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Civilization was never the most realistic game, and those who enjoyed battling against a nuclear-armed Gandhi have not minded. The next one, Civilization V, though may be the most natural one thanks to some crafty tweaks.

Kotaku was shown an early version of development studio Firaxis' Civ V running on a PC on the first day of Game Developers Conference here in San Francisco. What was shown was a Civ that behaves just a little more like it is in the real world in regards to everything from terrain to the rules of war and international relations. All have been modified to feel more true to life and more rife than ever with strategic potential.

The game is still a turn-based single or multiplayer quest requiring ample brainpower and planning. Like other Civilization games, the player...

Decatur police said the two young boys abducted Tuesday afternoon have been found, but they would not release any other information about the case early this morning.

A dispatcher said police were still investigating the incident and would not say if the boys were harmed.

Authorities had issued an Amber Alert after the boys, Terry Antonio Smith, 4, and J-Amarcus Upchurch, 1-month, were taken by two men in the 1900 block of East Cantrell Street at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

They were last seen in a silver passenger car with the partial Missouri license plate U D G, turning on to a side road off Cantrell Street.

The boys were taken by two African-American men, one about 5-foot-8 and wearing dark clothing, police said.

The alert didn't indicate w...

The game features 8 fighters: Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Blanka, Dhalsim, Abel, and M. Bison. The fighters can be used for head-to-head multiplayer over Bluetooth or for solo play modes including Dojo mode, which challenges the player to complete increasingly difficult trials while teaching the basics of the port.

I was as skeptic as anyone else, but I'm happy to report that this is faithful port of the full-sized game, minus the characters and modes. Yes, complex combos and moves can be pulled off after a bit of practice. After about 15 minutes, I was able to execute Ryu's signature combo from Street Fighter IV: the shoryuken focus attack dash cancel into his ultra combo.

The game utilizes some shortcuts to assist with special moves. A dedicated on-screen button for specials h...

All lanes of the outbound Eisenhower Expressway were blocked tonight after a rollover crash just east of Pulaski Road, state police said.

The incident occurred at about 11:15 p.m., a dispatcher said. There were injuries, but they were not considered life-threatening, he added.

No other information was immediately available.

--Staff report

SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday unveiled a caustic budget plan that would borrow billions of dollars to stay afloat and push even more debt down the road, hoping to persuade leery lawmakers to instead raise taxes in an election year.

Quinn aides warned the plan would cost some 13,000 teachers and staff their jobs, cut off poor seniors from help in paying costly prescriptions and shut down some health care programs for the indigent. But even after about $2 billion in cuts, the state would still be $11 billion in the hole.

The administration's warnings served as the precursor for the Democratic governor's Wednesday budget address before a joint session of lawmakers who want to wrap up their business in two months so they can focus on their re-election.

Click HERE for Quinn's 2011 budget overview.

Quinn is expected to restate the unsuccessful call he made last year for higher taxes.

But the political dynamics for a tax increase have grown onl...

While everyone pretty much knew he was coming, it's still nice to see Capcom take the wraps off Super Street Fighter IV's final new character Hakan with a couple of trailers.

There's a gameplay trailer, above, and a character trailer below. Amazing how, even in these lo-fi web clips, he's already so oily.

Super Street Fighter IV will be out at the end of April, and will be released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

[IGN]

City officials in Wheaton say the west suburb's attempt to rid itself of predatory coyotes is off to a successful start.

Authorities say four coyotes were captured near Wheaton and killed on Monday -- the same day the city announced it had hired a trapper to get rid of them.

Officials said Tuesday professional trapper Rob Erickson caught the coyotes in an unincorporated area near the Chicago Golf Club. That is close to the neighborhoods where a string of deadly coyote attacks on pets have occurred in recent months.

But Wheaton Councilman John Prendiville, who voted against hiring a trapper, says he believes educating the public -- not killing coyotes -- is the way to handle the problem.

--Associated Press

One person was killed Tuesday night in a traffic crash on Interstate Highway 57 that has closed two inbound lanes, authorities said.

One northbound lane remained open while Illinois State police investigated the crash that occurred just south of the Halsted Street exit, authorities said. Police officials anticipate the two lanes will remain closed for several more hours.

The collision occurred at about 10:15 p.m., state police said. Details on how the crash occurred weren't available. One person was killed, but no other details were available.

--Staff report