Grand Theft Auto IV - A Perfect Game?

When you look at the staggering reviews for GTA4, one begins to wonder if this could possibly be a perfect game?

See for yourself below:

Gamespot - 10/10


1UP - A+



IGN - 10/10


Game Informer - 10/10

Game Spy - 5/5


...and so forth. I just picked it up today, so check back in a few days to read the official VG Freedome review.

Mario Kart Wii - Reviews

Watch the review today, buy the game tomorrow:

Gamespot


1up

Digital Taxes?

Your purchases on the Playstation Network, Xbox Live, and the Wii shop channel might be a little more expensive.

Cnet's news blog reported that a possible tax on digital downloads are being pushed by politicians which could affect video game users.

Currently 16 states and the District of Columbia have endorsed a tax on all digital purchases in order remedy budget woes. (See the complete list below)

The article notes:

"Some opponents fear that broad definition could sweep up everything from electronic tax-preparation services to video games to advertising, causing new headaches for online retailers and their customers."

This could mean that your downloadable games and content could be taxed.

My question is how are they going to regulate that?

I'm not sure how one could designate where someone is purchasing the digital information. The internet is not exactly a state or nation that has clear boundaries.

However, I can see how forcing consumers to register their product in a specific state could attempt to remedy the problem, but one could always lie.

Nevertheless, there are ways to track the location of where people are located such as the "Where are you?" box to the left on this very site.

But even that can be mirrored or circumvented.

I'm not sure, but this could be bad things for fans of digital downloads, but tracking you down could be a little difficult.


Below is the list of states that have supported the digital download tax:

Alabama
Arizona
Colorado
Hawaii
Idaho
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
New Jersey
New Mexico
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Washington
West Virginia
The District of Columbia

Can video games predict the future of sports?

Tired of gambling your money away on your own "professional" picks for upcoming sporting events?

Then look no further than...video games?

Yes, gamespot.com posted a story on their news blog announcing to the world that the San Jose Sharks will be the 2008 Stanly Cup champions!!!

But, how do they know?

Enter: NHL 08 from our friends at EA Sports.

Apparently, EA ran the Stanly Cup playoff schedule through a simulation on their NHL 08 title which showed San Jose and Montreal in the finals with the Sharks winning it out in seven games.

Based on the ultra-sophisticated nature of next-generation artificial intelligence and hardware this simulation should be accurate, correct?

(Buzzing noise, wrong)

I don't know if it was just me, but I seem to remember a certain New England football team being a heavy favorite to win the Super Bowl in all simulations of EA's Madden 08....Whoops.

I realize this is all in good fun, but it serves as a reminder that video games cannot always predict the future and may not be an entirely reliable bet when it comes complex and random nature of human interaction and - in this case - sports.

Nevertheless, who knows. Anything can happen in the realm of sports and maybe EA will be exactly correct.

In that case, I might be picking up a few more copies of EA's Rugby title and taking a trip to Europe.

DualShock 3 Release...Soon

Both 1up and Gamespot have reported that Sony's DualShock 3 controller will be released sometime very soon.

Gamespot reported that the new rumble sensitive controller will be released sometime this week.

1up said next week.

Therefore, we know it will be very soon and that it will basically be the Sixaxis controller with a rumble feature. However, 1up seems to follow an MTV site that said that "a Sony rep" told the MTV reporter, “Sixaxis will no longer be offered after it’s completely sold through at retail (likely by the summer timeframe).”

I'm not so sure that this is true because "a Sony rep" isn't a very reliable source and no other major news outlet has conformed that as of yet.

However, I am not too sure that many PS3 owners will run out a buy a DualShock 3 with it's $55 price tag for basically a Sixaxis controller with a rumble feature that no one seemed to miss in the first place.

Also, Sony has yet to do anything overly creative with the Sixaxis controller as of yet anyway. Sure, guiding a cannon ball in "Heavenly Sword" or fighter jet in "Warhawk" is fun, but those are console-specific titles. You will not see any use of the Sixaxis controller with titles that are also available on the Xbox 360 because it is simply too much of a pain in the butt to program for.

It's just a shame that Sony has the technology to incorporate some of the novelty that has made the Wii so popular, yet doesn't enough support to effectively use it.

Nevertheless, Sony is hoping that returning rumble functionality in the DualShock 3 will glaze over the fact that Sixaxis has been virtually useless to date.

Here is a list of titles that will automatically be functional with the DualShock 3:

Formula One Championship Edition
MotorStorm*
Pain
High Velocity Bowling
MLB 08: The Show
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Resistance: Fall of Man*
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Go! Sports Ski*
Folklore*
Heavenly Sword*
Warhawk*
Super Stardust HD*
Snakeball
Toy Home
PSOne Emulation
Piyotama
PixelJunk Monsters
Blast Factor*
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Lost: Via Domus
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2*
Burnout Paradise
Dynasty Warriors 6
Devil May Cry 4
DragonBall Z Burst Limit
Turok

*Titles will be given rumble functionality through an update