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The first batch of downloadable multiplayer maps for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will hit the Xbox 360 and its Xbox Live Marketplace on March 30, 2010.

Developer Infinity Ward revealed the date today with a satirical self-help site.

Details on the exact maps and pricing remain unknown, though more information is promised "soon."...

Everyone knows that to have real fun with explosives, you've got to do it at night. Fortunately, developer Black Rock isn't overlooking that with Split/Second.

Quite literally an explosive racer--explosives are planted all around the tracks, with players able to activate them depending on their proximity and how well they're driving--Split/Second is coming to PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 around May 18.

Chicago Fire Department officials this afternoon responded to a fire in the seventh floor of a 12-story high-rise building in the Uptown neighborhood, officials said.

A man was in critical condition and was taken to Weiss Memorial Hospital with second-degree burns and smoke inhalation, said Quention Curtis, a spokesman with the fire department.

The fire occurred shortly before 3 p.m. in the building, known as Lawrence House, at 1020 W. Lawrence Ave., Curtis said. The blaze began in a unit on the seventh floor.

An EMS plan 1 was called for the fire, which required six ambulances to respond, officials said.

-- Staff report

Click HERE for a WGN-TV report on this story.

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KALISPELL, Mont. -- Flathead County authorities say a man whose body was found in a snowbank on the southern edge of Glacier National Park was an 18-year-old from Lake Forest, Ill., who had been reported missing in September.

Detectives say it appears Alexander Charles Rettinger committed suicide by huffing helium gas. A helium tank was found near his body, along with a train ticket from Chicago to Seattle. Detectives say it looks like he got off the train in Essex sometime in late September.

Officials say a man who was out for a walk spotted Rettinger's body near the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex last week.

--The Associated Press

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It's usually understood that a Democratic president supports his party's candidates for office, especially when the nominee in question is running for the U.S. Senate seat the president himself once held.

But today Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias' campaign went out of its way to announce that he does, in fact, have the backing of the White House.

Read more in Clout Street on chicagotribune.com.

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Polish developer City Interactive is cutting to the chase. There are three things people like in videogames: snipers, ghosts, and warriors. Imagine the cataclysmic combination of all three in a single piece of interactive entertainment! Enter Sniper: Ghost Warrior!

The game will feature:

"Top of the line ballistic system that accounts for environmental effects like wind and gravity. Track the bullet 'trace' as it cuts through the air towards the target. Modern snipers and their spotters rely upon this 'trace' to make adjustments." "Non-linear gamepla...

Gov. Pat Quinn's top aides today said a mix of spending cuts, "revenue increases" and borrowing will be part of the administration's budget proposal, but taxpayers will have to wait until Wednesday to hear the governor try to get reluctant lawmakers to pass a tax increase before the November election.

Read more in Clout Street on chicagotribune.com.

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My first session at GDC 2010 was "Bringing Unreal Engine 3 to iPhone" and I was excited to hear all about Epic Games' plans for the iPhone, iPod touch and the like. What I got, however, was a programming-heavy talk about the challenges with bringing the technology, made in C++, to the iPhone, which uses Objective-C and Xcode.

Epic Games' Unreal Tournament 3
It won't be much use to you all filtered through my brain--I've only dabbled in programming. The most interesting bit I took away was that the were able to put the engine onto the iPhone 3GS (required) 90% intact as C++ code. The remaini...