mrbongo writes with this excerpt from Wired: "Opening statements in the first-of-its-kind Xbox 360 criminal hacking trial were delayed here Wednesday after a federal judge unleashed a 30-minute tirade at prosecutors in open court, saying he had 'serious concerns about the government's case.' ... Gutierrez slammed the prosecution over everything from alleged unlawful behavior by government witnesses, to proposed jury instructions harmful to the defense. When the verbal assault finally subsided, federal prosecutors asked for a recess to determine whether they would offer the defendant a deal, dismiss or move forward with the case that was slated to become the first jury trial of its type. A jury was seated Tuesday."

It's been years since the announcement of L.A. Noire, an expansive murder mystery game set in 1940s Los Angeles. After several lengthy delays, Rockstar Games has now posted a trailer and confirmed that the game will release in Spring of 2011. One of the game's major undertakings is to step up the realism of the voice acting and the way characters' faces and bodies are animated, "allowing players to analyze every subtle nuance of an actor's performance in order to get to the truth." The trailer shows in-game footage (though not actual gameplay), and while it's always a good idea to take such displays with a grain of salt, the facial expressions do look pretty realistic.

An anonymous reader writes "The much-anticipated, much-mocked 18-button joystick mouse from WarMouse is now shipping. The press release features an impressive set of user quotes from game designer Chris Taylor, new SFWA president John Scalzi, and a doctor who runs a medical software company. Crazy or not, it's obviously more than just a gaming mouse."