Game on.

Video game publishing giant Electronic Arts’ $2 billion bid to buy Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., the maker of “Grand Theft Auto,” was shot down by its smaller rival yesterday.

Redwood City, Calif.-based EA made unsolicited bids of $25 and $26 per share that were both turned down by the Take-Two board, which released a statement calling them “insufficient” and an “opportunistic” attempt to take advantage of the upcoming release of “Grand Theft Auto IV.”

One source close to Take-Two likened EA’s offer to a bad meal: “The food is no good and the portion is small.”

The source noted that video game publishers typically see a bump in their stocks a couple of months prior to the launch of a new game, and accused EA of making a pre-emptive strike, trying to get ahead of that movement.

Strauss Zelnick, executive chairman of the board of Take-Two, said in a statement the bid comes at “absolutely the wrong time,” but that the company offered to defer talks until April 30 – the day after the scheduled release of “Grand Theft Auto IV.”

But EA wasn’t buckling, and in a letter to the Take-Two board, Chief Executive John Riccitiello warned, “We believe that Take-Two’s shareholders would not be well-served by any further delay in negotiating and completing the proposed merger.

“While the video game industry remains an attractive, high-growth business, the challenges and risks in the business are escalating, and the need for scale is becoming more pronounced . . . There can be no certainty that in the future EA or any other buyer would pay the same high premium we are offering today.”