We all have a pile of shame. It’s the stack of games we’ve bought and
are sitting on, but have yet to finish, or in some cases; play. Here in
order of priority is mine. PLUS the specifics of when they will be
considered beaten.

1. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (Have to beat Bison with my new Arcade stick on normal)

2. Bionic Commando (Have to kill Hitler)

3. Rock Band 2 (Have to finish World Tour)

4. Burnout Revenge (Have to unlock a truly awesome car)

Wish me luck.

———-Amendment———–

Finished

Rock Band: AC/DC Live
Fallout 3
Gears of War 2
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Scene It?: Box Office Smash
Left 4 Dead
Streets of Rage 2
Quackshot: Starring Donald Duck

Eastern VS. Western-developed RPG’s.

This week, we’re without Paul, chiefly because it’s an episode focusing on RPG’s. Alex and Tony discuss finishing Fallout 3 and the possible evolution of a stubbornly rigid genre. We take a look at JRPG’s vs. games like Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic and explore their positives and negatives.

Also up for discussion is the new Resident Evil 5 demo, the recently revealed best selling games of 2008 and Banj Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts – Tony’s antidote to the isolation of the Wasteland.

All that PLUS a competition to win a free copy of Final Fantasy XII for the Playstation 2. Send your answers to the quiz question to digitalcowboys@googlemail.com The winner will be announced on next week’s show.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Having played this charming, oddball, twenty-minute and best of all FREE game I’m hoping to spread the word about it.

To explain the plot would remove much of the fun but all you need to know is that it uses a modified Quake II engine and throws you directly into a colourful and weird world. It’s a great way of turning gaming narrative on it’s head. It was created by Brendon Chung, who is definitely a man to watch.

Download it and try to get through in one sitting. There are some jumpy bits so save often. You’ll thank us later.

Format: Playstation 3
Reviewer: Alex

Arguably the best game on the PS3 and yet sometimes achingly derivative and petty, Drake’s Fortune is a curious blend of tired, old favourites and expert polish. Pilfering liberally from the successful exploration elements of the Tomb Raider series and the cover action system from Gears of War it’s very hard for a player on the initial run to find the identity beneath the surface. It’s there, however in the form of brimming personality and charm.

The story is pure Saturday morning matinee fodder, an up-to-date Indiana Jones the world of cinema sorely needs and within moments of the epic score rousing you up with lush visuals and all the other cliche’s that make you feel like you’re playing a big game, you fall right into Naughty Dog’s trap. Then after witty, exceptionally well-delivered dialogue you’re basically ferried about between room after room of crafty, spiteful enemies who flank you all over the shop and pick away at your patience. These shootouts are interspersed with some very competent platforming, which unlike Tomb Raider requires usually just the right direction push and occasionally some timing. Punishment is never more than a few repeated moments of game, but you WILL die over and over.

It’s a fairly old game by now, but the addition of trophies and an incoming sequel, coupled with a budget price make this one almost unmissable for fans of action games. The core gameplay is nothing you’ve not seen before, but the central trio of Nathan, Elena and Sully in particular are strong, likable characters and that alone is worth playing for.

Rating 8/10

DLC as a means of extending a games lifespan.

This episode we discuss embarrassing statements from Sony and Microsoft (and Forbes magazine), the new Ubisoft game announcements and Gears of War 2 and its recent patch to balance some online inequities.

The main feature focuses on games which have found new lease of life with the addition of downloadable content. We debate which kinds tend to keep us gaming longer, which aren’t worth the hefty price tags and what the ideal model is for game developers that might keep us coming back for more.

Congratulations to Slumdog Millionaire for it’s Golden Globe, Bafta and Oscar nominations. It’s a truly awe-inspiring movie and we urge you all to see it.

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The Decline of Print in Gaming Journalism.

This episode marks the first of a new direction for Digital Cowboys. From now on, we’re solely focused on video games. Each week we’ll have news and an update on what we’ve been playing, along with a new point of discussion for our main feature.

