This is apparently how we look in the head of listener Matthew Byott.
He stated in his letter to us that...

"having never seen you guys, i have this mental image in my head:
 
Paul - a bit of a delboy
tony- a short muscular bloke with a large head
alex - has a bowl cut, and wears thick lensed glasses.
 
im sure that this is nothing what you guys really look like."

Unfortunately, he's absolutely right.

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.

Sorry about the lack of updates recently - just a standard list this week:

Siouxsie & the Banshees (3 Pack)
"Hong Kong Garden"
"Kiss Them For Me"
"The Killing Jar"

Blink-182
"Dammit"

Silversun Pickups
"Melatonin"
"Well Thought Out Twinkles"

Psychedelic Furs
"Pretty in Pink"

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.

...of the most recent episode. My PC is being as stupid as a barrel-full of retarded Hitlers. Paul will no doubt work his magic when he comes over to mine tomorrow so episode 74 will be up midday Sunday.

Alex

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.

This week, the Rock Band DLC is Red Hot Chili Pepper's Blood Sugar Sex Magik (full album). One track from the album - Give It Away - is already available on Rock Band 2 (due November 2008 in Europe!).

Blood Sugar Sex Magik

The Power of Equality
If You Have to Ask
Breaking the Girl
Funky Monks
Suck My Kiss
I Could Have Lied
Mellowship Slinky in B Major
The Righteous & The Wicked
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Under the Bridge
Naked in the Rain
Apache Rose Peacock
The Greeting Song
My Lovely Man
Sir Psycho Sexy
They're Red Hot

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.

Due 23 September on Xbox Live and 25 September on PSN:

Moving Pictures by Rush (Full Album) - At last!

Tom Sawyer (Original Version)
Red Barchetta
YYZ
Limelight (Original Version)
The Camera Eye
Witch Hunt
Vital Signs

Also available as individual tracks:

Bad Religion - Sorrow
The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
Hot Hot Heat - Bandages
Kasabian - Shoot the Runner
Sleater-Kinney - You're No Rock N Roll Fun
The Stone Roses - Love Spreads

All master tracks, as per usual.

Awesome week ahead, all in all. Good thing I got a load of MS Points recently... :-D

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.)

Alex needs another week to focus on fatherhood before coming back, but as a taster of what's to come, think retro console review, think the best 16 bit machine ever created.

One word, one (or four) syllable(s): SNES!

After last week's Moving Pictures delay fiasco, Harmonix are set to release the PAX 2008 Collection Pack on 2 September. All tracks are master recordings and will costs 240 MS Points for the pack and 80 MS Points individually. Proceeds from the sale of this Pack between launch and Holiday 2008 will be donated to the Penny Arcade run Child's Play Charity in order to help out children's hospitals around the world. Those tracks in full:

Jonathan Coulton - Skullcrusher Mountain
MC Frontalot - Livin’ on the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe
Darkest of the Hillside Thickets - Shhh…

The Locksley track pack was also hastily put up last Thursday following the announcement of the Rush delay. All masters, 240 MS Points for all 3 or 80 per individual song (these prices are effective until 29 September):

All Over Again
Don’t Make Me Wait
She Does

Digital Cowboys is on hold for a week while Alex recovers from the sudden fortnight-early birth of his baby daughter; Lyra. If you want to blame someone, blame her.

Of course you'll have to get through her dad first.

See you next week for much rejoicing.

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.

Okay, here it goes, here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again...

Due August 12, we have the Roadrunner 6 Pack. The pack will be 480 MSP and single tracks will be 80 MSP for the first month. From that point on the pack will be 800 MSP and the single tracks will become 160 MSP. That list in full:

Airbourne "Runnin’ Wild"
DevilDriver "Clouds Over California"
Dream Theater "Constant Motion"
Killswitch Engage "My Curse"
Machine Head "Aesthetics Of Hate"
Megadeth "Sleepwalker"

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.

