By Lorin Baumgarten

On this week’s episode of EpicBatleCry, the hosts talked quite a bit about game delays. As you know this is a favorite topic of mine and, therefore, you might be expecting me to write about it this week. Well, I will not. Although – I will say that I still can’t figure out why an industry that makes more money than the music industry and is creeping up on film still cannot seem to manage what the other two forms of entertainment mastered long ago: schedules. I mean, didn’t we all learn about schedules and managing expectations and fulfilling commitments in some intro class in high school? I mean seriously, gaming industry, get your sh*# together when it comes to…wait a minute, wait a minute. I said that I am not going to write about this topic this week, didn’t I?. Sorry. I got a little caught up there. What I dowant to discuss this week is a topic DK brought up on the show in the context of Mass Effect 2, but is an even more interesting question when extrapolated out to the industry in general. That question is: are games being dumbed down and/or diluted in order to appeal to the masses and , if so, are they losing quality and merit because of it?

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Next week, Nathan Drake opens his chest of goodies again for another round of Uncharted 2 DLC. What kind of DLC you ask? How about 8 new multiplayer skins costing you only $2.99? The pack contains new Chloe, Sully, and Elena skins, as well as an appearance of two enemies from the original game-Dillon and Mac. Yeah, remember those guys?!

…ahem, just check the full list below:

• Heist Chloe
• Borneo Chloe
• Borneo Sullivan
• UDF Sullivan
• Winter Sullivan
• Wetsuit Elena
• Dillon
• Mac

And that’s not all, there is also a brand new Uncharted 2 Dynamic Theme featuring the amazing ‘Train Wrecked” level. This will also cost you $2.99.

So it seems like a great week to end your summer, no? Let us know below in the ‘Cry Havoc’ section most commonly known as ‘Comments’.

Next week isn’t just the biggest week in the gaming industry, but also a week containing some of the best video game deals in recent memory. What could I be talking about? How about Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for $39.99? Uncharted 2 for $34.99? Mass Effect 2 for $19.99?! These certainly aren’t typos, believe us. Kmart is providing gamers an opportunity to pick up some of the biggest games for some great prices. The deals start June 13 and run through June 19.  Check out the full list of titles that are on sale below. Which ones will you be picking up?

• Mass Effect 2 — $19.99 (Save $20)
• Battlefield Bad Company 2 — $39.99 (Save $20)
• Skate 3 — $44.99 (Save $15)
• FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa — $44.99 (Save $15)
• God of War 3 – $34.99 (Save $25)
• Heavy Rain – $34.99 (Save $25)
• Uncharted 2 — $34.99 (Save $25)
• Backbreaker — $34.99 (Save $15)
• BioShock 2 — $34.99 (Save $15)
• BioShock — $14.99 (Save $5)

Source (via Joystiq)

We’re not making promises, but by the looks of the upcoming Uncharted 2: Among Thieves art book, we’re pretty sure you’ll be the most bad-ass person at Starbucks if you whip this thing out in public…Either that or people will just think you’re crazy. Either way, we’d like to point you to this post on the PlayStation Blog that details the upcoming art book by Ballistic Publishing which will come in three flavors ranging from the standard paperback to the ridiculously limited Folio Edition. Seriously, this thing is lookin’ SEXY!

Anyway, check out the post, get some deets, and pre-order that bad-boy if you’re feelin the Uncharted love!

By Lorin Baumgarten

Happy Friday ladies and gentleman o’ the ‘Axe! This week’s Gaming Matters finds us delving into a subject that was somewhat hidden deep within the secret codex of Skirmish 71 of the epic podcast, EpicBattleCry. It is a subject that is quite timely as Splinter Cell: Conviction was released this week hot on the heels of God Of War III and Final Fantasy XIII, which released just a few weeks ago and only slightly pre-dating Red Dead Redemption and Alan Wake, which are just a few weeks away (though it feels like an eternity). It is no doubt that 2010 has been, and looks to continue to be, a very strong year in gaming. And 2009 wasn’t so shabby either. So with the amount of very good games seemingly on the rise, my question is – how long are you spending with each game? Are you loving them long time or has your gaming become more of a “wham – bam, thank you ma’am” endeavor? Let’s discuss.
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Naughty Dog, the magical makers of Uncharted 2 are still continuing to support their award winning title of 2009 as the dev has announced that they will be releasing a second download pack for the multiplayer portion of the game in just a couple of weeks. The “Siege Expansion Pack” contains a new co-op game mode, two new multiplayer maps, six new character skins, and eleven new PSN Trophies.

