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The 404 460: Where we turn it up to 11

When you do a daily podcast for two years, you start to realize a strange thing about the daily news cycle: one day there are tons of interesting stories to talk about, and the next day there's nothin'. This is one of those nothin' days, but that doesn't mean today's episode is boring by any means. In fact, the slow news days gives us an outlet to do what we do best--veer off course and offer insight into what's going on in our heads!

To kick things off, Jeff and Wilson educate me on GTA: The Ballad of Gay Tony, the second episode of the popular expansion pack that was just released a few days ago.

After taking time to shake our collective heads at the voters in Maine, we give Robert Zemeckis the spotlight to reveal details about his latest effort, a sequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit!

The interview shows Zemeckis choosing his words carefully so as not to reveal any details, but some are speculating that the script will tell the prequel story about how Roger Rabbit popped out of the Toon world and into 3D. As usual, we agree with Jeff's cynicism about the project considering the director's sketchy idea to use performance capture a la "Beowulf" and "A Christmas Carol" to bring the characters (not Roger Rabbit, phew) back to life. We're warning you, Bob--if you mess up this movie we will never forgive you, "Back to the Future" notwithstanding.

Next, we hand it over to Wilson, who tells us about a recent U.K. study that reveals sensitive new "metrotextual" trends amongst young men in the 18- to 24- year-old age group. The study defines "metrotexting" as a text message sent from one male to another that offers a message and signs off with an "x," which translates from text-speak to a virtual kiss.

The article goes on to report that metrotextuality is most popular among 18- to 24-year-olds, with an unbelievable 75 percent of males ending texts to their dude friends with an XO, or "hugs and kisses."

We're not sure what's going on in the U.K., but our small experience doesn't reflect the same intimacy with our friends, although we're starting to think that we should spread the love a little more...so Wilson and Jeff, if you're reading this...doing the show for the past two years with you guys has been the most rewarding experience of my life, no lie. I love you guys. /bromance

We've got a lot more stories for you, including a quick book review of Lois Lowry's The Giver, Modern Warfare 2 terrorist claims, a discussion about video game ratings, Nintendo's newest DSi XL/LL, T-Mobile carrier outages, and of course - the third and final round of our virtual Halloween costume parade!

Enjoy the show and let us know what you think in a voicemail (1-866-404-CNET) or an e-mail (the404(at)cnet[dot]com). Have a great Wednesday!

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GTA: Chinatown Wars gets massive face-lift for PSP; our impressions

While Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS received critical acclaim across the board, the game didn't necessarily sell as well as it should have. Rockstar Games chose to bring the title over to the PSP, and with it, a complete graphical revamp.

We've had the final version of the game for some time now and here are our thoughts:

Jeff: I wish Rockstar Games would take the viewing angle from Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and go back and apply it to the first two GTA games on the system; that's how fantastic of a gameplay experience it provides. Chinatown Wars is by far the best GTA game available on the system because it abandons the ground-level viewing angle that was present in the first two games. From here on out, we think every portable GTA title should control like this.… Read more

Nico Rosberg Examines the Singapore Circuit

In case you haven't been following along, the Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix took place over this past weekend (Lewis Hamilton won, by the way). This race, in its infancy in the F1 repertoire, already has quite a reputation for the unique qualities of the race attributes and its environment in general. Today's web video takes a closer look at many of the features of the Singapore Circuit, courtesy of "Grand Prix Insights".

I know this is a little past the point since the race already took place, but I just found this video last … Read more

Lewis Hamilton wins 2009 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix

The 2009 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix has come and gone over this past weekend, and what an exciting race it turned out to be. Noted F1 driver Lewis Hamilton (the 2008 F1 champion and boyfriend to super hottie Nicole Scherzinger of Pussycat Dolls fame) in his McLaren-Mercedes went from pole to checkered flag to win the race, followed by Timo Glock and Fernando Alonso finishing at the 2nd and 3rd spots respectively. To be fair, close rival Sebastian Vettel committed a white line penalty out of the pit which helped Hamilton secure the victory, but all things considered … Read more

SingTel Singapore Grand Prix: A Preview in Pictures

In 2008, FIA Formula One World Championship reintroduced the Singapore Grand Prix to its legions of fans after years of inactivity. Despite this fact, the race that takes place at the scenic Marina Bay in Singapore has a history that dates back to the mid 1960s. In fact, a lot of the appeal of this particular F1 event is its course that runs around the picturesque Marina Bay area vicinity, and also because of its night race that takes place amid the bay's incredible visuals. And with that said, this is the very reason I have selected this particular … Read more

Guns, glitz, grime: New Ballad of Gay Tony trailer

The Ballad of Gay Tony is the second of the two episodic expansion packs for the Xbox 360 version of the Grand Theft Auto IV. The game follows the exploits of Luis Fernando Lopez, a member of the Northwood Dominican Drug Dealers, and bodyguard for Anthony "Gay Tony" Prince.

Rockstar Games will unleash this new adventure in Liberty City on October 29.

Snow Leopard: The CNET and Technica(l) reviews

Snow Leopard has been out for a few days now, and the reviewers have been hard at work. On its release I posted my initial impressions and review of the OS, many of which confirmed the expectations I had before installing Snow Leopard. Recently, there have been a couple of reviews that outline the changes in Snow Leopard, and what to expect from both a user standpoint and from a technical standpoint.… Read more

Gameloft hearts the App Store

Well, it turns out that not everyone hates Apple's App Store. Gameloft, the ever-present publisher of mobile games worldwide, likes the iPhone and iPod Touch quite a bit. In a recent news release, Gameloft announced that, to date, it has sold more than 6 million games in the App Store, making it its biggest platform.

"Our core focus is digitally distributed games," said Sanette Chao, Director of Public Relations for Gameloft. "Apple is our number one customer and the IPhone OS is our number one platform. I think that alone speaks volumes to the importance of … Read more

Hands On: GTA Lite...er, GangStar for iPhone

There are certain things one expects from a Grand Theft Auto (GTA) game. Sure, there's the obvious: Violence, fast cars, and more violence, but what many GTA laymen don't know, is that GTA fans also expect (since Vice City at least) a rich, compelling story, with likable and (intentionally) unlikable characters. All told in a way only the best video games can.

After spending about two hours with Gameloft's GangStar I can safely say, they got the obvious right. Not so much the other stuff.

Gangstar is a GTA clone for the iPhone and iPod Touch where you play an ex-con named...honestly does it matter what his name is? Seriously, the main character and your sidekick are so similar in appearance I hardly ever know which is talking at any given time.

The game plays very close to GTA. Specifically GTA3. You run around, steal cars, mistakenly--thanks to the default and difficult to control accelerometer controls--run over pedestrians, and shoot and beat innocents to death.

There are also missions you can take by going to certain waypoints designated on your minimap. So far the missions have ranged from chauffeuring your boss around to following and killing groups of gang members. … Read more

Grand Theft Auto game coming to iPhone

Rockstar Games, the developers behind the Grand Theft Auto series, announced on Monday that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will be coming to Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch this fall.

The developer also announced that Beaterator, an app that allows users to create "world-class beats and songs," will also be made available on the App Store. Like the Chinatown Wars title, Beaterater is slated for availability this fall for an undisclosed price.

Chinatown Wars gives gamers control over Huang Lee, a member of the Triad crime syndicate, who travels to Liberty City to investigate his father's … Read more