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MIAMI (AP) - A Japanese computer science student fails to take a full load of university classes and loses his student visa. A 10th-grade Indian girl is detained because of a high school essay she wrote on the Department of Homeland Security. These are two of the characters in ``ICED!'' - a new video game that invites players to step into the shoes of foreigners who run afoul of the U.S. immigration system. It is part of a burgeoning genre of video games that examine major social and policy issues such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the situation in Darfur and...

No longer content adhering to the adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," Microsoft on Thursday announced that it will extend its Xbox 360 warranty coverage to three years from date of purchase. The warranty covers any consumer who experiences the general system failure indicated by three flashing red lights, more commonly referred to as the "red ring of death." Both shipping and repair costs will be covered. The new warranty will represent a $1 billion pre-tax charge on Microsoft's earnings for the year's final quarter. This marks a notable setback for the company's Entertainment & Devices division, who...

Spartans Overwhelmed at Thermopylae, Again March 22, 2007 by Eugene Borza A technically exciting videogame of a film, 300 loses touch with a critical and moving event in Greek history. Herodotus, the ?Father of History,? told many good stories, but there are few tales in his repertoire that surpass his narrative of the last-ditch stand of the Greeks against numerically superior forces at the pass of Thermopylae in August, 480 B.C. A huge military force led by Xerxes, the Persian King of Kings, crossed the Hellespont from Asia into Europe, intent on the subjugation of Greece. Whether Xerxes intended this...

On the radio a couple of weeks ago, Hugh Hewitt suggested to me the terrorists might try to pull a Spain on the U.S. elections. You'll recall (though evidently many Americans don't) that in 2004 hundreds of commuters were slaughtered in multiple train bombings in Madrid. The Spaniards responded with a huge street demonstration of supposed solidarity with the dead, all teary passivity and signs saying "Basta!" -- "Enough!" By which they meant not "enough!" of these murderers but "enough!" of the government of Prime Minister Aznar, and of Bush and Blair, and troops in Iraq. A couple of days...

PHILADELPHIA -- A 25-year-old North Philadelphia man has been charged with killing his young daughter. The mother said 17-month-old Alayiah was violently punched by Tyrone Spellman over a video game. "My baby is gone at the hands of her father," Mia Turman said tearfully. "I have to put her in the ground, I shouldn't have to do this." As the 21-year-old took a nap inside their row-home on the 1500 block of 29th Street, Turman left Alayiah in the care of Spellman, who also goes by the name Anwar Salahuddin. Turman said that when she woke, "I asked why my...

A first-person perspective computer game called “Night of Bush Capturing,” was released to jihadist forums today, Friday, September 15, 2006, by the Global Islamic Media Front, a jihadist mouthpiece, and visual and print media organization. The game, which is a modification of an older game, “Quest for Saddam,” features six-levels, culminating in a gun battle with a character representing U.S. President George W. Bush. Each of these stages, given titles such as: “Jihad beginning,” “American’s Hell,” “Searching for Bush,” and “Bush hunted like a rat,” contain a Mujahid with several weapons traveling around a U.S. forces’ camp, which is covered...

Sorry I don't have more details about this but CNN is on in the background here at the office and they were showing a videogame about assassinating President Bush. I couldn't listen to hear what they were saying about it but the very fact they were promoting it and showing video of how it looks to murder the president is rather over-the-top in my opinion. I doubt they'd be so blase about it if the videogame allowed you to assassinate Bill Clinton. CNN- The Moonbat's most trusted channel.

Venezuelan lawmakers are complaining that a video game to be marketed by a U.S. company next year provides a blueprint for violently overthrowing President Hugo Chavez. The game, "Mercenaries 2: World in Flames," simulates a military invasion of the oil-rich South American nation and will be released by Pandemic Studios of Los Angeles. "A power-hungry tyrant messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a war zone," Pandemic says of the game on its Web site. Venezuelan lawmakers who back Chavez called it the latest example of a U.S. government-inspired propaganda campaign against Chavez that...

DENVER (AP) -- An online game based on the Columbine High School massacre is drawing criticism from relatives of those who died in the 1999 attack, including a father who says it trivializes the actions of the two teen killers. The game, Super Columbine Massacre RPG, was posted on a Web site last year, but is becoming more popular now. It draws on investigative material, including images of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, who killed 12 classmates and a teacher before committing suicide.

A TEENAGER obsessed with a killer video game was yesterday found guilty of murdering his sister by torching his home in a twisted bid to slaughter his entire family. The 16-year-old — who modelled himself on a half-human/half-demon PlayStation 2 character — also hit his brother with an axe leaving him brain-damaged. The lad always wore black Goth clothes and called himself Dante after the killer character in 15-rated game Devil May Cry, the Old Bailey heard. He launched the arson attack to rid himself of his family in the hope he would be adopted by a rich couple. The...

