EA has officially announced that Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars will receive the special edition treatment, dubbed the C&C 3: Kane Edition.

The Kane Edition will include an exclusive bonus DVD featuring a behind-the-scenes documentary, deleted scenes and a blooper reel from the live action video shoots. Also included will be gameplay strategy videos from the game designers themselves, five new multiplayer maps, three unique unit skins and five exclusive wallpapers.

As expected, the Kane Edition will retail for $60, ten dollars more than the standard edition. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars will be released worldwide in March 2007 for PC. No specific release date for the Xbox 360 version was mentioned.

Joining the parade of Christmas gift-givers is LucasArts, who sent out word of an Easter Christmas egg in Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy that unlocks a Santa Clause character. Well, here it is:

Ever wonder how Santa Claus manages to work his way down chimneys way too small for him? Or how he seems to stop time in order to visit all of the world’s good boys and girls every Christmas morning? LucasArts and TT Games know the answer: Santa Claus is a Jedi Knight whose amazing Force powers allow him to pull off such spectacular feats. A long time ago, he came to us from a galaxy far, far away to exile himself from the Jedi purge led by Darth Vader. (No… that’s not official canon.)

But what would have happened if jolly ol’ Saint Nick had stuck around to assist the Rebellion? Find out by creating him in LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. Here’s how:

Step 1: At the Mos Eisley Cantina, enter the following two codes:
CL4U5H (for Santa hat and red clothes)
TYH319 (for white beard Extra)

Step 2: Go to the Character Customizer and create the proper costume. Use a human head, the appropriate red clothing…and don’t forget the red cap! Santa can wield the weapon of your choice — we recommend the green or red lightsaber to seasonally complement his shiny red duds. (Remember, the color of his lightsaber decides whether his Force powers are naughty or nice.)

Step 3: In the Extras menu, activate Disguise 3.

Step 4: Enter the character-based level of your choice in Free Play.

Step 5: Spread holiday cheer to a galaxy in pieces.

Blizzard has foiled the cheaters again! The World of Warcraft Community site carries word on action taken by the company against cheaters in the month of November, stating that they have banned over 105,000 accounts and removed over 12 million gold from the game’s economy that were the product of cheating and gold farming.

Japan’s premier source of gaming news, Famitsu, had an interview with Capcom producer Jun Takeuchi, who is working on Resident Evil 5, where he stated that the highly anticipated survival horror game should not be expected before 2008.

He had more to say: apparently, the game will make use of a unique temperature system, where heat and cold weather will be part of the game’s mechanic, affecting the surroundings and the overall gameplay. Takeuchi also said that the game will make use of full hair modeling, and that he is targeting a 60 fps framerate, despite all the graphical niceties.

Serve your own brand of justice next month on Xbox 360, as a demo of the highly anticipated title ‘Crackdown‘ will be available on January 18, 2007. The game, developed by Real Time Worlds, is an action-driving hybrid that follows in GTA’s footsteps of having a free-roaming world featuring co-op gameplay.

The full game will ship on February 23, 2007.

Dreaming of a black Xbox 360 controller? Wake up! Microsoft ain’t making one… yet. But thanks to Alcaron, you can have your sweaty hands on a black-colored Xbox 360 controller by just spending $5, notwithstanding the labor required of course.

Over at Alcaron’s Projects, you’ll find a DIY guide to blackening your precious controller, after which you can sit back and show off the controller to your friends and prospective girlfriend in hopes to impress her with your uber-painting skills.

Since holiday gifts are all the rage these days, here are Nintendo’s: new retro games on Wii Shop Channel on December 25. Yeah, it doesn’t sound like much, but how about the list of games themselves: Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (SNES), Super Castlevania IV (SNES), Toe Jam & Earl (Sega Genesis) and R-TYPE (TurboGrafx16). All these games will be on sale for 800 points, excluding the company’s “special holiday surprise” - Super Mario Bros. (NES) for 500 points.

While recovering from a hangover on January 1, 2007, users will be treated to Baseball and Urban Champion, both NES games, going for 500 points each.

It’s no surprise, but confirmation has to be had: Sam Fisher is double-ing it on the PS3 early next year. Ubisoft has confirmed that Splinter Cell: Double Agent will be released for the aforementioned console, and will make use of the console’s motion-sensitive Sixaxis controller in some way; it will also feature additional multiplayer content as well.

Already available for the PS2, Gamecube, Wii, PC, Xbox and Xbox 360, Double Agent will be available on PS3 in March 2007.

Bethesda’s Christmas gift to its fans is the Mehrunes’ Razor content pack for the Xbox 360 version of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Between December 22 and December 31, Xbox Live users will be able to download the pack for free, adding a new quest and other items to the game. The pack will go back to its original price - 250 points - on January 1, 2007.

