After finally confirming what we all been suspecting since, forever, Rockstar gave us a first look at it’s wild western sequel. It doesn’t reveal a whole lot about the game, but seeing as how it’s not due until 2017, we’ll no doubt be learning more throughout the next several months.

It goes live very soon. This post will be updated with more information as soon as we’re able to see it.

Video Games are murder simulators. This was declared by recently disbarred attorney Jack Thompson. He then came up with a proposal that could be considered no less than genius: create a game in which the player plays as the vengeful father of a kid who was killed by another kid who played video games. The father then goes on a rampage, killing the head of the software company who created the game, then expanding his rampage to killing as many of the people involved in the games industry as possible. If such a game was made, Mr, Thompson promised that he would donate $10,000 to the charity of the choice of Paul Eibeler, the head of Take-Two Interactive. A group of programmers (consisting of 3 alcoholics and a foreign exchange student) dubbed themselves “Thompsonsoft” and created I’m O.K, a tongue-in-cheek ‘murder simulator’. However,Thompson went back on his word to make a donation claiming that his proposal was a joke, and web comic artists Penny Arcade made the donation themselves. Although it’s not a game so much as political satire, I’m O.K is fun in its own right. Taking inspiration from the 8 and 16 bit days of gaming, I’m O.K is a 2D action platformer. Taking control of Osaki Kim, the father of a kid who was killed by a gamer, you take your revenge on the game industry using several weapons. Starting off by killing the head of fictional gaming company “Take-This”, he then takes his revenge on the entire gaming industry, from the lawyers at “Blank Stare” to an arcade, O.K makes his move to E3 2006, where the heads of the gaming industry will gather. In between levels, you take part in a gallery shooting bonus stage where you go into retail shops killing gamers and earning more money to buy more weapons. The game is gory and hilarious, and it is available for download over at http://www.imok.gzwn.net/.

Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

Grand Theft Auto is a 1977 film that marked former child actor Ron Howard’s debut as a director. Howard stepped in the role of a young man who runs away with his girlfriend when her rich and overprotective father tries to hook her up with a rich young socialite. The Grand Theft Auto part of the film comes into play when the girlfriend steals her father’s Rolls-Royce, as the two have their sights set on a Vegas wedding. The socialite puts a bounty on his head, and hi-jinks ensue.

Grand Theft Auto is no laughing matter however. In 2005 alone, there were approximately 1.2 million reported cases of motor vehicle theft, costing an estimated $7.6 billion in property losses. As you can see, it is a very serious crime in any state, along with most of the civilized world. Offenders can expected to spend up to 15 years or more in prison, depending on the severity of the crime.

The GTA I’m referring to is neither a Ron Howard flick or the real life crime. It is a game franchise created by DMA Designs under the direction of Lemmings creator David Jones. The games cast players in the shoes of criminals, and as the title suggests, they must commit Grand Theft Auto (along with other crimes) to get ahead. The series has spanned 10 separate installments and 4 expansion packs. Its formula of open-world gaming and criminal mayhem has earned the franchise a special place on the shelves of many a gamer. Yet, GTA remains one of the most controversial franchises in gaming, and not just for its adult content.
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With the release of Grand Theft Auto 3, the GTA series went from a cult hit to a pop culture icon almost overnight. However, as titles such as Vice City Stories painfully illustrated, the series was beginning to run its course. Though it was far from mediocrity, it was becoming obvious that the series would need to be reinvented if it was to maintain its relevance in the new generation of game consoles. Thankfully, this was a fact that was not lost on Rockstar, and they went right back to the drawing board for GTA IV and came back with nothing less than a masterpiece.
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While many have been planning on playing the newest installment of Grand Theft Auto this year, Take-Two has just announced in a press release that both the Playstation 3 and Xbox360 versions of the game have been delayed until the second fiscal quarter of 2008. The cause of the delay is apparently due to Rockstar requesting “more development time”. This may be a shock to many, however rumors were floating around that there have been technical issues developing both consoles. While purely speculation, this coincides with the rumors that Microsoft may be allowing developers make games with a hard drive requirement.

You can read the official press release here.

Remember the days of oldschool games, when you just got *the game*; the regular edition as an only option, and none of these fancy frills and extra features or crazy box art and different colors – just the game?

Yeah, that doesn’t happen anymore.

Seems Rockstar announced that Grand Theft Auto 4 will also be getting a gussied-up version of the game as well. GTA: IV Special Edition will come in a safety deposit box-like cover, with a special art book and production art all bundled in, along with a CD sampler of music from the game and a Rockstar keychain. Aaaaand, dun dun dun….a duffle bag. Pre-ordering for the special edition has already commensed, at a retail value of $89.99

Grand Theft Auto 4 releases this October 16th in North America & October 19th in Europe for both PS3 and Xbox 360.

Rockstar Games history is the kind of tale you’d expect to hear about an up and coming band, complete with pitfalls and successes on the way to making it big. The name really does fit them.

WIRED‘s Dave Kushner takes a deeper look into the rise and fall of Rockstar this month. It might seem ludicrous to claim the company is sliding now unless you consider the last 3 games they’ve release have sold poorly, and they’re in such financial trouble even a million selling Manhunt 2 on Wii may not save them. Hot Coffee can still be enjoyed, but backdated stock options could close the doors for good.

Whatever the case, its a good read about a group of developers who got more than they bargained for when they wanted to turn games into controversial social commentary. Read on…