He may look like an innocent cartoon bunny, but the star of a new award-winning video game by a Montreal-based designer has sultry intentions in mind. Lapis, the blue-hued main character of a prototype video game by Heather Kelley, a designer with Ubisoft, wants to help women take a "magical pet adventure'' to their "happy place." Lapis the cartoon bunny teaches how to reach orgasm by simulating the affect of pleasurable sensation. The prototype teaches how to reach orgasm by simulating the affect of pleasurable sensation on the cartoon. Players tickle, touch, tap, and stroke Lapis using the touch screen...

Sony's third-person shooter "SOCOM 3: US Navy SEALs" was the best-selling video game in the United States in October, market research firm The NPD Group said on Tuesday. Electronic Arts had the second and third most popular games with sports titles "NBA Live 06" and "Madden NFL 06." The top three sellers were all for play on Sony's PlayStation 2 console, according to NPD, which tracks sales of software and other retail products. The No. 4 title was Take-Two Interactive Software's urban action game "Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories" for Sony's PlayStation Portable. Rounding out the top five was...

Infamous Film Director Uwe Boll Signs Suicide Pact with Game Developer 'Running With Scissors' Start firing those AK-47s into the air because "Postal", the game franchise that politicians, parents groups, countless cowardly reviewers and over a dozen sovereign nations don't want you to play has just become the latest game to make the transition to the big screen. Running with Scissors (RWS), the world's most dangerous software company, has signed an appropriately apocalyptic deal with renegade filmmaker Uwe Boll to bring the most controversial franchise in gaming history to the screen in all its blood-drenched, ironic glory. Despite everyone from...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ignored strong lobbying from software makers and signed legislation Friday that bans the sale of violent video games to children. Passed by the California legislature last month, the measure follows heated national debate after game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. pulled its best-selling game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" from retailers this summer because of hidden sex scenes. "I am a parent myself and I think this is extremely important that we know what our kids watch or what kind of games that they play," Schwarzenegger told reporters. "I am a big believer...

Take-Two Interactive Software on Friday said it would resume sales of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" in October, two months after the violent game was pulled from store shelves because of hidden sex scenes. Take-Two's Rockstar Games publishing house said that starting Oct. 18, it would sell a special edition of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" for Sony's PlayStation 2 console system. It will include a DVD with a backstory to the game and a documentary film called "Sunday Driver." Take-Two also will release a bundle of "Grand Theft Auto 3," "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" and "Grand Theft Auto:...

Though the Nintendo Revolution was partially unveiled at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, its controller is the final piece of the venerable hardware manufacturer's next-generation puzzle. Speculation about the device has run rampant, because its manufacturer has made a point of keeping it well hidden. Nintendo has chosen only to drop hints that it would be an integral part of the Revolution's unique gameplay experience.

I just found my son viewing a video for a video game that is making light of disasters and even making reference to a "Chocolate Jesus" in its promotion materials. In light of recent events in New Orleans and the world... I am so upset by what I have seen, I simply don't know what to do. This is my first time posting to this forum after being a long time reader. The article about this game can be read here: http://pc.ign.com/articles/647/647404p1.html

Star Wars Battlefront II is the sequel to last year's hit online multiplayer shooter. The 2005 version adds space-based dogfighting combat and improved single-player gameplay. Look for it to hit the PC, the PS2, the Xbox, and the PSP on November 1- - the same day as the Episode III DVD.

Gov Jeb Bush in video game -- "I do not look like as buff as that receiver for the Miami Dolphins that I played there," Gov. Bush said. "I cannot tell you how much fun this is going to be to send this to Crawford, Texas. I'm sure my brother will like it -- maybe not as much as me." The highlight of the event was a surprise computer animation featuring Gov. Jeb Bush in a Miami Dolphins uniform and his brother, President George W. Bush, playing for the Dallas Cowboys. Animated characters of Gov. Jeb Bush and his brother,...

Politics does indeed make strange bedfellows. Just last month the star power of Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) was the driving force in getting the Entertainment Software Rating Board to re-rate GTA: San Andreas as "adults only" following the infamous Hot Coffee revelations. Clinton called for an FTC investigation, and vowed to introduce legislation aimed at preventing the sale of games to minors. Now, as ace game journalist and Kotaku editor Brian Crecente reports in the Rocky Mountain News, two powerful game industry figures are hosting a $1,000- a-plate fundraiser for Senator Hillary Clinton on Sept. 14 at Washington D.C.'s Phoenix...