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Here’s an interesting article written by author Stephen King in his Entertainment Weekly column. King has taken a stand against the media and some politicians on the frequently-debated issue of video game violence, describing Massachusetts’ proposed ratings legislature as “lunacy”.

“What makes me crazy is when politicians take it upon themselves to play surrogate parents. The results of that are usually disastrous. Not to mention undemocratic.”

King’s stand is mostly against the double-standard that legislators and media outlets seem to have on the industry. That is, video games seem to get into trouble for far less than films do.  He points out that the proposed bill itself creates a different standard for games:

“[The bill] means, by the way, that a 17-year-old who can get in to see Hostel: Part II would be forbidden by law from buying (or renting, one supposes) the violent but less graphic Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.”

King also suggests that the danger posed by any violently-motivating quality of video games is far less than the U.S. lack of adequate gun control.

I’ve been saying it all along: the responsibility lies on parents to uh, y’know — parent. Considering how most DVD players, cable boxes and video game consoles have parental controls these days — shouldn’t concerned parents actually use them?

According to a recent statement, Remedy Entertainment is still hard at work on Alan Wake, the psychological thriller that was announced back in 2006.

Since the game’s announcement, very little has been revealed about the game, aside from a few screenshots on the game’s site showing off the impressive detail of the title. There has been occasional speculation that the game was going to be canceled, but every now and then Remedy or Microsoft, the game’s publisher, has stepped in to say its still coming.

But a recent statement announces that the media “blackout” around the game won’t last much longer, and Alan Wake will soon come into the light. Some sites had previously predicted a Fall 2008 release, but Remedy has since dismissed that rumor.  Hopefully we’ll get an indication of the actual date when they bring attention back to this game.  I’ll keep you posted!

A Gears of War movie is in the works, based on the blockbuster Xbox 360 game from Epic Games. The film’s producers are aiming for a release in two years’ time.

The rights to the film are owned by New Line Cinema, while Temple Hill Entertainment are producing the film. Wyck Godfrey, a producer at Temple Hill, told Comingsoon.net that the script has been written and they’re finalizing the director now. “We’ll hopefully make that early next year for the summer of 2010.”

The script for Gears of War is being written by Stuart Beattie, who also wrote 30 Days of Night and the first Pirates of the Carribean film. Cliff Bleszinski, who designed the game at Epic, will oversee the project as executive producer. Reportedly, the film will be highly stylized, not unlike the 2007 adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300.

Naturally, the concept of films based on video games makes me a little nervous. This has the potential to be really cool, or really awful. Lets hope for the former.

The Heroic Map Pack, which had been selling for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live Marketplace is now available for free. The change was made at 2:00 pm Pacific Time today.

The good news for those who already paid for the maps is that (a) there will be more games on these maps, and (b) you got a head start on finding your way around them. (Yes, I feel a little cheated too.)

The next set of maps, the Legendary Map Pack, will be released on April 15. This one won’t be free — at least, not at release time. Expect to pay 800 Microsoft Points if you want to play on the new maps.

I couldn’t resist posting this one:

The end credits theme from Portal done with the music composer in Super NES game Mario Paint.

Just as an aside, I picked up The Orange Box recently. I really don’t know how I managed to not play it until then. Half Life 2 is an enjoyable game, of course, and Team Fortress 2 is a nice change for Xbox 360 multiplayer action. But the gem in this little ensemble is definitely Portal.

If you haven’t grabbed a copy and tried out Portal yet… uhm, get off your ass. Or don’t, and order it online. I don’t really care. Just play it. Not only will you have lots of puzzling fun with one of the most eccentric games out there, you’ll understand all of the creepy Internet talk about cake.