Siege mode is an expansion to Survivor, the co-op game mode that has 2 or 3 players defending against waves of NPC’s. The two new maps you will get to enjoy with the DLC are The Highrise and The Museum, the first of which is based upon the Nepal level from the story mode and the other is from the single player’s tutorial map.

The pack will be available on April 22nd for download through the PlayStation Network. If you haven’t checked out the multiplayer for Uncharted 2 you should. IMO, it’s a lot of fun and set in a beautifully flushed out world where things go boom…and really, what more can you ask for?

Source

Over the past several years, it’s been easy to see the increasing impact of women in gaming. Once solely relegated to the role of “eye-candy”, the women that both inhabit and work on today’s video games have gained an increasingly influential position in the experiences that define the medium. From titles like Uncharted to Mass Effect – Heavenly Sword, Half Life and Heavy Rain, the topic of women in gaming itself is becoming increasingly more attractive. This week on the ‘Axe, we’re asking you to sound off by letting us know which female characters YOU love the most. Now, we’re not just talking about “eye-candy” of course, but instead we’re asking you to think about which female characters truly impacted a gaming experience for the better. If that includes eye candy, well, that’s fine too, but we just want you to be honest in sharing your thoughts on the female characters that have most positively influenced a particular gaming experience of yours. So, with that in mind, I pose the following question to you in this week’s MBC Topic Starter:

WHICH FEMALE GAME CHARACTERS HAVE YOU ENJOYED/APPRECIATED THE MOST?

We’re discussing the role of women in gaming on all levels during skirmish 069 of EpicBattleCry, and this is YOUR CHANCE to sound off, so use the comments section below and share a little love for the virtual women in our lives. Also, be sure to vote in this week’s poll which specifies a few recent prominent female characters and asks you which one you enjoyed the most. It’s sure to be an interesting week of discussion here on the ‘Axe, so thanks to both the boys and girls in advance for your participation!

Cheers gang,
DK

Greetings Axeheads and welcome to another friday-edition Member Battle Cry! We’ve had a great week of discussion and commentary on the subject of games that lived up to the hype. We gamers are often quick to be critical of titles, its been great to see the outpouring of support and enthusiasm for some of the games that we love.

So, to close things out, our final Member Battle Cry this week comes from AxCrege who’s ready to share some love for what was certainly one of the most-hyped games of last year: Uncharted 2. In light of the innumerable awards and positive reviews I think its safe to say Among Thieves lived up to the hype, but I’ll let AxCrege tell you himself…
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If you’re a fan of game music then you know that it’s been a great time to be a gamer as of late. Not only are kick-butt titles coming out left and right, but the level of quality in the game music seems to be steadily on the rise to boot.

Well, the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) recently announced the winners of the 8th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards at a ceremony held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco during GDC.

Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves led the night with 9 nominations and 6 wins including Audio of the Year.  Game industry veteran Charles Deenen was honored by receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award for his incredible hard work, determination and leading audio excellence for the past 25 years.
 
“The level of quality this year was stunning.  Each nominee and winner should be extremely proud of their amazing accomplishments, said Tommy Tallarico, G.A.N.G. Founder, CEO and Chairman.  G.A.N.G. President Paul Lipson added, “GANG is committed to recognizing the accomplishments of our industry, and our partnership with GDC has enabled us to make the GANG Awards an internationally recognized event.  This year’s group of nominees and winners raised the bar in every category, and we are thrilled to celebrate that.

You can check out a full list of winners from the 8th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards after the jump.
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FYI Uncharted fans…As the “Drake’s Fortune Multiplayer Pack” gets set to rock both your world and your copy of Uncharted 2, Naught Dog has taken to the web to address a common question they’ve seen from players regarding how they will add the new maps to the matchmaking system. A post on the dev’s official website goes into pretty good detail (supported by screens of the new matchmaking menu) about how it all will work, so we advise that you check it out if you have any intentions of playing the new DLC.

You can get the goods right here.