The video game Grand Theft Auto has already spent some time in the Southland with "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," but the latest edition of the video game takes place in Los Santos, a dead ringer for the City of Angels. The City of Saints is full of smoggy sunsets, slanted palm tree shadows and lots references to the dark underbelly of the California dream. more ›

In honor of this weekend's Tetris World Championships held this Sunday here in Los Angeles, today's video lunch is a sampling of versions of the Tetris music done in oh-so-many different ways. more ›

Didn't get enough of your L.A. Noire fix with last week's then-and-now photo gallery? Check out the map above to find the modern-day locations of the buildings and landmarks featured in last Wednesday's post. Many of the spots are conveniently located within walking distance to Red Line Metro stops. more ›

There are some great music mashups out there, but for video gamers, there is a whole sub-genre of mashups where audio from the "cinematic trailer" of their favorite game is paired up with the visuals from...well, something totally different. For your video lunch today, come with us to the land of magic and enchantment, as technicolor cartoon ponies learn that "Friendship is Magic." Or that the world of "StarCraft II" is as scary as...oh, ponies don't use those words. more ›

The woman who was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver Tuesday night in Playa del Rey has been identified as 48-year-old Brigitte Burdine. Burdine "worked as a casting director on World of Warcraft and Socom 3: U.S. Navy Seals as well as other games," according to G4. more ›

On Saturday, Capcom treated their fans to a food and game playing event to celebrate a collaboration 10 years in the making--the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. Pitting Marvel versus Capcom, the event was a fun collision between the very distinct realms of game geeks and celebri-chefs, with the battle played out on the palate in a food truck battle between the two rival forces. more ›

Giant Robot's Eric Nakamura has curated a new gallery show opening at the Scion Installation space this weekend which focuses on the Famicom-inspired custom Scion art car, video game-inspired art, 8-bit sculptures, and more interactive elements. more ›

As the only major studio film released on Friday, it's no wonder that the middling Resident Evil: Afterlife topped the box office this weekend. The tired zombie flick brought in $27.7M to easily smash the rest of the competition. The resilient Takers was a distant second, but is proving to be a solid hit for Screen Gems ($6.1M | $48.1M). Last week's champ, The American, slipped to third ($5.8M | $26.7M) but was still able to top Machete ($4.2M | $20.8M). The sad Going the Distance rounded out the top 5 ($3.8M | $14M). more ›

Since it debuted last month, it hasn't been much of a secret, but many don't know. Here goes: Pyongyang Express, the North Korean food truck that carries images of dictator Kim Jong Il and the country's flag is just viral marketing for a video game. more ›

"If you own a PS3, you've got to have this game. (Gametrailers.com)" 5 Stars. 10 out of 10. Game of the Year. Best of Show. The best action game to date. With a Metacritic score of 96 (out of 100), Uncharted 2 is universally acclaimed and with a million copies sold in the first week, it makes Uncharted 2 the must have game of the year. After many sleepless nights researching (read: playing) the sequel, LAist got to chat with Evan Wells, co-president of Naughty Dog. more ›

For those who are handier with a Wiimote than a spatula, the Food Network and Namco Bandai have an upcoming release for the Wii that might be of interest. "Cook or Be Cooked!" is a game designed to closely mimic real-life cooking actions (minus the tasty results...we're not that Jetsons yet!) using Food Network-approved recipes you can duplicate in your kitchen once you've mastered the game. more ›

Last month, local record label Nettwerk hosted a sneak preview of EA's first-person parkour-inspired action-adventure at The Sync in Hollywood, with a demo station offering a chance to play as the lead character, Faith, as she leapt across rooftops and engaged in hand-to-hand combat: more ›

Colourmusic are the rarest of musical rarities- a band from the isolated hinter portions of America's Heartland (Also known as "The Sticks") that not only doesn't suck, but actually turns out to be pretty great. And not in that sort of special olympics, everyone's a winner, "well, they're good for [insert your tiny state here]" kind of way, but actually, honestly, for realsies good. Kind of like how The Flaming Lips are so good you're kind of surprised to find out they're from Norman, Oklahoma. more ›

With so many epic video game titles making their debut last year, 2008 has some pretty big shoes to fill. Several titles released in 2007 undoubtedly rank the highest among several industry top 10 lists; Bioshock, Call of Duty 4, and Mass Effect to name a few. These games have proven and will continue to prove that they will be quite difficult to surpass in quality. Such competition is exactly what makes the gaming industry as successful as it is; publishers pushing hardware technology to the limit to optimize the consumer experience. more ›

