Swapgame / Mario Wii / Assassin's Creed 2

This week we're privileged to interview Marc Day; CEO and founder of Swapgame.com We discuss the ups and downs of game rental by post and how over the years it's expanded to a successful trade-in plan. Tony and I have both used Swapgame for a long time now and can honestly  recommend it to all our listeners in the UK.

After that Tony talks Mario Wii and Alex discusses Assassin's Creed 2 in-depth after a week each of hard gaming. Find out if the worlds most famous plumber lives up to the rose-tinted memories of his 2D era peak, and if Ubisoft can deliver another killer blow. The music at the end of the show is Jonathan Coulton, whom Tony and I (along with Plex, Lizz and Sharon) saw live in London for the second time this year last week. The song is about cybernetic enhancements and is called "Better".

Many many thanks to Marc for the interview.

Modern Warfare 2.

This week, following the release of what may be the fastest selling game of all time we take a deeper look into Modern Warfare 2.

You all know what it is, so we focus on the details and the sparking controversy surrounding its release, but also the mechanics of the game and its strengths as well as its flaws. This is a candid and unflinching look at a title that follows a tried and tested formula and despite the slick delivery, there are definitely some sore points worth talking about.

The last section is a clearly flagged spoiler zone filled with plot details so make sure you've completed the main campaign before you finish listening.

Nintendo Wii Special

This week we launch our first of three console-specific episodes in the run up to Christmas where we will be exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the big three and whether they will be worth buying for our listeners.

To assess the Wii we employed the expert opinions of James Batchelor, staff writer for MCV and veteran of The WiiDS podcast. We asked him why we or our listeners should consider purchasing a system so often dismissed as casual.

After that Alex reviews Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony and Tony talks about how a game aimed at tweenage girls has stolen his heart this week; Band Hero.

You can find James' podcast here at www.wiids-podcast.com and we'd like to warmly thank him for coming on and giving our show a long-needed dose of Nintendo perspective.

Shank Interview/DJ Hero Review/Heavy Rain First Look

In this week's packed show we talk to Jamie Cheng; CEO of Klei Entertainment. We get some insight into the creation of the game he's currently overseeing; named Shank. I got to play it at PAX this year and since then I've been dying to get Jamie on the show to talk about it. The project is still shrouded in secrecy but we do get to know a little more about the thought processes that went into it's design, some info about the team behind it and some of Jamie's gaming opinions. You can find out more about Shank here on the official blog.

http://shankgame.com/

As well as that, Tony reviews DJ Hero in-depth and we assess whether it's worth the hefty asking price. We also discuss our time at the Eurogamer Expo in London. The games of note are Alien vs. Predator, and God of War III. We finish off with an appraisal of the Heavy Rain presentation we attended, hosted by David Cage and how we felt when we got our hands on the updated demo.

Many thanks to Jamie Cheng for the interview and Carolyn Carnes for arranging it. We hope to hear more as Shank's development continues.

James Portnow on Games and Gamers/Brutal Legend/Scribblenauts

This week we welcome to the show; James Portnow - CCO of Divide By Zero games and accredited game designer. We're talking about the words 'Game' and 'Gamer' after an article on Gamasutra by Tynan Syslvester prompted us to ascertain if new words and descriptions could be used for them in the face of an ever-changing medium.

James lends us his considerable experience and expertise as we chew over public perception and how we cling to the idea that games are more than just frivolous entertainment.

After that there's some frivolous entertainment in the form of our Brutal Legend and Scribblenauts in-depth reviews. Two of the most hyped games of 2009. Find out if they meet expectation. Also discussed are the Beatles and Queen Rock Band DLC.

Check out James' work in conjunction with Daniel Floyd in brilliant animated lectures here.

The music at the end is Rain by Mark Tschanz from his album Blue Dog, since we talk about how important Heavy Rain is likely to be in the case of serious games.

Uncharted 2

Since we've both been playing it to death and it's one of the most important and critically acclaimed games of 2009 Tony and I decided to take a break from interviews and spend this week's show talking about Uncharted 2.

We explore every game element and argue the toss as to how this fits into the general evolution of the action-adventure game.

Even if you don't own a PS3, this makes for a great deconstruction of the genre and highlights what it takes to get a title like this so very right. Is it game of the year? Even game of the decade? Find out here.

Thanks so much to Steven Jones our Community Manager who helped us out in the background for this show.

Red vs Blue.

We welcome to the show this week; Burnie Burns and Geoff Ramsey from Rooster Teeth productions two of the guys responsible for Red vs Blue; a web-based animation series utilizing the Halo engine.

We give them a full 90-minute interview and discuss the show from it's humble inception as a five-part joke about pink armour all the way through seven series and three Halo engines to their close relationship with Bungie (they even contributed an Easter Egg moment in Halo 3).

If you've not yet experienced the show go here to roosterteeth.com and at least watch some of the PSA's first, if not the entirety of Reconstruction.

Many thanks to Burnie and Geoff for coming on, we've been long-time fans and this was something of a special occasion for us.

There are samples of their work in audio form throughout the show. The music is by Trocadero and comes from the RvB series.

Gamers With Jobs / Gaming With Kids / FIFA 10 / Need for Speed: Shift / Dead Space: Extraction.

In this weeks packed episode, first we talk for an hour with Sean Elyssium Sands and Julian "Rabbit" Murdoch of the seminal podcast Gamers with Jobs. Both of them have young children and we discuss the process of introducing games to your kids and where to go from there.

The review section features a run round FIFA 10, Need for Speed: Shift and a complete gutting of Dead Space: Extraction for the Wii.

For next week go to RoosterTeeth.com and watch the whole series of Red VS. Blue Reconstruction, because we're going to be talking to Burnie Burns and Goeff Ramsey about machinima. This is series 6 of Red VS. Blue but it's also a reboot of the story and a relatively serious movie in the process. It's filmed using the Halo 3 engine so fans of the series will be well at home.

The music for the end of the show is Happy by Mark Tschanz from his album Blue Dog.

We'd like to thank Sean and Julian again for coming on, they've been very patient and gracious and proved to be perfect podcast guests.

Preserving Games / Halo 3: ODST

Commander Tim of Gamehounds and The Widget joins us this week to discuss one of his specialties; the preservation of software and hardware, and what happens to our precious video games as the ravages of time render tapes unplayable and chips into soldered garbage. What's being done to keep these memories alive? Some surprising home truths come to light about the finite nature of our favorite form of entertainment.

After this we have a full review of Halo 3: ODST from Tony and I. Find out if it's over-hyped, under-hyped or actually worthy of being a full-price game. Along with this we have competition updates and my brand new game-related project for 2010.

Marian Call supplies the music for the end of the show with the particularly appropriate 'In the Black' from her album 'Got to Fly'.

Enjoy.

Alex


(NOTE: The original edit of this had some audio mistakes. I've rendered a second version which is up now.)

Beatles Rock Band and Big Red Potion

We're joined this week by Sinan Kubba and Joe DeLia of Big Red Potion a particularly distinguished and intelligent gaming podcast associated with The Game Reviews and The Unified Gamers Network. We discuss with them genres that we have extreme difficulty getting into and which games might help us get into them, why AAA titles with fantastic review scores often leave us feeling annoyed at their minor shortcomings and how ridiculous that is. We also launch a streamlined quickfire version of our eight questions, now down to just five.

We have some great news about expanding and maintaining our community, and it's something you can all take part in. We also announce the results of our part in the grand Platform Nation MAG beta code giveaway contest. Who will the ten lucky PSN ID's be? All that plus details of how you could win a big old bag of our PAX swag; including T-Shirts, codes, rare promotional items and full games, plus for the next week we're giving away even more shinies every day. We ask you, what other podcast treats you so well?

Finally we devote 45 minutes to a thorough review of Beatles Rock Band. Find out if we feel it's worth the wait, the money and the hype.

Story and Narrative in Games / Batman: Arkham Asylum

We welcome back Daniel Floyd to the show. YouTube legend and animated lecturer Mr Floyd makes for a fantastic conversational guest, bringing his insight and clarity to the show, which this week is about the way story, script and narrative have progressed in the thirty year history of video games. We reach some surprising conclusions about the nature of interactivity and how far we've come when held against movies and literature.

The competition segment in the middle explains how you listeners can get your mitts on a MAG beta download code (this immediately afterwards expanded into a full ten available codes so get cracking PS3 owners), with the winners to be announced next week. A Digital Cowboys MAG game night will be on the cards. This is all part of a massive 128 code giveaway brought to you by Platform Nation.

After that there's a full dedicated 40-minute review of Batman: Arkham Asylum. We leave no stone in Batman's grim and gothic world unturned exploring this surprisingly high quality comic-book license. There's a spoiler section at the very end with full warning so those playing know when to spin on.

At the close there's more music from Jonathan Coulton, a song which as it so happens was on one of the very first podcasts Alex ever took part in. (It wasn't Digital Cowboys, it was Joinee Radio episode #21 - 22/04/2007 DC completists may like to check that one out and thus pay their respects to the man who taught me how to podcast; Mr Matt Fowler.)

Daniel Floyd can be found at his blog: Talking About These. And definitely check out his series of YouTube lectures, especially the one that tonight's subject is based on: Video Games and Storytelling.

Jonathan Coulton's site also features a comprehensive MP3 store. As always, we heartily recommend you take a listen to a few of his songs.

There is a bit of poor sound quality at Tony's end for the first half, our apologies, and it does get better for the Batman section. We'll try to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Next week: The guys from Big Red Potion and we review Beatles Rock Band.

The Final Word on PAX 09

This is a full look back on our PAX experience and we've brought in Chris and Kelly Brown The Married Gamers who were there with us. We talk about a boat-load of upcoming top titles that we got to play and then pick over our favorite memories.

As of next week we'll return to normal with a Game Club episode focusing on Batman: Arkham Asylum. There will still be plenty of interviews and articles about what we saw at PAX on the website. Also a ton of swag needs to be given away to our lucky listeners starting with one particularly rare item we're offering up on tonight's show.

Many thanks to Chris, Kelly, Elaine, Edie, Kevin, both Dan's Steve, Bobby, Mike, the Gamer's Pub and everyone else we met out there and to Lizz and Paul for their unending patience with what was essentially two kids in their own personal candy store.

Roll on PAX 10.

This is the live podcast we took part in on Sunday the 6th of September, the third day of PAX 2009.

It was both nerve-wracking and exhilarating for the first time broadcasting live and also a first being sat next to each other in the process.

Other guests include Steve Artlip on production duties, D'Juan W. Irvin from Gaming Truth, Chris Brown from The Married Gamers, Troy Warner from The Gamers Pub, ConArtistic of Xbox Ambassadors, Dan Rosethal of Stratics and Jamie Cheng; CEO of Klei entertainment, (Who was talking about one of the hottest indie games of the show - SHANK!).

Enjoy the rawness, because we're doing it pretty much on the spot. Games of show are discussed, as is our journey from the UK to PAX.

We're back from PAX but sick as dogs. Tony, Lizz and Paul caught the PAX-plague so we're holding back on the podcasting until at least Tony is feeling up to it. In the meantime one of the highlights of PAX for me was getting to interview Jonathan Coulton alongside Edie Sellers of Gamehounds (Who, by the way turned up unexpectedly after claiming she was going to be at Burning Man, which was one of the nicest surprises we got).

Jonathan is one of the brightest stars of nerdcore. His folksy take on office romance, passive-aggressive robots and evil geniuses who have no luck with the ladies is instantly charming and as affable as the man himself. This is also in video form on the website, but on here, you get a little of his music too, just to whet the appetite of those who haven't heard him before (Outside of the Portal Song; Still Alive) and also to make it even more special for die-hard fans, which after the concerts we saw him at, Tony and I now are.

Edie pretty much had control for the first ten minutes, but I DO eventually step in with some good stuff. We'll be back in a few days with a huge multi-hosted PAX podcast. Meantime, check out the main site for written articles and updates.

This is the first of our mid-week shows where all we talk about is what we've been playing. This allows us to properly discuss the massive amount of games coming out this Christmas without it dominating the other elements of the main show.

This week Trials HD, Shadow Complex and in fact every single game from Xbox Live's Summer of Arcade gets dissected. This is going to be heavily community-based so we need your feedback to guide this part of the show in the way our audience wants.

Also our Shatter on PSN code-winner is announced so tune in, because next week's show it could be you. We've just acquired a UK-compatible code from the very helpful folks at Sidhe Interactive so now everyone can compete.

The Road to PAX.

