'Grand Theft' reviews give Take-Two a boost

Shares of game publisher Take-Two were up Monday on the heels of positive reviews of the forthcoming video game Grand Theft Auto IV, which is being released to the public at midnight Tuesday.

Take-Two plans to launch "Grand Theft Auto IV" on Tuesday.

(Credit: Rockstar Games)

Shares of the game publisher traded as high as $27.10, 3.4 percent higher than Friday's closing price. That trading price is also a good dollar a share above the offer made by Electronic Arts when it launched its hostile bid for Take-Two last month. Take-Two rejected that offer, calling it "inadequate." Take-Two owns GTA creator Rockstar.

The excitement surrounding the release has hit a fever pitch, fueled by the positive reviews. The New York Times called the game "violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured, and thoroughly compelling work of cultural satire disguised as fun." My CNET colleague Dan Ackerman got his hands on the final shipping version and offered initial thoughts on the game's pluses and minuses in his blog.

Analysts are expecting the action-driving video game to sell more than 9 million copies and top last year's record $300 million first-week sales of Halo 3.

Check back Tuesday morning when my colleague Daniel Terdiman delves deeper into the controversy surrounding the popular video game franchise.