The game industry has often been accused of a lack of innovation, but quite a few titles have come out recently that deserve special praise. And what of the new games this holiday season?

Our third show on the economy in a year, publisher Wooley points out some interesting trends, like how the unemployment numbers can really affect the GiNDex and the industry’s overall health.

A group of disgruntled employees are shining an unflattering spotlight on Team Bondi, developers of the hot LA Noire game, alleging hostile working conditions, long unpaid hours and low respect.

Every Saturday GiN brings you a special kind of review, the Time Waster, which shows you the best way to fritter away your precious time. Meet the genius behind the new feature, this week in the GiN Lounge.

The Supreme Court ruled 7 to 2 that the California law banning the sale of violent games was unconstitutional, with some justices going so far as to declare that games are in fact, art. Funny, we’ve known that for a while.

E3 Expo 2011 turned out to be chocked full of surprises, from the Wii U to the newest Sony handheld, to an original Halo and a ton of cool-looking games. We digest all the news from the show this week.

Half the year is behind us, and half is right in front. While everyone gathers at E3 Expo this week to plot the second half of 2011, we take a look back at the six months under our belts so far, and gaze for future clues.