Keith Elam, a hip-hop artist who performed under the name Guru, died Monday after ending a long battle with cancer. Elam voiced 8-Ball, the demolitions artist with whom the protagonist escapes at the very beginning of Grand Theft Auto III.

Rockstar Games noted Elam's passing in a brief obituary on its newswire today. "Guru was truly a hip-hop legend, one of the genre's greatest voices, and we are eternally grateful for his contributions to the Grand Theft Auto series as the character 8-Ball," the studio said. "Our condolences to the entire Elam family, to our good friend and his long-time Gang Starr collaborator DJ Premier, and to everyone else who had the pleasure of knowing or working with the man."

In the game, Elam's character is the first associate of Claude, the main character, although their partnership presumably ends when it's revealed that 8-Ball rigs with explosives a vehicle Claude is meant to drive, as part of a trap devised by mob boss Salvatore Leone. 8-Ball later appears in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

As Guru, Elam was one half of the rap duo Gang Starr, and made eight albums between 1993 and 2009.

In Memory of Keith Elam aka Guru [Rockstar, thanks James H.]

Apparently a lot of you are sick of playing video games set in the city in which I live.

Last week, from the comfort of my desk at the Gawker Media offices in New York City, I reported about an event I attended in the TriBeCa neighborhood of New York City about a new video game that will be set in New York City.

That game is Crysis 2, and many of the comments I saw in reaction could be summed up as "another one?"

Yes, video games have been set in the Big Apple, for a long time.

Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, Nintendo Entertainment System, 1987: Boxer Little Mac goes jogging past the Statue of Liberty.

Make that, a really long time.

Spider-Man, Atari 2600, 1982: Peter Parker, in spandex, swings past, uh, maybe a skyscraper or large NYC-style cheese grater.

Everyone knows that there are piles of games set in New York City. (Everyone = Wikipedia.) Even the people making games in New York City know this.

"There was this point when everybody was doing New York [in video games]" Crysis 2's lead creator Cevat Yerli, told me. (He's not from New York. He's based in Germany). "So why do we do New York as well? ... I liked the challenge of standing out from all the crowd."

You see, we've crossed from the era when it was hard to make games set in NYC because no one was doing it, to the era when it's hard because everyone is doing it.

Prototype, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, 2009: Some sort of biological infection wrecks Manhattan. The military is called in. Players get to blow them up and the infected creeps — chases through Central Park included.

Standing out from the New York crowd was not Yerli's only motivation. Before I even told him I live in Brooklyn he was justifying the transition of the Crysis series from tropical island to Manhattan Island with the one fact every New Yorker agrees with: This city is awesome.

"I also always saw New York as a symbol of nature," Yerli said. "It is an icon. People know the Statue of Liberty. People know New York. There's so much to it, and, for me, it's the pride of mankind. Then if I want to save some city — which one would it be — that symbolizes the strong will of mankind, if you will? That is New York."

I thanked Yerli for designating my home as the place to save.

Games set in New York often are in this city because they have to be (that's where Spider-Man lives!) or because it makes for a recognizable backdrop (that's the Statue of Liberty!) or because, well, it's a cool city that provides a pretty good template. You don't even have to call it New York City — call it Liberty City — and people will still know what you're talking about and look forward to base-jumping off the Empire State Building or cursing at the taxis.

Grand Theft Auto IV, Xbox 360 and PS3 and PC, 2008: A love letter to four of five of the boroughs of New York City, as multicultural and socially wild a New York game as there ever has been.

Realize that even some racing video games have New York City tracks, which makes little sense, unless you've fantasized about looping the lanes of Manhattan Bridge or the streets of Times Square. Also odd, and worth noting, almost no major New York game-making development studios are in New York City, so this isn't like television or comics where the creators seem to set their fiction in the place they live.

Yerli, whose Crysis series was previously set on a tropical island is in New York for the 2010 sequel for good reason, he told me: "This time the the location is an integral part of the story. It has its own character arc per se. It is a lively character that is alive. It has its transformations going on. It is something that is, in a sense, crying and you want to protect it. It wants to be saved and for me that kind of already tells so much story without having to tell it. Showing it instead of telling it."

