Grab a soup-bowl and a steak knife, the feedback is thick and hearty this week! Welcome, Axeheads, to another episode of ForceFeedback, the show where we give you the spotlight and read the comments, questions, and malapropisms from the EpicBattleAxe community. This week, we’re talking CoD Black Ops Wager Modes, Japanese-god-of-war type games, Under Siege (sadly not the long-awaited game based on the ‘classic’ Steven Segal film), and the legality of new business models in the game industry.
Pull up a chair, this man-stew isn’t gonna eat itself; its ForceFeedback!
Paul Scondac
I think (hopefully it turns out this is just my imagination) CoD Black Ops’ in-game currency (CoD points) will turn into Activision’s micro-transations business model for the CoD franchise. Or who knows, maybe they’ll have some optional payed CoD points for exclusive weapons, perks etc, or just a way for some people to level up faster. Your opinion on this?
Jared Delahoussaye
Here’s my question: What if I DON’T want all these “special” features that will be added to my Xbox Live account? I’m willing to bet this question has never occurred to the accountants at Microsoft. F*ck ESPN. F*ck Hulu Plus. F*ck anything else. I just want to play without paying out the ass anymore than I have to.
Peter Coster
Supposedly Lenovo is making a gaming console called the eBox. Do Axeheads think that there is room for a 4th console?
Kev Lim
Seriously, you guys should call this the EpicBattleWall. Just sayin’
ingles89
@epicbattleaxe The Witcher 2 guys, do you heard about it? After seeing it on gamescom I say that TW2, not Dragon Age 2 will rule next spring.
wickidwill
@epicbattleaxe I am currently an xbox 360 gamer and have seen all the amazing PC games coming out, I’m now getting a PC espesially for…gameing and I was wondering,what would you recomend I get and what games do you recomend I get for the PC, thnx 
Microdroid101
@epicbattleaxe WHAT UP EPIC TRIO! I wanted to put ” Malicious” on your radar Imagine a colourful Japanese God Of War – Instant Buy!!
AzureSkieth
@epicbattleaxe I have really important message that needs to appear on the forced feedback. *ahem* DK’s a Xbox fanboy. That is all. Thx
GAMETRAILERS
JohnApocalypse
I agree with Tony, go-kart racing doesn’t really work in a driving simulator
danixx
Hey guys I just wanted to give a shoutout to this really underrated psn game with playstation move support which, in my opinion, is the perfect match for it. It’s called Under Siege check it out!
KockM08
If you look at the new commercials for the Move, they’re marketing it almost as if it’s a new system. That’s why they have the bundle. Sony is trying to re-energizing system sales. They truly believe that they will be the replacement for the Wii. Sony thinks Wii owners looking to upgrade to HD, will choose the PS3. Whether this happens or not will be only proven in sales numbers, but I have to say it’s a smart move. No pun intended.
Rugbyfan22
while i do like for developers to be able to make significant money off their products, the mass market appeal tends to shift toward a shooter of some kind. And the closer it gets to this genre, the less there is to differentiate from other products other than a name that has critical appeal.
EpicBattleAxe
DickSwinger says:
1º post ever. From Portugal here. I´ve been following you guys since that time where Jesus was crucified. I really like your podcast. My english is not perfect so please try to follow. Regarding Xbox360, in Europe we are paying 59,99 euros a year since year 1, and most of the country’s don’t have half the content that the US has. In my home land xbox live doesn’t have zune, netflix,Fm radio, no video content except trailer for games. its basically empty. So.. what hurt´s me the most is the fact that many of us have been paying more than US customers for content that only US customers are getting. I hope that those extra bucks that some country’s will have to pay are to increase the amount of content that ours servers lack.
Amp21 says: (Double Down w/ Black Ops Wager Matches)
These modes are freaking amazing! Ive had plenty of knife only fights with friends and the reactions and sounds we make while fighting is classic, one in the chamber sounds like the funnest. But now i can actually get cod points for doing it? pure awesome. Cannot wait for COD: Black Ops. O and in the video there was character customization, BOUT TIME a COD game had it.
NANOjam says: (Valve Announces Three ‘Big Surprises’ over 12 Long Months)
From least likely to most likely
1. TF2 Update Package for PS3 and Xbox360.
2. Counter Strike 2
3. Half-Life Ep3
EBA Forums
A glimpse of the future?
…My background as a law student, gave me a certain view on gaming. Licenses and the likes have been part of PC gaming, but im not looking at that part. Ownership was always second in the idea of of gaming. However, every other part in entertainment, does still uphold that thought. The thought that when you buy something, you own that piece. Not the intellectual rights, but the object itself. With new ways of distributing apparently you don’t own it, you just ‘lease’ it, like TG, Viking Brent and DK say.
