Following up on yesterday's rumor out of OXM that Gearbox may be handling Halo 4, Variety's Ben Fritz reports that his source close to the dev confirms that it "has definitely had conversations with Microsoft about doing a new Halo game and is very excited at the prospect," but that "there was no deal in place." For those who might not remember, Gearbox has a history with the Halo franchise, having handled the PC version of the original game.

Fritz reckons it's "quite possible" Gearbox will helm a new Halo project ... it's just "not a certainty yet." If it happens, that would make at least four Halo-related titles in the works: Halo Wars; the Halo game that Bungie was supposed to reveal at E3; Peter Jackson's interactive take on the Halo universe; and whatever Gearbox may or may not be crafting. Given that OXM's rumor regarding Halo 4 as a launch title for 360's successor (if there even is one), we should expect to hear something official either way in, oh, the next year or two.

It should come as no surprise that the very first review for Grand Theft Auto IV comes to us from a British magazine – the May issue of Official Xbox Magazine UK to be precise. Not only do magazines have a longer lead time but British ones are published in the future (well, five hours ahead of Joystiq Standard Time anyhow). While one review isn't nearly enough to go on, it's worth sharing that the mag's reviewer used every one of his digits to award the ambitious next-gen debut of GTA an impressive 10 out of 10, calling it "utterly stunning in every respect."

Of course, he doesn't really mean "every" respect, as there are a couple minor detractions including a temperamental cover system, an "over-enthusiastic" lock-on, and some immersion-killing pop-up, though he prefaces those quibbles by reminding us he was playing a not-quite-finished version. Either way, if the myriad previews haven't convinced you of this game's depth, news that the Xbox 360-exclusive DLC – scheduled to be released in August – will "be at least 10 hours long" should help give you some sense of perspective. Has the hype train reached your station yet?

The Rock Band songs featured in the February issue of OXM are now available to download for a dollar each. For those looking to save a couple bucks, there's always the option of hunting down an old issue of OXM at the local library and checking if the disc is still miraculously in there.

HMX pack (240 MS points / $3)

• "Rock Rebellion" - Bang Camaro (80 MS points / $1)
• "Shake" - Count Zero - (80 MS points / $1)
• "Super Sprode" - Freezepop (80 MS Points / $1)

Videos for this week's Rock Band DLC can be found after the break ... yes, enough people asked, so we're going to keep doing it. Don't forget to download "Still Alive," which is available for free. The songs will be available next Tuesday for Xbox 360 and PSN owners will have it available when the store goes back up sometime in April.

The February issue of Official Xbox Magazine will have three "completely exclusive," albeit obscure songs for Rock Band. The disc contains Freezepop's Sprøde, Bang Camaro's Rock Rebellion and Count Zero's Shake (like our Rock Band weekly feature, we've placed videos of the songs after the break; though we're currently missing Shake).

OXM Editor-in-Chief Francesca Reyes tells Joystiq, "You'll be able to download the songs from the disc onto your [hard drive] and they will remain there with or without the disc in the drive." Does this mean Harmonix could eventually offer retail expansion discs stuffed with songs? That idea is pure speculation, but we'd welcome it in lieu of a full-priced 'Rock Band 2.'

If today's news of downloadable Guitar Hero III Velvet Revolver and Foo Fighters track packs got your motor runnin' (on XBLA or PSN, pick your poison) then you're going to blow a gasket reading the below list of Rock Band downloadable tracks, conveniently extracted from the physical pages of this month's OXM magazine and replaced by beautiful digital bits, helpfully transcribed by the good folks at ScoreHero. We're talking 24 confirmed tracks, from 17 monsters of rock. And that's not to mention the other Rock Band DLC we've already been promised, like The Who, Nirvana, and The Grateful Dead.

Hit that jump for the latest list in all of its glory.

[Big ups, Quastor]

It's an exciting week on the Rodeo with some new faces (voices?) and some returning friends. It's so exciting, in fact, that we're going to get started right ... now.

CAG Foreplay: You know, Cheap Ass Gamer's new podcast on the block has had a pretty easy time of it so far. The husband and wife team of Shipwreck and Mrs. Shipwreck have been reviewing the new releases for a few weeks now, but they've been doing it during one of the slowest release windows. In 28-game-deep Episode 5 though, stripes are earned, tears are shed and (one can only imagine) love is strengthened.

The Best Damn Podcast Ever: Is there any truth in this podcast's title? No, of course not -- we all know what the height of podcast evolution is. But if you're interested in hearing why John Carmack is like a kid giving a first book report or why GrimGrimoire's developers might possibly be time travelers, you could do a lot worse. Also, the guys have slight southern accents ... you know, for the ladies.