This week, some of tracks in the Rock Band DLC selection are sure to at least make one Digital Cowboy a very happy bunny:

Crüe Fest 3 Pack 02 (240 MSP):
Buckcherry "Rescue Me" (80 MSP)
Mötley Crüe "Face Down In The Dirt" (80 MSP)
Sixx AM "Life Is Beautiful" (80 MSP)

Singles:
System Of A Down "B.Y.O.B." (160 MSP)
System Of A Down "Toxicity" (160 MSP)

This week's selection of songs (all masters), due 29 July on Xbox Live, is as follows:

Scars on Broadway - They Say (160 MS points)

Staind - This is It (160 MS Points)

Testament - Electric Crown (160 MS Points)

thenewno2 - Yomp (80 MS Points)

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.

In celebration of today's podcast in which we discuss The American Office, here's a sneak preview of Ubisoft's new tie-in game. 100% pure awesomeness!

Neversoft continue to crank out DLC packs for Guitar Hero III.

Due 24 July on Xbox Live and PSN:

Guitar Virtuoso Track Pack
Joe Satriani "Surfing with the Alien"
Steve Vai "For the Love of God"
Buckethead "Soothsayer"

Pricing: 500 MS Points or £3.99 (probably!).

You know the drill. Due 22 July on Xbox Live...

Nine Inch Nails 3-pack:
Burn
Capital G
Last

Shinedown:
Devour
Junkies For Fame

All master tracks.

Pricing: 440 MS Points for the Nine Inch Nails 3-pack or 160 MS Points per individual track.

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.

For the next three weeks we'll be publishing on Friday instead of Thursday. (Alex is attending anti-natal classes with his wife). See you tomorrow.

DC

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.

There are three questions that a gamer needs to ask him or herself regarding Metal Gear Solid 4. The first is whether you enjoy stealth-action games. The likes of Splinter Cell and Assassin’s Creed have set the bar high in the past few years, largely inspired by this series. Fortunately unlike previous games the rigid enforcement of stealth has been relaxed in all but a few places and a player could quite happily charge through most of the game, guns blazing and not be penalised for it. Unlike Sam Fisher’s previous outings where being spotted results in a mission restart, MGS4 gives you room to breathe and make mistakes. It’s a completely new engine built with the Call of Duty crowd in mind and it genuinely makes a difference in how you play as Snake.

The second question is whether you have played the previous games. You could probably get by on a thorough perusal of Metal gear history online but this is a game built upon a foundation of dense characterisation and vividly realised set-pieces designed to evoke emotion. This cannot be swiftly assimilated in a few pages. To get the full effect you will have at least had to have finished Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation. Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater add texture and history to the saga, which then fully enables the player to feel the true sense of completion in Guns of the Patriots. If you haven’t played any of them, track down Metal Gear Solid on the PS1 or if you own a Wii or GameCube find the remake; The Twin Snakes. It hasn’t been played by many and both have their strengths and weaknesses but the improved graphics may make the transition smoother.

Final question. Do you own a Playstation 3? If the answer is no, does this single game truly warrant the hefty investment? Going back to question two; if you have completed the first three and thoroughly enjoyed them and are hankering after this final instalment then this could indeed be the one killer app to convince you. It is a fantastic game in it’s own right. Almost every facet from previous instalments has been polished up and perfected from the once-fiddly camouflage to the cluttered item selection. Now your sneaking suit mimics your surrounding environment with a single prompt and the in-game menu gives full interface with a vast arsenal of weapons and gadgets, siphoning them into handy quick-select packages. The photo-real graphics and awe-inspiring soundstage push the PS3 to new heights of excellence and the new third-person camera finally makes hunting down enemies a joy rather than a chore. It is in short, everything Metal Gear could and should have been. It will remain Sony’s flagship game for quite some time.

It isn’t without its flaws. Half the game is spent sat passively watching lengthy cut-scenes which will become tiresome if you don’t know your history. Even if you do, in fact even if you have loved every previous moment of Kojima’s unusual blend of melodrama, action and oddball humour you might wish he’d had a better editor to trim a few of them down. The crawl mechanic is still broken and clumsy and you will often hit the deck and struggle to get back up when you are being attacked. However, long-time fans will forgive these as eccentricities of the series and will most likely be glued to the screen in rapt attention as the ghosts of previous adventures are evoked and explored.

