Maybe you heard. This week saw the release of “Grand Theft Auto IV,” which is not the fourth game in the series, but rather the sixth, unless you count editions released for handheld systems, in which case it’s the ninth. Confused? Don’t be. All you need to know is this: It’s huge. Analysts expect the game to sell about 6 million copies and generate about $400 million in its first week alone.

Meanwhile, angry parents, outraged politicians and self-appointed moral arbiters are calling for the game to be banned, burned or at least locked away in a safe place where young, impressionable minds can’t fall prey to the come-hither depravity they’re pretty sure it contains, even though they haven’t actually played it themselves.

Why all the fuss? Put simply, “GTA” is the most provocative video game franchise ever created. And, judging from the reviews, this latest version may be the best in the series.

Libe Goad, who’s Editor-in-Chief over at GameDaily, is one of a number of respected national game critics who awarded “GTA IV” a perfect score. She was also nice enough to take time out of her busy schedule to join us for this week’s Spudcast to discuss the game, the hype, the controversy and everything else “GTA"-related.

You can check it out here:

Couch Potatoes, Episode 34 [link]

As always, you can download the MP3 directly from the page linked above, or from the archived list on the left side of this page, or you can subscribe via iTunes by clicking on the logo to the left.