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Rolling around jacking up innocents and tossing Molotov cocktails is pretty enthralling on your vanilla 46-inch HDTV, but can you even imagine the rush of swiping a hot dog, burning out in someone else’s whip and then snagging a new pair of kicks on this? Researchers (and gamers, obviously) down at UC San Diego have re-engineered their middleware to enable such masterpieces as this to be played on the big monolithic HIPerSpace screen, and needless to say, we can’t imagine much real work getting done with this new functionality coming to light. Head on down to the gallery to see what you’re missing — science, research and 4.0 GPAs are such beautiful things.

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Each week, X3F tips gamers to the tricks of the trade of Achievement hording in Points>Life. Every week a new achievement is unlocked to help you continue your unhealthy obsession with the Xbox 360 meta-game.

This week Points>Life has been carjacked by Grand Theft Auto IV and we bring you a tip that is both hilarious and informative. Utilizing the easter egg found at the heart of the city, we show you how to nab the achievement for a surviving a 6-Star Wanted level for 5 minutes. Check this one out!

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Someone’s knocking on Nintendo’s door, and he just drove through seven red lights in a hijacked car with a shotgun in tow to get there. Forbes has published a piece on how Grand Theft Auto IV’s success threatens the Nintendo Wii since the console, you know, doesn’t have the game. In fact, that’s all the article seems to be saying: the Wii is doing great, but because it doesn’t have GTA IV, that money-printing success might be at a halt.

While that’s how the article is framed, the direction seems to split off from there, with the author talking about GTA IV’s success juxtaposed with complaints about the Wii’s hardware, online and abundance of shovelware — he even bring up Chris Heck’s duct tape rant. Said the article, “The problem is, it could get tougher and tougher to go the other way. It’s hard to imagine how the sprawling world of Grand Theft Auto IV–which already taxes the multicore processors powering the XBox and Playstation–could be recreated on the Wii.”

We’re not saying Nintendo doesn’t have problems with shovelware or appealing to the more hardcore gamer crowd, but we also think the way the article presents its case makes the GTA IV issue feel a little taped on. If the UK Wii Fit launch is any indication, Nintendo’s money train is still right on track.

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We realize that many, many Grand Theft Auto fans have already perused the contents of their shiny, new Special Editions of Grand Theft Auto IV — which includes an actual safety deposit box, among other things — but there are also plenty of gamers out there who opted to grab the vanilla edition instead. It is with this in mind that we point you to 360Sync’s unboxing of the Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition (it’s the Canadian version — note the “Édition spéciale”). Grab your smoking jacket, pour the Courvoisier, and savor the images.

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Is it all that surprising? Xbox 360 director of product management (and all around snappy dresser) Aaron Greenberg told Reuters that it wouldn’t be surprising to see Grand Theft Auto IV snag the top position on Xbox Live. While most Xbox Live gamers know that shooters like Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 are generally the major competitors for the number one slot on Xbox Live, Greenberg said of GTAIV, “The multiplayer in this game is so well implemented that I can’t imagine anyone owning a copy without trying to play it on Xbox Live.” Greenberg is probably right about that. After all, he forecasts (correctly, we’d guess) that GTAIV will be the highest selling game of 2008, so there will certainly be plenty of players ready to go online. The question is whether or not players will continue to play once they’ve given multiplayer a try.

Will GTAIV take the top spot? We’re going to go out on a limb and say yes. Will it stay? We’ll have to wait and see.

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A forum poster at GTAForums that goes by the name oPg^ has uploaded a seven pictures of what looks like the Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition box, opened to reveal the metal tin and subsequently the game itself (it’s the PS3 version). The setting is a nondescript factory or retail backroom, where you can also see shots of Mario Kart Wii being poised for Sunday’s release.

We hope their hands aren’t easily identifiable, as Rockstar will probably want to crack some skulls with a baseball bat in a faux-urban environment after partaking in a health-boosting car ride with a prostitute over all this.

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Just in case a cameo on some Swedish e-tailer’s site wasn’t enough proof for you, Sony has confirmed that all of our hopes and dreams are coming true… in Europe. Yep, the blokes and dames across the pond will be able to snag a special edition PlayStation 3 bundle with Grand Theft Auto IV (and a SIXAXIS wireless controller) bundled in for €439 ($696). Beyond that (and the way cool box), everything else looks to be the standard fare — pick one up if you wish on April 29th.

Via Joystiq]

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Using Chicago’s street violence as a springboard, the city’s FOX affiliate aired a piece about Grand Theft Auto IV ads on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). Thanks to the report, all the GTA IV advertising will now be removed.

As GamePolitics points out, the ads do not depict any scenes of violence and it’s currently unknown what the CTA’s policy is on advertising R-rated movies; the CTA also stopped an ad campaign back in 2004 for GTA: San Andreas. Boston, Denver and Portland, Oregon, have had similar issues with GTA ads on its public transportation system. Ironically, the FOX affiliate promotes alcohol on its website (picture after the break). Wonder how many people died of alcohol related incidents in Chicago this weekend?

[Via GamePolitics]

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