‘Lo Axeheads, we know the weekends can be a depressing time; the Axe isn’t updated very much and its a long wait till the new episode of EpicBattleCry on Monday. But unlike those blue freaks who are threatening to kill themselves if Avatar ever leaves theaters, there’s hope for you. So come, ye mighty children of the Axe, and lets mainline a little mirth, mischief, and mayhem to liven up the days that begin with “S”…Welcome to EpicBattleAxe.com’s End of the Weak, a new feature designed to explore the interesting, weird, and downright idiotic from the world of gaming and beyond in an attempt to deliver unto thee a reason to have more SLAUGHTER than SLEEP on the weekend agenda. Grab a goblet of something awesome…we’re kicking things off after the jump!
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Archers nock and ready the firestorm, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s skirmish we discuss the recently announced (and temporarily 360 exclusive) Modern Warefare 2 DLC, Left 4 Dead 2’s ‘The Passing’ downloadable content, the plethora (yeah, we went there) of pre-order bonuses announced for Red Dead Redemption, and the announcement of Ghost Recon Future Soldier.

The Microsoft X10 conference in San Francisco provided gamers with a heaping pile of new media and details for some of the biggest titles coming out this year on 360. We, your humble Axe Lords, run down the list and pick the games we’ll be on the lookout for in 2010.

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to the Hughes Bros film adaptation of the anime classic Akira, 8 Bit Horse, a new web-shrine to all things pixel & sprite from Mommy’s Best Games’ creator Nathan Fouts, the new Chaos Will Rise trailer for God of War III, and the original Fallout.

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Hey everybody, DK here hoping you had a nice weekend and kicking off another week of Member BattleCries here on EpicBattleAxe.com. Now, in the most recent edition of EpicBattleCry (going live later today here on the ‘Axe), we discuss several different console-exclusives throughout the show. It got me to thinking about the importance of console exclusives and which ones you all think have the most value in the industry. Which exclusives are the biggest in all of gaming? Which ones are guaranteed system sellers and which of your favorites have stood the test of time? So with that in mind, I pose the following question to you in this week’s MBC Topic Starter:

WHICH CONSOLE-EXCLUSIVE FRANCHISE(S) DO YOU LOVE THE MOST AND WHY?

Now, remember, we’re talking about past, present, and future here. Perhaps a good side question to keep in mind when commenting would be, “Which franchise is most likely to make me buy a console in the future?” Of course, the discussion is open to any game, any genre, and any system. Just speak your mind and if you have a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT subject you’d like to sound off on, feel free to do that in the comments section below as well. As always, we’ll feature a new Member BattleCry each day here on EpicBattleAxe.com and then highlight the Member BattleCry of the week on the next skirmish of the EpicBattleCry video podcast. Oh yeah, don’t forget to vote in our poll this week on the console that you think has the best exclusives overall!

Cool gang, I’m really looking forward to hearing what you all have to say! Let’s kick off another great week of Member BattleCries right NOW!

Peace,
DK

Ready the spears and mount the horses, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! This week, we take a look at the debut trailer for Fallout: New Vegas, cross our fingers in hope that Splinter Cell: Conviction does indeed have a firm release date, say a brief ‘I told you so’ to the news that Episodes From Liberty City is headed to both the PS3 and PC in March, and bemoan the announcement that Microsoft will soon discontinue the original Xbox Live service.

First up in the main course this week, we talk about the recently unveiled Apple iPad. While Apple is certainly presenting their new mobile device as a superior outlet for games, will gamers buy into the new multi-touch platform? Next up, with BioShock 2 and Dante’s Inferno set to release this week, we discuss the literary influence on these two unique games. Will the source material of these titles inspire gamers to delve into the novels from which they sprang, or will everyone be too distracted by the kickassery?

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and the hope it will be a return to form for the fleet-footed-franchise, Just Cause 2 and the hope that the actual gameplay lives up to the level of fun seen in the trailer, the recent BioShock 2 Special Edition Unboxing video and its tease for the forthcoming Über Edition, and Ninja Gaiden, one of the most epic, difficult, and influential titles on the NES.

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Hey everyone, DK here wishing all of you well and kicking off this week’s Member Battle Cries here on EpicBattleAxe.com. As always, you can sound off on ANYTHING that you want here in the Member BattleCry section…You’re completely free to rant and rave as you see fit, but per the norm, I like to get things started by kicking off each week with a question.

Now, anyone who watches our video podcast knows how we feel about Microsoft’s Natal. Instead of remaining negative though, I think it’s in the best interest of gamers to be proactive and attempt to inspire the development community with our ideas. We discuss this very topic on Skirmish 060 of EpicBattleCry and now I pose this question to you as part of this week’s Member BattleCry:

WHAT ARE YOUR GAMING IDEAS FOR MICROSOFT’S NATAL?

