Middle-earth™ III - The Wizards of the East *' will make use of the cutting edge artificial intelligence used in Slime Volleyball. "These 'smart' units will be very organic and feel very alive."

'The Lord of the Rings™, The Battle for Middle-earth™ III - The Wizards of the East *' is set for release in late 2009.

*Working Title

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems, personal computers and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA SPORTS BIGTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2006, EA posted revenue of $2.95 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

About Tolkien Enterprises

The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises is the holder of worldwide motion picture, legitimate stage, merchandising, and other rights in J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary works The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Tolkien Enterprises has been producing and licensing films, stage productions and merchandise based on Tolkien’s works for almost 30 years. Its headquarters are in Berkeley, California, and its website may be found at www.tolkien-ent.com.

About New Line Cinema Corporation

Founded almost 40 years ago, New Line Cinema is the most successful independent film company in the world. Its mission is to produce innovative, popular and profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. In addition to the production, marketing and distribution of theatrical motion pictures, the fully-integrated studio has divisions devoted to home entertainment, television, music, theater, merchandising and an international unit. In 2005, New Line partnered with HBO to form Picturehouse, a new theatrical distribution company to release independent films. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line’s Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most successful film franchises in history. New Line is a division of Time Warner, Inc. (TWX).

About April Fool's

(From Wikipedia):April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is a holiday in its own right, a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, enemies and neighbors, or sending them on fools' errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible.


Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All The Lord of the Rings content other than content from the New Line trilogy of The Lord of The Rings films 2006 The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises (“SZC”). All Rights Reserved. The Lord of the Rings, and the names of the characters, events, items, and places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of SZC under license. All content from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy MMVI New Line Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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