So, you may have missed this...

But a new game from a small-time developer named Rockstar came out today.

It is called Grand Theft Auto IV, and as the numerical designation suggests, it is the fourth in a series. What the numeral does not hint at is that there are actually eight other games in the same series, not counting ports to the Game Boy Advance.

The general gist of the series is that you, the player, are stuck in a terrible situation and must utilize every ounce of human spirit to survive and thrive in a living, breathing metropolis. The city around you is populated by other desperate individuals, as well as criminal influences and law-enforcing police.

But how is a person, at their wit's end, going to take control in an environment completely alive? Well, guns and hookers should do the trick.

GTA IV, as I will call it, seems like a living top-notch film. The world is the player's to conquer.

But, since I am at work and could only play the game for a half hour last night, I will save my official review until a later time.

First Impression: almost too much to take in (at 1:30 a.m.).