I'm okay with the idea of New York crying. Hey, I was okay with whatever it was that happened to New York in Metal Gear Solid 2, though I'm still not sure what that was. (Anyone?)

Turtles in Time, Super Nintendo, 1982: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, NYC residents.

For all the games set in New York, I don't have many memorably New York City gaming moments. I think I liked jumping to the top of the Empire State Building in Prototype, but it's already fading from memory. I liked spray-painting subway cars in the version of New York in Marc Ecko's Getting Up. Doing a King-Kong and shooting down helicopters from the top of the Empire State Building in GTA IV's The Ballad of Gay Tony was cool too, rivaled by the game's motorcycle chase on subway tracks and that great New York moment of dangling a blogger from a helicopter hovering over Battery Park or thereabouts.

I don't mind all the New York City video games. But I live here. Admit it, though, Los Angeles, GTA: San Andreas not withstanding is too devoid of landmarks to be an interesting video game locale. Other cities? Shanghai is getting some attention in Army of Two and Kane & Lynch sequels this year. Moscow has some cool buildings, as does Paris, which was rendered quite nicely in last year's The Saboteur.

Maybe Crysis 2 can be the final New York City game. Yerli has an idea that might make it suitable for that honor.

He had told me that he'd been to New York City three times during the development of Crysis 2. The third visit was recent:

"Over New Year's I've been to New York to work out the ending of the game," he said. "I was supposed to go to kind of my second honeymoon with my wife and I canceled that one." (He remains married, believe it or not). "Instead I came here for New York for New Year's.... The point was the end [of the game] wasn't clicking. So I got this beautiful view of Central Park and whole of New York on the right side of me and I was thinking: 'What can I do with New York in the end?'"

"How can you destroy it?" I asked.

"Something that no game, no movie, no fiction ever did with New York," he said. "And, rest assured, that trip did provide the idea."

New York video games, I love you all.

Crysis 2, PC and PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, 2010. New York needs saving.

Grand Theft Auto, often the whipping-boy for the anti-violent video games movement, is being used by a program in Merseyside, England to help stop children becoming desensitized to violence. Welcome to Bizarro world.

Whenever the subject of violent video games arises, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto franchise seems to be the go-to example of a game that can seriously harm children playing it, altering their brain meats until they are seething masses of aggression and hate - and I'm only exaggerating slightly here.

So excuse me if the fact that the Get Real project in Merseyside is using images from the series to help teach children the harsh reality of swinging about stabbing or shooting people.

The program, backed by a £15,000, is the result of collaboration between the Merseyside branch of Support After Murder and Manslaughter and the Merseyside Police. Images from Grand Theft Auto, along with The Simpsons' Itchy and Scratchy and Bugs Bunny cartoons, are placed on a series of cards, which educators use to provoke discussions on the real consequences of violent actions.

While some parents objected to the display of images from Grand Theft Auto to primary school children, Support After Murder and Manslaughter branch chairman Gaynor Bell explains there are methods behind this madness.

"They (children) see violence so often in their daily lives that they are desensitized to it and cannot really appreciate the consequences of picking up a hatchet and swinging it around. This is all about showing them that if they put a knife in someone, that person will die and they will end up in jail. It is getting the message over to them about what's real and what isn't."

And Mrs. Gaynor certainly knows the difference, having set up the group after one of her sons was stabbed to death and another was killed after being hit by a car.

"The kids these days are just getting worse and worse and I blame the mums and dads. They just don't teach their kids respect any more. They don't teach them what's right and what's wrong which is exactly what we're trying to do with this programme."

These are sentiments I've personally echoed time and time again, so I certainly feel this endeavor is a noble one.

Not everyone agrees.

Margaret Morrissey, from campaign group Parents Outloud, said it was "inappropriate' to show certain images in primary schools as many parents had been "conscious not to allow their children to see these things and are trying to protect them until they are old enough to cope".