We welcome back to the show Chris O Regan (AKA Kropotkin) host of the Superhappyfuntimeshow and veteran of multiple international gaming press and fan events. This Friday the annual Penny Arcade eXpo in Seattle opens it's doors and the Digital Cowboys will be there, along with SHFTS, our good friend and sometime co-host Paul Shotton, Tony's wife Lizz and about 60,000 fans of games of all kinds.

So first we have to talk about what PAX means and this is the show to do it. Also discussed are the PS3 Slim, price cuts and hikes, whether the PC as a platform can be counted as a single gaming machine, and piles of shame and absolution. Plus the mailbag, and random game of the week.

This week we're also publishing a second episode entirely devoted to what we've been playing. It should be out on Tuesday. If that format proves popular we'll be continuing with it throughout the busy holiday season and maybe beyond.

The music at the end of the show is by Mark Tschanz; the musician behind our theme tune. The song is Rattlesnake and it's from his album Blue Dog.

If you're going to PAX or even if you just live in the Seattle area, let us know. Post below and send us an email to mailbag@thedigitalcowboys.com We'll try our best to meet every one of our community.

This is a collaboration between twelve separate podcasts and websites comprising multiple interviews arranged and edited by Alex Shaw of The Digital Cowboys.

Its not only a festival of independent video game podcasts, but also a very personal one. Everybody on this production has been asked the same thing; Why do you do what you do? Independent podcasting pays no money so there has to be a very specific reason why each of us gets up there every week and puts out a show. Some of the answers may surprise you, and all of them are fascinating and entertaining.

We'd like to thank everybody who took part in this project. This material belongs to all of you.

GamerDork.

This week, we welcome Xibxang and Ratso from one of the best British podcasts around; GamerDork.

GD is part of UGN the Unified Gamers Network, a relatively new coalition of podcasts similar to Platform Nation, of which we are proud members. Xib (the roguish Scottman) and Ratso (the refined Englishman) release a very entertaining show twice weekly.

This week, we ask them the updated questions, which we've started trimming down for time. From now on it will be five not eight. We also each bring a different topic to the ring for all of us to chew over fro around ten minutes. From gaming in the summertime drought to imagining a world without online consoles.

We're also shouting out to The Most Popular Girls on the Internet this week; a fine geeky games, gadgets and sci-fi show hosted by Tara and Cassandra; two savvy, sassy ladies.

The music at the end of our show this week is "It's Good to Have Jayne on Your Side" by Marian Call, from her album Got To Fly, available now on iTunes. Clearly based on everyone's favorite knuckle-dragging, gun-toting merc.

Some Other Castle on why video game movies suck so badly.

We're very happy to welcome the two smart and sassy ladies who host Some Other Castle, now a proud member of Platform Nation.

We have some pretty fantastic news this week. You'll have to listen to find out.

Elaine Stryker and Leah Haydu run what has fast become one of our favorite shows; Some Other Podcast, and we get to know them a little here, mining their experience with terrible video game movies to discuss why they always turn out to be turkeys. We get to the root cause and look at how they've progressed from the likes of the mid-nineties Street Fighter (bloody awful) to the recent Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li (arguably worse).

We also ask them an updated set of our eight questions and even get into some heated Room 101 debate.

The music for the end credits was (and always has been) our theme tune: Love Song, provided by Mark Tschanz. His voice is truly amazing and we strongly urge British listeners to seek out his album Blue Dog on Amazon.

Welcome to Film Club. The show where Alex and Tony from The Digital Cowboys Video Game podcast talk with special guests about important films on DVD. Currently we're planning on making this a regular show released once every three weeks. This may change depending on popularity and how well we take to it.

For the first episode we recruited Commander Tim Wilsie of Gamehounds, Gridcycle and The Widget and we talked about Fight Club. The way this works is that you have to have seen the film before hearing the discussion because we go all out on spoilers. Fortunately every film we discuss should be readily available on DVD for all. In time there will be a handy library of discussions that new listeners can dip in and out of without worrying about what's current. If they've seen the film, they can hear the show. Job done.

We're really excited about bringing this new show to our listeners, and discussing something besides games in our usual painstaking depth. Check back in three weeks time because we'll be talking about Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Gamers Wives

We talked to six women about how gaming affects their relationship, and what games they play alone and together. The results were surprisingly varied and interesting. We're very proud of this show and would like to thank the ladies who made this possible.

1. Tony's wife; Lizz Atkins AKA Lyra Silver
2. Our long-time Xbox Live friend Natalie Edwards AKA Ace Star
3. Commander Tim's main squeeze Carolyn Sonnek AKA Blogkitten
4. One of my work colleagues: Karen Webb AKA Show_Girl
5. Regular website contributor Steven Jones' other half Linda Thomsen AKA Penguingirl
6. And my wife, Sharon Shaw AKA Cai Boxer

Along with these we have the show regulars; news on the Xbox summer dashboard update, more delays for what would have been Christmas games, our views on 1 VS. 100, reader mail and the random game of the week.

The music at the end credits is by Marian Call, a professional singer-songwriter from Alaska and new friend of the show. The song is "I'll still be a geek after nobody thinks it's chic" and is available on iTunes from her Firefly/BSG-inspired album Got To Fly. You can find her website here. We'll be featuring more of her music in the future. Cheers Marian!

Mr Maynard.

This week our guest is Zach Maynard of the Unknown Gamers of Saint Louis and Gamehounds Humpdate.

We reflect on the barrage of mail we had on last week's Room 101 Episode (Download it NOW) and accusations of our being soft on our guests. We talk with Maynard about his podcast and gaming, his podcast and which demographic is worse, the apathetic masses or the shrieking fanboys. We also do a few Room 101 entries of our own and end the show on an interesting bit of news about show expansion.

This is all following news from last week that Activision will be charging us in Britain an extra £5 for every copy of Modern Warfare 2, allegedly due to a weak pound, but more likely just because it's easy. For every outraged post on a forum somewhere screaming boycott they will have ten compliant buyers, which if you do the math works out about the same.

Thank you to everyone who sent us mail. If you'd like to do the same; mailbag@thedigitalcowboys.com

Room 101: Gaming Pet Hates.

Read this first.

This week represents the combined efforts of no less than twelve individuals. This is a guest-extravaganza like we've never had before, but we're not just doing a normal show so pay attention.

Room 101 is a fictitious place where all the misery in the world goes to die. It originated in Orwell's 1984 as a room which contained your worst fear and it inspired a British TV show where guests would come on and campaign to have things they hated put there forever. Sandals worn with socks, people who talk loudly in restaurants and lateness are the type of things that get submitted. The hosts job  is to attempt to form a counter-argument as to why that thing should stay out and free to annoy people.

We did this, with video games as the theme and guests from eight other shows. So you get...

1. Rob Borges from Gamers with Jobs
2. Cooper Hawks from Gamehounds
3. Daniel Floyd from Talking About These
4. Bobby Blackwolf from All Games Radio
5. Tim Wilsie from Gamehounds and GridCycle (Also the sorely myissed show The Widget)
6. Chris O Regan from The Superhappyfuntimeshow
7. David Turner and Michael Fox from Joypod
8. Chris and Kelly Brown from The Married Gamers

All of them came on for an interview, all of them put forward at least one loathsome aspect of video gaming to be cast into the fiery pit and we did our level best to keep them out. What it makes for is a damn good and often hilarious bumper episode. It's longer than normal so you might want to do this in two sittings, but do check out the shows noted above and  and have a listen (or a look in some cases). We wouldn't have them on if we didn't want to hear what they had to say. Many thanks to everyone involved. This was a long time coming, but it was worth it.

Mike Oldman from Eidos.

Many of our listeners may remember him from our muffled interview at the London MCM expo when we talked about Batman: Arkham Asylum. We're very pleased to welcome back to the show proper; Mike Oldman - Community Manager for Eidos (The European development house behind Tomb Raider, Hitman and Kane and Lynch).

As it turns out, there's a lot more to Mike's job than simple PR and a lot more to the man himself. He's one of the most interesting guests we've had on in terms of where his career has taken him. It was great to get a fresh perspective from the other side.

We talk about Batman in more depth, looking at character portrayal, also Just Cause 2, Metacritic, the Eidos/Square Enix deal and where that leaves the company, plus Mike's answers to our classic eight questions. There's also the Battlefield 1943 online debacle, the summer of pricey XBLA titles, what we've been playing and reader mail. All that, plus a special announcement for something incredibly cool for us.

You can find the Eidos Website here. Mike's website here. His twitter here and most importantly an ancient pre-Red VS. Blue Halo machinima named Strykeforce here.

The Married Gamers.

This week we welcome Chris and Kelly Brown AKA The Married Gamers. They've been podcasting several years, have a loyal and incredibly friendly fan community and are part of the same Platform Nation family as Gamehounds.

We got them on to talk about balancing relationships with video games. Not only do they lend their considerable expertise, but we found out a lot about them that we had not expected.

Not only did we have them on as guests but immediately afterward took part in their latest show (also weirdly episode #112) as guests ourselves, which was a first for Digital Cowboys.

We absolutely recommended you go check these guys out on iTunes or their website. You won't find a warmer, pair of married compulsive gamers anywhere else.

Their latest episode should be up Sunday afternoon sometime.

Leigh Alexander on Women in Video Games.

We're very happy to welcome Leigh Alexander to the show this week. Leigh is the news director for Gamasutra, pens a monthly column for Kotaku and has written for Slate and Variety. Her personal, more casual blog is Sexy Videogameland. It becomes immediately apparent on meeting Leigh that she can talk, virtually nonstop on a professional level about the things she's passionate about. Social and cultural issues surrounding games, as well as games themselves, music, twitter, the works. We decided she'd be perfect to tackle the tricky business of women in gaming; how they are portrayed, how they are marketed to and how they are percieved by the other half of the gaming species. To put it mildly, we got a great discussion out of her. Ms. Alexander kindly stuck around to chat about the news and what we've been playing and we got some great banter and points of view from that too. I'll be honest, it's one of my favourite episodes.

The news about Michael Jackson's death came to me while I was editing the show and I was sorely tempted to make some reference, but it wouldn't have worked in context so I held back. You can probably guess what the not-so-random game of the week will be for #112.

Link's to Leigh can be found here. Many thanks go out to her and she'll be welcomed back any time.

Gamasutra
Kotaku
Sexy Videogameland
Twitter

Bobby Blackwolf/Music-Rhythm-Action/Piracy.

Our guest this week is indie podcasting legend Bobby Blackwolf. We talk about two hot-button topics; has the rhythm-action genre been exhausted this year and the state of piracy in gaming. Strong opinions, problems and solutions fly about like flaming arrows, which is what we love about this podcast.

Plus the eight questions we ask every guest, along with reader mail and random game of the week.

You can catch Bobby's two shows here and check him out LIVE every Friday and Sunday. http://radio.allgames.com/radio/blackwolf/

Videogame Nation Exhibit.

We're proud to welcome to the show this week; David Crookes, gaming journalist and curator of the Videogame Nation exhibition currently on show at the Urbis in Manchester. It's a celebration of the thirty year history of video games, largely focusing on the British creative side. Various themed areas take you from the bedroom to an arcade, a sports arena and eventually up to date in the living room. People of all ages and from all levels of game experience can try out classic titles and glean fascinating insight about the often misunderstood industry.

Here's the link to the calendar of events. http://www.urbis.org.uk/page.asp?id=3332 I recommend anybody able to get there bring along their friends and family. Entry is only £3. David gave us an excellent 20-minute phone interview, going into more detail about the exhibition.

Also this week, we've been playing lots of games. Tony talks Fuel and we mop up after E3 with some aftermath news, including Peter Molyneux's ascension to Creative Director of Microsoft Game Studios and how pre-E3 leaks harm our excitement. All that, plus Random Game of the Week and Reader Mail.

Listeners should go to Steven Jones' blog and read his summation of six months of 360 ownership after a mostly PC-based gaming life. http://st.thomsen-jones.co.uk/?p=325 Steven is one of our regular letter writers and gives a particularly provocative submission this week regarding a theoretical way of Microsoft handling downloadable 360 games.

The Future of Gaming. Guest Starring Edie Sellers.

To round up E3 we take a look at what was most significant about this show, namely the advancement of video games into something more. Each of the big three has pushed motion control forward and now we're looking  at Back to the Future II style technology that we'll be experiencing in the next few years. Ironically Microsoft have stated that they intend to keep the Xbox 360 going until 2015 -The year that defined the gadget-heavy, hover-board filled future in BTTFII.

