Just a brief note to acknowledge that my posting has been on the light side lately. More substantial commentary will be on the way once some upcoming work is published and once I get back from GDC. I’ll try to update some from the press room at the conference next week, but we’ll see what happens.

For the past week, I’ve been finishing a wargame review, trying an indie strategy game and bringing peace to the Middle East. I’ve barely had time for World of Warcraft.

Not that there hasn’t been news on the strategy front. Take Two Games hinted at a new Civilization franchise title in the future, so there has been the usual pointless speculation about what it could be. (It won’t be Civilization V, at least not soon. I say this not because I have any trade secrets – I don’t – but because it doesn’t make any sense yet.) All the words spent on trying to guess what Take Two/2k Games and Firaxis are up to is pretty silly since, first, 2008 is still a long way off, and, second, there is zero information to go on. It’s like one of those police advisories that tell you to be on the lookout for two young men. 2K will release a new title based on one of its most valuable franchises? SHOCKING.

There have also been updates for Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar, The Operational Art of War III, Company of Heroes and Hearts of Iron II: Doomsday. I have tried none of them yet.

My most recent acquisition is Close Combat: Cross of Iron. I’ve heard that the title is doing very well for Matrix Games since its release, so I may dig my teeth into this pretty soon. I still haven’t bothered much with Forge of Freedom, and I may not for a month or so. With no deadline forcing me to play it, I have to pretend to be interested for professional education and I’m not.

But why am I explaining why I’m not updating? Life gets in the way. I will have the March Strategy Preview on Monday, though.

Now back to the Gaza Strip.