251w ago - As many VGC forum-goers have been discussing with great exposition lately, there are many of us who feel as if the reviewing segment of our hobby has gone completely awry over the past few years. In my ever-so humble opinion, when it comes right down to it, I question whether it was any good from the outset.

Many of us grew up with gaming but unfortunately, in many ways, gaming hasn't grown up with us. We're still the purchasers of hackneyed trash and in most cases, we do it with a smile. I had an opening rant prepared on the review system for this editorial but after lengthy consideration, I will defer to Rob Reiner and his mockumentary classic, This is Spinal Tap.

Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...
Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?
Nigel Tufnel: Exactly.
Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?
Marty DiBergi: I don't know.
Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff,...

254w ago - Rockstar has just released new details for GTA: China Town Wars. The game was developed by both Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North.

"This is a game that will deliver a rich, fast-paced and intense 'Grand Theft Auto' experience that will be truly unique to Nintendo's handheld platform," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games.

"Rockstar Leeds, along with the team at Rockstar North, has built upon a decade of progressive design on Grand Theft Auto, and has created something fundamentally fresh and immersive."

China Town Wars will have an all-new story line and take advantage of the DS touch screen. The storyline will focus on the Triad crime syndicate.

259w ago - The Florida Bar has called for infamous anti-games lawyer Jack Thompson to be disbarred and prohibited from applying to practice law for the next 10 years.

Judge Dava Tunis noted that the recommendations will be included in the official report to the Florida Supreme Court, due by September 2.

Thompson walked out of the courtroom after hearing the news, but not before filing a 4,500-word formal objection. Phoenix Wright, he ain't.

Thompson claimed that Tunis's first state loyalty oath was forged and the next two did not conform to the state regulations. Because of this, he's pushing for Tunis to be removed.

"I have fashioned a legal millstone that I will place around your neck and the neck of The Bar," he wrote. "Don't blame me, Referee Tunis, when you feel the water rising."

Senator Obama and Senator Clinton have also warned people of the danger of the Grand Theft Auto series, according to Thompson.

"Because I took on this cop-killing, woman-bashing video game, the Presidential race is now addressing the issue and this particular video game."

Strange, as we've been following the election and we've never seen Grand Theft Auto specifically discussed.

259w ago - THQ has confirmed that Saints Row 2 has been pushed back from August 26 to October 14. According to Reuters, 'a senior THQ executive' has stated that this delay is 'due to product quality and marketing considerations.'

Vivendi (soon to be a part of Activision Blizzard) has delayed PROTOTYPE until 2009. And now word has leaked out that Sony has cancelled The Getaway for the PS3.

What do these three stories have in common? Panic. Game company executives around the world have witnessed the success of Grand Theft Auto IV and have wet themselves in terror. Figuratively. As far as we know.

The thing is, they may have acted too soon. For all of GTA IV's stellar sales and ground-breaking gameplay, consumer interest in the game has plummeted. Presumably, once the single-player game is completed, there is little left to hold their attention. Its position at the top of the online charts has slipped, too, with Halo 3 and CoD 4 reclaiming their rightful places.

However fiery the public interest, GTA IV Fever was never going to last forever. People will certainly crave new novelties by the end of winter, and nothing is more novel than a new open world violence sim to explore.

Barring any surprise announcements (GTA on the Wii, anyone?), this spring will be in the clutches...

259w ago - A significant number of members of Xbox.com are reporting issues with GTA IV including freezing and the 'Red Ring of Death' and are outraged that Microsoft and Rockstar have yet to comment on the situation.

To quote: "If you guys actually read and check Rockstar's official GTA IV forums, you'll find out that they are aware of the freezing problems for PS3 and 360. Their current workaround is: "Delete your saved game, and start over."" said one member.

Further investigation by another member lead to this:

"As it stands, there's no fix. But we did some research and believe we have the answer as to why this is happening.

Rockstar, in their very finite wisdom designed the game to have no loading times. That's great, except for the fact that GTA IV now overloads the cache and causes a lock-up (freeze). So now, instead of saving load times and providing a seamless experience, Rockstar has forced some machines to crash while attempting to load from the cache.

The solution: Rockstar needs to release a patch that limits the strain on the RAM right out of the gate. Can they even do this? Who knows? They haven't managed to make a game that doesn't freeze in two years. Unless you count the mega epic "Table Tennis"."

Another member has reported other...