Edie Sellers dropped in for a chat about her firsthand experiences at E3 and we also cover a few of our favorite and most disappointing games of show. We round off with the news and a competition to win an Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Beta key. Write your answers to digitalcowboys@googlemail.com and the winner will be picked at random. Send us your PSN ID as well so we can add you to our sparse friends lists.

"You mean you have to use your hands? That's like a baby's toy!"

E3 Part 3 - Sony

Our week of E3 09 podcasts continues with what we thought of Sony's press conference.

Last, but by no means least come the former kings of the console market. The new underdog. We redress the imbalance lamented by several listeners claiming that we're Microsoft fanboys. Clearly this is not the case, as our enthusiastic appraisal of Sony's offerings stands testament. Find out here what we thought was strong and worthy of note as we sort the God of Wars from the Hannah Montanna's.

We'll return in a few days to round up the rest of E3. Enjoy the week.

E3 Part 2 - Nintendo

Our week of E3 09 podcasts continues with what we thought of Nintendo's press conference.

Following last years spate of embarrassing moments for the market titan how did this year fare up? Do we still care about their products?

Sony's episode will be hot on the heels of this one as we recorded them back to back.

E3 Part 1 - Microsoft

It's E3 2009 and this whole week we'll be doing shows focusing on each main press conference from the big three.

First up, Microsoft unveils a raft of sequels, some platform exclusives, new ways to watch movies and possibly a completely different way to play games using motion sensing, and face and voice recognition. Find out what made us snore and what made us sit up and take notice.

------

Also check out our previous E3 episodes for a look back on what was exciting in 2008 and 2007 and some of the memorable moments of E3's past. Wii Music, Chewbacca with his special PSP and of course our feelings on Reggie, Cammy and Peter Molyneux.

Episode 64: Friday 18th of July 2008 and

Episode 13: Wednesday 18th of July 2008

Pre-E3 Round Table

At the MCM Expo in London this week we were lucky enough to get into a lengthy discussion about E3 and what we're expecting from it with Chris O Regan (AKA Kropotkin) of Superhappyfuntimeshow, David Turner (AKA Elmo) and Michael Fox of Joypod. We go over lots of the core interest points including what the big three can do to impress us, and what we'd most like to see.

Back in the main show, we take a look at two music games of wildly varying quality. Guitar Hero: Metallica and Rock Revolution. We also have Random Game of the week and your letters, including an explosive retort from Sean O Brien about our treatment of the PS3 and conclusive proof that games CAN be art.

To round off this bumper show we interview (along with Krop) Mike Oldman; community manager for Eidos who was at the MCM, showing off a demo of Batman: Arkham Asylum, which was, as we said, the best thing at the MCM.

Joypod is a games-focused radio show that you can (and should ) tune into every week on Play Talk Radio http://playradiouk.com/ They record live with different topics every week and take calls from their extended community and listeners. You can catch their shows in podcast form on iTunes as well. Check out their site here http://thisisjoypod.com/

Chris is a good friend of the show already and is lucky enough to be winging his way to E3 as you hear this (If you're listening over the weekend). His show, which he records with Hendrix and Bloodshot Robot is broadcast on All Games Radio http://www.allgames.com/radio/shfts/ can be found here: http://www.shfts.com/ for your weekly dose of often hilarious, oddball comedy from three guys who know rather a lot about video games.

Thanks for the show guys, it was great meeting you at last. It's also worth noting that we recorded the MCM round table part of the show before we interviewed Mike from Eidos and Leo from Capcom. We would have been a bit more enthusiastic if you'd caught us afterwards.

Questions for Cooper Hawkes.

We're very proud to have on this week - David LaMont of Gamehounds; AKA Cooper Hawkes.

We pick his brain on various topics, including Gamestop, Wii Music, The rumored Microsoft motion controller and Battlestar Galactica. We also ask him our customary eight questions.

It's a really relaxed show this week. Much heavier into chat than news. It gets even filthier than usual so the faint-hearted have been warned. It's also been one of our favourite episodes. We go way off-topic, but when the conversation is this sparky, it makes for a nice diversion.

On a side note; BSG and Firefly fans should check out Quantum Mechanix. I recently bought a pair of Apollo Dog Tags from them and they adjusted their shipping costs to the UK just for me. Very helpful purveyors of high quality replicas and sci-fi parephanalia. Fancy a dinosaur T-Shirt with "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal" on it? Then they're your guys.

And many thanks to Blake Bohmann who helped us get some of the rare and weird gaming music for this week's show.

Can Games be Art?

We welcome back Daniel Floyd to the show (last seen in #101 when we talked about sex in games). He was the first man we thought of when it came time to wrangle the slippery eel of rooting out why video games have yet to be considered as art and what might help them to be accepted. The toughest part was making sure we didn't disappear up our own arses, but our conclusions were actually pretty surprising.

We also discuss Star Trek, the whole trilogy of Fallout 3 DLC, the recent Gamehounds playdate, Wanted: Weapons of Fate, Wii Sports Party, plus the latest news, your emails and our random game of the week.

The music at the end credits was composed by Daniel himself as a reworking of a classic piece of game scoring.

A special thanks to my sister Lucy Shaw (BA Hons - History of Art) for some extra research and consulting for this show.

The fourth Digital Cowboys Game Night is this Sunday 17/05/09 at 8pm BST/3pm EST. Remember to send your gaming pet hates for next week's show to digitalcowboys@googlemail.com and Tony would like some more folks for our FIFA 09 league so send Ghost World a messsage on Xbox Live.

Spring Cleaning.

After many busy weeks and with many more ahead of us we took a breather this episode, kicked back and addressed some outstanding issues.

Firstly there's news about 3D Realms finally closing its doors. We get a mention on Giant Bomb and then restore a twenty minute section from last weeks show, discussing the run-up to E3 and future console generations with Commander Tim.

The main body of the show is answering our listeners mail, most of which pose really interesting questions. We round off with random game of the week and a review of Dawn of War II by James "Mijmeister" Perkins.

This weeks fantastic image was put together by Commander Tim. I believe it's our first fan art.

If you live in the USA (or the UK and don't mind not sleeping), be sure to catch us with Gamehounds on a COD4 Xbox Live event, Sunday May 10th 8pm-10pm EST. Our gamer tags are Ghost World and Alex D Cowboy. Make sure you include a message saying you're a listener of the show if you want to stay on our friends list.

Commander Tim and The Sega Dreamcast.

Tim Wilsie from GameHounds lends his expertise on the console that signified the end of an era for Sega. Tons of other subjects are touched upon, often with explosive results, including our polarised opinions on Halo 3. Tim is an awesome guest host and likely to be back soon to discuss other ancient consoles and games.

You can find GameHounds here: http://www.gamehounds.net/

Also Tim's website: http://www.commandertim.com/

Our video podcast on the Dreamcast is on YouTube and serves as a fine primer for this episode: http://digitalcowboys.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=469497

And finally Phoenix 3, Tim's worst gaming experience ever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrx9mXbvzbY

Games based on movies and why most of them suck.

Following our first video podcast, which focused on the superb GoldenEye we took a look at why most other movie licensed games are shallow, creaky and unsatisfying.

Also up for discussion are Lego Rock Band, Wanted: Weapons of Fate and what's apparently next for many Wii owners. Listen out for a movie review Easter egg

And greetings to all new listeners who've come to us from Gamehounds, YouTube, Platform Nation and Daniel Floyd's lectures. We've got some great shows coming up and we want to hear from you. Write to digitalcowboys@googlemail.com

Sex in Video Games.

Guest starring Daniel Floyd, creator of several animated lectures that can be currently found on YouTube. Here's a link to the one on sex in video games that caught our attention.

Daniel very kindly agreed to come on and discuss this touchy subject with maturity and focus. In amongst the weighty issues are cultural differences across several territories, a look at the titillation games that have prevented sex from reaching the mainstream, progressive use of sex in games as a narrative tool and of course that most rotten of old chestnuts; the rape-simulator.

In addition, Daniel answers our customary eight questions and we discuss what we've been playing. Plus the second ever 'Random game of the week', which is shaping up to be a popular segment.

Ep. 100 Part 3.

Brand New Segment/Shout Outs.

In the final part of our epic 100th trio, Chris O'Regan pops by to say hi and inadvertently stumbles upon the unveiling of a brand new segment on the show. Find out what it is exactly right here.

And finally we give props to the guys who've inspired and helped us through the years.

Chris can be found on his own podcast, The Superhappyfuntimeshow

The composer of our theme music, Mark Tschanz, can be found here and his 1995 album Blue Dog, featuring our theme Love Song, is available on Amazon.co.uk here and in the USA here.

Thanks once again to all of our listeners. Happy trails and see you next week, when we will definitely be back to the one-show format.

Ep. 100 Part 2.

Eight Questions.

The questions we always ask our guests, turned back on the hosts, in this, the second part of our gigantic 100th episode. Some surprising answers.

Edie Sellers drops by near the end to say hi, the episode of Gamehounds that she mentions where Hawks goes batshit crazy about Wii Music can be found here: http://www.gamehounds.net/2008/07/

It's the 23rd of July 2008 episode, and it's a spectacular rant. Hawks, get your ass on our show!

Part three will be up tomorrow night.

Ep. 100 Part 1.

Wii News/Guitar Hero Metallica/Wheelman

To celebrate 100 episodes we recorded an epic-length podcast for you. It's so big in fact that we had to chop it into three portions.

Part one is the weekly news section, this week focusing on the Nintendo Wii, then we talk about what we've been playing; mainly an in-depth look at Guitar Hero: Metallica.

We're also very proud to have Paul Shotton back on in guest form.

Part two will be up tonight, and focuses on us turning the eight James Lipton-style questions we ask all our guests back on ourselves. There were some very interesting responses.

We'd like to thank all of our listeners, new and old alike for tuning in every week. You're what keeps the show going. Honestly. If we had no idea who was listening we'd have given up long ago. Here's to 100 more.

GDC 2009.

This week, Alex and Tony cover some of the stories that caught their interest around the annual Game Developers Conference held in San Francisco last week.

Among them are a long awaited PS2 price drop, the European release of the DSi, Batman: Arkham Asylum footage, the Modern Warfare 2 trailer, XNA and Left 4 Dead sales figures and Duke Nukem urinal cakes. There's the likelihood of Wii Motion Plus being released this spring (Do you Americans have something called "Chinny reckon"?) and then of course there's the inevitable backlash of OnLive

We follow up with final analysis of Resident Evil 5, Silent Hill: Homecoming and Dead Space and a look at Mad World.

Next week; a very special episode 100.

OnLive/Survival Horror/Career in Game Design.

With the recent announcement at GDC of an upcoming service that will allow the user to stream AAA titles direct to their television using a simple and inexpensive box, we decided to get our teeth into the possibilities this could represent. Could it be the Cloud computing everybody's been dreaming of or a patchy first attempt at something that may not work properly for a decade?

We finish off our weeks-long discussion of the impact of Resident Evil 5 with a talk about survival horror and how far it's come, along with what could be done to bring RE back to it's roots.

We're very pleased to have on Ryan Astley (who was with us the whole show and throws his hat in the ring many a time), a listener with a background in game design. For the final part of the show, we talk to Ryan about his education and subsequent career in designing architecture and assets for various video games while working for a midlands-based company.

To see Ryan's work go to http://www.ryan-astley.com/

Edie Sellers Guest Stars.

In this episode, one of the best we've ever recorded, we are very proud to have with us one Edie Sellers, sometime professional radio host for KGO-AM Radio in the bay area of San Francisco, but more importantly host of the Gamehounds podcast.

We're going to be taking a five minute spot on the Gamehounds weekly update or "Humpdate" starting next week, so we figured it would be a great way for our audience to meet her and vice versa.

Long known for her fierce liberal opinions and extremely well-read knowledge of video games Edie is just about the best guest a podcaster could ever ask for, so we took the opportunity and mercilessly grilled her on her views on everything from the shady dealings of Gamestop to the frivolous decisions of Nintendo.

Also discussed is Resident Evil 5 and the culmination of Alex's week of furiously writing articles on it. Thankfully Tony is there too to lend a bolted down viewpoint.

Edie records Gamehounds every Saturday with longtime friend Cooper Hawkes. You can find it here. Check it out, it's hugely entertaining and informative, and now the mid-week update has US on it, so there's no excuses.

Killzone 2/Watchmen/50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.

As one Cowboy leaves for a break from the show the other two gear up for a full assault. As well as news of a console going UP in price we've got three huge, heated and thorough reviews.

