I like Niko Bellic, and I'm not sure what that says about me. Grand Theft Auto IV's protagonist is kind of a dick, no two ways about it. While he stumbles into a situation far removed from what he was expecting, the demands placed on him soon balloon far beyond a rationale person's tolerance. Not five hours into the game's main storyline you're killing people in cold blood for not much more than a verbal insult.

Still, despite it all, I like Niko. I enjoy his tale in a way that I haven't enjoyed the story in any other GTA title, and that makes me profoundly uncomfortable. GTA is fundamentally about 3 things, and they're all uncomfortable: violence, race, and sex. That these things speak to me is troubling and intriguing, tapping into the basest elements of humanity. It feels like there are three monkeys on my back. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil ... it's so archetypal it's almost silly.

Ready for a peek into my subconscious? Me neither.

On Tuesday I accepted a position as a copywriter at a NYSE listed corporation, a salaried cubicle job with a cushy benefits package, free Starbucks in the break room and fancy flat-screen monitors in the lobby; ending in a single phone call three-years worth of toil and sweat as a private entrepreneur. In the aftermath of that decision, what I feel above all else is a sense of relief. Having spent 33% of a decade as a self-made man, living and dying, so to speak, on the fruits of my own labor, the prospect of a traditional nine-to-five seems like a breath of HEPA-filtered fresh air.

Ruminating – in the sense of reflecting and not cud chewing – on the past three years, I am both extraordinarily glad to have swum in the deep waters, and equally glad that it is coming to what appears to be a tidy and perhaps surprisingly untragic end. It is the dream of many an office-jockey to suddenly pull up the stakes and work in a bathrobe from the downstairs office, and let’s be honest, any work environment is improved when you enjoy it in the comfort of Terry Cloth. That said, the magnitude of work, funding, planning and support needed to start a home business is simply inconceivable until you’ve attempted it, particularly when you’re stewing under fluorescent lights at the office feeling decidedly underappreciated. Just as parents-to-be are laughably naïve when pondering how easy it’s going to be for them to raise their children, so too the talented but under-informed might later compare entrepreneurship to being hit in the face with a small moon.

Michael Zenke joins us for our in-depth impressions of Grand Theft Auto IV. Does Sean still hate it? Will the vein on Rob's forehead burst? Can Michael inject some sanity into the conversation?!

Polcarstva is a short flash game by Russian developer Denis Stepkin. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, except to say that it portrays the surreal adventures of a diminutive crowd of intrepid, bus-riding explorers. Polcarstva is over in about 5 or 10 minutes, but it's surprising and intriguing while it lasts.

Polcarstva is in may ways reminiscent of Samorost, though its puzzles are less sophisticated and its imagery is a bit more bizarre. Like Passage, The Graveyard, and You Have to Burn the Rope, it's yet another independent effort that blurs the distinctions between games and art.

Because some of Polcarstva's puzzles are a bit counterintuitive, I've included a walkthrough after the break. I should also mention that, depending on your employer, it may be slightly unsafe for work due to a very brief and artsy depiction of nudity.

If you'd like to suggest a browser-based game for Act Casual, send a link and description to contact@gamerswithjobs.com

A quiet week for gaming as Take Two counts its money and Electronic Arts wishes ruefully that it had been able to close the buyout deal a month ago. For those of you not still wreaking devastation in Liberty City or hurling blue turtle shells at one another, there's not exactly a lot to get excited about this week. I'm going to give a nod of the cap toward Neverwinter Nights 2 Gold, however, just because it seems like a good way for me to pickup a game that slipped through the cracks last year.

Also of note, tis the time of the year for summer blockbuster tie-in games. Last week it was Iron Man on every system, a franchise which has elevated from near obscurity to media darling on the force of marketing alone, and this week the quirky Speed Racer shows up on the quirkiest two systems. Before the month is out we'll be able to add the Chronicles of Narnia to the rapidly growing list, and while these are historical bombs from a review perspective, the movie tie-in can be a profit machine for publishers.

On DVD this week, the Bob Dylan obsessed I'm Not There and Teeth, which is a movie based upon a premise that chills me to the "bone". For those that got or will get that joke, I'm very sorry. More DVD here.

Psst. Have a Game Secret of your own? Send it in to gamesecret@gamerswithjobs.com and maybe we'll post it on the site. All secrets are anonymous.

Read on for all the secrets.

For those of you who listen to This American Life, this week’s conceit should prove familiar. A recent episode attended to the phenomenon of false apologies, so commonly delivered everywhere from the political stump to the Christmas dinner table. We've all heard the I'm Sorry that comes without real contrition, the kind that almost hurts more for its absence of sincerity, and the following and familiar poem by William Carlos Williams was offered on the show as among the most trenchant and egregious literary examples of a non-apology.

This Is Just To Say:

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

It is a poem that can be interpreted to describe the conscious decision of doing thoughtless and hurtful action, and as kind of a seminal example of the non-apology is widely spoofed online and off. In worlds where we, as game players are constantly tasked with less than ethical actions, where we offer damage to endless victims for our own entertainment, it seems like the sort of thing our avatars might offer as a non-apology to the digital lives on which they wreak havoc. With that in mind, we at GWJ offer some new takes on This Is Just To Say, as given from the worlds of gaming.

The gang is all here as we discuss our gaming lifestyles and some of the latest games to hit the scene. We also revive the Thread of the Week, tackle your emails and listen to Rob's impotent rage.

He hath set water and fire before thee: stretch forth thy hand to which thou wilt. Before man is life and death, good and evil, that which he shall choose shall be given him.- Sirach Chapter 15

There is nothing so damning to the human spirit as free will. No murder so heinous as one with forethought, planning and cold execution. When choice is consciously made, the most petty of actions become greater than the sum of their results. We raise our glass to men defending their homes from invaders. We would damn them without their justifications, their lack of choice because they were just protecting their families. In games we rely on the ends justifying means that would make the cruelest of dictators cringe.

This being the day Grand Theft Auto IV slips into gaming consoles all over the world, we’re going to be faced with questions of morality again. Not just from the media or concerned parents, but more importantly - ourselves.

Fancy Pants Adventure features a stick figure protagonist whose pants, to be honest, are not all that fancy. And while Mr. Fancy Pants is adventurous, to be sure, today's Act Casual selection is not an adventure game. It's a two-dimensional platformer.

Fancy Pants Adventure lifts its game mechanics and design sensibilities from Mario and Sonic, so expect lots of leaping, sliding, springboarding, and looping acrobatics. It's a beautifully animated game, and unlike most browser-based platformers its controls are precise, fluid, and fun. The series' second release, World 2 (wherein you rescue a tasty frozen treat from a giant purple rabbit), is more polished and varied than World 1 but both are worth a look.

Use left and right arrows to move, "S" to jump, the down arrow key to duck/roll, and the up arrow key to open doors. The space bar pauses the game and "M" toggles music. Hit "Read more" below for some screenshots.

If you'd like to recommend a browser-based game for Act Casual, send a link and a description to contact@gamerswithjobs.com.