Demos:

• Armed Assault on 3D Gamers, ComputerGames.ro, eXp Download, FileFront, Gameguru Mania, Gamer’s Hell and Worthplaying

• Dreamfall: The Longest Journey on 3D Gamers, FilePlanet, GameSpot and Internode Games Network

• Murder on the Orient Express on 3D Gamers, 3D Downloads, FileFront, Gameguru Mania, Gamer’s Hell, Strategy Informer, VGPRO and Worthplaying

• PureSim Baseball 2007 on Matrix Games

• Stoked Rider Alaska Alien on 3D Downloads, 3D Gamers, eXp Download, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell, VGPRO and Worthplaying

• 1701 A.D. v1.01 on 3D Gamers, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell, Strategy Informer and Worthplaying

• America’s Army: Coalition v2.8 on 3D Gamers, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell, Internode Games Network and VGPRO

• Gothic 3 v1.12 on 3D Downloads, 3D Gamers, ComputerGames.ro, eXp Download, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell, Strategy Informer, VGPRO and Worthplaying

• GTR 2 v1.1 on 3D Gamers, eXp Download, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell, VGPRO and Worthplaying

• Panzer Elite Action v1.43.87 on Koch Media FTP

• Rainbow Six: Vegas v1.02 on 3D Gamers, FileFront, Gameguru Mania, Gamer’s Hell, VGPRO and Worthplaying

• The Sims 2: Pets on the Official Website

• Sprint Cars Road to Knoxville v1.04 on Valusoft

Joining the march of PS3-exclusives gone rogue is Sega’s Virtua Fighter 5, which will be making its way to Xbox 360 as well. A PlayStation-exclusive franchise in the past generation, Virtua Fighter 5 has gone multiplatform, though it’s still a (short) timed-exclusive for the PS3: it will be released for the Sony console on February 20, whereas the Xbox 360 version will launch in March 2007.

“Bringing Virtua Fighter 5 to the Xbox 360 offers us a platform with power to handle the astonishing visuals, the complex and varied fighting styles of all the customizable characters and will undoubtedly put Virtua Fighter™ 5 into the hands of a gaming audience craving for a highly polished and credible fighting game,” said Mat Woodley, Creative Director at Sega Europe.

Virtua Fighter 5 is the latest game to betray the PS3, followed by Koei’s BladeStorm and Fatal Inertia. There have also been rumors that Metal Gear Solid 4, one of the major PS3-exclusives, will be making its way to the Xbox 360, though it was denied by Konami.

If you’re one of the few trillion zillion Pokemon fans out there, you’ll be able to catch them all with Pokemon Pearl and Pokemon Diamond on DS in April 2007. The latest adventure in the stupendously popular franchise, both games are set in a new region called “Sinnoh”, where players choose to begin their quest, as either a boy or girl Pokemon trainer, to become the Pokemon League Champion.

As players trade and collect Pokémon to complete their Pokédex in this new challenge, for the first time they’ll have the chance to catch new Pokémon, Munchlax™ and Weavile™. They also can play via local wireless with up to eight other trainers while new moves and abilities deepen strategy.

Unique pre-sell styluses featuring new Pokémon from the new series will be available by reserving the game early at participating retailers. Stay tuned for more details about this special offer. Pokémon games continue to be wildly popular around the world, with more than 155 million units sold worldwide through September 2006. Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl are currently shattering sales records in Japan since their September launch.

Those who have the GBA Pokemon games will be able to bring their past Pokemon into the DS games. Both Pokemon Diamond and Pearl will be available in stores April 22, 2007.

Remember the awesome TMNT games of the yesteryears? Well, hopefully those yesteryears will become present, as Ubisoft has announced that they are creating a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game based on the upcoming CGI flick. In development at the publisher’s Montreal and Quebec studios, the game will feature the turtles’ signature acrobatic moves, team combat and intense fighting. Scoop:

The new TMNT video game uses the same dark and dangerous environments and adventurous themes featured in the new TMNT CGI film being developed by Imagi Animation Studios and Mirage Licensing. The TMNT movie takes place in a New York City plagued by secretive villains and strange, otherworldly creatures. Faced with these perils, the Turtles will experience their most trying time as heroes and as a family, as Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo lose their focus and struggle to maintain their unity and ninja discipline. In the movie and in the highly immersive video game adventure, it’s up to Leonardo and the faithful father figure Splinter to reunite the band of brothers and save New York City from a monstrous evil that lurks around every corner. Video game players will engage in over-the-top acrobatic navigation, collaborative combat and powerful fighting moves.

The game will hit stores worldwide March 13, 2007, just ahead of the film’s release on March 23. It will be available on PC, PS2, PSP, GBA, DS, Gamecube, Wii and Xbox 360.

Yes, it’s no surprise that a next-gen Tomb Raider game is in the making, but official confirmation comes from an EuroGamer interview with Ian Livingstone, where the Eidos bigwig revealed that the new “Lara Croft” is so good that you’ll be literally “drooling”. Though he didn’t mention when the “drooling” might begin, he did mention that a third Tomb Raider movie may be made: a scriptwriter has been hired by Paramount, however it is “nowhere near the green-light process”, so don’t get your hopes too high… yet.

The full interview can be seen on EuroGamer’s online TV show.

From the North Pole comes word that two waves of maps for Call of Duty 3 are heading towards Xbox Live, one of which will be free.

The free map, dubbed “Champs“, will take players to Port Royal de Champs, France for infantry-based combat; it is said to be great for small to medium-sized online games. The Valor Map Pack, which will be purchasable for 800 points, will contain five multiplayer maps that take players through a maze of French locales, offering “intense close-quarters action, whether via online, split-screen or System Link play.”

Both map packs will be accessible after the holidays.