Hooray for cordial invitations. 

By now, everyone knows that this year's E3 will be an invite-only function open to working members of the press. Several outlets including heavy hitters IGN, Gamestop, Gamespy and several widely respected blogs (see: Kotaku, Destructoid) were among to receive their invites.

The ESA has started distributing a second round of invites to editorial destinations (like ours) to enjoy this year's highly anticipated media summit. For those of you keeping score, this year's press function will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center scheduled to run July 15 - 17. Downsizing the event was a welcome change, but Santa Monica's Barker Hanger just didn't seem to cut it for a lot of the attendees. I am intrigued to see how things will turn out at the LACC without the massive numbers that used to storm the place in previous years. Oh, and although Kentia Hall might may an unexpected return, the Center won't have the pitter-patter of cute booth babes.

The ESA's hand in restructuring the media expo we've all come to know and love remains a work in progress, but the long term effort will be better for everyone involved. Publishers. Editors. Everyone. I won't miss the days where I felt like each appointment was just a rushed tour to take on the next group waiting to see the featured lineup. I won't miss the days of people that really had no business there and hogged up every playable station. (Thank god for E4All). I won't miss the long lines getting registered. I will miss seeing some of my fellow colleagues though. Socializing during the day makes these events all the more enjoyable! 

I'd like to order some perspective.

It's been a good six weeks since the Echochrome demo hit the Japanese PSN marketplace and, after tweaking it six ways from Sunday, it's finally good enough for the US.  The full game is going to take just a bit longer to hit, but the demo offers the smallest taste of the puzzle-y goodness in store.

Echochrome is a game about perspective.  It tells you that what you see is what actually is, playing with the idea of 3D space as represented on a 2D screen.  A mannequin walks along a path suspended in air, but it's a broken path filled with holes, dead ends, and even a few trampolines.  Navigating Echochrome's twists and turns looks impossible at first, as the mannequin mindlessly walks forward in a straight line and only turns when coming to an edge or corner, and your only tool is the camera.  Who knew that perspective is one of the most powerful tools ever created, aside from maybe Anton Ego?

As the camera moves, parts of the path align get covered up or even seem to connect, and what you see is what's really there.  You know there's a gap but it's blocked by a column, so the mannequin cheerfully strolls past it without breaking stride.  One path is 20 feet up and 30 feet across from another, but the angle of view connects their ends so it's an easy step from one to the other without a second thought.  The paths only look like a 3D structure, and Echochrome is more than happy to use that misconception to mess with your head.

The demo is five tiny tutorials and three levels, and both the PSP and PS3 versions are available for download right this very moment.  It weighs in at a tiny 34MB, small enough that it shouldn't be too difficult to find the time to snag it.  Check it out, the demo is well worth the look.

And for those curious, check out the PC original freeware here.

Tired of hopping from one site to another for all your Grand Theft Auto IV needs?

Well, even if you're answer is "no", Rockstar would certainly appreciate your patronage to the all-new launch of the GTIV website. Visitors can get their first glimpse into New York

Liberty City, revealing all the awesome points-of-interest, sounds and other appealing elements of the busy metropolis which the team has spent the past few years building.

I could go on, but PR is an actually a secondary skill of mine and I'd prefer to keep my editorial cap on and keep this post short 'n sweet. Just go visit the site and be sure to mark April 29 on your calendar, 'cuz that's when GTIV makes it grand debut in stores. Yes, I'll be picking it up too.

The headline says it all… we're out for the rest of the year.

On behalf of the entire team here at GotNext, we wish you and your family a safe and enjoyable holiday season. We'll actually be taking an editorial vacation and will officially resume operations on 2007 certainly was a very exciting year for everyone here on January 4, 2008.

When we return, look forward to our 2007 Year-in-Review, followed by a new volume of comprehensive reviews, previews, blogs — all backed with a unique, creative opinion. In the coming months, we'll also be exploring other options to expand our community interactive, user-friendliness and overall content delivery. Some of our recent tweaks are just a taste of a much broader picture that we'd like to streamline into a robust hub for up-to-date information and an interactive community. You might call that a renovation — but a better term would be a "new site design". Yes, it's still a very real goal and it's going to be a top priority bringing that to fruition. We definitely know there's still PLENTY of room for growth and welcome any input from all interested readers who've been longtime supporters or recently stumbled upon our online destination.

We've come a long way since our debut in 2004, establishing a respectable internet presence which couldn't have been made possible without the combined support from our dedicated editorial team, industry developers, public relation teams and most importantly — YOU! Here's to another exciting year to come.

A welcomed addition for this reputable company.

It's been a while since I posted, but I'm still around, spending less time playing games and more time reading about them. I did just receive an interesting press release stating that Crutchfield has added gaming-related items to its other offerings. Usually I wouldn't be that excited about an announcement such as this, but considering the quality of Crutchfield (Consumer Reports has repeatedly given it the top nod for consumer electronics), this is good news.

The company is known for customer service, so if you're looking for answers to technical questions, you'll be able to get them answered properly, as opposed to the many, many times I've been flat out lied to by big box electronic stores just to try and get the sale. The fact that you can complete the home theater experience while picking up a PlayStation 3 is a definite plus.