I always figured that was one of the things parents did; helping their children cope with overwhelming things until they were old enough to handle it on their own. I didn't realize that children ripened like fruit on trees, and one day some sort of fantastical 'Cope Capable' meter would pop up, letting us know when they're done.

Well that's certainly a load off my mind.

Grand Theft Auto used to turn children against crime [Telegraph.co.uk]

We've featured the art of Australian artist Patrick Brown a few times before here on Kotaku. But you know what? When someone has such a dense gallery of amazing video game art, a few times isn't enough.

So here's a good look at some of Brown's more recent works. While displaying an unhealthy obsession with the Grand Theft Auto series, Brown also covers titles such as Gears of War, Resident Evil 5, BioShock 2, Army of Two and even the unreleased Red Dead Redemption.

To see more of his stuff, check out his gallery at the link below.

[Patrick Brown @ deviantART]

A report on news.com.au says that a former editor for Zoo Weekly, an Australian "lads mag", has been sacked after making public an email from Rockstar, developers of the Grand Theft Auto series, demanding more "favourable coverage" from the writer.

Toby McCasker, who used to be deputy entertainment editor for the magazine, says that Rockstar haven't been too keen on his coverage of upcoming Western title Red Dead Redemption, and posted an email his magazine received from Rockstar Australia on his Facebook page (which has since been removed), in which it's alleged the publisher wrote:

This is the biggest game we've done since GTA IV, and is already receiving Game of the Year 2010 nominations from specialists all around the world.

Can you please ensure Toby's article reflects this - he needs to respect the huge achievement he's writing about here.

Shortly after posting that on his Facebook page, McCasker was dismissed from his position. What's unclear at the moment is why he was dismissed; merely posting internal communications on an external forum could well have been enough to warrant a sacking.

McCasker told News.com.au "I did not sign up to become a journalist to write advertorials masquerading as editorial. This 'cash for comment' culture that is fast becoming the status quo within print media bothers me a lot."

Rockstar Australia has so far refused to comment on the allegations, while Zoo's editor, Paul Merrill, could not elaborate on the specific reasons behind McCasker's dismissal.

This of course isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened, nor will it be the last time, especially when it comes to the "mainstream" press and its coverage of video games. It's just...the latest time.

Lads' mag editor blows whistle on video games [news.com.au]

UPDATE - Zoo's editor Paul Merrill has contacted Kotaku and provided the following statement:

I would like to make it clear that at no time has Rockstar EVER sought a preferential review in return for advertising. In fact no games company has ever suggested this. And Zoo would never give a positive review to a game we didn't rate in return for ad dollars.

Toby McCasker was sacked for a number of reasons, one of which was his decision to post a private email on his Facebook page. This email was not referring to a game review. He should not be considered a credible source of information on this matter.

Considering the ESRB lists all of 10 Nintendo DS titles rated M, this isn't surprising. Still, the publisher of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars bragged the game accounts for more than half of M-rated game sales on that platform.

Speaking to MCV, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive addressed Chinatown Wars' disappointing sales performance by saying it faced a market "challenged by weak demand and by piracy," yet still is the dominant game among its class, all time.

"As of February 2010, Chinatown Wars' unit sales in the US represented nearly 50 per cent of the unit sales of all M-rated DS titles in the history of the platform," Feder said. "I am very proud of Chinatown Wars."

Feder added that "The commercial performance of Chinatown Wars has certainly suffered at the hands of piracy," saying the industry must address the problem "especially in the handheld market.

Feder's numbers go back to February, so they don't account for the March release of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey . Another M-rated DS game, Dementium II isn't out yet. Crime Scene also came out in February, so it's not clear if that figures in. Chinatown Wars having half the sales of a market sounds impressive, but when that market is comprised of as few as seven titles, shouldn't it be even more?

Chinatown Wars 'Suffered Due to Piracy' [MCV]

What did CNN decide to do after covering out-of-print Japanese adult computer game Rapely years after the title was originally released? Follow that up with more blown out of proportion with an expert's opinion.

