Right now, I'm getting my butt kicked by a high fever, but I persevere to bring you the latest round of late night consoling! Being sick, I stayed home today from my day job and played Super Mario 64 the entire time. I'm a bit surprised at how well I'm doing, having accrued over 30 stars already. I wonder if I'm progressing so fast because of the years of experience of playing 3D platformers or that the game is just simpler the older you are? In any case, it's good to see it stand the test of time. I hate it when I go back to play an old favorite and feel like, "I liked this again why?"

	University of Central Florida and EA to Open Game School In a joint venture, Electronic Arts and the University of Central Florida are to open a new academy, the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, with the goal to teach students how to design, program, and test video games. The school is set to open in Fall 2005, located somewhere in downtown Orlando, and hopes to produce 100 graduates a year. Electronic Arts is helping create the curriculum and will offer internships to students and faculty, as well as provide staff to teach classes. Since I live here in Orlando, this'll definitely be interesting as they compete with the other famous game school, Full Sail, which is just minutes from UCF and the downtown area.
	New Ridge Racer Coming Not much to this story other than the headline, but GameSpot reports that in their latest public earnings report, Namco announced they are planning on releasing a new Ridge Racer title sometime before the end of their 2005 fiscal year, which ends on March 2005. No details on game or platform specifics were identified.
	More Lord of the Rings Games Planned It had been understood that The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age would be the last game based on the series, however IGN reports that during a recent demo of the game, they were tipped off that many more titles were in the works. Planned for a 2005 release, the next game is supposed to go back to its hack-n-slash roots with the series then alternating between action and RPG elements per title.
	GameCube Pandora Tomorrow Upgrades IGN has details on the enhancements that the GameCube version of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow will hold. The biggie is a whole new jungle level set in Indonesia. Other bits are post-mission statistics, new pathways in current maps, and a new gameplay type called 'booby trap.' Not only that, but there will be GCN-to-GBA connectivity that'll open up new missions for the GBA version as well as let you use the GBA as an overhead map.
	Pokemon Box US-bound Nintendo has decided to sell the Pokemon Box GameCube software exclusively through its New York-based Pokemon Center. The software allows users to organize their 1500 pocket monsters as well as play the Ruby and Sapphire games on the GCN using only the GBA link cable. Pokemon Box will come packaged with a memory card 251 and a GCN/GBA link cable.
	Misc. Q&As/Interviews GameSpy interviews EAD deputy manager Eiji Aonuma, the man in charge of the new Legend of Zelda, which he confirms work is being done on Zelda for the DS.
	Misc. Media/Previews
	GameSpot pimps some new screens of Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner and some footage of Crimson Tears. WorthPlaying spins out with their preview of MTV Music Generator 3. IGN has a video showcasing the cars of Enthusia Professional Racing.
	TeamXbox goes hands-on with Forza Motorsport. IGN has a video of a boss fight from Kameo: Elements of Power.
	WorthPlaying takes a look at the upcoming RPG Tales of Symphonia. Not only that, but they bust out with the videos for three titles: Geist, Killer 7, and Advance Wars: Under Fire.
	IGN has a first look at the Treasure RPG Advance Guardian Heroes while CVG has screenshots of the same game.
	GameSpot gives us official trailers for Prince of Persia 2 and Psi-ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, both games to be released on all platforms. They also went hands-on with ESPN NFL 2K5 (PS2, Xbox). GamerFeed provides a potent preview of Viewtiful Joe 2 (PS2, GCN). IGN pulls out a trailer for The Incredibles (PS2, Xbox, GCN, GBA) and goes hands-on with NCAA 2005 (PS2, Xbox, GCN). Over at TeamXbox is a preview of Street Racing Syndicate (PS2, Xbox, GCN) and some screens of Mercenaries (PS2, Xbox). They also give us in-depth looks at DRIV3R and Burnout 3. GameInformer has some impressions and media of the upcoming Guilty Gear X2 #Reloaded (PS2, Xbox). GameSpy dishes out a preview of The Red Star (PS2, Xbox) and their owns looks at DRIV3R and Guilty Gear X2 #Reloaded.