Posted 09/21/09 at 09:02:58 PM by Nathan Grayson

 It’s Monday, and while normally, that just means the weekend is over and your smile is dead, for the next few weeks, it also means that Direct2Drive’s discounting new batches of games. Hooray!

This week, the five dollar frenzy continues with an influx of MMOs, RPGs, and – for some reason – Assassin’s Creed and GTA: Vice City. But whatever – we’re not complaining. The full list of additions is as follows:

• Neverwinter Nights 2
• Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir
• Assassin's Creed Director's Cut
• Elven Legacy
• EVE Online
• Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
• Titan Quest Bundle
• Planetside: Aftershock
• Drakensang: The Dark Eye
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

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Posted 12/08/08 at 08:17:50 AM by Paul Lilly

Nvidia's nZone website has posted download links to new beta videocard drivers, version 180.84, for both Vista and XP. Little information has been given about the new drivers, other than that they're intended to improve gameplay with Rockstar's new Grand Theft Auto IV videogame.

"Nvidia recommends that you update your system with the following GeForce v180.84 driver for the best experiences on Grand Theft Auto IV," nZone writes. 

Users who have installed and played GTA IV on the PC have complained of varying issues, including missing textures and intermittent crashes. GTA IV's support page lists several troubleshooting steps, one of which recommends users download the newest drivers with a link to the nZone page containing the beta release. However, no specific bug fixes or performance issues have been identified with the new drivers, so it might be hard to tell what difference they're making.

As always, take proper precautions whenever experimenting with pre-release code. As Nvidia discloses regarding beta drivers, they "may include significant issues." When you're ready to take the leap:

GeForce 180.84 (Win XP)
GeForce 180.84 (Win XP 64-bit)
GeForce 180.84 (Vista)
GeForce 180.84 (Vista 64-bit)

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Posted 12/01/08 at 02:55:40 PM by Paul Lilly

Electronic Arts couldn't have predicted the unprecedented backlash from outraged gamers following Spore's release, or at least not the extent that they would take the anti-DRM crusade. Protests ran the gamut from blasting the title with thousands of negative user reviews on Amazon to not just making the game available on warez sites, but actively encouraging consumers to pirate the title. If you thought it might be awhile before SecuROM saddled another high profile release, think again.

Despite all the recent raucous, Rockstar has decided to implement the DRM scheme on GTA IV for the PC. But before you cry foul and grab the pitchforks and torches, Rockstar says its version will be much more user friendly than the one found on EA's Spore.

Hit the jump to see what makes GTA IV's DRM different than Spore's.

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Posted 09/25/08 at 07:45:11 PM by Nathan Grayson

For a man supposedly on an anti-videogame "crusade," Jack Thompson hasn't really accomplished much. He attempted to give Bully the legal equivalent of a swirly -- and lost. He tangoed with The Sims 2 -- and lost. And most famously, he mustered every last bit of his legal prowess against the Grand Theft Auto series -- and, well, you know where we're going with this.

So, today, we'd like you to join us in congratulating Jack Thompson for taking a definitive step toward his goal. See, now that he's been permanently disbarred with no hope of reinstatement, maybe a real lawyer can finally hog the anti-gaming limelight. Hip-hip hooray!

Said the press release:

"Over a very extended period of time involving a number of totally unrelated cases and individuals, [Thompson] has demonstrated a pattern of conduct to strike out harshly, extensively, repeatedly and willfully to simply try to bring as much difficulty, distraction and anguish to those he considers in opposition to his causes. He does not proceed within the guidelines of appropriate professional behavior, but rather uses other means available to intimidate, harass, or bring public disrepute to those whom he perceives oppose him."

The proceedings, which began in June, brought 31 counts against the man fondly referred to by gamers as "Whacko Jacko." He was found guilty of 27.

In addition to a cushy new spot in the unemployment line, Thompson has also been granted the mandatory privilege of paying $43,675.35 in legal fees to the Florida Bar.

The disbarrment will be official 30 days from now, assuming Thompson doesn't nab a retrial. Regardless, however, we doubt Thompson's questionably-sane ramblings are at an end. With the Internet at his fingertips, we're actually kind of looking forward to seeing what Thompson will do next. You know, in the same way we're looking forward to the inevitable day when our doctor diagnoses us with a nice infertility-cancer double-whammy.

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Posted 07/23/08 at 09:32:03 PM by Nathan Grayson

In order to work in the gaming industry -- or any industry where ravenous journalists circle about, just waiting for a choice quote, really -- you probably need a fairly resilient sense of humor. After all, even if you possess an iron will and never blab a single well-guarded secret, out-of-context headlines are still perched atop websites, waiting to knock the wind out of your sails.

With that said, life isn't fair, and I have a living to make. Today's Roundup does, in fact, feature a couple of seemingly-ridiculous lines from a couple of your favorite industry luminaries. But you guys are great, so I'm sure we won't have any issues with context or mockery, right? Right?

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Posted 07/17/08 at 07:45:05 PM by Thomas MacDonald

Watching Grand Theft Auto IV rack up the highest recorded sales in gaming history was one of the most disappointing things I’ve witnessed in 17-plus years of covering this hobby. (PC gamers should get a crack at the game this fall.) If the gaming press is to be believed, GTA4 is simply the greatest game ever made.

Find out just how wrong they are after the jump.

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Posted 06/25/08 at 12:29:24 PM by Paul Lilly

With all the crowing over Rockstar's hidden sexual content unlocked through the now infamous Hot Coffee mod, you'd have thought it was Vivid Entertainment and not Take-Two Interactive who published Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. As it turns out, most gamers weren't so offended after all, and it appears the lawyers were the ones looking to cash in more than anyone else. Why? Keep reading to find out.

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Posted 06/23/08 at 07:32:04 PM by Thomas MacDonald

Have you heard the one about the 3,500 research studies that show a positive relationship between media violence and violent behavior? It’s an old cudgel often used to bludgeon the gaming industry in the debate about violent games.

Click 'Read On' to see the rest of the column.

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