There are some awesome closeout deals being run on EBGames.com this morning so stop on by and pick some of them up.

• Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter – Xbox $4.99
• Rogue Ops – Xbox $6.99
• Rogue Ops – PS2 $2.99
• Alter Echo – PS2 $4.99
• NFL 2k3 – PS2 $4.99
• Arc the Lad – PS2 $9.99
• Dead to Rights – Xbox $6.99
• Drake – Xbox $4.99
• Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 – Xbox $4.99
• NCAA Football 2004 – Xbox $9.99

If this next story is true, I just want to extend a wonderful thank you to the UK gaming media for royally screwing this one up. There have been accusations made by a forum user on the Inquirer stating that certain companies are releasing pre-release review copies of games only in exchange for a guaranteed review score. The informant who goes by the name of “Jell” says he works for a UK gaming magazine and that Atari’s PR folk have demaneded an 9/10 score for early review code of DRIV3R. The article also names Capcom’s PR reps as demanding an 8/10 for Devil May Cry 2 and Sega’s European Division asking for an 8/10 for Sonic Heroes.

If this is in fact the case, I want to thank them for confirming the fears of gamers everywhere. The fear that people writing reviews have been “paid off” is a common theory amongst gamers and now it appears that at least one part of the gaming industry is guilty of this horrendous practice. Rest assured that this does not take place here. Heck, we still have to buy games to review them.

The Inq makes note that this story has not been confirmed yet, but we will keep you updated as things unfold.

Blizzard has announce yet another delay for their most anticipated game, StarCraft Ghost. Blizzard reps want to be 100% confident with gameplay and graphics and want gamers to get as much as they can from the game. No date has been specified for release, so I guess we can just forget about this game for a bit.

Since EA and Xbox Live have struck a deal, Madden has added more online features that will literally keep you from watching ESPN. EA has added customizable live sports tickers,which means you can keep tabs on real life sports scores and your buddies online status and stats. Also Tournament capabilities will be enhanced majorly, and reputation ratings will be much more detailed. Another cool feature that will added is updating the rosters during the football season. Depending on how many changes there are during the real NFL footbal season, will allocate roster changes. So stay tuned for some more gaming news.

Back in the day at the arcades I loved to play 2d shooters like Raiden. I would absolutely love to acquire a Raiden arcade cabinet, but it’s not on my high priority list of things to buy right now. I went ahead and rented R Type Final to see how I liked it and I was kind of caught off guard. Is it a good thing to make games without save points that are so hard even on the first few levels that it suddenly becomes no fun to play? I spent a few hours playing R Type and I think I made it to the 3rd or 4th level. I am not really sure since there was no real break between levels, just a screen showing a score and allowing you to change ships. I wouldn’t mind the difficulty if I could start on stage 3, but noooo. Anyway, I don’t want to rant too much, you can read the review later.

A big Happy Father’s Day goes out to all you gaming dads. I had a great day and I trust you all did too.