Wow, you're in for a treat this week, folks. I'll give you a little hint: you get to hear Tyler eat his own sock at the end of the show.

Join Russ, Tyler and Steve as they traverse controversial ground like Infinity Blade, Fallout New Vegas, NFS: Hot Pursuit, Red Dead Redemption, Michael Jackson Experience and X-Men: Arcade.

Music: Summer in Savannah by Iron and Wine 

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Continuing a long-standing tradition of giving away free music in order to get people hooked - like socially-acceptable crack addicts - Deep Elm Records are offering up a new sampler. The World Won't Spin Forever features fifteen full tracks, which consist of one track from almost every new release in the label's 2010/2011 catalogue.  The sampler contains a wide variety of different music types, and should manage to cater to a wide variety of tastes.

To check it out, you can either stream the album in its entirety, or download a copy (in exchange for providing your e-mail address) here. no comments

We at the The Easy Mode aren't all video games and indie rock, so right now we want to turn you on to some new hip-hop coming out of Gainsville, FL by an artist named Dave Raps. Here is what his manager Vee Nyce told us: 

His name is Dave Raps and he's outta Florida, and his latest mixtape is out right now and it's called "Too Unknown". The mixtape is hosted by Ashley Outrageous and it's his third project for this year. He's currently recording his EP. He already has two videos out for this mixtape, and there are two more coming in a few weeks. no comments

I don't know how this happens, but every year I find myself listening to more and more music. You'd think that after a while my brain would just be full; but here I am, year after year, chipping away at the music world and becoming the biggest, most pretentious music snob on the internet. And here is my annual middle finger to the world - my favorite albums of the year.

My previous top albums lists: 2009 / 2008 / 2007 / 2006

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Another week older (Russ, Tyler) and wiser (me), we're back for another instalment of the Easy Mode Podcast. Sit back, relax and let the sweet, sweet nectar of our voices penetrate the inner sanctum of your earholes. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Plenty of things to talk about this week: Splinter Cell: Conviction, Infinity Blade, Red Dead, New Vegas, Kinect Sports, Dance Central, ESPN, Black Ops, other non-gaming related media aaaaand of course, your wonderful listener questions.

Music: Chandeliers by Summer Fiction

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Sometimes it's strange how information comes to you; I stumbled upon post-hardcore band Young Legionnaire completely by accident (and mistaking them to be a new band) a couple of weeks ago, but it wasn't until I was writing this post that I realised just how much of all-star line-up the band possesses. Consisting of the singer/guitarist from The Automatic (and formerly yourcodenameis:milo), and the bassist from Bloc Party, Young Legionnaire formed a year ago, and are currently in the process of putting the finishing touches to their debut album.

Back in August, the band recorded four tracks for a "BBC Introducing" session - two of which would later be released on the "Colossus" single - and judging by the quality of the songs on offer here, next year's album might just be one to watch out for!

To download the session, click here. no comments

You know the part of the podcast where we skip the first 20 minutes of the show NOT due to technical difficulties? Yeah, that was totally on purpose.

Of the stuff that did make the podcast, we talked about Kinect, Black Ops, New Vegas, ODST, Splosion Man, Mass Effect DLC and your listener questions.

Music: Heart in Your Heartbreak by The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

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Move over Beatles, The Easy Mode Podcast catalog is now exclusively available on the iTunes music store. For free.

The fab four talk slash argue Call of Duty: Black Ops, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Mass Effect 2 and Metroid: Other M again for some reason. Plus we take your listener questions to kick things off.

Music: Bone Dry by A B & The Sea

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On their debut self-titled EP, Tall Ships showed themselves to be something of a musical curio; the EP itself a rare oddity. Consisting of four songs, each as different to the next as could possibly be, Tall Ships not only defied categorisation, but established themselves to be a truly unique band with a vast amount of potential.

On the band’s second EP, There Is Nothing But Chemistry Here, Tall Ships seem content to hammer home two points; that they still refuse to conform to any single musical category, and that they have an almost unnatural talent for writing songs with enormous finishes. Of the five tracks available on the EP, practically all end with outros so monumental that it’s hard not to become captivated by the EP, and its ridiculously catchy songs.

However, it’s not all good news, as while the outros will likely ensnare the most skeptical of listeners, the songs themselves sometimes feel a little underwhelming in comparison, and on a couple of the tracks, the main bulk of the song feels like little more than padding in the lead up to the epic final flourish. This is especially true of the track “Ode To Ancestors” which, whilst not a bad song, contains some truly cloying lyrics, but later gives rise to one of the best endings on the EP – a chorus of vocal harmonies that builds, track upon track, before reaching a triumphant crescendo, just in time to leave the chorus permanently stuck inside your head.

It could easily be said that There Is Nothing But Chemistry Here represents both the best and worst work of Tall Ships’ – admittedly short – career so far, and whilst that would technically be true, it would also be doing the band something of a disservice; when the EP is at its worst, it’s little more than mildly disappointing, but when it’s at its best, such as on tracks “Plate Tectonics” and “Snow”, it’s something truly special and unique. Whilst the EP may have a couple of rough spots, it does so many things right that it becomes remarkably easy to overlook its faults. no comments

Even though the podcast turns the big three-zero, don't expect any decrease in penis jokes. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PENIS JOKES.

Plenty of games to talk about this week. The guys discuss Call of Duty: Black Ops, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Mass Effect, Deadly Premonition, Mafia II, Metroid: Other M and Undead Nightmare. As always, we finish off by taking your listener emails.

Music: My Body by Young the Giants

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