These are territories that are part of civil law (interaction between people and government when at the same level, obligations, contracts, physical damages, things like that). The gaming industry is trying new things how they can get their money. My problem is, with what they are trying. Is it even legal? Or should it be? Ownership is one of the principles that civil/common law is build upon…
My question is, are the practices that the gaming industry is doing, showing us a glimps of what will happen more in civil law? Or am I seeing things?
PoisonTaco
The problem lies in legislation. There needs to be a clear definition of ownership over digital content or anything that isn’t physical. This also goes along with copyright laws, and internet privacy.
First off the biggest hurdle is our politicians. How many of them are old? Like really, really old? Old people and technology do not mix (though there are some exceptions). I doubt many politicians in our governments know how to properly email, use a cell phone or is very computer savvy. They’re trying to pass laws about a subject they know absolutely nothing about.
We need to wait until our generation is in power so we actually know what we’re talking about when we make any legislation on digital ownership and rights.
Prodigiously awesome Force Feedback, guys. I really appreciated the BattleCry-esque proclamation Viking Brent made toward the end regarding making this tragically clueless generation of politicians more aware of issues like these. Sadly my cynicism gets slightly in the way of completely agreeing with him. In principle, I do. I truly do. However, I am more in line with “PoisonTaco” in that the problem is generational with the people in power. We can contact our congress men and women all we want, but tragically at the end of the day (as DK says), the vote that matters is the one in the shape of a dollar sign (as we as gamers are reminded), and sadly, I don’t think most congresspeople see the incentive to be educated about the video game business (at least I’ve never seen any political activity apart from vile and mindless calls for censorship by ignoramuses like Joe Lieberman and Hilary Clinton) as a serious and important one. It’s not like it’s a multi-billion dollar a year industry…oh wait…
Just want to say thank you to danixx for writing about a great game coming from my home town Porto in Portugal.
I don’t know what the sitiation in Portugal is,but I am pretty satisfied with the game content in Europa.I have a UK account and I have a lot of stuff available to me.The only thing that pisses me off is the different release dates and special,limited,ect.. editions.
It’s not only on xbox live, the US has like 100 psone classics on psn and in Europe there are only 15 to 20
Never commented before and yet i follow you guys on a daily basis. Gonna register in this mother… CRY HAVOC! Why? Because i agree with DickSwinger’s comment on this week’s Force Feedback and that’s one of the reasons i don’t own a 360 over here in Portugal. In this particular matter, does M$ care about the gamer? No. But they should… This kind of BS amazes me. Why in the world would i pay full price for an incomplete service … Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like i can get netflix (and a bunch of other stuff) on the PS3 either; but at least PSN (still) gives me some freakin’ choices. And the best part: it shouldn’t be that f’n hard for Microsoft to REDUCE (lol) the XBL price point to tackle these kind of issues, but the greed is always there man.
I also agree with Brent; point & click games are awesome with these new motion controllers. I own a couple for the Wii and, for me, it topped the experience i had while playing those same games in the PC. Now that every console is going to have cute n’ cuddly kinecting moves, i strongly suggest you guys to try it out, this genre is yet to be what it can be.
Shout out to all the axes out there (let your voices be heard!!) and…alright well that is going to wrap it up for my comment to this week’s Force Feedback. Byyye
Great new Force Feedback lads, and no not beacuse im in it. :p DS made a great point(uuuh…..) about the things we don’t have in continental Europe. Here in the Netherlands we alsó lack stuff and we have been paying for XBL 60 euro’s from the get go. Will this even stay the same as it is now? or will it also go up?
Oh and about being strong armed by Activision….. My gots some judo’s skills aight! :p Or maybe they will strong arm me with Modern Warfare 1(when the shit haddent hit the fan)
I think something important to realize concerning the last points about legislation, copyrights laws and encouraging political action are the differences in incentives.
Corporations get much more out of lobbying the state than individual consumers do, a simplified example; say a corp. has lawyers on staff dedicated to pursuing favorably legislation, that may result in lets say a million dollars more in profits where as the gains for the individual consumer are no where near as much if it’s clear what they are at all. Thus political action is irrational i.e. the opportunity cost of spending so much time and resources talking to politicians and educating fellow people/gamers vs what small monetary gains you may, or may probably not get is huge compared to lets say, working for minimum wage for that amount of time.
Honestly if gaming corporations or otherwise really start to use the government to fuck you over and monopolize ip or this drm stuff, pirate that shit into oblivion.
First of all, it is not surprising that there is a big portuguese army behind the ALMIGHTY and OMNIPRESENT nation that’s EPIC… BATTLE… AXE… , we (portuguese) are ferocious and unstoppable people (actually not so much but that’s ok).
