Shields at the front and spears at the ready, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s skirmish, we reflect on the PSN ApocolyPS3, check out the Blur mutiplayer beta, mourn the delay of Red Dead Redemption, and ponder the graphic differences between Final Fantasy XIII on the 360 and PS3.

First up in the main course this week, we talk about Steam coming to the Mac and all that means for Apple gamers. We also take a look at the rumors Sony is prepping some sort of mobile device to compete with the iPhone. Next up, we look back over the drama between Activision and Infinity Ward and what the future holds for the Call of Duty franchise.

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to the G.G. Collection, Valve, Mafia II, and The Secret World.

Read the rest of this entry…

Sharpen thine knives and ready thine hammer, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s skirmish, we check out the Just Cause 2 demo, new Mass Effect 2 DLC, a Batman: The Brave and the Bold game headed to Nintendo consoles, and hope that Alpha Protocol finally has a firm release date.

First up in the main course, we run down the details from last week’s Nintendo Media Summit and get ready for big N to bring the pain in the first half of the year. Next up, we examine how the details of how the launch day DLC for Battlefield: Bad Company 2, may just be the thing to drive down GameStop’s prices.

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to Neo Geo’s recent birthday (and King of Fighters XIII), Joe Danger, Transformers: War for Cybertron, and calls on game publishers to think about creating their own game console.

Read the rest of this entry…

The recent comments made by Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin on The Bonus Round has sparked more than a little discussion among gamers. Subscriptions, micro-transactions and other alternative business models for the game industry seem like an inevitability at this point. We discussed our thoughts at length for this week’s show and wound up with enough material to fill an entire skirmish of EBC. For those of you who are interested in hearing our full discussion, we bring you an EpicBattleCry On Tap dedicated to the debate on the future of the gaming business. Please share your thoughts in the comments below, we really are interested to hear how everyone feels about this.

Read the rest of this entry…

Saddle up and ride for world’s ending, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! This week, we check out the ‘better late than never’ Darksiders demo, run down the latest details on Super Street Fighter IV as well as the news that SFIV is headed to the iPhone, discuss the new Assassin’s Creed 2 DLC and the circulating info on Assassin’s Creed 3, and ponder the North American delay for the first episode of the Heavy Rain Chronicles DLC.

First up, we talk the Heavy Rain demo. With the game being release this week we discuss our impressions of the demo and what the future may hold for this unique title. Next, after many a request from you the loyal Axehead vanguard, we take a stab at some of the business models being discussed by Jason Rubin on his recent Bonus Round appearance.

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to Metal Gear Solid: Arcade, free copies of Red Faction: Guerrilla, Transformers G1 Awakening on iPhone, and VOD vs Blu-ray.

Read the rest of this entry…

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.

Read the rest of this entry…

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.

Read the rest of this entry…

Light the fires and raise the steel, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s skirmish we ponder the recently announced God of War III PS3 bundle, discuss the Heavy Rain demo headed our way in early February, run down the details on Persona 3 Portable, and examine new details surrounding MGS Peace Walker and the MGS Portable Ops bundle headed to PSP.

WIth Mass Effect 2 releasing this week, we take a look at the marketing of the long anticipated sequel; discuss whether or not the ad campaign has any affect on the series die hards and muse if its bringing in new blood as well.

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to Just Cause 2’s built in video capture function on the PS3, the team at Dice and the work going into Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the 8-bits of awesome that is Dark Void Zero, and Grand Theft Auto as a real candidate for implementing Natal.

Read the rest of this entry…

UPDATE: If you’ve watched the episode already and wanna get our response to the PS3 region lock thingy-ma-bob, please take a second to check out this post on EpicBattleAxe.com. Thx!

Prepare the second wave and loose the beserkers, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! In this week’s Skirmish we try not laugh as Splinter Cell: Conviction is delayed again, contemplate non-HD streaming from Netflix on the Wii, revel around the rumor of a Tecmo Super Bowl remake, make the most of the news that Star Wars: The Old Republic is looking at a spring 2011 release window, and discuss the news that a new Zelda is on the way.

With our skepticism, facetiousness, and loathing of Project Natal firmly on the record we change gears this week. Since Microsoft has, thus far, failed to demonstrate how Natal could be not only workable, but even desirable as a controller for traditional games, we discuss some uses suggested by several forum members that may actually have merit for gamers.

Then, we take a look at some recent EBA Poll results and find out what gamers think about the recently released Army of Two: The 40th Day as well as the news that Splinter Cell: Conviction has been delayed once more.

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to the gang at ScrewAttack for their excellent parody of the Natal documentary screened at CES 2010, Out of this World and other under-the-radar classics, SCEE for region locking Demon’s Souls and refusing to sell it in all territories.

Read the rest of this entry…

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.

Read the rest of this entry…

Steady the bow and open fire, its time for another edition of EpicBattleCry! In the first Skirmish of the new year, we examine the rumors of an NFL Trainer title and matching peripheral for the Wii, find out if Guilty Gear is headed to PS3 & 360, ponder the leaked info of a new Dragon Age expansion, and discuss Capcom’s announcement that three titles are being delayed further into 2010.

With the turn of a new decade upon us, we take a look back and ponder what the most influential games and franchises of the past ten years were. Next up, we look ahead into the coming year and run down our top-five picks for the most anticipated titles of 2010.

The Battle Cry of the Week goes to Udon Entertainment’s new Mega Man artbook collection, digital comics on the PSP, the seven-part YouTube review of The Phantom Menace that’s better than the film, and the year that saw direct communication between developers and gamers take hold.

Stay sharp.

NOTE: Artwork by patrickbrown.

Read the rest of this entry…