Sound the horns and lay waste the city, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s skirmish, we mull over the news that Zelda: Skyward Sword is on track for an early 2011 release, check out the trailer for James Bond 007: Blood Stone, discuss the 360 exclusive window for Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light, and the PS3-exclusive DLC for Mafia II.
First up in the main course this week, we go Under The Axe with Zombie Studios’ Jared Gerritzen, lead designer on Blacklight: Tango Down. We talk platform exclusives, milking gamers, and changing expectations for downloadable games. Be sure to check out the full interview with Jared only on EpicBattleAxe.com!
With the slew of Limited Editions, DLC goodies, and promotions that were announced this week, we take a moment to consider whether or not these premium priced goodies make sense and whether game publishers and marketers get gamers.
The Battle Cry of the Week goes to King of Fighters XIII, The teaser-announcment-trailer for Mega Man Universe, Breach, and Assassin’s Creed 2.
If you’ve got a comment on the show, sound off below, if you’ve got a Battle Cry you want to share, click here and sound off on the latest topic-started post! Stay sharp.
Hope that wasnt a nighter again Brent
Take your time aye.
And very cool that you start with interviews on the Axe. Its always good to know the dev side of things, so you can give it more of a perspective.
PS: you gonna put the entire interview as a EBA on Tap?? pretty please (A)
Nice follow-up on the baby-anouncement, brilliantly done
Now for the rest of the skirmish
congratulations you just had made my day
I love the Axe the only reason there’s a Tuesday in the week
Hahaha, I love the intro. I’m sorry I can’t watch the whole episode, I’m off to work! You guys rock!
Great skirmish despite irrational punnery,XD.My battle cry for best dlc is trials hd on xbox 360. The game is cheap, the added dlc is cheap but the game is quality. Add to that level building tools and online competitive skill games it becomes epic.
I don’t get the AC2 hype
I gotta say that I haven’t played the first one but the second game was one of the most boring games I’ve ever played
This combat system is just boring as is the story and the missions
the best about this game is the free-running part
another great ep and again I am glad to hear the SWEET ASS C ACTION IS STILL IN THERE YEEEEEYEEEEEH and I mean the second time somebody says it!
Well, you certainly didn’t make the skirmish any less good. Great slicin’, as usual. Funny thing is that the player started glitching a bit here exactly when the conversation came to that topic.
EBC 82 POSTED at 5:32 am!!!!! you guys really work hard!!!! I appreciate this so much effort!!! thanks EPIC BATTLE AXE for another great episode!!!!
Video not found or access denied :s Anyone else getting that? :s
Am i the only one who gets a error message trying to watch this weeks episode.
btw it says: Video not found og access denied
wierd and annoying!
Yeah i was onto Part 4 and the site just crashed on me and the videos still not loading. Was a great episode so far tho… loved the baby intro
Ca
Hmm, kk, just some patience then I guess
error…error…error, cant watch it….might kill myself…or other people….
My Epic battle cry goes out to….
Getting this to work!!
Hey gang, sorry, we had some technical issues getting this week’s Skirmish out the door. Brent has been bustin’ hump to get it live so hopefully it’s working alright now. If you’re still having issues with the player, please feel free to let us know and we’ll do our best to address it ASAP. As always, thx for watching!
Its working now, ty Dk and Brent
Watched up to part 2 so far, and towards the middle and end the video gets stuck in some weird loops where it keeps repeating the same 1 second clip of sound and video a few times. Not sure if it’s just mistake made when the video was edited or something else, but I thought I’d let you know.
Keep up the good work, guys.
excellent show ! as always !!
I think that DLC that comes with NEW games only is a great idea. I myself have taken a vow never to buy a used game so this is just god telling people to “Get on my horse”. I think this is a great way for Devs to make money and at no extra cost to me. I realize that this content may have already supposed to have been on the disk but I think this could really work out for everyone. The $10 or so dollar incentive to buy new games is a great idea and I hope it continues to move forward.
Oh, totally forgot to mention this:
I LOVE the ‘Under the Axe’ segment. Really hope that’s a keeper. Although I’d understand some (most?) of the bigger devs not willing to take a chance like that, it is definitely interesting to hear an opinion from the ‘other side’. I’m not saying our Axelords are boring to listen to (they’re not!), but to look at it from the perspective of a developer, one needs to be a developer, right?