As you might have guessed, we're pretty big into gaming over at my house -- our console set-up includes the both generations of the Xbox, not one but TWO PS2's (one for the living room, one for the bedroom), a Dell XPS with a wide-screen monitor (for PC gaming), a Nintendo Gamecube, a Nintendo 64, an SNES, and a Gameboy -- oh, and possibly a Sony PSP floating around somewhere. Our 50" big-screen is optimized for the best gaming experience, with surround-sound Bose speakers and wireless networking. more ›

So you've been bowled over by our Best of the Year lists, but do you demand more? Scratch that, do you crave more? Because if you do, you're in luck. Here's a round up of some of 2007's more creative year-end round ups. more ›

Release Date: November 6, 2007 more ›

Holidays have you indulging a little more than usual? Just in time for those New Year resolutions and post-holiday diets, the Wii Fit is expected to be released in North America in January. Released earlier this month in Japan, Wii Fit sold over a quarter million units in the first week. The game was designed for families to exercise with activities like stretching, yoga, step aerobics, push ups, jogging and much more. The additional system to the Wii console uses a pressure-sensitive platform called the Balance Board which players stand on, hop or press against. The platform can measure an individual's weight, body mass index and tracks the information to show your results over time. The Nintendo site states that activities focus more towards working out the "core," emphasizing slower, controlled motions.
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People with too much time on their hands: Amy Ephron and other striking writers have whipped up a food blog. Our current food blog obsession: Luxeat, a Parisian model who eats at the finest restaurants in France and takes luscious pictures. Of the food. Over at the LA Times, food editor Leslie Brenner is really sticking it to the new Michelin Guide. Among her criticisms? "The book that purports to be the bible of... more ›

Read our exclusive LAist interview with G4TV's Olivia Munn to find out how she feels about playing Gay Chicken with Kevin Pereira, living in Los Angeles, and making out with her spray-tan lady more ›

The buzz on ? more ›

For many of you, this week is all about Turkey Day. For others, it's still all about The Strike. For me? This week will go down in history not because of the strike or Thanksgiving, but because the most awesome video game of all time, Rock Band, was released yesterday. I got my kit set up and ready to go within minutes, and began rocking out almost immediately. First impressions? The drumming element is... more ›

Last night I was happy to make it to Lou on Medium on "Guitar Hero III", the latest video game to earn more than $100 million in sales in its first week. But I just got the thing last week, so I was just satisfied not to get booed off the stage... again. After feeling cocky about making a respectable run through Metallica's epic "One" and long time favorite Maiden's "The Number of the... more ›

Flashy graphics and superfuturistic weapons aren't the only things grasping the attention gamers near and far these days. Riding along with the success of this past weekend's E for All video game expo, LA was home to this year's premier of Video Games Live, an orchestrated performance of some the gaming world's top musical scores. With renditions of everything from Tetris to Halo, this concert was definitely not as geeky as it sounds. more ›

Dan "Shoe" Hsu knows video games. As the Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Gaming Monthly, one of the most popular magazines in the world of gaming, it's part of his job. Shoe, 35, first dove into video game coverage in 1996. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Statistics, he sent query letters to 30 different organizations in the rapidly-growing industry. "I was looking for a job, any job in the game industry," Shoe recalls. EGM editor Joe Funk, impressed with Shoe's query letter, called him up and offered him a job as a games reviewer. Shoe took over the EIC job six years ago, and has steered the publication through some of the most exciting developments in gaming history, including the launch of the Playstation 2, the Xbox and the Wii. more ›

If you happen to find yourself driving around at 11pm tonight, you'll likely see long lines of (mostly) men standing outside of Best Buys, EB Games and Gamestops all over greater Los Angeles. Do not be alarmed. It's just the hardcore gaming faithful lining up to claim their midnight copies of Halo 3, the biggest video game of the year. For the completely uninitiated, Halo is the sci-fi shooter franchise that is basically the... more ›

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. more ›

Update: tonight's screening at the Arclight is a special presentation with a Q&A with the director Seth Gordon afterwards. The film will then show tomorrow at the Nuart thru the 23rd. more ›

According to an article in today's New York Sun, Boll is being sued by the New York Post Co. for trademark infringement. Whither the scuff up? more ›