In summary, this is so far, without a doubt the best game on Playstation 3. If the clumsy, archaic online mode is anything to go by, the future of the series will NOT be spent there. So whether we see any more from Snake and friends, this moment, frozen in time will mark the noble death and rebirth of the stealth action game.

Rating: 5 Stars

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!

Following our Sega episode I trawled through gaming history on the net and found that Nintendo did in fact release one console flop prior to the Virtual Boy. Behold now the Nintendo 'Video Boy'. This was a combination VCR and Game Boy released only in China and Saudi Arabia in 1993 in direct competition with Sega's Game Gear. Apparently Nintendo were impressed with Sega's combining of their various consoles with popular entertainment platforms and sought to challenge their market dominance in this field. They teamed up with Phillips to release this machine. Ultimately this led to rivalry and a falling out with their other bedfellows; Sony, who went on to make the Playstation.

It failed due to piracy, though several games were planned to make use of the video features, including 'Edit King' and 'Fast Forward Fox'.

Apparently they go for several hundred quid on eBay.

----------------

The Digital Cowboys Game Boy episode: Coming soon.

Alex

It's that time of the week. You know the drill...

Rock Band

Due 17 June on Xbox Live:

“Afterlife” by Avenged Sevenfold (Master, 160 MS Points)
“Critical Acclaim” by Avenged Sevenfold (Master, 160 MS Points)
“Hammerhead” by The Offspring (Master, 160 MS Points)
“Rock N Roll Dream” by Crooked X (Master, 80 MS Points)

Harmonix have also confirmed that the 14 remaining tracks Pixies album Doolittle (which features Wave of Mutilation) will be released on Xbox Live on 24 June. More on that next week.

Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock

Due 19 June on Xbox Live and PSN:

Coldplay Track Pack (All masters, 500 MS Points or £3.99)
"Violet Hill"
"God Put a Smile Upon Your Face"
"Yellow"

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."

After last week's Jimmy Buffett-shaped debacle, and in the wake of Guitar Hero III releasing Motörhead DLC earlier in this week, it's clearly time for MTV Games and Harmonix to step up to the plate with some killer new DLC. That list in full:

MTV2 Pack
"Moving to Seattle" by The Material
"A Clean Shot" by The Myriad
"Bullets & Guns" by Them Terribles

Individual single:
"Girls Who Play Guitars" by Maxïmo Park

All tracks are masters and available for 80 MS points each, with the MTV2 Pack also available for 240 MS points.

I've heard of Maxïmo Park, but that's about it. Your mileage may vary.

'Til next time, Rock Band fans!

Paul

UPDATE: turns out the press release was wrong. The Maxïmo Park track actually costs 160 MS points. No matter: it's a great tune and well worth the points (IMO).

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

Harmonix have announced the Rock Band DLC that will be available on Xbox Live on 3 June. That list in full:

"Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett (master - new original recording)
"Cheeseburger in Paradise" by Jimmy Buffett (master - new original recording)
"Volcano" by Jimmy Buffett (master - new original recording)

"Indestructible" by Disturbed (master)
"Inside the Fire" by Disturbed (master)
"Perfect Insanity" by Disturbed (master)

Those who have already played Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock will no doubt already be familiar with Disturbed, as their track "Stricken" featured in that game.

However, you may be asking yourself (as I was): "Who the f*** is Jimmy Buffett?".  Well, you can find out all about him over at Wikipedia.

Ciao for now.

Paul.

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.

Game: Grand Theft Auto IV
Format: XBOX 360

This review sits beneath a landslide of amassed praise and hyperbole surrounding this game. A title has not received such unanimously vaunting praise since Ocarina of Time on the N64. I could just repeat what everybody else has said and state that this is a strong contender for game of the year and virtually flawless, but in all honesty my experience seems to have varied. In the interests of journalistic integrity I can’t just say it’s perfect. It’s not and that’s fine, nothing really is. So if you need validation for your purchase or a collection of how many incredible new features there are then look elsewhere. If, however you would like to know what “not without its flaws” means (and it has been said by many) then read on.

