Grand Theft Auto. MLB 2K8. BioShock.

All of those came close to having an EA logo in front them when the company took a shot and tried to buy 60% of Take Two. EA offered $26 per share which is a substantial increase over the actual value of the stock.

Take Two then sent that offer back with a blatant no attached to it. Their claims about cramping creativity are shots directly at the company, and likely resonated with gamers. The company also defended their decision to stockholders, claiming EA’s offer was an opportunistic bid with the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV just down the line.

March hits the ground running with a week packed with solid releases.

Pick of the Week: Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War: Soulstorm Real-Time Strategy | PC You shouldn’t just buy Soulstorm as a memorial to the recently deceased Iron Lore Entertainment (though, admittedly, that’s a pretty good reason). No, you should buy Soulstorm because it promises to be the best Dawn of War stand alone expansion yet, and given the quality of Dark Crusade, that’s really saying something. Like Dark Crusade, Soulstorm brings with it a non-linear single player campaign, two new playable races (The Dark Eldar and Sisters of Battle), and a new unit for all seven of the game’s already existing races. That’s right, Soulstorm brings Dawn of War’s playable roster up to nine completely unique races. Best RTS since Starcraft? You better believe it.

Runner-Up: Army of Two Third-Person Shooter | 360, PS3 Army of Two’s come a long way; looks like the delay into ‘08 has done it good. As is often the case these days, players take control of an army operative in an nondescript Middle Eastern country. However, this time around you’ll have a buddy at your side from start to finish. Offline, the game’s AI will pick up the slack and take control of your partner-in-war, but you can also jump online and play through the entire game cooperatively with a friend. We love cooperating. Army of Two also features some needlessly in-depth weapon customization and fully-destructable environments, according to this press release here.

Military shooters and quirky Japanese titles. Yup, it’s a week of multiplayer video game releases, alright.

Pick of the Week: Heavenly Guardian 2D Shooter | PS2 Ever heard of the Pocky & Rocky series? No? I’ll wait for you to get caught up. All done? Heavenly Guardian is a spiritual successor to the Pocky & Rocky series in that “it’s a full-fledged Pocky & Rocky sequel but the developer couldn’t secure the license” sort of way. The game plays like a linear, level-based version of Robotron, as you blast your way through hordes of baddies with some good ol’ fashioned directional shooting. They don’t make them like this anymore. Except on Xbox Live Arcade, that is. The game is co-op from start to finish, comes at a budget price, and is unbelievably fun. Play this game! Unless you hate being entertained, of course.

Runner-Up: Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Third-Person Shooter | PS3 Yes, it’s just a PS3 port of the year-old Xbox 360 and PC game, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. In fact, the PS3 version of Lost Planet is the definitive version, with “superior” graphics sure to trigger flame wars on video game message boards and all of the Xbox 360’s DLC. It’s a mech game, and it’s fun. Often times, those two things are mutually exclusive. If you haven’t yet played the game, you’re literally out of excuses at this point.

Ever tried to smack someone in the face with a SMG and get the short end of the exchange? That opposing player was probably hosting. It’s been a problem since Halo 2, and no one at Bungie apparently thought it was worth addressing until now.

With the latest auto update, melee kills are now equal ground. It should be immediately apparent with your first match. If both players are injured enough, the dual melee with kill both players flat. The overall feel is different, and while it’s hard to describe, the B button enabled attack now feels smoother. The timing is also radically different, requiring an earlier start if you want to come out ahead.

Various other tweaks are part of the patch, and are detailed by Bungie. Also, if you ever wondered how the game manages to figure out who lives and dies, they offer a well rounded FAQ on damage assessment in that same post towards the bottom. If you’re nerdy enough, know that an assault rifle bullet does 7.5 points of damage to an enemy. Pull that one out next time you’re being taunted and see how cool you look.

For a full list of offenses so you can avoid being on this list, see the roundup of rules on this post.