Also, props to Jared for being the first ‘victim’.
hi guys, I gotta say I LOVE the new under the axe segment keep doing it, and if I may suggest to bring on the guys from Unknown Worlds on the next episode, they are inde devs and they will be releasing the alpha next week for their new game natural seletion 2 that have been under development for several years.
I really hope you give this game the attention it diserves, this game brings something fresh, original and fun for gamers, you should really cheack it out.
http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/
head of the studio is offering preview of the alpha for gaming sites, contact him here charlie [at] unknownworlds [dot] com
Wtf is this!? I cant watch part 4! It say its restricted!?
the pit is the shit
Best gaming show/podcast ever made. Great respect, homos!
great show guys
And speaking about the PITT
I clicked the link to this thread http://epicbattleaxe.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1151
registered on the forum
entered the random word code
wrote that I will take Diablo 2 lord of destruction
then I got the message saying that moderator must aprove my comment to apear on the board
I did that in the middle of the last week my comment is not there
So my question is WHO THE HELL ALLOWED A PARANOID PERSON TO BE IN CHARGE OF THE FORUMS???
Could you guys post the entire interview as a EBA on tap? or was that all? I would really like to know more what he had to say
What pisses me of is when i have to pay for aditional content like, higher difeculty or some battle arena content, like resident evil 5 or overlord 1 & 2, overlord 1 came on ps3 with all that bonus content on the disc and if i knew that would happen i would get that one instead, but on RE5 i never tutched any of tis dlc for im sick of have to pay extra for stuff that shuld and are allready on the game from start.
i thot of it now and i even turned down the dead rising 2 survival edition tog et the regular for i looekd woer the content and saw ther is nothgin i will find entierly enjoyable, best bonus content came with demon souls with art book and that was ncie as it was like a bonus for stick around to wait for it to be realsied, silent hill 2 was realseid in europe fomr get go in a specal edition and layter it was realised as regular edition, so there was it more of one got something extra for buy the game on realise date.
Now i thot of thsi coudl work asa advantage for pc gaming and hard copys VS steam, sell hard copies maybe a time after steam realsei but you get aditional bonus of artbook, map, tshirt or even a scale model and so on and make drm free with then would make fans support the titel much more.
and i apolegy my brutish english
it runs – it loads – it runs – it loads..
You know why exclusive dlc sucks for me personally? It never gets released for the pc…
I’ve got all the platforms, but whenever something gets released for pc + blah, I always go with the pc version, even stuff like the force unleashed, got a wired xbox controller anyways.
Take for example resident evil 5, it had the dlc where you and jill go to the mansion, I would love to play that dlc, but it wasn’t released for the pc…
Just sucks…
PS. Sorry but under the axe was zzzzZZZzz (zoned out even), been a long time fan, but don’t like it that you are shortening your actual podcast. It was interesting sure, but it was too long, would rather have read the whole thing on epicbattleaxe.com
I feel sorry for the guys at Zombie Studios, they made a great game that can even be compared to the MW franchise and not look bad. They deliberately lowered the price in hope of getting it to more people, but then they get the critics that would be appropriate to a flowed $60 game rather than a great, cheap and fun game with some minor problems. In my eyes this game deserves no less attention than the cheap Battlefield game and people should acknowledge that.
My Battle Cry of the Week’s Download Only Game would have to be the new game Alien Swarm. It has great gameplay and is built on the Valve SDK so it is no trouble grouping up with my friends which is FREAKING SWEET! Best of all it is completely free, thanks value.
I am big fan and I watch your every show.
My fav DLC would have to be ALIEN SWARM!!! I simply can not believe they released this game for free. Its built on the source engine so it runs great of the modest of PC rigs. It has 4 player co-op, tons of unlockables, a levelling system, and great gameplay to boot. Plus the add to this its on an extremely modifiable engine so I look forward to seeing more maps and campaigns.
On the note of Blacklight Tango Down, how can you say this game is like a $60 game. I have seen better looking mods than this. I brought the game on STEAM for £10 and to be honest I want my money back. Its a terrible game, and really badly designed. This is the thing with DLC, there are no refunds. So it seems to me that some developers just simply do not care what they put out. They think if they build enough hype for the game then people will just buy it because its so cheap and be stuck with a crappy game. Its all well and good saying that “we offer you 15 maps, tons of modes, tons of this and that” only for the game it self to look cheap, tacky, and have horrid gameplay and graphics to boot. I would of actually prefered a 2d side scolling game of Blacklight rather than the mess they have put out.
