L.A. Noire developer Team Bondi might have created one of the most critically-acclaimed titles of the year, but now it's a company fighting for its life.

L.A. Noire (Rockstar)Just three months after releasing its hit game, the Australian-based studio has been placed into administration, a financial condition that's analogous to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States. The protection gives the company time to attempt to regain solvency and reorganize by selling off assets and likely laying off staff.

Reality TV has explored deserted islands, crowded cohabitation, romance, travel and primal fear. So why not video games?

Uncharted 3 (Sony)Spike TV and Sony are teaming up to create a reality show centered on the upcoming Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.

Dubbed "Uncharted 3: Race to the Ring," the show will be filmed this October and air before the end of the year on Spike. And while many of the details are being kept under wraps, the producers say they're looking for people who are "fans of adventure, video game enthusiasts, puzzle solvers and risk takers." The paperwork that accompanies the application to be on the show offers a few hints as well.

Plenty of kids love playing video games, but Noah Solis is in an entirely different league.

Noah Solis (Kara Leung | karaface.com)Earlier this month, the pint-sized powerhouse (who goes by the alias "The Prodigy") attended the Evolution Championship Series (EVO) gaming tournament in Las Vegas, decimating opponents in fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom 3 en route to placing in the top 48.

He didn't win -- but he did manage to land a job as a professional gamer at the ripe old age of eight.

Whether you're playing Scrabble or one of its many variants (Words with Friends, that means you), chances are you've run into a rough tile rack or two.

So has Laurie Cohen. One of the country's top-ranked Scrabble players, the Arizona resident started her Scrabble career playing with her mother and sister as a child, and fell in with an upstate New York Scrabble club about 25 years ago. Her "serious" Scrabble play began in 1998. Since then, she has competed in over 80 Scrabble tournaments around the country, earning at least one world record along the way.

This October she will represent the U.S. at the World Scrabble Championships in Poland -- and she filled us in on some of the tactics, techniques, and tricks she's learned over the years.

Lockout averted, normalcy is slowly being restored to the NFL. And with just a few short weeks to go until the season opens, that means it's Madden time for millions of sports gamers.

Gridiron GreatsDebuting in stores this week is the latest in the long-running Madden NFL series, and it's bound to be a top seller. We've already brought you a detailed look at the changes Madden fans can expect to see in this year's version, but now that the game's hit the field, what do the critics think?

Describing the long-running franchise as "stagnating," Gamespot writer Tom McShea bemoans what he calls "very few worthwhile changes from Madden 11." Flaws that have plagued the series for years are still there, he says, and even goes so far as to recommend owners of Madden 11 skip this incarnation altogether, comparing the game to a player at the end of his career.

Weird, wonderful, and one of a kind.We don't fault peripheral manufacturers for trying to make a buck or two off video game consoles. After all, when an industry boasts global annual revenues of $65 billion, there are bound to be some remora.

But some of the add-ons that are available these days are just plain ridiculous, catering to a segment of the gaming world that's so niche it makes you wonder what the heck these companies were thinking when they green-lighted the production of these mostly useless trinkets.

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Master Chief Petty Officer John-117We're more than a year away from Halo 4 hitting store shelves, but Microsoft is already giving fans a peek behind the curtain on one of the most anticipated upcoming games for the Xbox 360.

At last weekend's Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Seattle, 343 Industries, which has taken over ownership of the franchise from longtime developer Bungie, dropped a few hints about what we can expect in the game — though the crew certainly left attendees with more questions than answers.

The game will begin a new storyline in the series, known as "The Reclaimer Trilogy. " It's a direct sequel to Halo 3 and picks up right where that game left off, with Master Chief in stasis after ending the Covenant war.

Forza 4When the first Forza game hit shelves in 2005, you could whip around the tracks in a Porsche. In 2007, when the sequel was released, you could, too. Ditto the 2009 installment.

But when Forza 4 comes out this October, the well-known German sports car won't be in your garage. And you won't believe the reason why.

Just as some sports leagues negotiate exclusive licenses with publishers, so too do car manufacturers. And for some time now, Electronic Arts has held the rights for Porsche cars.

In previous years, the company has been open to sub-licensing the cars to other games (which is how they've appeared in other Forza games), but this year, the company is refusing to hand over the keys.