Just as my fellow Dickswinger I’ve been following you since Chuck Norris learned how to kick!
Second of all, i would like to dedicate some words to DaniK: Daniel why do you make such a pussy voice at the GT voice over’s?(or are you afraid to talk like that near Brent?); I don’t think you should hit Daniel so hard on the “xbot” or “fanbox” because if I was an american I would do the same, DK you are a true patriot and I respect you for that.
But seriously, laws and registrations aside, the xbox service over here is worse than TAKING A SHIT IN AN ERUPTING VOLCANO ,LET IT BURN MY ASS AND STILL PAY FOR IT! (AVGN quote)
Over here (Europe) sony dominates the market not because we are fanboys but because PS3 and its services are better than XBOX360′s. Exclude UK from this conversation because they also speak american (or was it the other way around?? I don’t know).
Third and last of them all, LORIN you really are badaxe, couldn’t agree more with your take on mafia 2, the game as perfect pace and the ending is as heavy as RDR’s, when people say that games should be more like movies script wise we agree, But then we get mafia 2 and they say it’s not gamy enough..FUCK YOU mafia 2 is one of the few games that doesn’t generalize violence, Vito is one of the few characters that feels uncomfortable driving around with a body in the trunk or having to kill somebody. It’s a hell of a story and a hell of a game gave me 13:32 hours of pure delight.
For me, for me and for me thank you for reading.
(Bnuku fonetiks: Bee nUqU)
Great Show as always, i feel myself proud because Under Siege is the first big thing coming from Portugal in terms of videogames and it seems it’s going in the right direction, looks awesome, and yes another Portuguese here.
Hi every1 on EBA, i just wanted to reply to tim overclifed (hope im saying it right though) about the whole owning the right on the game we purchase, more so on the video sharing department, i used to regularly share my vids on youtube of the games i was currently playing, to give the people a taste of what they might expect from the games and also as a tribute from myself to the devs for all their hard work, after 3 accounts closed by copyright claims from the same publishers im starting to wonder where exacly does the line of ownership goes, for ex. in the case of gt.com do you guys have to sign a contract or anything so that you dont have this kind of problems??
also props for under siege, im not a big big rts fan but since its made here on portugal i might as well give it a shout, thx for your time guys and keep with the great job.
Hello wickidwill and anyone else looking for some PC fun. I heard your call and came to the rescue! Well not really I’ll just drop this link to tom’s hardware which is an excellent site for just about anyone, looking for some.. um, hardware.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-build-a-pc-overclock,2739.html
So that’s a quick link to a 400 dollar gaming PC also note the links at the top of that page for more costly and ultimatly better performance builds.
Bookmark and dive in.
Our generation needs to support first sale doctrine.
it’s not just lawyers im finishing civil engineering and i’m starting my work life in two months (by the way a good topic work,have a normal life and game, is it possible??? i play 10 games per year)
… It would be sick if one of the valve’s surprises is a bluebox (portal2/episode3/TF3)
Greetings my fellow axeheads. Awesome topic. Lets face it: games are time consuming. If you don’t have the time to savor certain types of games, you might as well keep them in the freezer for later; otherwise, in my humble opinion, the experience can be TOTALLY ruined.
IF i just have one hour to play on a Monday, for example, there’s no way in hell that i can enjoy the immersion that some games (i.e. RPGs) try to bestow upon us. I’m an explorer…i often find myself doubling the estimate gameplay time of most titles, because i like to get my money’s worth of juice, i squeeze those suckers DRY!
PS: still don’t have any kids though. Days will shorten up even more after that. DK you’re a freakin’ machine! Any tips?
PS2: There’s another segment right there: Gaming & Parenting (not necessarily in that order…)
Greeting people who bothered to read my comment, Axe heads, and those people who enjoy puns *evil stare*
But seeing how you loved to find out about new games, that you’ve probably never heard of. Well here is truly the best game that you’ve never heard of. Its a little game called “Minecraft” Its been about a year in the making, its still in alpha. Its a swedish person making it, notice I said person, not team or company. Yea one single man is making the game.
The game is open world, its a first person view, or a 3rd person(but its kinda ugly) you can choose what you want. Its more or less a survival game, run around and explore during the day, hopefully not getting lost, and during the night, hide in whatever you can manage to make, or just build a super empire. And as the game would make you guess, you can mine, you can find underground caves, with fancy resources, ranging from coal, gold, iron, diamond, and “redstone dust”. Well thats actually all the fancy underground resources. But the game has a fairly “shallow” crafting system, its just a 3v3 grid, but you can do a lot with that grid, seeing as there are a total of 55 block types. Yes the world is made up of blocks. But it wouldn’t look the same if it wasn’t. Its a Java game, but you can download a version to play full screen and all that. But the creator has put a lot of work into it, and he shows, you don’t need moderately graphics, you don’t need story, or a lot of money. You just need gameplay, and a really good idea.