Gamertag: oaffmaster
Found: Call of Duty 4 Free for All

Awards: Outside Conversator, Losing Trash Talker, The Cheater

Specific Offenses: Playing with oaffmaster was like a cheap rip-off version of Borat. His non-stop Borat impression, one which wasn’t even accurate, talked about having sex with dead grandmothers when he was shot, or how he had had someones mother the previous night when he shot them. The only time he stopped was when he started talking to someone else, in a non-Borat voice, outside of the game. He quit the match with about a minute to go.

Gamertag: Useless Jarod
Found: Call of Duty 4 Team Deathmatch

Awards: The Singer, Losing Trash Talker

Specific Offenses: Constant high pitched signing during the entire match distracted the entire team from doing anything, and when the match was over, he decided to cuss out the opposing team even though we were slaughtered.

Gamertag: DEF MUD ROCK
Found: Call of Duty 4 Team Deathmatch

Awards: Outside Conversator, Walk Away

Specific Offenses: If anything, DEF has a first. During the match, DEF began to make funeral plans for someone. Really. The entire match was about the location of this dead friend, what they should wear, and what time to be there. Of course, he cared enough to occasionally check in to see if we were winning. His character never moved aside from spawning after being killed. We won, no thanks to him. Sorry for the loss, but don’t you have better things to do in this situation other than play Call of Duty?

Another mostly worthless week for multiplayer releases. Still, if you’re desperate enough to happen to fit in one specific niche or the other, you mind find a game or two worth enjoying.

Pick of the Week: The Club Third-Person Shooter | 360, PS3, PC Ignore the “hip,” “urban” setting and art direction. Ignore the simple gameplay and the budget title sensibilities. Behind these abstractions lurks a legitimately interesting, if not particularly innovative, title. Featuring eight different multiplayer modes, The Club offers up the sort of visceral, entertaining shooter experience so many games forgo in favor of more complicated and murky waters. The Club cuts straight to the heart of the genre, providing a solid run-n-gun experience for anyone looking for one, and anyone able to stomach the midly offensive take on “urban” life.

The deal which angered gamers beyond all recognition a few short years ago has been extended. EA Sports will now be the exclusive holder of the NFL license until 2012, meaning they’ll be the only ones dishing out games based on the brand. Former Xbox exec and recent EA Sports entrant Peter Moore had this to say to GameDaily:

The key is to make sure we’re in a position to invest aggressively in making the most innovative game…

Um, wouldn’t the exclusive deal automatically make yours the most innovative? Look, even die-hard fans will admit the 2K Sports effort, All Pro Football, was a dud. It was a failed attempt to revive a brand on a budget and it didn’t work.

However, what has EA given us with this deal? NFL Head Coach, a miserable simulation attempt that failed to drawn an audience. Also, NFL Tour, an even weaker attempt at spinning off the NFL license. Yes Mr. Moore, innovation is obviously your target.

Four new multiplayer games arrive in stores this week, none of which will do you wrong.

Pick of the Week: Wipeout Pulse Racing | PSP The always-excellent Wipeout series returns to the PSP this week with Pulse. The futuristic hover car racer plays fast and loose with physics, featuring impossible, topsy-turvey tracks. This latest Wipeout title also includes a strong online mode, where up to four players can race online wirelessly. The PSP isn’t exactly known for its library of strong racing titles, especially ones with meaty online modes, so Wipeout Pluse definitely has a niche to fill.

Runner-Up: Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements First-person shooter, RPG-Lite | 360 Yes, the original game shipped a year-and-a-half ago on the PC, where its hype quickly dried up in the wake of bug reports and a small playerbase. Elements adds a bit more spit polish to Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, and some new content to boot. Of course, some of that new content comes at a premium, as the game’s DLC was already on Xbox Live before its release. Couldn’t quite force yourself to stick that content on the disc for “free,” eh Ubisoft? Still, for those of you looking for the hacking n’ slashing of Oblivion without all the conversation, or a respectable swords and sorcery multiplayer mode that supports up to 32 players, this is the best you’re gonna get.

