What seems to be the biggest problem with these self-proclaimed "saints" is that they blind themselves to the obvious truth that video games are still not just for kids. Long-gone are the days that the most violence things kids could see while holding a controller in their hands was a pixelated plumber jumping on what kind of looks like a mushroom with feet (or their drunken father beating their mother, but, of course, none of the problem lies with parents). It’s as if these people believe that there is no rating system designed to stop 5-year-old little Timmy from playing games like Halo or Gears of War. It’s as if the kind folks at GameStop are just handing out copies of Assassins Creed and a free sword to butcher your friends with.

I admit that video games can cause young minds to think that certain behavior is acceptable, but that’s exactly why we have the ESRB rating every game that’s released. That’s why a parent needs to be with a kid when they pick up a copy of a Mature rated game. They legally can’t sell it without the parent right there. And they have to explain to the parent what a Mature rating is and why the media has that rating. It’s far more in-depth than anything you would find if you bought a violent movie. I invite you to see if you can find a legitimate store in your town to let a minor buy Grand Theft Auto IV without a parent’s permission before you can find one that allows the purchase of Scarface on DVD to the same kid.

That being said, Grand Theft Auto is absolutely amazing. By far the best in the series. The graphics do a decent job especially with lighting. But, as is always the strong point of the games, the story-telling and characters are top-notch. Niko is one of the best characters I’ve spent time with in a video game. And the small touches in the game (for example: different in-game websites you can visit, flying out of car windows when hitting something hard, radio-banter, etc.) make it an all-around fantastic experience. But, without a doubt, the most impressive feature this time around would have to be the multiplayer. No, there’s no co-op, but that doesn’t matter when you can run around the entire city with a few friends going anywhere you can in the single-player game. The city is your playground, there are no cops, there are tons of weapons everywhere, oh, and help yourself to any helicopters. Yeah.

I advise you to pick this politically-incorrect game up as soon as possible… as long as your of age, of course.

No wonder the movie industry shakes in its boots when Steve Jobs comes a knocking.

But there’s at least one item you own that could use your spring cleaning attention. Your computer. When’s the last time you cleaned that out?

Hit the jump for the list, ya slacker.

1.)  Dust out that computer case!

Your computers fan suck in more than just air ya know? Your hair, your pets hair, carpet fuzz and God knows what else.Its a relatively simple process. You’ll need the following :

• Phillips head screwdriver.
• Compressed Air

The panels on the side of your computer just pop right off by removing the screws on the back.* This will reveal the inner workings of the computer. Your just checking for dust, any stray particles laying around. Blow those out with some air, and close it back up *Note not all computer cases open up in the same way. Consult your case manufacturer if you have any issues.

2) Backup. Backup. Backup.

While this is a spring cleaning must that should be done no matter what the season, the fact is most people just plain don’t.

There’s a host of free utilities out there to help you, but the real idea is that you only need to backup what you feel you’d like to keep in the case of total destruction. My most fervent recommendation is to backup to some sort of removable media, like a set of DVD+R’s or an external hard drive. You can NEVER have too many backups, so if you feel like backing up to multiple storage mediums be my guest.

Here’s some good things to backup :

• Pictures, Music, Movies
• List of Applications you NEED
• Bookmarks
• Documents (Word files, PDF’s etc)
• Emails
• Contacts/Address Book

3) Re-install your Operating System.

Nothing beats a clean start from the ground up on the software side. A lot computers such as HP, Dell etc will come with a pre-installed partition which holds the operating system for recovery reasons. This is a quick easy way to reinstall the OS, but be warned… all the junk and garb that came on your computer originally will return.

A better solution would be using an actual copy of the same operating system, and input the key from your copy. You can find that on the sticker located on your computer, or the packet you purchased your operating system with.

4) Re-install your Applications, and update!

Every application, including your operating system, can be a security risk. Keeping things up to date is crucial, so go knab the latest versions of your applications and there updates. Here’s the crucial ones tho :

• Operating System updates.
• Anti-Virus Software updates.
• Browser updates.

With these out of the way, you can safely plug back in your data from your backups and get back to a normal, happy, and better computing life.

5) Get outside more.

It is spring after all, don’t sit behind that computer too long. It’ll be there when you get back.

With that, you should be set. Enjoy your Spring everybody!

The game remains nearly identical from the first that was released as an Xbox 360 launch title. However, the added fist-fighting is a nice addition so you don’t have to run about a room like a chicken with your head cut off trying to find something to hit the psycho that’s screaming and swinging a sledgehammer around with. And upgrades awarded at the end of each level give you more killing power or something that will assist you in some way later on.

The upgrades are a better system than what they had going before. You’re actually rewarded for being decent at the game, rather than getting a few arbitrary points on your Gamer Score. But some are just silly. Especially one of the last ones you receive that is completely necessary for you to win the game. Scream. You gain the ability to blow up your enemies’ heads by yelling at them. When the first one seemed to be gritty and gruesome due to its realistic nature and they you slide slowly down into madness until you finish the game, the second seems like it’s never solidly based in reality. It’s more fantasy than horror, and that just doesn’t work.

You get a whole confusing back-story to the events that have led up to Mr. Thomas’ current conundrum. Again, it’s a ridiculous thought about an evil organization bent on destroying the world rather than you simply losing your mind. And, to make matters worse, at the end of Bloodshot, Ethan basically becomes "The One". He is the only thing that can stop mankind’s doom.

Yawn.

I liked the improved fighting, allowing a more skill-based system to take over for the random swing-and-miss approach and the new system for identifying crime scenes was very impressive. You actually get to make some judgments based on the scene itself rather than listening to two of the characters make all of the conclusions without you. It was what a CSI game really should be. But I didn’t see enough of that. I don’t think that there should have been a stronger emphasis on gun play, the lack of guns in the first made it all the more worrisome that something might attack you, but it that’s the least of this game’s problems.

All and all, the games good enough for a budget title, but not much more. I enjoyed the first venture, but I have to say that they let me down with the new one. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better the third time around. They should just get it over with and have EA buy the rights to the game.

Env(2) follows in the typical footstamps of Verizon’s aim to bring media content to its customers. You’ll get all the same fixens of the previous ones, Blue tooth, a larger outer and inner screen, spacious keypads, and all of Verizon’s V applications like VCast Music, VZNavigator etc etc.

It begs the question tho, espeically with other phones by Verizon focusing in on the same feature set, how many do you actually use?

Let us know in the comments.

[Verizon News] via [Engadget Mobile]