Killzone 2 the Playstation 3's great red-eyed hope for FPS dominance or at least a shot at the title. Does it hit the mark? 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, often dubbed a guilty pleasure has it's whistle well and truly blown and finally the film geeks have been waiting for, for two decades; Watchmen explodes onto the screen but can it impress the Cowboys?

All that and a bunch of fantastic listener mail. Send your messages to digitalcowboys@googlemail.com for future episode readings.

Final Bosses.

Since Street Fighter IV came out, teeth round the globe have been ground together in frustration over it's final boss, the cheap collection of unblockable super-moves known as Seth. But this is nothing new to fighting games, or indeed video games in general. This episode we look back on the most annoying, difficult and just plain nightmarish bosses in our gaming history. What went wrong, why do we feel so cheated and on the opposite end of the scale, what's the formula for a truly great boss?

Also discussed in the news segment, DSi shortage predictions, Rock Band Beatles edition and the fiery end of Tabula Rasa the ill-fated MMORPG.

We get to hear what Alex thought about Flower, which FPS is the most mediocre in history and what brawler has Tony surprisingly champing at the bit.

Next week - Killzone 2, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand and the most anticipated graphic novel movie of all time; Watchmen.

Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection.

(Or Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection to our British listeners)

After being hooked on 16-bit gaming for a week, Alex and Tony delve into why this is a landmark title in nostalgic game packages from past generations.

We also talk about Race Pro and Street Fighter IV, along with the latest news from the gaming world, including swearing Street Fighter figure packaging and speculations on a PS3 price cut.

Fans of Firefly get a treat at the end.

For Further episodes on Sega, check out Digital Cowboys 59 (June 12/08) for the Sega Special.

The Next Five Years.

This episode we discuss the decisions Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft might make in the next five years, the directions that the market might move and possible strategies that the makers of the consoles we love could execute to regain their former glory or press their advantage.

Paul dissects Flower, Tony busts an eyeball ranting about the Bladder of Steel achievement on Rock Band 2, and we get cocky over GTA IV's new expansion pack.

All this on the day that the long awaited Street Fighter IV launches. We have celebratory music to match and are likely to be discussing it repeatedly over the coming weeks.

We're definitely nearing the quality in terms of content, focus and audio that we want to achieve with this podcast. We're very proud of this episode.

Hadouken.

Kropotkin on Mobile Gaming.

We're immensely pleased to have on Chris O'Regan AKA Kropotkin from the podcast Superhappyfuntimeshow this week.

We talk iPhone and Nokia gaming and how far it's come along with the news, what we've been playing and your emails.

We close on a really interesting James Lipton-esque Q&A session.

-Apologies for the horrible sound quality of this episode. We had some technical difficulties and even after exhaustive editing it still sounds rough. We've ordered desk microphones so this shouldn't happen again. A special hello to all listeners of SHFTS and GWJ. Please DO keep listening.

As promised, here's a list of previous episodes you might want to check out.

Episode #75 - 16/Oct/08 = We talk about the community that's built up around us personally in our gaming lives
Episode #70 - 11/Sep/08 = The SNES Special
Episode #68 - 15/Aug/08 = Piles of Shame and Braid
Episode #64 - 18/Jul/08 = E3 2008
Episode #59 - 12/Jun/08 = SEGA Special
Episode #58 - 5/Jun/08 = The NES Special
Episode #56 - 22/May/08 = The 10 Greatest Films Ever

Sequels.

This week, our audience is expanding thanks to the efforts of Gamers With Jobs producer Rob Borges mentioning us on their show so hello to all our new listeners. We hope to be able to keep you entertained enough to stick around.

After the news, featuring a fracas over Resident Evil 5, Leipzig, a petulant Ludlum-estate spokesperson backhanding Activision and a rare moment of humility on Sony's part, we focus this week on sequels.

Specifically we'll be chatting about all things Gears of War 2, but many other games get dragged in as we try to figure out just what we want out of the follow ups to our favourite games.

The winner of this weeks competition gets announced and a there's a new music-based question for this week. We also get some interesting emails, including one from Superhappyfuntimeshow's own Chris 'Kropotkin' O'Regan.

Finally, Paul has a two minute, uninterrupted rant over what he (and others) consider to be one of the most pretentious games of all time; Braid.

Next week... something special.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Games of the year awards 2008 Part 2.

The conclusion to this years game awards.

Games of the year awards 2008.

To close out this year in video gaming we decided the best way to highlight the individual strengths would be to give out specific awards. We chose categories, took a long look at the hundreds of games released and after much discussion narrowed it down to a few nominees per award.

This is a huge show in two parts, the second of which is up later today.

See you in 2009.

Christmas Special 2008.

We discuss our favourite Christmas movies and reminisce about Christmas past. It's a full yuletide blowout. In fact one of us nearly ruins a precious piece of home cinema equipment by spluttering whiskey-laced cocoa all over it.

Kickass Christmas music binds this most festive of shows together. Next episode will be an end of the year special with our very own DC Awards ceremony; soon to rival Spike TV's Video Game Awards show for sheer awesomeness.

 

Films of 2008/Playstation Home/You're in the Movies.

To round off our year we take a look at every single new film we've seen in 2008. That's 77 films that get chewed over at lightning speed. Find out our best and worst and get an overview on what's worth watching.

Before that we set our sights on two monumental failures. The utterly gimped "You're in the Movies" for Xbox 360, which, let's face it was never going to be good.

Then Playstation Home; Sony's great white hope for the future of their user's online social networking. People have not been kind to Home, and with good reason. We leave most reviewers in the dust with the sheer breadth of our disgust for this mess of broken code and limp-wristed, ham-fisted advertising ploys. We all own PS3's and wanted Home to be awesome, but this offering simply doesn't pass muster, against the NXE. Listen in on our rantings if you dare.

Also discussed are Mortal Kombat VS. DC Universe.

Next week: Christmas!

The death of the PS2.

As Christmas draws in, we take a look at the biggest-selling video games console of all time and ask whether there is any point in buying one this yuletide, even if you've never owned a gaming machine before. More personally, is there any sense in keeping one around if you are an avid gamer who has become entrenched in HD experiences.

Also discussed are Fallout 3, Teeth and the demise of Woolworths, amongst many other things.

Remember to send in your Christmas video game stories to be read on the Christmas Eve episode.

digitalcowboys@googlemail.com

Our most densely packed show ever!

If you don't count those ones where we look back on a years worth of movies or games, this week's show is probably the most full of reviews and first impressions ever. We whizz through two weeks worth of intense viewing and gaming, barely pausing for breath.

Among the films and games discussed are...

Left 4 Dead, Lips, Scene It: Box Office Smash, Super Street Fighter II Turbu HD Remix, Mama Mia, High School Musical, Rambo, Kung Fu Panda and A Christmas Story.

We even get to discussing whether the Xbox 360 Arcade is this year's Wii for existing Wii owners.

Send your stories of awesome or awful Christmases of your past to digitalcowboys@googlemail.com and have them read out in this years Yuletide episode.

Rock Band 2/Mirror's Edge.

This week it's our reviews of first-person free-runner Mirror's Edge. Alex also briefly reviews the Mysterious Cities of Gold and Persepolis.

Some particularly helpful listener mail gets read out and discussed.

Then we finish up with our first impressions of Rock Band 2 and go over the reasons why it's not only superior to Guitar Hero World Tour in many significant ways but in our opinion the best game of the year (if you count in the first game and see it as a platform).

Part 2 of 2.

In the second part of our epic episode 80 bonanza we chew through the gamut of information on Guitar Hero World Tour on the Xbox 360. With Rock Band 2 out today, can the giant of Activision's longer-running franchise easily crush their competitors? Is the hardware up to scratch and just how much more difficult is that vocal career? Find out now.

Part 1 of 2.

This mammoth episode is stretched over two shows.

Part 1 sees the cowboys reviewing Zack and Miri Make a Porno, the new Kevin Smith film.

The biggest Playstation 3 release of the year is then given a thorough going over. Little Big Planet is explored at last.

Gears of War 2/Quantum of Solace/Disney's Sing-It.

To celebrate the world's freedom from the Bush administration we're doing a Gears 2 special interspersed with some timely Bill Hicks material. the late comedian who passed away in 1994 would doubtless be as happy to see the back of Bush Junior as his crusty father.

Tony also surmises Dead Space, and Alex reviews the new Bond game; Quantum of Solace, often dubbed the best of its type since the legendary GoldenEye.

But for the truly hardcore, Paul dishes the dirt on 'Disney; Sing It' a karaoke game featuring the likes of Miley Cyrus and her ilk.

The bulk of the episode, however is devoted to singing the praises of Gears 2 and discussing it's every greasy, bloodsoaked pounding moment.

Next week; Guitar Hero: World Tour.

Bond Special.

With Quantum of Solace breaking all kinds of box office records we felt it only right to do a proper Bond-focused episode. So every official 007 movie is discussed and we do a full review of both Casino Royale and QoS.

Up for discussion are Alex and Tony's closing thoughts on Fable 2, and the Mirror's Edge demo. We also debate the possibility of finding oneself burned out on music-rhythm-action games very shortly as both Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2 are about to be released in Europe, bringing with them over 150 new songs to learn. This isn't even counting Singstar, Disney Sing-It and Lips. Could the new favourite game genre be exhausted already?

Rabid Bond fans may want to strap themselves in. We pull no punches with the flaws of this British institution. It makes the better films seem all the more of an achievement.

Fable 2/Dead Space.

As the deluge of Christmas titles pours in our direction, the first two triple-A titles fall under the intense scrutiny of the Digital Cowboys.

Fable 2: Peter Molyneux's latest bag of hyperbole, tall tales and empty promises at last bursts open and Tony and Alex examine what's inside.

Dead Space: At least one Cowboy got thoroughly freaked out by this Event Horizon-flavoured offering from EA that many have dubbed 'Resident Evil in space'. Find out if that's a fair summation with viewpoints from all three hosts.

Also reviewed is High School Musical 3, which would appear to take quaintness to heights not seen in cinema since the days when men had to leave a foot on the floor when in bed with a lady for fear of being too suggestive.

LBP Controversy/Brothers in Arms HH/FIFA 09.

This last week, Little Big Planet has caught the public eye mere days from release for a rather controversial reason. We discuss it in this week's express-length (ie; less than an hour) episode.

Also up for debate are Tony's thaughts on the Blu Ray of Kill Bill (and more importantly Vol. 2) and his reviews of Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway, FIFA 09 and the new Coen Brothers film; Burn After Reading.

To celebrate our 75th episode and to mark the passing of a good online friend we decided to talk about the community that has built up around video games over the years. We trace the simple LAN parties of Doom through to the imminent update for Xbox Live and onward to the user-created content of future games. Every aspect of the group following and social aspects of online gaming is explored in this very special episode. Also to mix things up a bit; Tony's hosting this week!

Dead Console Special.

Now that we've discussed the most popular consoles of the 80's and 90's, we turn our eye to their less successful competitors.

So here for your delectation (slightly later than usual) is the dead console special, focusing on the Turbo Grafx-16, the Atari Lynx and Jaguar, the 3DO, the Sega Saturn, the Nintendo Virtual Boy and the Nokia N-Gage. Find out how they failed and whether any of us bought them.

Also discussed is the new Halo 3 trailer and Kill Bill on Blu-Ray.

The Force Unleashed/Death Race/Tropic Thunder/Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise.

Paul reveals some awesome new Queen song packs available on the Singstore now.

We go over the upcoming movie releases before the end of the year.

Paul reviews Jason Statham-starring prison, action flick; Death Race and explains why it's star is the new Tim Robbins.

Tony talks Tropic Thunder and why it probably wasn't worth ninety million dollars.Then divulges his love for candy-filled animals in a review of Viva Pinata: Trouble in paradise; a fiendish resource-management sim, masquerading as a cutesy romp.

Then Alex spills the beans on the best and worst aspects of the new Star Wars game. The review is spoiler-free but after some warning music at the end there is a full plot synopsis so those who wish to play it, be wary.

Christmas Game Releases 2008.

In light of the avalanche of games heading our way in October and November this year we did an episode focusing on each week of release, and the choices we have to make.

Pretty much every important Q4 release is discussed (Except Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, which we forgot.)

Let me tell you folks, this Christmas is going to drain your wallets dry, BUT the games themselves look absolutely kickass so it WILL be worth it in the long run.

Metallica/Too Human/Soul Calibur IV/Merceneries 2.

To combat the rambling nature of recent shows we've streamlined this week so there's minimal wandering off on tangents and instead we strike straight at the heart of the games to give you swift, concise reviews.