Hay Guys awesome show again, keeps me entertained, even kind of sold me on “Black light tango down” but Bloody Microsoft store sucks ass maybe it’s just because I’m in Australia and no one cares about AUS gamers but I litteraly cant find BLTD on the Microsoft store. Wouldn’t it would have been better if the guys at zombie put it on steam?
Great show guys, as usual!
My battlecry goes out to fallout 3: operation anchorage. It was one of the most solid dlc’s i have ever played. Fallout had many of the most solid dlc’s out there, but this one struck a particular chord with me the way it changed the formula. It took the rpg shooter mechanics that had already been well established throughout the game and threw in run and gun scenarios that further challenged the player to experience the game they loved so much in a completely new way. That along with the wacky fallout antics makes it my all time favorite dlc, and I hope Bethesda continues to fallow in suit with New Vegas and PLEASE GOD a new elderscrolls title.
I love downloadable games…but it really pisses me off when a game has yet to be released and they announce downloadable content for it. I know they’re trying to make money, and I know that DLC definitely helps, but saying you’re going to have DLC for a game that’s going be released in 3-4 months…You’d think that that the DLC could’ve just been added to the game in the first place…I feel ripped off when buying it. Some games like Call of Duty already had it prepared…and I understand…It’s a big franchise and people ARE going to buy it. However, if you’re just starting a franchise or have a game that might not be that great, it’s probably best to put everything you’ve got into it…even the DLC you might have prepared…
My Battlecry goes out to PopCap Games and other companies a-like. They actually made Casual Gaming cool! Games like Plants vs Zombies we’re cheap and provided a great time for everyone who downloaded those Titles. I’m an hardcore Gamer but i always enjoy a quick play on those great games!
Going home to buy Blacklight. I really want to support these developers.
Great show guys! My battle cry goes out to Bioware and the sheer amount of DLC they pour out to ME2 and Dragon Age. They release relevant content that feels like it actually adds to your game making you want to jump back in. A lot of DLC has been pointless or just unlock keys to content you already paid for and need to repay for for some odd reason and it sucks. Im glad there are companies out their that actually care about the customer and not just out there to get another dollar.
I haven’t played a single piece of DLC or DLG! Why? Because those kinds of options are not provided in the country where I live. Since more and more games are counting on DLC to push the gamers into playing their content, it has become (even though I don’t like it very much) a vital part of the gaming industry, and it sucks!
Why would I buy Mafia II for the PC or Xbox360? I got FREE DLC for the PS3! Oh shit I don’t! Cause I don’t have the PS Store! It is sad that something that is becoming such a trend and continuing business model in this fine industry is not available for everyone. The executives fight for some stupid exclusivity deals for their own console meanwhile still half the world won’t be able to enjoy the provided exclusives, UNLESS they’re included on the CD with the game, because there is no XBOX Live and PS Store support for everyone in the world!
That’s my opinion on DLC and my battlecry!
What’s up, my demon-lords of deviation, my friars of fornication (a.k.a. f*insert guitar sound here*ing) ! How art thou ?
my battlecry goes out to… i just wrote this cause everyone does, but anyway.
my favorite dlc would just have to be none other than…
*drum sounds*
…none, i hate dlc, the thought alone of having spent like 200 $ or more on map-packs, game add-ons or downloadable to then lose it all when your console is broken or when you lose it in general is just terrifying.
When you buy a game on a disk you can still sell it or trade it in when you lose your console, but with dlc you’r just fucked, and you can’t do anything about it.
P.S.: Daniel having his own show would meen the end of live, the world, the universe, everything in between and uniorns, no offense Daniel ^^
Fantastic episode guys!
FYI, just after 19 minutes in on the iTunes download, Tony goes in to a 30 second glitch loop during the interview with a green screen.
Loved the new segment and the interview with Jared. Really depressing to hear that a game that is finally a good deal for gamers isn’t getting as much attention BECAUSE it’s a good deal. Wow. absurd!
Hearing this interview persuaded me even more to buy the game. I enjoyed hearing that they started with PC first and the dev sounds like a cool humble guy.
As far as DLC, day one, exclusivity, and all the other bullshit, I’m right there with you guys. I am sick to death of it, but they only continue to do it because so many gamers are playing right in to their hands and forking over the money.