But the best part is.
The “world” x8 the size of earth! And its randomly made for each person, so no 2 games are alike, EVER
Its only got single player fully working, but you can help test the multiplayer survival game.
But the game is great fun, its got a lot of polish. Its 50% off while its still in alpha stage. So its $13 if your in america and $9.99 if your in europe. For now at least. But the games great, and you really should check it out.
Oh, and over 1 million people have boughten the game, and he has done no advertisements, besides 11 youtube videos. Its spread through word of mouth, and videos that people have recorded.
Oh and again, and I did already say this, but some of us can’t help being able to spell in a crappy manner, Dyslexics UNIT…. UNITE!!!!
First I would say it depends… Has the company that made the game, gave you the opportunity to make vids from the game? (think of Halo with their vid thingies…)
Cause if they did, then from the get go its ridiciulous to not let you share it on too youtube. If they haven’t, then it becomes more difficult. but let me know if the first scenario is applicable.
I don’t play a RPG since FFX because nowadays I have exams, papers and shits to do, so when once a month I get one weekend with girl out, with toomuchstudity, with unocupied HDTV and with the bling to buy the game I PLAY (last 4 games Mafia2(14h), GOW3(15), RDR(49h), SSF4(don’t know)). OK i may have played too much RDR (didn’t play multiplayer) but i don’t have time for a 60h fallout or a 70h ffXIII, now imagine when i start to work, do I have to give up on the RDR’s ?
My Battle Cry go’s out to one of the best shows about gaming (outside of EBC that is) and that is Extra Credits from the escapist website. This weeks episode was about gaming and how it can enrich lives much like how more “legitimate” art like literature and cinema can enrich lives. They used Mass Effect 2′s A House Divided mission as their example and while that was a good example it never truly gave me great pause. It simply asked do you want to be responsible for a genocide or a mass brainwashing? I have always chosen brainwashing purely as a necessary evil. If you could magically stop ignorance,hatred and violence without having one drop of blood wouldn’t you take it? Anything is better than Genocide no matter how evil the alternative. I wonder how many real life tyrants have chosen genocide purely for their “ideals”.
Instead the gaming scenario that I felt that was more truly fully realized and thought provoking was the Tenpenny Tower mission in Fallout3. That game truly gave you a damned if you do, damned if you don’t conundrum and no matter what option you chose you would get blood on your hands. That section of Fallout 3 took it out from just being a game with entertainment value to a fully realized Art in my opinion. It took a game from just being art in a pure craft sense and put it in the realm of art in how a really good book or cinema is art. That was the first time I was ever upset with a game not because it was too hard or too easy or too foolish but because it actually made me think and for the most part feel completely helpless in a serious situation. You know, kind of like in real life. So in closing my Battle Cry is we need more games that have situations like the Tenpenny Tower mission in Fallout 3 or the House Divided mission in Mass Effect 2. It would take the argument that Gaming isn’t true Art and put it on its ASS.
YES! MY VOICE WAS HEARD! And best of all Brent was the one to read it, giving it an epic tone. No offense to DK, but he doesn’t need to make a scene when the 360 looses an exclusive. If it wasn’t published by MS, then why make a big deal about it. I can understand when a game is developed, or at least published, by a first party that it doesn’t go first party, but that isn’t the case with Mass Effect 2. Hell, just because a publisher wants to sell a game for all possible consoles that their product would fit on, doesn’t mean that the developer is selling out. Of course its mostly about money in the end, but the developer has probably more pride in what they are making and will want as many people to play their work as they can get.
Very entertaining as always, thanks guys. Just for your info, Brent, Monkey Island IS on the iPhone / iPad!
Hey Axe Heads!
I have a Battle Cry, I just saw the Dead Space 2 multi-player trailer and got even more excited for it, it has now gone from a rent to a buy. Because it has play back, which is a MUST in a game. How excited are you for this one guys? Brent, I know your getting pumped for this game.
Hi EBA
can you tell me where is the *Force feedback* 005 on itune?? i only listen it on my ipod and yea its not there …. pls put it on itune =)
EBA ROCK !!
thats the thing dude, i dont know, i used to record footage from the pc (only got a xbox console a while ago and i dont have 1 of those hd-pvr yet) and for the most part i used to record montages from games like bioshock and that sort of stuff, that ex. u mentioned about the halo 3 record feature makes sence yeah but games like bioshock u dont really get the notion if u are breaking the law (copyrighted material wise) cause u dont have feedback from them, its more simple in their place to contact youtube and obligate a block or some sort on my account and other for what i have heard. =(