So Paul discusses the new Metallica album, released as DLC for Guitar Hero, Tony talks Too Human and Alex reveals whether Merceneries 2 rocked his world.

Also discussed are Soul Calibur IV, price cuts for the 360 and an awesome album we've been listening to recently.

SNES Special.

We're back! After two weeks up to his arms in baby business, Alex returns refreshed and ready for more DC action.

What better way to start the first of his episodes broadcasting as a father than  to focus on the console that so many folks recall most fondly from their childhood; The Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Paul's back too, after a month off to move and relax. He's been playing many a music rhythm-action game and has a juicy snippet of news about Rock Band 2 to confer.

And of course, faithful, lantern-jawed Tony is here as always to join in with the many stories and tidbits of information on this most hallowed console.

As a result of the podcast, Alex went out and bought a SNES, so be warned, you may find yourself cruising ebay, hungry for 16-bit goodness.

(Note. Alex mentions the construction of a picture of a man in a SNES joypad costume for this weeks episode. the result was so freakish, he destroyed it out of fear and anger and went with the far more tasteful image you see above. It's better this way.)

Amiga 500/Clone Wars/Bourne Conspiracy.

Quantum's back! And this week he bought a friend; the Amiga 500.

Continuing our platform focused episodes, this week we're discussing the home gaming computers popularised in the late 80's and early 90's by machines like the Atari ST and the Amiga 500. This is a shadowy subject for Alex who hopped straight into consoles, but Tony Atkins and Tony Edwards both had one and reminisce about what it was like to play the first installments of some surprisingly long-lived gaming franchises. The impact of these machines on gaming was subtle but undeniably important as they paved the way to advanced gaming PC's able to play Doom.

Also discussed are the new Star wars animated movie; The Clone Wars, The Bourne Conspiracy gets a 360 review and Tony Atkins talks about the pub games for Fable 2.

Alex mentions TWO top ten lists but only mentions one. The other one is the top ten Amiga/ST games ever and it's reprinted for you here in no particular order;

10. Syndicate
9. Cannon Fodder
8. Rainbow Islands
7. Sensible Soccer
6. Worms
5. Kick Off
4. Lemmings
3. Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe
2. The Secret of Monkey Island
1. Monkey Island 2 - LeChuck’s Revenge

Next week; Paul?

Braid/King of Kong/GRID/Piles of Shame.

Paul is away this week but the show must go on. We start with a review of a light-hearted, amusing documentary about obsessive retro video gamers; The King of Kong. Obviously it's rare we see movies about our favourite subjects so this one is kind of important.

Tony reviews the latest car racing game; GRID. Find out if the cars in this one race better than the cars in the ten thousand other identical hi-def racers out there. I'm kidding tony, they're all VASTLY different!

We start a new weekly feature. So you'll find out what that is too.

Then we discuss our piles of shame. These are the ever-growing collections of video games on our shelves that we sort of played but never really got into and occasionally beat ourselves up over never completing.

Finally we review Braid, the Xbox Live Arcade title that seems to be getting perfect scores and internet backlash across the board. Get the final word on whether it's any good here. There's also a spoiler section at the very end where we discuss the secrets of the plot.

A remarkably well-packed show considering we're one man down.

Room 101/Hellboy 2/X-Files/Man on Wire.

This episode we venture back to room 101 (last seen in episode 11) to rant about what drives us crazy about video games. Witness all kinds of daft ideas and soulless marketing ploys get condemned to the firey pit,

Also reviewed this week; Man on Wire; the documentary about French tightrope walker Phillipe Petit's death-defying high-wire walk between the twin towers in 1974.

Paul talks about the new X-Files film; 'I Want to Believe'. Find out if he does, or more importantly if this is good enough to usher in the return of a long beloved sci-fi to our screens.

Finally (but before we move on to Room 101) Alex and Paul discuss Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, which they were both fortunate enough to see in preview this week. We made sure not to spoil anything but you still get the skinny on whether it's any good.

Finally we move on to the Room 101 section. Sparks fly, teeth gnash and some suspects escape the flames. Find out what sucks, right here.

The Batman Special.

In this mammoth episode we track Batman from his humble pulp hero beginnings in comic books starting in 1939 right through seven decades to what has become one of the highest rated and highest grossing movies of all time; The Dark Knight.

The DK review section is nearly an hour long and contains massive spoilers so make sure you see the film first.

Our sincerest apologies for being late this week. The screenings Tony went to see on Wednesday were sold out (he was fuming).

This episode is a must for bat-fans everywhere.

Guitar Hero On Tour/Kung Fu Panda/Wall-E/The Office.

This week, Alex reviews GH on the DS and gives an honest opinion as to whether it's the same experience in handheld form.

Then Alex reviews Dreamworks first summer offering in the bug-eyed CGI animal movies sub-genre. Find out if it's as atrocious as Shark Tail and Madagascar.

The core of the show is a long discussion (spoiler free) about Pixars latest masterpiece Wall-E.

And we finish off with a conversation about why everyone with a genuine appreciation for smart, subtle yet gut-bustingly funny comedy should track down season two of the American Office.

E3 2008 Special

To celebrate the biggest gaming event of the year, the Cowboys have pulled in extra help in the form of Tony "Quantum" Edwards and managed a mammoth two and a half hour discussion on the past week's events.

For the uninitiated, E3 is the big media and business summit held every year (except 2007) in L.A's immense convention center. It's the time  when Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo and every important software developer and publisher present their figures for the past year and projects for the next (except Activision/Blizzard this year but they coincidentally had an event of their own nearby).

There are hundreds of games and applications to get through and some fascinating and sometimes cringe-inducing insights into the minds of these creators and money-men, but we manage to get through a sizable chunk of the important stuff and voice our unbiased, enthusiastic and frequently explosive opinions on many, many subjects.

If you want to know what's coming for your console, here is the best place to start.

Hancock/Game Boy Special.

First up, Tony talks about the recent PlayStation 3 firmware update, which includes those long-sought-after trophies.

Then the Cowboys review the new superhero film that's NOT based on a graphic novel for a change: Hancock.

There's also an extra top ten from last week - top ten worst music-licensed video games and Alex briefly discusses the Blu-Ray of Commando.

The bulk of the show, however is dedicated to the most significant handheld gaming system ever: the Nintendo Game Boy. In this focussed episode, we discuss everything about the GB from it's inception in 1989 up to the point where the DS was released (we're saving that for another special).

So sit back and relax as the Cowboys perform yet another uncensored, unabashed and uncompromising dissection on a gaming legend and talk about why it's done quite so well.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith/Uncharted/Wanted/Prince Caspian.

This week, the Cowboys take a look at the recent announcements for Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour. Find out about the new tracks and features here. While on the subject, the new Aerosmith themed Guitar Hero game is reviewed.

Alex reviews Uncharted: Drake's Fortune for PS3 which he borrowed from Paul and asks: is being derivative all that bad?

Tony and Paul review Wanted, the latest slick action movie that garnered an unusual (for this day and age) 18 certificate from the BBFC.

Finally Alex and Tony discuss Prince Caspian at length, along with the delayed impact that the Narnia films have had on audiences as well as possible futures for the series.

And stay tuned for a truly EARTH-SHATTERING rendition of Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria (whilst playing Rock Band! - Paul) from our very own PlexShaw.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Part Two: Alex and Tony discuss every aspect of the games plot. Here be spoilers. Ye be warned.

Metal Gear Solid

In this absolutely huge double episode, we discuss all things Metal Gear.

In Part One, we look back over the past two decades of the many Metal Gear games, paying particular attention to the original PlayStation installment and its two sequels on PlayStation 2.

Then we give a full review of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots with absolutely no spoilers.

Tomorrow, the Part Two will be available which takes the shape of a blow-by-blow plot-line discussion of MGS4 including absolutely mountains of spoilers, so those currently still playing should steer clear for now.

Sex and the City/The Incredible Hulk

Back to the movies with a vengeance.

This week, with Paul back, we review many films we've seen over the past few weeks including Mongol, Ice Age, Jurassic Park, Catch Me If You Can, Empire of the Sun, Peep Show Series Five, Priceless and In Search of a Midnight Kiss.

Then we bring out the two big guns.

Both feature Manhattan prominently. Both have been decried as vacuous popcorn by those not in their target audience and both have already made big bucks in the past few weeks.

Sex and the City is reviewed thoroughly by Tony. Find out if the man that Chuck Norris rings for tips on being manly takes to this unmitigated festival of labels and love lives.

The Incredible Hulk, successor to Ang Lee's misguided 2003 effort, is reviewed by all. Is the nonstop orgy of explosions and comic-book violence enough to keep us entertained in the final hours before Batman and Hellboy emerge from the shadows?

Next week: Metal Gear!

The Sega Special

Following the roaring success of our NES episode last week, we decided to take a closer look at Nintendo's chief opponent throughout the late 80's/early 90's: Sega.

So here is the story of the Master System, Game Gear and Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega's struggle in the face of total market dominance from their fellow Japanese giant. Find out what they did right, what they did wrong and how they set themselves up to eventually fail in the console market by the end of the decade. There are, however, some unexpected triumphs so it makes for a fascinating story of daft decisions and happy circumstance.

Paul is taking a week off so we welcome aboard Tony Edwards, aka Xbox Live's Quantum Field.

The song at the end may need a little explanation so if you've never heard of Zero Wing, look here for the meaning of "All your base are belong to us."

The NES Special.

In the first of a new run of retro-console feature episodes, the Cowboys pay much lip service to the what might be considered the first ever real video gaming console.

Released way back in 1985, following a two year video games market crash, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) brought the world more than just a bouncing handyman and the chance to kill digitised wildfowl with a plastic gun. It gave kids something new to do with their time and breathed new life into a moribund industry.

In this super-length episode, we cover everything about the NES and its impact on the gamers back then and today.

Also reviewed are the recently viewed DVD's of eXistenZ, The Nines and Excalibur (by Alex) and Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (by Paul, the lucky devil).

You can email us with requests for features on consoles, games or anything else in future episodes at digitalcowboys@googlemail.com

Rock Band/Indy IV

In this bumper-sized episode, we finally get to own Rock Band and after having played the hell out of it for the past few days in solo, online and local multiplayer we can give you our first impressions.

Was it worth the wait, can it live up to the hype and most importantly is it worth £180?

We also review the fourth Indiana Jones film. Nearly two decades in the making, the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull sees an aging Harrison Ford take up the hat and whip once more.

Was it worth the wait, can it live up to the hype and most importantly can we review it without spoiling the ending?

Of course we can. Which is why you should listen out for the warning music which signals the secrets-filled finale of this absolutely kickass episode. Turn us off if you've not seen Indy yet when you hear the Ark of the Covenant theme.

Then come back to us when you've seen it.

Rock on!

The 10 Greatest Movies Ever

If you are searching for something different from The Godfather, Citizen Kane and Lawrence of Arabia, we have provided an alternative lineup. After a lifetime of lists full of the same films, vaunted as the greatest works of cinema ever, we decided to redress the balance and do our own. That's not to say we don't recognise them as fantastic films, but let's face it, the same list over and over is getting boring and we need some new blood. Each co-host cites their ten entries and at the end the ten we most agree on make it onto the final list.

This week we also discuss the future contenders for our Rock Band money;: namely Activision's Guitar Hero IV and Rock Revolution from Konami.

Grand Theft Auto IV Review

It's not all gushing praise, in fact some of us get downright angry at times over the game mechanics and other gripes about GTA. It is, however one of the biggest reviews for one of the biggest games we've done and definitely worth a listen. Besides which, this is the truth about our experience with one of the most hyped and celebrated games in history.
 
Also discussed at the beginning: new content for Guitar Hero III and some other games Tony's been playing.

Iron Man

This episode is entirely focused on the new Iron Man film. Alex, Paul and Tony discuss every riveting detail of the new Marvel blockbuster. Also check out Alex's written review on the blog.

Coming very soon: GTA IV.

Retro Games Test/Wii Fit

Following the Mario Kart episode two weeks ago, this weekend we decided to playtest every single iteration from the SNES to the Wii. While we were at it, we went back to many long abandoned games to see if the years had been kind.

Then Tony reveals some surprising perspective on UEFA 2008 and Alex sings the praises of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which he saw recently on Blu-Ray.

We finish on an appraisal of the newest offering from the Nintendo gimmick-machine: Wii Fit. Find out if it's a total waste of time and money in this, the most physical and nostalgic episode of Digital Cowboys to date.

We released this week's episode early to make room for hard GTA IV playtime. A thorough review will be here next week.

Our First Anniversary!

In this extra large episode, we round up some of the games we've been playing in the past few months. Paul and Tony review In Bruges, Paul talks about [Rec] and Happy-Go-Lucky and Alex reports on Control and some Disney movies that proved a lot less enthralling than Sleeping Beauty and Enchanted.

Two particularly weighty bits of news are discussed: one, the systematic destruction of piles of retro games from the UK's second-largest game retailer; and two, the possibility of more instrument peripherals for the next Guitar Hero game ON TOP of what we'll have to shell out for Rock Band.

Then we crack on with the focus of the show which is the upcoming Games and Movies we're most excited about. We choose two each from both categories and explain why we're champing at the bit to experience them. Rock Band, GTA IV and Metal Gear Solid 4 are not on the list as they're the obvious ones.

Thanks to all of our listeners for the past year's loyal service. Why not celebrate by writing us a review on iTunes. We're aiming to crack our way onto their radar this year.

Next week: the first of many planned special focus episodes.

The Best of Episodes 1-51

Since we're a year old this week, we'd like to kick off our celebrations with a look back over the past twelve months.

This is a great one to start with to get a flavour for the show so let everyone you know in on it. We'll be back very soon with some more mature journalism but for now enjoy some of the funniest, rudest and most heated moments of the past year. Also included are some exclusive snippets you won't have heard.

Warning: DEFINITELY not one for the kids.

Dark Sector/Mario Kart Wii and DS.

This week Tony reviews dark, gritty glaiver Dark Sector and discusses whether it's really worth playing in a world where Gears of War exists.

Then Mario Kart in all its forms is discussed. The recent release on the Wii, packaged with a super-duper new wheel accessory that has proved to thousands of die-hard Nintendo fans as useful - if not less so - than that camera for the Game Boy Pocket, is the main focus of conversation.

Alex just saw Enchanted on Blu Ray and followed up with the Disney classic, Sleeping Beauty. Long-time listeners will be able to predict fairly accurately what he'll say about the current glut of animated movies when held in comparison with fairy-tales of this caliber.

We finish on a fairly crucial new career choice for one of the Cowboys.

Next week: a double helping of DC. Firstly, a collection of the best moments from the past year; and secondly, a super-sized anniversary episode as we turn one year old.

Son of Rambow

We start with good and bad news about the European release of Rock Band.

After that, Paul reviews Never Back Down and Meet The Spartans, Tony talks about Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and Sega Superstar Tennis and Alex discusses the film Junebug and new XBLA game Ikiruga.

Finally, we round off with a full review of one of the most fun, inventive and charming films about - but not necessarily for - kids in ages: Son of Rambow.

27 Dresses/Heavenly Sword/The Orphanage

This week Paul reviews the latest the rom-com about weddings, 27 Dresses, starring pretty woman Katherine Heigl as a woman who has played bridesmaid an average of once a year for her whole life. Find out if it breaks the mould.

Tony and Alex fully review Heavenly Sword now that Alex has finished it and appraise it for the acting and motion capture and also how digital acting has lately become much better in both movies and video games.

Finally we all take a look at the psychological horror/drama/thriller El Orfanato (The Orphanage). It's the first film from director Juan Antonio Bayona and is produced (very significantly) by Guillermo Del Toro. As a ghost story featuring tormented children it follows in the shadowy footsteps of The Sixth Sense, The Others and Del Toro's own The Devil's Backbone. Find out if it can live up to this grand pedigree in our in-depth review.

This week, the Cowboys cover what they've been up to, including Tony's final analysis of Lost Odyssey and his summation of gaming effluent also known as Jumper: Griffin's Story.

Paul talks about movies: The Cottage, Vantage Point and Lars and the Real Girl.

Alex reviews the first Blu-ray on this show: Beowulf.

And at some point in the show, one of these men reveals a piece of news that will change lives.

Rock Band Playtest

As Tony is on holiday this week, it's just Alex and Paul, but boy do we have some hot news.

This weekend we played Rock Band in front of massed crowds in London's Wembly Stadium. There were a bunch of other games previewed there too, but let's face it, we've been waiting for this for SO long that we need to give Rock Band some special attention.

Also included is a run-down of the 'exclusive' European tracks which Paul cunningly photographed at the show.

So for your delectation, here is our review of Play.com's Rock Band Live (AKA Play.com Live)

(Note from Paul: EA/Harmonix/MTV Games - if you're reading this, release the game already! Seriously, what is taking so long?)

Buying a PlayStation 3

In response to the collapse of HD-DVD in the past few weeks, Alex has done the most sensible thing for anybody into their HD formats and bought a PS3. In this episode, we discuss the how's, the why's and also what's on the horizon for this often maligned console. Anybody thinking of getting one at some point should listen in.

Also discussed on 'This Week' are: Rambo, Shrek 3, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, Mario Strikers: Charged Football, The Other Boleyn Girl and Diary of the Dead.

In the second part, we discuss the sudden (though not unexpected) demise of HD-DVD and victory for the Blu-ray format.

Here's a run-down of what happened, what may happen in the future for the HD format and what would be wisest to do now.

In the first part of another epic duo we discuss what we've been doing in the last week.

Alex watched Rocky I through VI.

Paul played more Rock Band and SingStar and also re-discovered the superb American version of The Office.

Tony played NFL Tour, FIFA: Street, Devil May Cry 4, Lost Via Domus and Lost Odyssey.

Paul and Alex also saw Michel Gondry's new film Be Kind Rewind.

The Oscars 2008

In this long-awaited episode the Cowboys discuss the various winners of the 80th Academy Award statues given out last Sunday. Which ones did we expect? Which ones caught us by surprise and which ones made us jump for joy? If you haven't seen most of them so far, this may help you decide which to rent on DVD. If you're a member of the Academy, you may want to take notes for the next time P.T. Anderson's name comes up under Best Director.

Next week: HD-DVD R.I.P and Blu-ray is victorious. We discuss why, how and what that means for the industry.

Jumper/There Will Be Blood

This week the Cowboys discuss new developments on the Rock Band and Guitar Hero front, in particular what this means for downloadable and hard copy content in the future.

Then Jumper is discussed. We could blame director Doug Liman for its multitude of faults, but there are a lot of names that need to be mentioned here as the kickings are handed out for this sci-fi 'thriller'.

Finally a major Oscar contender and one of the most powerful films about industry released in years: the highly acclaimed There Will Be Blood, the fifth significant film from auteur Paul Thomas Anderson. Many, many hours could be spent picking this one apart, we try to fit it into twenty minutes.

Next week: Oscars.

The Kids Episode

This week we start with some breaking news about Paul's new PlayStation 3 game... Rock Band! He's purchased a US version purely to play the vocal aspect, in preparation for when it's released in the UK on Xbox 360 in Q2 2008. Find out Paul's first impressions here.

We follow with our usual segment, which has been renamed 'This Week', where we discuss what we've been into in the past seven days.

Our main feature is on movies we should be showing our kids. Whilst none of the Cowboys are parents yet, it's never too early to start planning. Listen in to our comprehensive guide to what's essential to a child's growth - parents both literal and potential may also find some all time classics they otherwise might have missed.

And since it's Valentine's Day, we end on our three movie recommendations for a fantastic night in.

Cloverfield/Burnout Paradise/Juno

For our 41st episode, the Cowboys were fortunate enough to see Juno a week early. Also up for discussion is the new genre-defying monster feature from Lost and Alias producer J.J. Abrams: Cloverfield.

It's rare that we get such across-the-board high scores from everyone for two movies in a row, but this is a must-hear episode as we detail the reasons you really do have to see these films.

They form a sandwich around Tony's in-depth review of explosive racer Burnout Paradise, which has turned the established format of the series on it's head. Find out if it paid off.

Also included is the first installment of 'This Week In Gaming', a new segment where we round up what we've been doing in the last week. In the past we've left a lot of stuff out because it didn't fit in neatly for a review, but now we can discuss the demos, trailers and games we've been immersing ourselves in and, in many cases, give a closer account of them rather than waiting until they're finished and doing a review much later. Time will tell if movies, TV or even music will work its way into this spot.

We finish on a miserable piece of delay-related news for European Rock Band fans. However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel... if you have a PlayStation 3 and are a dedicated vocalist like Paul.

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Next week we will be discussing films that we should all be showing our children. There is clearly so much rubbish out there that it's important to have some specific classics lined up to stop them turning into glassy-eyed, text-speaking dimwits. If you'd like a film mentioned, email us your suggestion at the usual address: digitalcowboys@googlemail.com

Mass Effect/Doctor Who

In Part 2, Tony finally goes into detail on one of the finest RPGs to emerge in years, and Alex discusses the kids show that has captivated him throughout January.

Linkin Park/Sweeney Todd/Soldier of Fortune/A V P R

In this epic two parter (we seem to be having quite a few of these lately), Alex discusses the Linkin Park concert he went to at the O2 and all of us talk about Tim Burton's ghoulish pitch-black musical, Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Tony follows up with a review of piss-poor, yet oddly compelling gut-churning FPS, Soldier of Fortune - Payback and Paul confides in us as to why he actually quite enjoyed risible sequel to a terrible spin-off to two exhausted series' A V P R - Aliens Vs Predator - Requiem.

Oscar Nominations.

In this weeks episode the Cowboys discuss the recently announced Academy Award nominations, going through every category, naming favourites and making their predictions on who will win.

After the main ceremony in February, look forward to a massive special event as the Cowboys hold a post-Oscar party episode... in tuxedos!

No Country for Old Men/St. Trinian's/Alvin and the Chipmunks/I Am Legend.

Back to movie reviews with a vengeance this week. We've changed our rating system to something more in tune with popular reviewing styles. It's now one to five stars.

In this episode, we delve into the Coen Brothers first really great film since 2000's O Brother, Where Art Thou?: No Country for Old Men.
Then Paul takes TWO for the team and talks about both the appalling waste of nubile young ladies, St. Trinian's; and the return of a bunch of old rockers who've been going for longer than The Rolling Stones: Alvin and the Chipmunks. We also see a side of Paul rarely glimpsed, so pay attention...

We finish off with a review of the third cinematic adaptation of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend, starring Will Smith. The film that has left most critics cold, but we believe it holds some merit. Listen in to find out why.

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The 2007 Roundup

As the new year begins, we look back on some of the most important and interesting events of 2007.

The Oscars are discussed, and many long awaited movie releases, along with major video game moments including E3, the launch of the PlayStation 3 and Jeff Gerstmann's sudden exodus from our favourite gaming news site Gamespot. Check out Jeff's blog here: http://blog.jeffgerstmann.net/

We finish up with a list of things to look forward to in 2008, and possibly the worst song we've ever heard.

The Games of 2007 Round Up.

With apologies for the slight delay, we present part two of our three week epic round up of 2007. In this show, we discuss every important game released this year, both good and bad, and finish with our top ten.

Next week, the people and events of 2007.

Happy New Year to all of our listeners.

The Films of 2007 Round Up

In this, the first part of our three week epic, we take a look at every significant film of 2007 both the worst and best are given top tens decided by all of us and a good dozen or so that were worthy of note are also discussed.

Next week's episode will do the same with the video games we've played this year and the week after that we'll be doing a general summation of the year in movie and video gaming news.

As a bonus, the finale of this weeks show features our top ten rants on films. A prize for whoever can identify the targets of these venomous outbursts.

Email us at digitalcowboys@googlemail.com

Merry Christmas to all.

The Golden Compass/Super Mario Galaxy/SingStar (PS3)

As the year 2007 - hereby known as the year the Digital Cowboys first started these awesome podcasts - draws to a close, a few final films and games emerged to grab our attention. To say we'd been waiting a long time for these is a gross understatement.

So for your delectation, we present possibly our final full length reviews of the year.

Firstly, Phillip Pullman's much loved children's classic, appreciated by mature folk everywhere, gets its cinematic adaptation. Alex and Tony, being huge fans of the book, have much to say on how faithful it is. Paul, being an outsider rarely thrilled by fantasy films, presents an ideal foil for the fanboys. The in-depth discussion starts here.

Next up is the only game worth getting on the Wii aside from Wii Sports. Super Mario Galaxy has burst onto the 3D platforming scene and added some much needed colour and dimension in much the same way that Super Mario World did with the stale 2D market way back in the early 90's. Tony tells us why this might shift a few more Wii's.

Finally, Paul goes into detail on SingStar and how it's changed his life, especially the new PlayStation 3 version now equipped with the SingStore, which you can buy addtional songs from... so tempting. In fact, another Digital Cowboys exclusive happens right here as Paul makes a sale while reviewing.

Because of time constraints a few topics had to be excised, but the gist of them is as follows...

* We all like the new Xbox 360 dashboard update. Movies (including HD ones) are now up for renting online.

* Rockstar have won their battle against the BBFC at the Video Appeals Committee over Manhunt 2. This potentially means that it will finally get released in the UK (albeit the toned down 'M'-rated version). We're all very happy for them. While the debate is tired, the important thing to glean from this debacle is that the BBFC were being out of line, which is rare for them. More descussions on censorship coming in 2008.

Next week begins the first of two end-of-year podcasts where we do a full round-up of 2007. See you then.

Guitar Hero Special: Part 2

In Part 2 of our in-depth Guitar Hero Special, we delve into Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and discuss every point - both good and bad - about the latest installment of the franchise and whether it lives up to the incredible hype and agonizingly long wait.

Also, we discuss whether a certain other forthcoming rock-music-based rhythm game has been on stealing our attention away from the Guitar Hero series. To the jammy Americans performing their hearts out in living rooms across the pond, we say this: damn you!

Guitar Hero Special: Part 1

This week, it's the long awaited special episode focusing on Guitar Hero, possibly this year's most important series of games for the Cowboys.

So epic was the scale of this monster that it could not be contained on a single podcast and so for the first time ever, we bring you a double show released back to back on the same day.

Part 1 deals with Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II on PS2 and Xbox 360 respectively, as well as Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s on PS2.

American Gangster/Lions for Lambs/Peep Show/Planet Terror

In Tony's absence, Alex, Paul and Tom discuss the things they've been watching in between marathon Guitar Hero III sessions.

First up is Ridley Scott's compelling crime thriller about real life drug lord Frank Lucas and Detective Richie Roberts, the honest cop who pursued him, American Gangster. This has been compared with such greats as Heat, The French Connection and The Godfather. Check out how it measures up in the eyes of Paul and Tom.

Lions for Lambs is Robert Redford's political drama investigating the many various viewpoints on the War on Terror. It stars Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Redford himself. See if it made us want to take action or take a snooze.

Also discussed is the fourth series of the excellent British comedy Peep Show, as well as the final sorry offering oozing forth belatedly from the damp squib formerly known as Grindhouse: Planet Terror.

Stay tuned at the end for a heavy metal treat from the band Strong Bad. We give you 'TROGDOR'!

Call of Duty 4/Assassin's Creed/Beowulf

In this episode, the Cowboys discuss immersive military shooter, and possible game of the year, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. For an earlier look at the games multiplayer component, see Episode 21.

Also on the table is the parkour-fuelled, medieval hitman game Assassin's Creed. Alex played this until 4am the day of recording just so he could review it completely.

Finally, Robert Zemeckis' visually stunning, completely over-the-top rendition of the ancient poem Beowulf gets our attention. Check out how one of the oldest stories in human culture stands up to jaded 21st Century ideals.

Christmas Shopping Special

This week, the Cowboys discuss what's on the market in video gaming this holiday season. The consoles, the hand-helds and the biggest games that most of our listeners will be considering getting for their loved ones or themselves.

We put the biggest purchases into perspective and might even be able to offer an alternative if you can't find what you're after; or, if it's ridiculously priced on the secondary market; or, if there are no great games on it yet... until Super Mario Galaxy of course (have a guess).

To cover all bases, we also discuss some great DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray releases too and some oddball gadgets you might like to throw money at.

Now we have machine guns...

Ho Ho Ho

PES 2008/Little Man/30 Days of Night/Sicko

Tony tackles Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 on the Xbox 360 and Paul talks about his hellish experience with a 'little' movie that has been described as "possessed by the devil".

Then, we brave the shark-like jaws of David "Hard Candy" Slade's Alaskan vampire siege movie 30 Days of Night, before once again dissecting Michael Moore's Sicko, which has finally (albeit, in some cases, briefly) opened in the UK.

Check out Episode 15 for an earlier review from our Canadian correspondent, Mat Lo.

Eastern Promises/Saw IV/The Last Mimzy/The Fountain/Moribund Game Genre's

This week, the subjects under discussion include...

David Cronenberg's violent look at the Russian mafia in London, Eastern Promises; Paul talks about Saw IV and the new directions it doesn't take; and Alex talks about mind-expanding kids film The Last Mimzy and mind-imploding art film The Fountain, which Darren Aronofsky seems to have made for himself alone.

We also delve into the state of video game genres that are perhaps past their best and in need of a good creative kick in the pants in order to win back todays gamers.

Project Gotham 4/Conan/The Dark is Rising/Stardust

This is Part Two of our epic two-part Episode 27.

In this edition we discuss:

Sleek new racer Project Gotham Racing 4 and barbaric hack 'em up Conan on the Xbox 360. Also two of the latest in a long line of fantasy films: a modern update of Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising and Matthew 'Layer Cake' Vaughn's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's dark fairytale Stardust. Suffice to say, they are not to every Cowboy's taste...

Guitar Hero 3 Demo/The Orange Box

This is Part One of our epic two-part Episode 27.

In this edition we discuss:

The Xbox 360 demo of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Valve's The Orange Box on the 360 and PC.

Part Two will be released tomorrow...

The Pixar Special

Due to the release of their eighth film, Ratatouille, the Cowboys decided that this week it was high time they paid homage to possibly the best animation studio on the planet.

So in this bumper episode, we go over every single one of their movies, rating each and picking our favourites, as well as exploring the various actors, creators, contemporaries and, of course, the hilarious shorts before every movie. As a comprehensive mini-history of some of the most influential animated films ever made, we're very proud of this installment.

Portal/Gaming News Special

This week, the Cowboys are focusing on the facts. We have several news articles from the world of video games, including Bungie's exodus from Microsoft, the PlayStation 3 price drop and the continuing saga of Rockstar's Manhunt 2 and its casual sadism getting everybody upset.

We also have mini reviews of Portal (one fifth of Valve's The Orange Box), and new cinema releases Kenny and Control.

This show guest stars the legendary Tom Underhill and long-time listener, podcaster and all-round media node Matt Fowler. Be sure to check out Matt's show, Joinee Radio.

Folks have also been asking how to get in contact with us. Well, you can either submit a comment on the blog, email us at digitalcowboys@googlemail.com or visit our MySpace page.

The Epic Halo Episode

WARNING: this episode contains VERY strong language.

With the landmark release of Halo 3, we decided a special episode focusing on the entire Halo trilogy was in order. This is the longest podcast we've ever done about one single subject.

We cover Halo, Halo 2, Red vs Blue, the "Movie" and finally Halo 3.

All long-time or newcomer fans of the Halo series should check this show out and pass it on to as many friends as possible.

The Quentin Tarantino Episode.

With the staggered and fragmented release of Grindhouse as two films everywhere outside the USA, Quentin Tarantino has come under quite a bit of critical fire for his half of the production: Death Proof.

So in this episode, the Cowboys examine his body of work and look at what he's achieved in the past. Many of these films are firm favourites of ours, some, less so. Every one is put under the spotlight to see if it still holds up today.

Shoot-Em-Up/Superbad/Video Piracy

This week, in Tony's absence the Cowboys delve into the murky depths of video piracy. We discuss, from a layman's point of view, how knock-off movies affect the marketplace, how distributors have reacted in the past and what's likely to happen in the future.

Also on the table are Shoot 'Em Up and Superbad, two new gun-porn and coming-of-age (respectively) movies, both of which have received damning reviews from many corners. Learn what Alex, Paul and Tom made of these oddballs.

Oh, and Tony... we missed you.

The iPod Episode.

What with Apple announcing and releasing several new models of iPod in the space of just a few days, the Cowboys decided they would be remiss to ignore the advances in the latest tech.

They discuss at length all of the new models and what they mean to the iPod fans and new buyers alike.

Also discussed are Atonement, Epic Movie and the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer Beta.

00.00 Atonement
00.12 Epic Movie
00.20 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer Beta
00.29 iPods

The music at the end of the show is the absolutely flabbergasting 'Through the Fire and Flames' by DragonForce, coming to a Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock near you in October/November. Suffice to say, it'll be bloody hard.

Two Days in Paris/BioShock/The Online Marketplaces of the Big Three Consoles

WARNING: this episode contains VERY strong language.

This week, the Cowboys take a gander at Julie Delpy's new rom-dram-com, Two Days In Paris, starring Adam Goldberg and the lady herself.

Then Tony and Jamie review one of the games of the year, BioShock, a grisly but fascinating first person shooter set in a twisted 50's style underwater utopia replete with dark deco.

The meat of the show is a discussion about what the online elements of the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii offer to casual and hardcore gamers alike, along with a rundown of everything worth acquiring on each system.

The show ends on a song that contains absolutely filthy language. Forgive our immaturity, but it makes us chuckle so.

00.00 Two Days In Paris
22.00 BioShock
38.00 Online Marketplaces

Knocked Up and Movies Based on Video Games

This week, the Cowboys review the latest comedy from Judd Apatow (the writer and director of The 40 Year-Old Virgin), Knocked Up. It's been billed for many months now as a sleeper hit, but by its very nature, that definition puts a lot of pressure on the film to perform to expectation. Alex, Paul, Tony and Tom all saw it and review it under our new rating structure, which will be in effect from now on (for ease of understanding where we're coming from). It is as follows:

A: Brilliant
B: Great
C: Good
D: Not good
E: Rubbish
F: Terrible

With plus and minus points in between to highlight aspects we liked or didn't like.

We round off the show with a discussion on the two decades or so of movies based on popular video games. Pretty much every important one is broached upon, and as most of you will know, a great deal of them are utter cack. We try to get to the root of why and which, if any, are worth tracking down. We also lend our thoughts on the big budget ones, due in the next few years and why they might work, where others have failed.

Party on.

The Bourne Ultimatum/Waitress/HDDVD vs Blu Ray/Console price drops/Why don't they remake..?

This week Digital Cowboys turns 18 and we're all about sex and violence.

First up, some surprising news about a major move in the ongoing war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray. This fight, it would seem, is not such a dead cert. Then we unveil the newly announced UK prices for the Xbox 360. For all those of you who haven't got one yet: if this prompts just one of you to buy one, then we've done a good thing.

We review latest spy flick The Bourne Ultimatum, from directing powerhouse Paul Greengrass. Is Jason's last speedy walking, driving and punching session a match for the previous installments or will it fall foul to the curse of the sequel, so very prevalent this year?

Then we look at Waitress, the romantic comedy starring Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion that deals with infidelity and pies in equal measure and splits the Cowboys down the middle.

Finally we have a new spot on the show: "Why Don't They Remake...?", in which we pick a title each that applies to that question. Ghosts of the past get dragged back into the limelight for one last hypothetical chance.

Stick around for a rather embarrassing treat at the end.

The Future of Video Gaming

As last week was a little flaky, we decided to come back with a bang and discuss a really key issue: what's likely to happen in the gaming industry in the next few years?

Of the three cosmic superpowers doing battle for our bucks right now, which is the most likely to succeed and what sort of games can we expect to come forth when they do?

Hardcore gamers and mainstream casual folk are now, more than ever, the two sides of the market. What will the effects of all the new players have? Will simplicity become the norm? Or does this spell the end for expensive blockbuster games if they don't make the money they need?

All this and more in a most future-tastic episode of Digital Cowboys.

Write to us at digitalcowboys@googlemail.com

Shortbus/Eragon/Tonying

The X-Treme Edition!

This week, the Cowboys take a break from the big stuff and discuss the oddball little things that have caught their attention during the long, hot summer minutes.

00.00 Firstly some sad news. Between the three of us we’ve owned five Xbox 360’s and two of them have died. Last week another went. We won’t spoil the surprise as to whose.

06.00 Shortbus. The three Cowboys review this odd, quirky and incredibly explicit sex comedy from director John Cameron Mitchell.

17.00 Alex reviews retarded, uninspiring, cheap-ass dragon-plodder Eragon in one minute, although three words sum it up far better.

23.00 Grand Theft Auto IV has been pushed back. The Cowboys discuss why.

33.00 Alex brings up two very daft products he saw at the Supermarket and Woolworths.

41.00 The show rounds off with a discussion about 'Tonying': the little known practice of immediately playing your new video games all the way through as soon as possible.

Transformers/The Simpsons Movie/Sicko/Guitar Hero: Rocks The 80s

In our longest episode ever, we've jam-packed info into this weeks episode. First Alex talks to Canadian correspondent Mat Lo about Michael Moore's newest documentary about the US health service, Sicko.

Then Alex, Paul, Tony and Tom discuss firstly Transformers and then The Simpsons Movie, two long awaited TV shows turned movies. Both get the thorough treatment that befits projects of this magnitude and by the end it's clear that not every Cowboy loves both films. Sparks fly!

Then Guitar Hero: Rocks The 80s for PS2 makes a much anticipated appearance. We've squeezed into our sequined jumpsuits and feathered our massive haircuts just for the occasion. Find out whether our appetites for tasty riffs and blinding fret-work will be sated until the holiday season.

We round off with a look at two new PS3 items: the Heavenly Sword playable demo and real in-game footage from Metal Gear Solid 4 - Guns of the Patriots.

At the very close of the show is a last minute update of a couple of previously discussed issues.

The show is getting more fun to produce every week. Keep on downloading us and thank you in advance for telling all your friends to do the same.

Also the website link on our iTunes page is fixed so you can now click on it and be taken here, rather than being sent to a bunch (completely unrelated) Cowboys of the Digital variety.

00.00 Sicko
16.00 Transformers
35.00 The Simpsons
54.00 Guitar Hero: Rocks The 80s
1.04.00 PS3 Demo Focus
1.18.00 Round off and update

Harry Potter OOTP/Serenity & Firefly

This week, the Digital Cowboys are all about magic and space cowboys.

First there's a review of the most recent Harry Potter movie, The Order of the Phoenix. Then Alex fesses up to rediscovering (and loving) Firefly and the movie Serenity.

Then we talk about a few things that have changed in the gaming world since last weeks E3 and Tony reviews Halo 2 on the PC.

As requested, our Gamertags on Xbox Live are...

GHOST WORLD (Tony)
Stans Labyrinth (Alex)
PlexShaw (Paul)
III Jambo III (Jamie)

E3 2007 Special

E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (now known as the E3 Media and Business Summit) is the biggest trade show for video games every year.

Until recently, anybody who knew a guy at a video game store could seemingly get in. The result was a whooping cacophony of fanboys, booth babes (not that we were complaining) and heady Vegas-style razzmatazz. This year, however, they decided to make it much smaller and more exclusive to keep out the riff raff. This was intended to get the show focussed once more on games themselves, with only gaming insiders, publishers, retailers and journalists admitted.

The Digital Cowboys have checked out the results and this week they discuss the ramifications to the gaming industry of the conferences from the big three: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

Also: Rock Band, and why it's going to rock you like a hurricane!

00.00 - Microsoft
18.00 - Sony
43.00 - Nintendo
01.05 - Rock Band

Star Wars: Best and Worst/The Darkness/Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence/Captivity/Vacancy/Colverfield Trailer/Die Hard 4.0

It's a packed episode this week. Alex starts with a lengthy reeling off of the 20 worst and 20 best moments in the Star Wars saga, as this year all wannabe Jedi's will celebrate its third decade of world domination.

Tony reviews action-packed comic book adaptation video game The Darkness from Starbreeze Studios (The Chronicles of Riddick - Escape From Butcher Bay).

Alex plugs Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (NOT the regular version, Snake Eater), a game that has consumed his life for weeks now, and needs a special mention.

Paul discusses the three grimy movies he watched this week that are either torture porn (Hostel 2, Captivity) or snuff related (Vacancy) and tries to sift out the best of the bunch.

J.J. Abrams new project, 01-18-08 (AKA Cloverfield) gets thrown into the ring. Not much to debate: just download and watch it right now from: http://www.davestrailerpage.co.uk/

And we round off with a group summery of Die Hard 4.0, possibly the least rubbish of the Summer sequels so far. Roll on Jason Bourne to snatch that tarnished crown away from Willis' bald head.

Our audience is growing, but we always need more, so let all of your friends know about us and email us here digitalcowboys@googlemail.com

Even better, you could review us on iTunes. It only takes a moment or two and we'll get loads more listeners if they can read the feedback themselves.

We love you long time: Alex, Paul, Tony and Tom.

Room 101

WARNING: this episode contains VERY strong language.

Since we've been so nice in recent weeks, the Cowboys felt like venting for a change. We've got together and fixed upon the eight most rancid, horrible things about video games and movies which are bothering us at the moment and took turns submitting them for dismissal, destruction and obscurity in the bowels of Orwell's Room 101. This is the premise of an amusing BBC show which has run on and off since 1994, originally presented by Nick Hancock and then Paul Merton.

The sorry task for the three hosts not pitching is to defend the wretched things in order to keep them from their grisly fate. Who shall be saved?

There is more bile, venom and cursing in this episode than ever before, so the faint-hearted should steer clear. However, those with an axe to grind about having their time wasted by cinemas and their digital possessions highly priced and badly managed should find much here be tickled with.

Spread the word about Digital Cowboys. We want as wide an audience as possible to listen to our fevered rantings. Email every single one of your friends. Tell the world of our exploits. Post comments on this blog page. Email digitalcowboys@googlemail.com and tell us what you think. Request themed shows. Send us pictures. Get our name branded on your behind. Talk about us 'til the cows come home with everybody you meet...

PS3 Focus/Manhunt 2/Video Game Controversy

Part 1: Seeing as we've been so fabulously rotten about the PlayStation 3 from our first show onwards, we decided to spend a good portion of this show bigging it up. So the first bit is all about the good things that are coming out on PS3 soon.

Part 2: Focuses on the recently UN-released Manhunt 2 on PS2, PSP and Wii. We talk about why everyone from the BBFC to the ESRB have decided to make it pretty much impossible for anybody, mentalist or otherwise, to get hold of a copy of this grisly Rockstar escapade.

Part 3: Discussion about controversial video games in general, and why when you look at the content that people are making a fuss over, it seems to be by and large infantile, tawdry or just really poor taste, rarely connected with any real games of quality, and, when it is - like the infamous "Hot Coffee" incident - it could lift right out of the game without issue. Apologies for our screenshot this week, it was simply too gruesome to miss sharing with the world.

Sequels and why they suck!

This week, we figured we'd take a look at the mass of new sequels emerging onto the big screen this year and why if you examine past efforts it is in fact statistically unlikely that a sequel to a great film will match it, and if it does, the likelihood of a third or fourth being any good at all is almost nothing.

Alex examined 57 trilogies and quadrilogies and found that there were only five that were consistently excellent, six more that lasted to two great films in a row, three that returned to form after a poor second movie, thirteen that only managed one great showing and a remainder of thirty that never even managed that final accolade. If you include all 57 trilogies, this gives a whopping 87% likelihood that a sequel will be worse than it's predecessor. The pie chart above represents only the trilogies which have at least one great chapter.

We cover most of the classics and some of the oddballs and make a few predictions on upcoming threes and fours.

If you've never listened to Digital Cowboys before, this is a great one to start with, as far as putting across the group dynamic goes.

Drop us a line at digitalcowboys@googlemail.com

The Hi-Def Special

HD-DVD and Blu-Ray/Forza Motorsport 2/Ocean's 13

For over a year, the public have had access to movies in the high definition formats HD-DVD and Blu-ray, but most people aren't too familiar with them. The bulk of our show is Alex, Paul and Tony discussing what HD discs mean to the movie-going public and which format might win the war. If you love seeing movies at their absolute best, this show is essential listening.

Part 2 is Tony's review of Forza Motorsport 2 on the Xbox 360. Fans of serious driving simulators will be salivating over this one right now.

We round off with a brief review of Ocean's 13, because it doesn't deserve a long one frankly. We also discuss other things you could buy with your £7.50

OPPO DVD players, as mentioned in the show, absolutely ROCK and can be found here: 
http://www.crtprojectors.co.uk/

Digital Cowboys are of course not affiliated with either company, we just like 'em a whole lot.

The 80s Special/Guitar Hero sequels/Favourite 80s movies/Marie Antoinette

The imminent release of Guitar Hero: Rocks The 80s, coupled with an increasingly acute sense of nostalgia as they near their third decade has left the cowboys in a bit of an 80s mood today.

So after discussing what hot and tasty riffs they want to hear in the new installments of the oft-vaunted, jam-centric video game series, Alex, Paul, Tony and Sam chew over their favourite movies of the 80s and debate whether all the best of them were aimed at kids.

After this, Alex's wife Sharon makes a special appearance to discuss Sofia Coppola's latest cinematic offering, Marie Antoinette. Will the air-headed, pastry-munching, bewigged, despot measure up to Scarlett Johansson hanging out with Bill Murray and examining their unfulfilled aspirations in the perpetually jetlagged Tokyo nights of Lost in Translation? Let's face it, it's not bloody likely!

Listen out for special 80s musical treats.

Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End

This is a full and comprehensive review of the third movie in the Pirates trilogy. The gloves are off and the Cowboys say what they think.

Beware though, thar be spoilers!

Send any emails to digitalcowboys@googlemail.com

Guilty Pleasures/Paprika/Alien

This week, we discuss those films that we know are rubbish, but love anyway. We also answer a couple of Xbox 360 related questions from our listeners.

Sam also reviews Paprika and Alien.

The last part of the show is contained as a separate Podcast.

Check out the end of this show for a secret bonus!

Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta/Zodiac/Black Snake Moan/Another Day at the Office

This is a definite three parter. We go in-depth into the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta, Zodiac and Tom's Script. For ease of use, here are the time locations:

00.00: Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta. Tony goes into detail as to what he's found playing Microsoft's great green hope for the past week. Alex & Paul voice their consternation with the same game.

23.00: Zodiac. Sam and Paul pitch their views on David Fincher's new thriller. Sam also delves into grimy, deep south, character piece Black Snake Moan and Alex is concerned about yet another classic horror remake.

45.00: Another Day at the office. Alex and Paul interview screenwriter Thomas Underhill about his scorching new hitman action/comedy followed by a radio-play style reading of choice excerpts.

28 Weeks Later/Linkin Park/Tori Amos/Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta Delay

... And hell followed with them.

This week, as you've all been very good, we have another guest host, Sam Inglis. Alex chats with him about a new subject for DC: music. Tori Amos and Linkin Park are thrown back and forth. Then we get our teeth into some films including The Page Turner and Half Nelson.
Sam makes a more than welcome addition to our growing array of hosts and hopefully should be returning regularly.

After interviewing Sam, Alex rejoins regular hosts Paul and Tony to lament over the excruciating delay on the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta and a ridiculous bug in the recent downloadable content for Crackdown.

This episode, everybody discusses the new British Horror sequel, 28 Weeks Later, and we get to hear what Sam and Tony thought of Bridge to Terabithia and whether Alex was exaggerating last week.

Paul gives us the lowdown on the rest of the movies on release this week and we round off with a song from DC's Canadian correspondent Mat Lo called Green Eyes. Check out Mat's myspace page here: http://www.myspace.com/matlomusic

Grindhouse/Spider-Man 3/Bridge to Terabithia/God of War 2

This week, it's back to films with a vengeance!

Alex speaks to guest host Mat Lo from Canada about Grindhouse, the new double-bill schlocker from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. Then Alex, Paul and Tony discuss Spider-Man 3 and Bridge to Terabithia.

Then there's God of War 2, TMNT, South Park and the best YouTube video of the hour. Not to mention the most unintentionally hilarious commercial we've seen in ages.

All that AND you get a full song this week with Mark Tschanz' Rattlesnake at the close.

Remember to email us any feedback at digitalcowboys@googlemail.com to tell us what you think of the show and what we could do with it.

Guitar Hero 2/Sunshine/Curse of the Golden Flower

This is a discussion podcast for all you hip cats as obsessed with movies, video games and the internet as we are. Each week we'll be discussing whatever has been consuming our lives. We're not journalists, just average Joe's, and the balance of personalities means we'll hopefully be entertaining and relevant.

For the first episode, amongst other things Tony talks about how addictive Guitar Hero II is, Paul reviews Danny Boyle's Sunshine and Alex rants about Kung Fu epic Curse of the Golden Flower.

Soon we'll be having guest hosts and regular spots for the most popular bits. Drop us a line to let us know how we're doing at digitalcowboys@googlemail.com to tell us what you think of the show, how it could be improved and what you'd like to hear about. Happy listening.

Alex, Paul and Tony

The Music at the beginning and end of the show is 'Love Song' by Mark Tschanz, who has very kindly given me permission to use it in a non-profit capacity. If you can find it, his 1995 album Blue Dog is one of my favourites of all time. You rock, Mark!

http://www.marktschanz.com
http://www.myspace.com/marktschanz