I think most hardcore gamers would agree that, while somewhat exciting, Microsoft has thus far failed to inspire us by SHOWING US what Natal is capable of. Hopefully our ideas will feed off one another and help inspire Microsoft and the game devs themselves. After all, we are the intended audience (well, mostly) and the ones who can help shape the future of interactive entertainment. As always, We’ll be selecting one post each day to feature as the Member BattleCry and then highlighting the Member BattleCry of the Week, which will be featured on the next skirmish of the EpicBattleCry video podcast.

OK gang, that’s all for now…Put your thinking caps on and let us hear whatcha got!

Be among them and attack from behind, its time for another episode of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s skirmish, we cringe as Tony Hawk sinks to new depths to sell copies of Ride, warm up our trigger finger for Metal Slug XX, rally around the rumor a new NBA Jam is headed our way, and discuss the recent Sony survey that points to premium (as in paid) subscription services coming to PSN.

With the Consumer Electronics Show 2010 behind us, we take a look at the offerings for gamers. Microsoft announced Game Room, and also confirmed Natal will be out this year. Sony launched the first salvo for 3D gaming and announced an expansion of PSN video services beyond the PlayStation platform. Who brought the heat, who stabbed themselves in the face? We sharpen the Axe on CES 10.

The Battle Cry of the Week calls on Nintendo to bring OLED technology to the next DS console, thanks George Lucas for the greatest unintentional entertainment of the week, celebrates Darksiders and other new, kick-ass IPs, and has love for Crystal Dynamics and the hope that we may see a new Legacy of Kain game one day.

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GamesIndustry.biz has a story up outlining the details of Microsoft’s decision to drop an internal chip from its upcoming Natal motion control system. You should read the full post for the details, but in a nutshell, the chip, which would have been responsible for processing data regarding Natal’s ‘bone system’, has been replaced by a software solution.

“The full Natal hardware/sensor combo always looked like an expensive proposition in a market where Microsoft really needs to turn a profit,” said Digital Foundry editor Richard Leadbetter. “The notion of offloading the processing to the 360 CPU in the name of lower costs and easier upgradability makes sense.

Hmmm, interesting…

So, what are the ramifications of this move? Well, as GI points out, the chip’s removal pretty much guarantees that non-Natal titles will not be patched to include support for the fancy new motion controller, but rather Microsoft will support devs seeking to write their own code to run the bone system processing moving forward.

We’ll keep you posted as more details on Natal emerge.

Source

Thanks for the tip SSully!

Though not really a surprise, Microsoft Entertainment and Devices President Robbie Bach confirmed that the little box that’s going to change gaming forever is headed our way during the holiday season this year. Natal is part of a new MS buzz word NUI (Natural Human Interface), which Bach describes as speech, touch, and gesture interfaces. Confirming the word that’s been circulating around the release, Project Natal will debut officially (and with its actual name) during the 2010 holiday season.

Hit the jump for a brief vid of Robbie Bach talking about how Natal will change gaming.

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After a leaked video earlier in the day spilled the beans, Microsoft officially announced Game Room at their CES press conference last night. Game Room is a virtual arcade complex players can fill with their favorite arcade machines and decorate to suit their tastes. As for pricing, the download itself is free with games costing 400 MS points to play across both Xbox and PC, 240 MS points for a single platform, or you can drop quarters 21st century style for 40 MS points a pop.

The new service is launching for Xbox Live and Games for Windows Live sometime this spring and the still below gives us some idea what arcade titles will be available:

Hit the jump for the full press release courtesy of 411mania.com.

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If Wii Remotes and EyeToys don’t supply enough immersion for you then Microsoft might have you covered.  Literally. Microsoft Research has just filed a patent application for a muscle based controller or as they call it in their fancy pantsy techno-language a “Wearable Electromyography-based Controller for Human-Computer Interface”.

Whoa…

The technology uses this EMG to “decode muscle signals from the surface of the skin” to detect your gestures in real time and applies them however it’s programmed.  The tech demo (which you can view here) shows practical uses for the EMG controller such as controlling a MP3 player, opening a car door when your hands are full and to play Guitar Hero without a controller.

If you didn’t know you were in 2010, well, you certainly do now.  The gaming possibilities using this technology are endless.  Imagine Air Guitar Hero or playing Modern Warfare 2 by pulling the trigger yourself or any sports game where the controller knows how you’re gripping the ball and the subsequent spin is picked up.  Gets kind of scary doesn’t it?

Well, as pointed out by Engadget, (those party poopers) we are pretty far away from GameStop selling us electrodes…so as of now we can only dream about the future.  How would you like to see this technology used in gaming?  Give us your take below

Via Joystiq