1UP's Grand Theft Auto IV Review, Score: 10/10

Crispin Boyer at 1up writes:
Niko Bellic, Grand Theft Auto IV's bruiser from the former Eastern Bloc, is a stone-cold couch potato, a desperate online dater with dead-on aim, and a chronic websurfer who could kill you in a hand-to-hand Krav Maga brawl. Fresh off the boat, he's an illegal immigrant pursuing the dual American dreams of quick money and mass multimedia consumption in the most vibrant, dynamic, and entertainment-packed playground in console videogame history: Liberty City. The civil engineers at Rockstar Games have upgraded this burg's infrastructure since we visited seven years ago in GTA3, adding basic cable (hours of programming Niko can watch on safe-house TVs), an in-game Internet rich with blogs, parody websites -- even e-mail spams -- and such star attractions as [spoiler deleted] performing stand-up comedy as well as a gentleman's club filled with G-stringed strippers who buzz your controller's vibration motors as they grind Niko's lap. (If you must wear sweatpants when you play, please don't share your joypad.)

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GameTrailer's Grand Theft Auto IV Review, Score: 9.8/10

Has the new dawn of open world games arrived?

IGN's Madden NFL 09' Preview

Nate Ahearn at IGN writes:

"Every single year Madden Football is one of the most celebrated and scrutinized releases on the calendar. It's beloved and hated for the same reason: it's the only professional football title available on today's market. There are those that say that it's simply a roster update from year to year, and then there are those that say, "It's a football game, what more do you want?" Regardless, with the announcement of the "retired" Brett Favre as the cover athlete for this year's (the 20th anniversary for the series) game, the hype train for Madden NFL 09' began to chug this weekend in New York City with a slew of pre-draft festivities, interviews, and celebrity sightings. We were on-hand to soak it all in and pry as many details out of liquored up EA developers as we possibly could".

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PS3 Fanboy hands-on: Siren: New Translation

Majed Athab at PS3Fanboy writes:

"A Siren: New Translation demo hit the Japanese PSN last night. We've had the pleasure of downloading it, and you can too if you've got a Japanese PSN account. We've finished the demo, so if you can't get to playing it, you can read our thoughts on it right here.

First thing you'll notice is that the voice acting is in English for non-Japanese characters, just like in the trailer. The main menu is also in English, but the tutorial is all in Japanese. With the tutorial in a foreign language, it was tough figuring out a few things at first; however, we've gone through the hard parts, and hopefully this preview will provide enough insight to get you through the demo for yourself".

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X-Play's Big Ones: Killzone 2, Too Human & Socom: Confrontation

X-Play takes a look at the biggest upcoming titles, including Killzone 2, Too Human and SOCOM: Confrontation.



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Grand Theft Auto 4 may help Sony gain ground

Scott Hills at Reuters writes:
"Grand Theft Auto 4, the biggest, meanest, raunchiest video game of the year, looks set to help Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 console gain new ground in its turf war with Microsoft's Xbox 360.

It's already a given that the newest chapter in Take-Two Interactive Software Inc's hit criminal franchise will be the biggest game of 2008, with up to $400 million expected in sales in its first week.

But Grand Theft Auto 4, which rampages onto store shelves next Tuesday, will also be an important new weapon in the running battle between the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

The two console giants are trying to convince gamers that their machines offer the best way to revel in GTAIV gritty violence and gleefully dark skewering of American culture.

The game, which cannot be played on the older PlayStation 2 or original Xbox hardware, is expected to boost sales of the new consoles over the next few months, typically a slow season for the industry".

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IGN's Grand Theft Auto IV Review, Score: 10/10

Hilary Goldstein at IGN writes:
"Criminals are an ugly, cowardly lot more worthy of pity and disdain than admiration. This is what you'll learn playing through the single-player campaign in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV. The series cheered (and criticized) for glorifying violence has taken an unexpected turn: it's gone legit. Oh sure, you'll still blow up cop cars, run down innocent civilians, bang hookers, assist drug dealers and lowlifes and do many, many other bad deeds, but at a cost to main character Niko Bellic's very soul. GTA IV gives us characters and a world with a level of depth previously unseen in gaming and elevates its story from a mere shoot-em-up to an Oscar-caliber drama. Every facet of Rockstar's new masterpiece is worthy of applause. Without question, Grand Theft Auto IV is the best game since Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time".

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