The industry rebounds after the dreck released last week with another batch of excellent releases. The beginning of February is the new end of January is the new middle of November!

Pick of the Week: Turok First-person Shooter | 360, PS3 Turok promises to be the best game in the Turok series, but given the quality of the franchise under Acclaim’s watch, that’s a lot less impressive than it sounds. The game marks the first step in an initiative by Disney Interactive to enter the hardcore gaming space. It looks like they’ve succeeded. With some top-notch graphics, over-the-top weaponry, and multiple online gametypes, Turok is set to deliver on its lofty promises. Those concerned about the controversial team killing element of the Grab Bag Achievement have no need to worry; it will be patched out on day one.

Runner-Up: Culdcept SAGA Board Game/Collectible Card Game | 360 Culdcept SAGA is a game that defies easy categorization. Imagine a board game crossed with a CCG and can begin to understand the game’s unique gameplay. Less of a sequel and more of a remake of the overlooked PS2 title, Culdcept SAGA introduces a heap of new cards and online play to the series. If you haven’t downloaded the demo that’s been on Xbox Live for months now, stop procrastinating and get to it. You may find yourself hopelessly in love with what will surely go down as one of this generation’s most underrated gems.

When Halo 2 launched, it immediately became the top of the original Xbox Live pack as the most played title. To date, it’s still there and hasn’t moved. Unsurprisingly, the same situation happened again when Halo 3 hit the 360. It took over the top spot formerly owned by Gears of War. Many, including this writer, thought that’s where Halo 3 would stay.

Wrong.

For the week of January 14th (according to Major Nelson), Infinity Ward’s incredible Call of Duty 4 has knocked the impenetrable Halo from it’s peak. That’s a shocker not only because it beat Halo, but also because Call of Duty was hit hard by the recurring outages over holiday season (and can still be rough).

People apparently thought the struggle was worth it, and continued to pop terrorists in a real world situation more often that killing their armored futuristic warriors. Kudos to the team at Infinity Ward.

This week can only be described as disappointing, especially after last week’s unexpected lineup of excellent titles. We can’t wholly recommend a Pick of the Week or Runner-Up this week, but we’ll keep you informed just the same.

Bomberman Land Minigame Collection | Wii Not even honored gaming legends are safe from publisher’s desire to transform every game in the Wii’s library into a collection of waggle-filled minigames. While the game does feature some classic 2D multiplayer Bomberman, is there really anybody left on the planet that’s interested in classic Bomberman but doesn’t yet own a copy? We didn’t think so either.

Bomberman Land Touch! 2 Minigame Collection | DS See above: Replace “Wii” with “DS,” Replace “waggle” with “touch screen.”

Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice Car Combat | PSP This sequel to last year’s action title finally includes some multplayer, including a promising cops and robbers gametype. Standard deathmatch and racing modes still apply, but the real fun of playing Extreme Justice online will certainly lie in virtually reliving a favorite childhood game with fully destructible vehicles. We full sorry for all the poor bastards stuck playing as the cops.

The end of January is the new middle of November, apparently, as several genuinely excellent titles see release this week.

Pick of the Week: Tie: Burnout Paradise Racing | PS3 360 Finally, a real next gen Burnout! Paradise sheds the structure of previous Burnout titles in favor the open-ended, load time-free Paradise City. And best of all, it’s all playable online. You can race with or against your friends or ignore them entirely, continuing your single player experience in an online environment. Seriously, buy this game. Just look at that awesome box art!

Pick of the Week: Tie: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin Turn-based Strategy | DS This week’s releases are too good to throw our full support behind just one. Like Burnout Paradise, Days of Ruin is essentially a must-buy. The latest Advance Wars title strips away a lot of the dead weight from earlier games, including the questionably balanced Dual Strike CO powers from which the previous DS installment takes its name. As you already know, Days of Ruin features online multiplayer and map sharing, meaning this game’s gonna stay in your DS for a long, long time.