Good episode. Here’s a funny video of EVO 2010. A player who is losing taunts his opponent, gets owned, gets angry and throws his stick to the ground.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsgRnBazeSY&feature=player_embedded
Media offline? BREEEEEEEENT!!!
Ok, I know it’s been a while but here it goes . . .
Whats up my tessellates of torment, my M.C. Escher of elimination, how are thou?
My battle cry goes out to one of my favorite downloadable games, Echochrome. For DLC, Echochrome has all the right qualities. The game has an unique presentation style. It is easy to pick up and play but has an incredible depth for recurring gamers. An Echochrome is fairly prices at $10 on the PlayStation Network. Also with 10,000 user created puzzles, Echochrome’s puzzle selection can last as long as an M.C. Escher’s painting. In conclusion, Echochrome was a great game for it’s price and it’s sold me on the sequel, Echochrome ii.
Great show. I watched it like 5 times the day it came out. It was funny as hell!
My battleCry goes out to the Schwarzenegger v. EMA bull crap thats happening.
This bill will make video games illegal to minors, placing it in leagues with pornography and cigarettes.
not only that but it will make video games no longer protected by the 1st amendment. this is BS that could lead to new bills later in the future that could censor games and even ban th em.
if you guys dont agree with it, please head over to
http://action.theeca.com/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1781
and sign the petition, let your voice be heard.
awesome show once again.
my battlecry goes out to the bullcrap that is the Schwarzenegger v. EMA bill.
this bill will make video games illegal to minors placing it in leagues with porno and cigs. Also it will make video games no longer under the protection by the 1st amendment. this could cause newer bills later that will censor or even ban games in certain states.this is utter BS its a double standard. there is already a rating system in place, but parents fail to use there parenting skills. there is a petition we can all sign, but i cant post it, as a spam blocker is in place. but i urge all of you to sign it, its at the ECA site.
My first battle cry is that it is unfair that when xbox gets something downloadable ps3 doesnt usually get it for another month? Why don’t they just wait and get it out for everybody so they are firing on all cylinders because not releasing it for ps3 could cause ps3 users to lose interest because of having to wait. Say for example blacklight tango down and deadliest warrior the video game. My other battle cry goes out to sam and max the devils playhouse. It has great puzzles that are sometimes frustrating, but never tire. It should be rewarded more than it is because it is not a kids game behind the animal characters the content in it should by rated well over E10 and up. It is a fun game and you guys can check out the demo online if interested enough.
My battle cry goes out to all the DLC for Mass Effect 2. I am a big fan of the Mass Effect franchise and I think it’s great that Bioware keeps coming out with good DLC. For instance with Kasumi “Stolen Memory” you were not just buying a new awesome mission, but also a new character. I haven’t played “Overlord” yet, but I will real soon. Then there was the free DLC for Zaeed, personally I really hate the guy but he still had a fun and interesting mission. (And yes, I got rid of him the first chance I got.)
With all the DLC, novels and comics about the game and also the other stories in the Mass Effect universe, Bioware has done a good job in still keeping the player immersed and invested in the game by continually delivering content that contributes to a great and long experience. And at the same time getting you hyped for the next game which is what DLC should do. I think it is really cool to have DLC content that will hopefully have an impact on what will happen in the Mass Effect 3, and I personally don’t mind spending a small amount for DLC – as long as it’s good.
(Please excuse my English, it‘s not my native language.)
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Love the show, and keep up the good work.
/All the best, Natalie
I tried to join the discussion in “The Pit” but for some reason I got loged out by just clicking at it. So what am I doing wrong, I’d appreciate some help on how to get in on the discussion topics,especually : “Alone on an island:Which single game to you play” Help me out plz
EBC is awesome!
My battlecry for best dlc goes out to the “Episodes From Liberty City” for GTAIV this dlc delivered everything I want in a dlc it expanded the story gave new content (new guns and cars, new multiplayer games and outfits), it also expanded the story, and added many hours to the experience. They also released it at great times as well because right when the game was slowing down and not getting as much play time they release awesome dlc and for only $20. Timing and price are a big factor $20 may seem like a big deal but these could have seriously been sold as stand alone games (Which they became), the timing also was great because apparently the new strategy is hold back on the game and sell dlc on release and put it at $10. That to me is why “EFLC” is by far the best dlc content out there.