Unfortunately for CNN, the expert, Grand Theft Childhood co-author Dr. Cheryl Olson knows what she is talking about.

"Parents, we've got to warn you about this video game because your kids could get their hands on it," anchor Mike Galanos ominously warns over shredding guitars in a segment titled "Parents Outrage Over Rapelay Video Game". Galanos goes on to explain the object of Rapelay, while adding, "You can't get this in stores — anymore, anyway — at least it was online."

"Kids, they can still download this," Galanos continues. "That's why we must get to the bottom of this. How easy is it for our kids to possibly get their hands on this?"

That's right, with all the questionable things on the internet CNN is wondering how easy it is for children to get their hands on an out-of-print Japanese erotic game. A game that was never intended for children. Cue the expert guest! Make that, the sensible expert guest.

"One of my concerns," begins Dr. Olson, "is that kids generally never hear about this stuff unless it gets this kind of publicity." Thanks for the publicity, CNN! Dr. Olson goes on to say how it wasn't until politicians mentioned the Grand Theft Auto "Hot Coffee" mod that thousands of people began downloading it. And after that argument was defused rather quickly, Galanos turns to everyone's favorite chestnut: violent video games.

Responding to Galanos' question about what violent video games do to our kids, Dr. Olson answers, "We've had concerns about media violence and content ever since the paperback novel and the gangster film." She then explains how it's normal for boys to play violent video games and how crime is now down, but does point out that it is possible for an individual child to be affected.

"We don't want in this country, censorship, where someone's trying to figure out well, what's violent, what's not, what can my kids see, and going down that slope," adds Dr. Olson. "That's not the American way."

Instead, it is up to the parents to take common sense steps like putting the computer or the game console in a common area of the house where they can monitor what their kids are viewing and playing. Common sense advice like this is helpful. Fear mongering from CNN isn't.

Rapelay Parent Outrage [CNN via GamePolitics]

What did CNN decide to do after covering out-of-print Japanese adult computer game Rapelay years after the title was originally released? Follow that up with more blown out of proportion with an expert's opinion.

Unfortunately for CNN, the expert, Grand Theft Childhood co-author Dr. Cheryl Olson knows what she is talking about.

"Parents, we've got to warn you about this video game because your kids could get their hands on it," anchor Mike Galanos ominously warns over shredding guitars in a segment titled "Parents Outrage Over Rapelay Video Game". Galanos goes on to explain the object of Rapelay, while adding, "You can't get this in stores — anymore, anyway — at least it was online."

"Kids, they can still download this," Galanos continues. "That's why we must get to the bottom of this. How easy is it for our kids to possibly get their hands on this?"

That's right, with all the questionable things on the internet CNN is wondering how easy it is for children to get their hands on an out-of-print Japanese erotic game. A game that was never intended for children. Cue the expert guest! Make that, the sensible expert guest.

"One of my concerns," begins Dr. Olson, "is that kids generally never hear about this stuff unless it gets this kind of publicity." Thanks for the publicity, CNN! Dr. Olson goes on to say how it wasn't until politicians mentioned the Grand Theft Auto "Hot Coffee" mod that thousands of people began downloading it. And after that argument was defused rather quickly, Galanos turns to everyone's favorite chestnut: violent video games.

Responding to Galanos' question about what violent video games do to our kids, Dr. Olson answers, "We've had concerns about media violence and content ever since the paperback novel and the gangster film." She then explains how it's normal for boys to play violent video games and how crime is now down, but does point out that it is possible for an individual child to be affected.

"We don't want in this country, censorship, where someone's trying to figure out well, what's violent, what's not, what can my kids see, and going down that slope," adds Dr. Olson. "That's not the American way."

Instead, it is up to the parents to take common sense steps like putting the computer or the game console in a common area of the house where they can monitor what their kids are viewing and playing. Common sense advice like this is helpful. Fear mongering from CNN isn't.

Rapelay Parent Outrage [CNN via GamePolitics]