My review of Grand Theft Auto IV runs in FFWD Weekly today. In my “Joystuck” column I muse about the latest release from the rock stars at Rockstar.

Jordan Weisman doesn’t just play games, or design them.

He invents them.

He was the mastermind behind the genre called alternate reality games and is responsible for most of the best examples of ARGs. They are, he told me, a way for people to interact and communicate with each other.

Published today at the Globe & Mail’s online technology section is my profile of Weisman, in the event you’re interested in what he’s up to next.

I wasn’t able to attend the Vancouver International Game Summit last year because I was too caught up with another important event, but I’m glad to have found some time to be at the second annual affair.

This week, my “Trigger Happy” column in the Georgia Straight sums up the show, and includes the thoughts of Shane Kim, who runs Microsoft Game Studios, on why he thinks the Xbox 360 is well-positioned to succeed.

In today’s FFWD Weekly is a round-up of reviews, including Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Assassin’s Creed, Conan, Stranglehold, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Get the lowdown over here.

I had the VoodooPC-enabled Blackbird 002 – a HP system – in my house for a few weeks last fall, and my experience playing with it has finally seen print in this week’s Georgia Straight. It’s a sweet, powerful machine, and I want one.

I won’t be getting one, not with a sticker price of $5,000. But I want one.

Here’s why.