We decided with the shutdown of EGM to look hard at games magazines. What were they like when we were kids who knew no better and how have they changed over the years? Is the demand for hard copy really in decline? Some surprising truths are unveiled.

From now on we’re trying for tighter, smarter, more mature and less meandering shows. There will be changes, both to the tone and the blog, but all, we feel, for the better.

Tell all your gaming friends about us.

Alex, Paul and Tony.

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Coming Up in 2009.

In this, the first episode of the year, we start strong with the last two lists for a while. The next years worth of games and films that have caught our attention.

It’s an epic episode, dedicated to the guys and girls at 1UP.

Next week. New format, new name. Less lists, more talk.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Format: Xbox 360/PS3
Reviewer: Alex

It’s a beautiful, sweeping, epic (which won my best visual style of the year award), and it’s built on the solid movement engine from Assassin’s Creed; a game of proven quality, but is Prince of Persia actually any good?

No.

PoP holds you by the hand and guides you through the breathtaking levels, leaping from platform to platform with apparent grace and precision, until, that is, you spy through the silken veils and find that this potentate is bare-ass naked. Your hand isn’t just guided, it’s downright forced! When you realise this, you’ll see that you must simply press A, then B, then A, A, B, B, A until you reach the safe platform and reset your restart point. Just input the code with the right timing. One wrong button or a double-tap and you start again, swiftly, admittedly. It doesn’t seem like you died; Elika saved you. But she didn’t and you did. Now input the code again and get it right this time please. The result, rather dishearteningly, is a protracted, ten hour quicktime event.

Combat is much the same. A carefully predetemined line of binary (or whatever the four button version of binary is). And yes you do die, you just don’t get the animation. This seems dishonest of Ubisoft. For years they’ve been slapping us on the wrist for bailing on Sam Fisher or indeed the Prince himself and the games were frustrating, but you knew why and what the boundaries were. You also were able to vary your movements and timing a little. Expanding the prince’s world to a sandbox and then drawing a channel in the sand and nudging us back in whenever we attempt to veer off is not doing justice to the scope at stake here. This is a beautiful world, a textured, watercolour oasis. Key elements may be pilfered from Okami and team Ico’s efforts, but it is nonetheless a stunning achievement, graphically, aurally and for the smooth effortless movement. But effortless in this case may not be a compliment. If the game requires little of the player than to just be there, tapping buttons rhythmically on cue, surely some sort of guitar controller should have been supplied.

Rating: 6/10

Platform: Xbox 360/PS3

Reviewer: Alex

A polished and fast-paced return to the Mortal Kombat universe, this time with popular, if bland DC superheroes along for the ride. While the story premise is ludicrous fanfic, the Unreal engine at itâs core gives the fighting a meaty wallop. It looks and sounds great and plays in an entertaining fashion, providing old favourites like fatalities and new twists on the âtest your mightâ mini game.

It’s genuinely nice as a long-time comic fan to batter DC characters up and down. Batman in particular has some really brutal moves that feel authentic. Superman and the Flash do move sluggishly in comparison to their classic counterparts and you have to remind yourself that this is for reasons of balancing. After several weeks of blinding speed twitch-fighting on SFII HD, however, I found closing the gap between any characters to just move in and pound on my opponent to be like running in glue. It’s a different dynamic, based on methodical timing, rather than button hammering. This did not stop Paul beating me by mashing the buttons like a madman, though the fact that he was playing as the buxom Catwoman may have helped distract me.

Unfortunately in order to broaden the appeal the gore is muted and does not compare with past MK efforts. More pertinently, in this age of Youtube, is there much to be gained from memorizing three dozen button-kombos for the kid-friendly fatalities? Also once youâve pounded heads for a week or so in story and arcade mode there is little to bring you back. Tonyâs theory is that one on one fighters have lost their relevance and I have to admit that after this, Soul Calibur IV and the last Tekken and Virtua Fighter offerings only the
impending release of Street Fighter IV can save this old, exhausted genre.

Rating 6/10