Before I start, may I first echo the praise for GTA IV’s central character Niko Bellic. He is a prime example of depth in a central protagonist and I never felt frustrated with the way he acted. In fact, his forthright strength of character actively left me discouraged to go on the usual killing sprees, unlike the callous Tommy Vercetti from Vice City. Niko is definitely likable and compelling and many of the characters he meets (especially at the front end of the game) are multi-dimensional and interesting and only a little clichéd. The polish on the format is definitely apparent on start-up. The weight of the character and the vehicles he drives is apparent. The impact of hitting someone with a car or shooting them is amped up and the people behave a little more realistically. You can play for ages and still notice new things. It was only after about twenty hours that I started to see repetition, which gave way to cracks and flaws in the gameplay and eventually full-blown frustration at what eventually became apparent; polish is all that distinguishes this game from the previous iterations.

This is not to say that GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas are not superb games, but they were all based around the same engine, pioneered on the previous generation’s consoles and significantly here not replaced with a new one. This is GTA as we know and love it, but also (if applicable) as we hate it. The old problems are still there. The refined mission system means that if you are (unfairly?) slaughtered on a first attempt you can reload the current task. What it doesn’t counter for are the often monumentally long and boring drives between the islands that you often have to take. The Taxi system is a masterstroke, allowing you to skip many of these for a small fee, but all too often a specific vehicle is needed, necessitating you sitting for five minutes each attempt, having the same (or at least similar) conversations with the same characters who quickly reveal their lack of dimension through the repetition of the odious things they say. Hearing it once would be fine, twice or six times is unbearable. Maybe I wasn’t a sharp enough player. Maybe I shouldn’t have died so often or lost track of my fleeing quarry, but many missions are so trial and error based that you need several attempts just to know what’s around each corner.

In the interests of constructive criticism, rather than picking at the holes in this (admittedly fantastically presented and well planned) game, I will suggest what I’d like to see in the next instalment. For instance I would genuinely like to see the old engine scrapped. It was great for the PS2, functional and fun, but for current gen consoles, with responsive and intuitive characters like Assassin’s Creed’s Altair stalking the bustling streets, we need a model that knows when not to plummet off a rooftop because the camera whipped round to an awkward angle at an inopportune moment. We need a man who knows to lock onto and shoot the thug who is three feet away and emptying a shotgun into him and not stubbornly keep aiming at the one three rooms away behind a crate despite numerous frantic button taps. These are simple things that Rockstar surely will contend with someday. I just wish it had been for this game.

A save system that would allow you to start at the warehouse full of goons at the end of a long drive, not before it, would be nice, along with the ability to get people to be quiet in the car so you can listen to the music. Speaking of which, the soundtrack needs a mention. Over a dozen radio stations and only one or two with anything good on: perhaps a little too much like real life. This is only remarkable because the previous two games have had two of the most outstanding collections of 80’s and 90’s period music in any video game ever, and what’s assembled here seems a little too much like the eclectic mix that would play in a smoky record shop run by a music elitist who loathes anything popular. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by Guitar Hero, but a handful of rock songs just isn’t good enough when swamped by a deluge of reggae, electro, funk and obscure hip hop. Hell, one station is entirely dedicated to Bob Marley and the Wailers. This saddens me as I was genuinely excited about the soundtrack, but the Chatterbox equivalent talk shows always seemed to be playing the same three segments, which meant that by hour thirty, I was switching off the radio and listening to the soundtrack to Layer Cake on my iPod. Next time, Rockstar, don’t be afraid to put on more songs that people know and/or like. Obscure is ok, but nostalgia has more power than novelty.

It was around this thirty-hour mark that the weight of the game began to press down on me. I knew I wasn’t far from the end but it just seemed to be going on forever, with each gruelling mission advancing my percentage of completion a fraction at a time. The fun began to ebb and a cold determination to finish rather than enjoy it began to set in. Again, perhaps if I had taken my time, it would have been better, but the repetitious waltz of chase/hide/shoot took such a hold that I could barely tell one mission from the next. It’s not just that all the missions in this single game follow the same handful of themes, it’s that this is all GTA has ever done and once again, to be constructive, perhaps the next should include more variation, even if this sacrifices the playing time of the core story. There is still plenty to do once you finish the final mission (indeed, this is the game’s key strength) with dozens of Taxi, vigilante and assassination missions, coupled with the usual treasure hunt. But once again, though they have swapped hidden packages for pigeons, it’s the same as it always was: drive/find (/shoot if necessary). The shooting system itself has indeed been refined, but after a time every single shootout became the same. Hide behind a wall or a box, wait for the hoods to show their faces, blast, repeat. I’d have appreciated either variation or simply less of the same. Five standout set pieces would stay with me longer than twenty identikit scuffles.

The much vaunted strong point of the game is the story. True, it starts out great with a thought-provoking series of tangled relationships, and much in the way of exposing the hypocrisy behind championing the American dream whilst despising outsiders who wish to join the party. There is musing on the nature of revenge and starting over and it truly holds your attention, but again it is only to a point. At some undetermined moment the clichés begin to appear until you find yourself sitting in a car with foul-mouthed Mafiosi thinking, “I have so done this before.” Rockstar run out of steam and leave you stranded in a limp reproduction of the Sopranos all too early. Once again, if they have to shorten the story for the next instalment in favour of consistent quality and depth then I certainly won’t be complaining.

The friend system initially is great fun. Spending time with your buddies shooting pool and the like is entertaining, but eventually you find yourself with twelve people calling up and badgering you to go to a strip club with them when it’s (really) three in the morning and all you want to do is sleep. Eventually you realise that the limp bonuses that keeping everybody happy offers simply isn’t worth the hours of your time and the ignore button becomes your new best friend.

Finally the real killer of this game for me, beyond the repetition, beyond the lame back-end characters and forgiving it the engine which still can’t seem to manage to keep the frame rate consistent and a far-off vehicle visible from moment to moment, no, the real killshot for my enjoyment of this game was the frustration factor. I lost count of the number of times I roared at the screen and writhed in my chair as Niko’s speeding car clipped a lamp-post and ground to a halt allowing whoever he was pursuing to escape within five seconds meaning I would have to jump through many hoops again just to get back to that same place and perhaps catch him. The illusion of freedom was never so present in a game. You may be able to go anywhere and do anything (weathering the consequences each time, usually involving a tedious police chase) but you still have to do a hell of a lot of things to the letter if you wish to actually play the game. You can’t cunningly set a trap for the dim-witted hoods you know are going to emerge from a certain door, you have to go in the front way and hit a certain spot. You often can’t shoot an enemy off the back of a motorbike because you must get to a certain place and kill him there and you certainly can’t let any of the core characters die, much less kill them. This leaves you prey to occasionally retarded A.I. both for allies and enemies, and performing the same tasks in the same ways to appease the game mechanic. When the cries of protest at an unfair death outweigh the smiles of joy at the clever digs at American culture and the occasional original mission you have to start questioning the validity of those multiple perfect scores. So this is the tallest order to Rockstar and requires them to go back to the drawing board. How about an open-world game where you really are free?

The saddest thing for me is that of course they won’t do this. The engine they polished may be from the last generation but it keeps the current gen happy. The next instalment will use the same one, the same problems will be present and of course I will buy it on day one, because I’m like that.

I don’t regret buying this. In fact despite the seeming negative tone of this review I would urge everybody with the corresponding console to go out, buy this and play it to death. It is more of an experience than most other games. I have barely mentioned the incredibly fun multiplayer setup, the pure joy of just cruising around the city on free mode with your two best mates in the car seeing what you can jump over and the mysterious downloadable content we’ve been promised for later this year. It is genuinely worth every penny of its price tag. It’s not perfect. We should not demand perfection from our games. But it could be better and to that end Rockstar can take on board what many people have said, and perhaps next time I can truly say that this time… it was different.

Rating: ****

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.

Synopsis:

Multimillionaire arms dealer Tony Stark is taken hostage by mercenaries while supplying U.S. troops in Afghanistan with new hardware. Mortally wounded and kept alive by a jerry-rigged heart operation, he is threatened into constructing similar weapons for his captors. Instead he fashions a crude suit of armour kitted out with flamethrowers and rockets and makes a daring escape bid. Back home in L.A. Tony suffers a crisis of conscience and decides to make an improved suit and track down all of the weapons he has supplied in the past and also take out the armies of fanatics and despots lording over many troubled war zones across the world. However a dangerous business rival has other plans.

Review:

It’s been nearly half a century since Stan Lee and the other creators at Marvel started churning out dozens of highly popular superheroes onto the pages of longstanding comic series, and yet it’s only been the past decade when we’ve seen them appear on our cinema screens. Iron Man marks the first of these that Marvel is financing themselves, and it shows. Right from the off, two things are abundantly clear; firstly that the people who put this together know their comic, its characters and scenarios, and secondly that they are all aware of how to translate the values and themes of a 1960s introductory story into a modern-day setting and make it relevant and entertaining. If every one of their previous efforts had been as good as this, then misfires like the clumsy Daredevil would have brought them truly excellent films as well as gateways to new franchises. Not that they haven’t been able to push most of their licences into sequel territory, regardless of film quality: Fantastic 4 spawned a silver spin-off and even the lumbering, misunderstood Hulk is getting an imminent pseudo-sequel.

Like the best comic book movies, Iron Man takes for granted that its audience is going to be relatively intelligent and spends little time explaining things in detail. In fact, its whip-quick pacing is one of its deadliest weapons, along with a tight script and confident delivery by all. It doesn’t pander to kids or hold back on grim moments, of which there are a surprising number. This is a superhero film set in a more real world than most of its peers. The enemies are by and large tyrannical mercenaries and fanatics in the Middle East, and the film is unflinching in prodding at several touchy issues regarding war and the shameful truth of the arms industry. It shares much with the 2005 film Lord of War in this dispassionate statement of chilling facts, yet like that film never stoops so low as to preach about the evils that are apparent to all who are looking. This is a film for adults and mature kids. The classic rock of the soundtrack makes this clear; if you’re old enough to appreciate AC/DC then you’ll get the best out of this film.

It is a movie of two halves, the first an uneasy war piece with the gritty, sun bleached flavour of David O’Russell’s Three Kings. Downey’s Tony Stark is confronted with the reality of what his weapons do, something he appears to have been ignoring, and the understanding that he has indirectly caused terrible harm. This segueways explosively to the second part where Stark harnesses his techno-genius abilities and channels them into something protective and impossible to ignore. What is interesting is that there is no morality play of right or wrong at work here. It’s not that his weapons have ended up in the wrong hands; he simply realises that they will be used by the strong to take from the weak and this deeply affects him. He does what any man would when facing the dark night of the soul; he builds a kickass suit of flying armour and goes to make amends with awe-inspiring firepower.

The iron suit scenes are all shot with the grace of a concept car show-reel with flawless and seamless CGI effects from ILM, working the impossible so that you forget what you’re watching isn’t real – or at least you don’t query it until you leave the cinema. It culminates in a mech suit clash of the titans that most have compared favourably with Transformers, but which reaches even greater heights of impact because you know there are two men in there being pummelled with motorbikes.

Despite eye-popping effects and edge-of-the-seat flight sequences it is the script and acting that carry the film the most. All too often, big budget effects movies fall back on what could be knocked together from several rejected drafts and the actors don’t seem to engage with the characters, but there is an ease here that is delightfully out of character for a blockbuster. Downey Jr was born to play the role of Stark; his troubled past, drug and alcohol addiction serve him well to characterise this flawed master of technology. Always perfectly timed with a quip or a charming one-liner he is every bit as compelling as Bale’s Batman or Perlman’s Hellboy. He plays him brash and lonely, more at home with machines than other people, with the exception of the spunky Pepper Potts, played just on the wire of damsel in distress by Ms Paltrow. Terrence Howard also makes a welcome turn as Stark’s friend Jim Rhodes, immediately making him likable and frequently exasperated by Stark’s attitude, so that when he glances at a spare suit of silver armour and War Machine fans grip their seats, thoughts of a sequel flash through everybody’s minds. Bridges’ Obadiah Stane starts off as an obvious villain complete with hirsute chin and shiny pate, but eventually surprises in his cold-hearted greed and vicious ability to do anything for an edge in the market. Ending up like Donald Trump meets Megatron, he is a true avatar for iron-hearted corporate greed.

To conclude, as the first of ten planned films funded by Marvel themselves, this is the perfect piece to open the second renaissance of comic-book movies. While not distinctly different in tone from Spider-Man or Batman Begins, this is without doubt a triumph of new attitude. We now know almost all of Marvel’s key characters and they can commence upping the ante with faithful renditions of comic fans favourites and introductions to the uninitiated. The Hulk is set to explode back onto our screens in a few months time and Captain America and Thor are waiting in the wings. However, unlike the past decade’s worth of Marvel films, where one of the key aspects of their universe was impossible due to different distribution rights; i.e. the crossover characters from one book to the other. The next few films look set to break that trend at long last. Downey’s Tony Stark may be appearing in The Incredible Hulk, and there is a scene after the credits in (some screenings of) Iron Man featuring Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury appearing at Tony’s house with a cryptic message about forming a new super-team. I walked out before I could catch this Easter egg, but it’s quite possible that as a long-time Avengers fan, I’d have cheered like a maniac. Instead I left the cinema with a massive grin on my face and Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man? grinding in my ears. For the end credits, it couldn’t really have been anything else.

Rating: *****

Alex Shaw

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.

Name: SingStar
Format: PS3
Developer: London Studio
Release Date: December 5 2007
Reviewer: Alex Shaw

The original SingStar was released on the PS2 in May 2004 to generally positive reviews. It was praised for its easy accessibility, versatile track list and multitude of gaming modes, but also criticised for the very specific nature of its note chart. While it followed the model of a classic karaoke machine, the double-edged sword of its points-scoring nature meant that songs had to be sung in a set manner, allowing you to see exactly how well you were doing but also no real creativity while singing. This meant that if trailer-park chanteuse Christina Aguilera were to attempt her own song, Genie in a Bottle, she would have to ensure she stuck to the exact vocal pattern she created in the original track. This would mean that achieving the coveted perfect 10000 score would prove difficult, even impossible for a showboat like her.

Regardless of this, the game proved a huge success in Europe, spawning many additional song packs including Party, Pop, Rocks!, 80s, 90s, Anthems, Legends and R&B. Its initially girl-oriented audience has widened over the years to the point where the new version has a cool-looking gent on the cover, validating the more self-conscious guy’s inner desire to grab a mic and make like Blink 182.

In December 2007 SingStar was finally given its current generation console update. Some things were different. Some have changed. Gone are the sparse, white menus, replaced with a welcoming HD front-end offering access to the SingStore and your online profile. These are the two key facets of SingStar on the PS3 that set it apart from its earlier instalments. The SingStore itself is at this moment four months old and boasting an impressive girth of 200 downloadable tracks. At 99p a go it is unsurprisingly easy to find yourself loading your cart up every time you pop in, and each time you do an old favourite or something new is brought into the SingStar format in what has proved to be a very pleasing manner. It is this feature above all others that set SingStar on the PS3 up as something different to its predecessors. The initial thirty songs are a fine mix, sure to contain at least one song that everybody knows, but soon you will find yourself hankering for more and it’s the expandability that makes this a truly lasting game; almost a platform in itself.

If you are lucky enough to acquire a PS3 camera then the other feature opens out before you; namely the ever-growing online community of SingStar players each able to download half-minute snippets of themselves performing. You don’t need the camera to view the videos of course, but anybody with a sense of fun would want to get hold of one anyway after seeing what these people can come up with. Some are great, some are plain awful and a few are genuinely inventive, their creators utilising their thirty precious seconds to truly entertain. This reviewer has seen Chewbacca dancing for joy (presumably over his new Star Wars PSP), singing fruit, chin-people, cross-dressers and the most ridiculous pair of pyjama bottoms ever. The interface shares a similar flavour to YouTube and Facebook, allowing you to make comments, keep friends, rate videos and be rated. It gives a grander sense of scale to the game and seeing everyone performing the songs we have in common creates an unusual sense of unity for a console game.

On the subject of performing we come to the great divide that is an undeniable part of the SingStar experience. There seems to be two very distinct ways of playing, depending on which of two ends you want to achieve. Firstly there is performing a song; actually getting up on your makeshift stage and belting out Life on Mars in a manner that would make Ziggy proud. This makes it a fun experience for you and everyone else involved, and can leave you with a score that is mostly admirable. The other way is the calculated discipline of getting your voice to follow the sliding pitch bar without missing a single note. Unfortunately this is where the game falls down for the average person. Trained singers will likely be able to control their voice so that it sounds effectively like the original track, whether they channel the original artist or not, and still hit the notes, but the other 98% of the population will come off sounding more like what Alan Partridge would refer to as a trapped boy. A horrible, monotonous whine will escape your lips, interrupted only by the occasional swiftly stolen breath and instrumental pauses, and everybody in the vicinity will feel their flesh crawl and desperation to leave the room. It is a weighty choice when deciding whether to play for points or for the general fun of the SingStar experience, which when done right can make for a truly memorable party, often captured forever in a grin-inducing scrapbook of pictures and videos thanks to your camera. Those who can genuinely sing need not worry, but if you have that much vocal control, you should be doing it for a living anyway.

It is significant that Harmonix’s Rock Band has a far less stringent requirement from its vocalists on the Easy setting. Since the front man is the mouthpiece of the band, a player desperately playing for points and singing technically correctly but droning abominably would swiftly destroy the rhythm and morale of the rest of the group. However, Rock Band’s note charts have a forgiving flow to them allowing for that all-important performance to shine through. On Expert it’s a different story, though, and many a slapdash vocalist will have to be rescued by their teammates repeatedly should they attempt it. I myself save the high score attempts for times when nobody else is around to feel the pain.

SingStar PS3 is a significant step forward in the series, broadening its horizons extensively. Now when you have your family over you can let them browse through the store until they find something they are prepared to sing and then video them while they’re at it and keep the clip for all time. As far as future instalments go, Vol. 2 is due in June and promises harmonising on duets (singing different lines over each other on tracks like California Dreamin’) and PSP interactivity with the SingStore. Hundreds of tracks will no doubt be released in various European languages (fingers crossed for Cochise by Audioslave, already on a song pack in the USA) but perhaps some editing tools would be a wise element of future DLC, to ensure that the submitted videos remain fresh from those who enjoy channelling their inner star. If you’ve never played before, own a PS3 and this appeals to you then now is the time to take up the mic, but if you’ve been annoyed by the playing system in the past then little has changed to make it easier to get a high score and still sound human. This reviewer’s advice: let the points go and just sing your heart out.

Rating: ****

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.

Well, it's sure been fun bringing these clips to you over the last few days. We have one more left to show you and here it is.

We just finished adding the final sound mix to a crucial scene in the film and couldn't wait to share it with you guys. So, without further ado...

By popular demand, here is another clip from Digital Cowboys - The Movie. We had a superb time in Bombay and it's really great to see the film starting to take shape.

Here is an exclusive clip taken from the forthcoming film, Digital Cowboys - The Movie. We hope you enjoy it.

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.

Due to the extremely busy Christmas period, the Cowboys have been partying extra hard. As a result, Episode 37 will now be released this Thursday (10 January).

We promise it will be worth the wait, however, as it's a thorough run down of the main events in movies and video games in 2007 including Oscars, console launches and trillion-dollar-mergers, as well as a preview of the fantastic stuff coming this year.

See you in a bit.

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.

This weekend I'll be handing out loads of cards pimping this show, so to all newcomers: welcome, come on in and put your feet up.

Rather than listening to the old shows sequentially, have a look at the overview first and check out the shows where we talk about stuff you like. We've covered so much this year that there's bound to be something for everyone.

In the next few weeks we'll be reviewing Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and The Golden Compass, and rounding off the year with a retrospective of some the movies and video games from 2007 that we have not already discussed and a review of the absolute best and worst the year has offered.

Enjoy.

Alex