Sorry this got to you on Monday rather than Sunday. When we finally finished editing this ultra-long episode, Edie was exhausted and needed sleep. But there was quite a lot for Hawkes and Edie to talk about this week. And, with Hawkes now able to freely use his filthy mind and mouth with freedom, it felt like old times. ... good times. This week, Edie and Hawkes catch up on the rest of gaming news, including lawsuits, Gears of War 2 info, a new Trek-flavored MMO, and beating the dead horse that is E3 2008. Topics and links after the jump.... This week, Hawkes and Edie discuss:

• Good news and bad news for Gears of War 2, with info coming out of this week's ComiCon in San Diego. The collector's edition is a spendy $130, but some GoW2 achievements will be linked to your GoW1 achievements. Yay, player loyalty.
• Cryptic Studios issues a help-wanted ad. Unfortunately, in it they leaked (maybe unintentionally) an upcoming Star Trek MMO they're working on. Bonk, bonk on the head!
• Are you a big enough Halo fan to make a pilgrimage to a Bungie fan fest? I guess Frank O'Connor is looking for something to say after Microsoft pulled the rug out from under Bungie's big "countdown" annoucement.
• How do you kill that which has no life? Cut the attendance, close the main floor and call it E3 2008! Peter Moore says, after this year's "soulless" event that E3 should be open to the public.
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is rumored to be dropping on September 23. Seriously? Isn't our end-of-year gaming dance card already pretty full?
• The Itagaki v. Tecmo soap opera got a lot more interesting this week, with the release of secret audio tapes, documents, and the withdrawl of a gag-order. Kotaku's coverage is pretty extensive, and you gotta check the program if you want to know the players.
• Thank yous to iTunes our commenters! If you haven't already, don't forget to do that!

Enjoy.

Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we'd have to bleep so much of our "clean" podcast... Simon DI is out of town, sunning himself down in Mexico way, so Cooper Hawkes steps in this week to discuss the post-E3 gaming news. It was all going so well until Edie mentions Wii Music, and then all heck broke loose. Let's just say Hawkes went into a fit of obscenities that would make George Carlin swoon. Lots of news, and given that we need to post this ASAP (hey, Project Runway is on...) we won't be posting any links or show notes. Just cover your ears and enjoy the bleeps!

Originally, we were just going to post this as a straightforward interview. And then all you listeners started speculating. Who did Edie talk to? Was it CliffyB? Was it Will Wright? So rather than wreck the surprise by just telling you, you're just going to have to listen. Suffice to say, it was an honor and a privilege to spend a half-hour with this gentleman as he demoed his hotly anticipated upcoming title. It was an unusual amount of time for someone of his stature to spend at a crazed event like E3, particularly at the end of the show when nerves are frayed and exhaustion is setting in. But indeed, he did. And it was a joy. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as Edie did.

We hit the midway point for E3 2008 today. Being the first day without a major press conferece, Wednesday is all about hitting the games. And there are so many games here it's impossible to do one small woman (or a large one for that matter) to hit them all. Today, Edie did her best, however. Hawkes and Edie wrap up the day's hands-on experiences. The games they cover include:

• Left 4 Dead
• Facebreaker
• Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zahir expansion pack
• Velvet Assassin
• Legendary
• Raven Squad
• Monster Madness for the PS3
• Battlestations: Pacific
• Farcry 2
• Tom Clancy's Endwar

Wow. That's a lot of games. And tomorrow there will be more to come. Enjoy, and get ready for the final day of E3 tomorrow night. More games, more impressions, and more E3.

It's day two of E3, though technically it's the first day. Hawkes and Edie round up Sony and Nintendo press briefings, which were -- let's just say they spanned the scope of impressive to laughable. Also, we chat about Edie's hands-on with Bethesda's Fallout 3 and Sega's Total War for the PC. Rather than spending a bunch of time telling you all about it, why don't you just listen. Don't worry, Hawkes does get pissed off. Yay.

As promised, the first installment of the exclusive E3 coverage. Hawkes and Edie discuss Monday's events (thus the .1 of the episode number). Or should we say "event," as the annoucements of Microsoft really ruled the day. Just when we think we had the big green monster all figured out, they throw a curve ball and blow our socks off. Enjoy our take on the Microsoft press briefing, the leaks and rumors, and all the day's events. Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the .2 episode (aka: Tuesday).

Hey guys. So, it's less than 24 hours before one half of the GameHounds crew jets off to Los Angeles for E3. So time is short. Short enough, in fact, that we really don't have time to do proper show notes for this episode, which unfortunately was recorded later than usual on Saturday night. Here's the quick rundown: Edie and Hawkes discuss this week's demise of Flagship Studios (Hellgate: London), the suspected lack of a price drop for the PS3, Xbox Pro's price slashing, iPhone games, a possible new Xbox 360 motion controller, Animal Crossing and Punch Out for the Wii, the newly announced third-party professional Rock Band drumset (and how you can do it yourself for about the same price), and the people we hope will STFU at this year's E3 as presented by this CrispyGamer.com article. We also read the winner of the World of Warcraft Horror Story contest, which nabbed its author a 60-day pre-paid game card. Enjoy. And don't forget to tune in Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for our exclusive E3 coverage, with podcasts each night from Edie and Hawkes. A lot of news is about to crack, so don't miss it. Check out the podcasts and our news postings on the website.

You know, we knew it wouldn't last. Hawkes swore off the hate a mere three weeks ago, and this week he rediscovers that rancid little black part of his soul. Edie also finds a good reason to be pissed off, and not just because the one-week mark to E3 and the holiday weekend combined to dry up any hint of really hard gaming news. Welcome back, Mr. Hawkes. That hate eats your stomach, but we love you more for it. Topics and links after the jump... This week, Hawkes and Edie discuss:

• Our contest for a 60-day pre-paid World of Warcraft card contiues. Send your "WoW horror story" to gamehounds@gmail.com.
• Tecmo releases new DLC armor for Ninja Gaiden II. It'll cost ya a couple bucks each and they do NOTHING!! Two words: Horse armor.
• Sony responds to the 2.40 update ho-down. We expected to hear a lot more complaining from the masses. Maybe that means it wasn't so bad after all?
• Peter Moore spoke about EA Sports on the PC -- or more specifically how they're NOT coming to the PC. This is our own fault, boys and girls.
• Oasis' Noel Gallagher says knife violence in England is probably due to video games. Actually, sir, I think being a raging alcoholic and Liam Gallagher's brother is a contributor to violence. However, we actually have verifiable proof. You, not so much. Shut your piehole and go make some more derivative music.
• San Jose Mercury News gaming and pop-culture columnist Mike Antonuccci is a complete and total asshat. He's also an embarassment to journalists and writers everwhere. Read his list of the "top 10 video games of the first half of the year," and you'll want to puke. Don't forget to read his "caveats" as to why Ninja Gaiden and Metal Gear Solid 4 aren't on the list (and why the Wii Fit is). Don't forget to leave a comment,kids. Too bad he doesn't have a book on Amazon.

Enjoy.

Humpdate time, kiddies! Simon DI and Edie Sellers once again tear up your Wednesday listening with another episode of the Humpdate. This is an unusually long episode of Humpdate, rivaling that of a regular GameHounds show. Weirdly enough, it's full of gaming news -- a real rarity at this time of the year. The pre-E3 doldrums aren't hitting like they usually do, which is good for you and for us. Lots of news this first half of the week, including Sony's botched system update, the next piece of plastic you won't be buying, and the debut of a new segment of the Humpdate, Simon's Rock Update -- all you'd ever want to know about Rock Band/Guitar Hero/Rock Revolution news. Topic list and links (yeah, really... links!) after the jump. This week, Edie and Simon discuss:

• At midnight this morning, Sony finally released its 2.40 update for the PS3, fixing the XMB problems and introducing trophies. At midnight-plus-20-minutes, PS3s around the country froze up on reboot and bricked faster than a mason's daughter. The update's been pulled, but not before some owners reformatted their hard drives. Whoops!
• The next Tony Hawk game will have a "new fancy plastic peripheral" that's not made by Neversoft (the builder of Rock Band's "fancy plastic peripherals." Or so says one rumored spy for EGM. It's a rumor that supports the Intellisponse leak a few weeks back intimating a "motion-sensing board controller."
• This is Vegas is delayed until 2009. But it's supposed to be playable in two weeks at E3. Oh, we're so confused.
• GameTap will offer American McGee's Grimm episodes for free the first 24 hours they're available, beginning July 31. We're very okay with this.
• The Dead Space team at Electronic Arts if holding a sweepstakes for their hand-picked top 100 sci-fi and horror DVDs, which they used for reseaching the title. Yes, one lucky winner will take home all 100 DVDs of great thrillers! Find the entire list here, and enter the sweepstakes by going to this link. Hey, why are we telling you?!? WE WANT THAT!
• Another great GameHounds contest for a World of Warcraft 60-day pre-paid game card, donated by Alex the Deadite. We love you guys!
• Simon's Rock Update (the brand new segment featuring Simon DI, who else?) discusses the latest news in Rock Band and Guitar Hero, including compatability issues.

Enjoy.