Grand Theft Auto IV is a video game "masterpiece"

Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008 By Scott Hillis

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Video gamers geared up on Monday for the midnight launch of "Grand Theft Auto 4," as early reviews hailed the criminal action title as a brutal and satirical "masterpiece" equal to films like "The Godfather."

The near-universal accolades lavished on "Grand Theft Auto 4" also helped boost the shares of publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc as much as 3.4 percent, with analysts saying it could help the company's bargaining position as it faces a takeover offer from rival Electronic Arts Inc.

Judging from early reviews, "Grand Theft Auto 4" -- made by Take-Two's Rockstar studio -- appears on track to be the best- rated video game ever and one that could cement video games as a serious art form.

"'Grand Theft Auto IV' is a violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling work of cultural satire disguised as fun," The New York Times said.

Based on more than a dozen reviews compiled by Metacritic, a widely tracked aggregator of gaming reviews, the version of GTA4 for Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 game console has scored a perfect 100, while the one for Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 has achieved a 99.

"Rockstar's magnum opus is a modern-day masterpiece that could change the way the world views video games," gaming news and reviews Web site GameSpy wrote, awarding the game a perfect five-star rating.

"You'll quickly come to realize that the nuanced story telling and presentation is on par with the finest films by directors like Martin Scorcese or Francis Ford Coppola."

The glowing reviews may bolster the position of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc Chairman Strauss Zelnick, who has rejected EA's offer as too low and has insisted on waiting until after the game's launch before entering discussions.

"These ratings are quite extraordinary. It's something special and helps us understand why Take-Two was so confident and adamant that they wanted to wait," said UBS analyst Ben Schachter.

The Tuesday launch of "Grand Theft Auto 4" is expected to be the biggest entertainment event of the year, with first-week sales forecast to be up to $400 million, beating those of last year's "Halo 3" from Microsoft Corp.

Many outlets of chains such as GameStop Corp and Best Buy Co Inc have taken advance orders for weeks and are throwing open their doors at midnight to accommodate gamers eager to be among the first to play.

"Our expectations are very high, higher than analysts give the game credit for," Take-Two Chief Executive Ben Feder told Reuters. "All the analysts had a (sales) number, give or take, and I think we will be on the upside of that."

"Grand Theft Auto 4" casts players as an Eastern European immigrant who delivers drugs, shoots cops and beats up prostitutes after falling in with a crime syndicate, stuff that has drawn fire from family groups and politicians.

Entertainment website IGN praised "Grand Theft Auto 4" for showing the effects of depravity on the main character.

"'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-calibre drama," IGN said.

Critics saved some of their most fulsome praise for the game's setting, a fictionalized New York called Liberty City, with distinct neighbourhoods and colourful inhabitants who react intelligently to the player and each other.

"The idea of a 'living, breathing city' has always been somewhat of a joke in gaming. Every city in the past has felt artificial in some way. But Liberty City feels like a real place," IGN said.

Some reviewers said the game was not without its faults, with many pointing out some graphical glitches and difficulty completing some of the nearly 150 missions on offer.

"Flawless? No. But it's about as close to a game can come to being perfect," popular gaming blog Kotaku.com said.

(Reporting by Scott Hillis, editing by Gerald E. McCormick/Andre Grenon)

Springsteen keyboardist Danny Federici dies at 58

Friday, Apr 18, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Keyboardist Danny Federici, who for four decades played alongside rock star Bruce Springsteen as part of the E Street Band and helped define his rollicking sound, has died of melanoma. He was 58.

Federici's death at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York on Thursday was announced on Springsteen's official Web site and the rocker postponed a pair of weekend concerts in Florida.

"Danny and I worked together for 40 years - he was the most wonderfully fluid keyboard player and a pure natural musician. I loved him very much ... we grew up together," Springsteen said on the Web site.

Federici had suffered from melanoma for three years and last played with the E Street Band at a concert in Indianapolis on March 20, delivering an accordion solo on the song "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)."

Like Springsteen, Federici was born in New Jersey and played the accordion from an early age, performing at parties and clubs and developing an interest in jazz and blues music.

He first joined Springsteen in the late 1960s, when the singer songwriter who would become known as "The Boss" was still an unknown, and Federici's organ, accordion and keyboard work was considered a key part of the E Street Band's signature sound on such songs as "Hungry Heart."

Nicknamed "Phantom," he was often overshadowed onstage by the out-sized presence of saxophone player Clarence Clemons, but on leaving the band to seek treatment for his illness in November of last year, Federici was described by Springsteen as "one of the pillars of our sound."

When Springsteen put the E Street Band on hiatus during the 1990s to explore other projects, Federici recorded a solo jazz album titled "Flemington" after his New Jersey hometown. He released a second album, "Sweet," in 2004.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

David Bowie to release 1972 concert bootleg

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ziggy Stardust is rising again.

David Bowie will release a widely bootlegged live recording taken from his first U.S. tour in 1972, when he transformed himself into his androgynous, alien-rocker alter ego.

"David Bowie: Live Santa Monica '72," set for release on July 8 via Virgin/EMI, is taken from a show at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles. The October 20 concert was recorded by a now-defunct radio station KMET-FM, and underground copies have made the show a fan favourite.

Bowie is also fond of the recording, according to a statement released on Thursday by EMI Music Marketing.

"We trainwreck a couple of things, I miss some words and sometimes you wouldn't know that pianist Mike Garson was onstage with us, but overall I really treasure this bootleg. (Late guitarist) Mick Ronson is at his blistering best."

About half of the tracks from his 1972 studio album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars" appear on the disc, including concert opener "Hang On To Yourself" and "Suffragette City."

Tunes from such earlier releases as "Hunky Dory" and "The Man Who Sold the World" also made the set list. Additionally, Bowie previewed "The Jean Genie," which would appear on his 1973 album "Aladdin Sane."

The CD and double-vinyl versions of the EMI release will include photos taken at the show and a reprint of Los Angeles Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn's review. It is also available as a digital download.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman)