It’s lucky Episode 7 of the GamerPops PopsCast, starring GamerPops Managing Editor Jeff Peeters and Editor-In-Chief Greg Picken. The boys are in a bit of a mood this week as news items like Final Fantasy XIV’s playtime limiting system, MAG’s additional player slots, and new Xbox controllers and Live pricing get scrutinized heavily. The always informative and popular Roundtable segment takes on the used game sale controversy, and the boys talk a little Mafia II. All that and more in another exciting episode of the PopsCast.

We’ve been hearing and seeing bits and pieces about SouthPeak Games’s upcoming Battle vs. Chess game and its unique additions to classical chess in passing. Today’s promotion from SouthPeak gave us much more specific news about the stuff you’re really interested in, being release date, price, and of course, box art. Battle vs. Chess is releasing for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on September 28th, and you’ll be able to capture it for $39.99 on consoles, $19.99 on PC. The budget price is a refreshing change, and will justify a long look at this title from the rank and file, as it sounds on the surface at least like there will be a lot of gameplay for the money for you and your mates.

In addition to classic chess, Battle vs. Chess will  include new variations in piece placement such as ‘Madness Placement’ where pieces are randomly placed all across the board and ‘Tactical Placement’ in which pieces are manually placed by the player pre-game, only becoming visible to the opponent once the game starts. Battle vs. Chess will also include over 50 puzzles and scenarios which can be found in a full-featured Campaign Mode and a bonus Puzzle Mode.  Finally, Battle vs. Chess will have several modes which challenge players to throw the traditional strategies of the game out the window and defeat one another in full-on head to head battles in ‘Slasher’ and ‘Duel’ modes.

“Chess is one of the oldest competitive games in the world and has a huge global fan-base. Battle vs. Chess breathes new life and new game-play into a game that has thrilled millions of players over the years.” said SouthPeak Product Manager Jonathan Rosales. “With the innovations that Battle vs. Chess brings to the table, a full-fledged tutorial system for new players and the utilization of both the Fritz 11 chess engine and a corresponding real-world ranking system, Battle vs. Chess is sure to give gamers of all ages and experience new and original challenges.”

Battle vs. Chess is rated T for Teen and will be available September 28th on PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows.

Don’t know exactly where they came from, but a poster on NeoGAF has uncovered a treasure trove of images for Batman: Arkham City. And they look capital A Awesome. What they show is that the developer Rocksteady seems to be preparing more of the same, which is a very, very good thing. These guys nailed what a Batman game should be with Arkham Asylum, and look to be repeating the action and mayhem on a larger scale, this time with Catwoman and Two-Face playing prominent roles.

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I don’t remember Borderlands winning a lot of Game of the Year awards (there is at least one according to Wikipedia), but why should that stop 2K and Gearbox from dropping a Game of the Year edition on us? The Borderlands Game of the Year Edition will hit retail on October 12, 2010 for XBox 360, PS3, and PC.

Borderlands is a game that I would definitely call stupid fun. And I mean that in a good way. It was, without a doubt, my favorite way to shoot people in the head in 2009, marrying the rampant item collection of Diablo with four player co-op online play and just the right amount of RPG elements. The only thing it lacked was what we in the industry call “a story”, but that didn’t really get in the way of the fun.

The Borderlands Game of the Year Edition will include the original game, plus all four DLC packages (The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx and the recently announced but not yet released Claptrap’s Robot Revolution.

If I didn’t already own the game, I’d definitely be picking up this edition. But it goes without saying, this one definitely ain’t for the kids.

Disney Interactive Studios have announced not one, but two collector’s editions of their highly anticipated fall releases, TRON: Evolution and Epic Mickey.

The collector’s set for TRON: Evolution, which arrives on December 7 for the PS3 and Xbox 360, will include an exclusive TRON light cycle collective manufactured by Sideshow Collectibles, and feature special packaging.

The Epic Mickey collection will include a five inch collectible Disney Epic Mickey figurine, Wii console skins and a Wiimote faceplate, plus a bonus behind-the-scenes DVD. Which ironically, your Wii can not play.

As a member of the DC Universe’s trinity (alongside Superman and Batman), Wonder Woman should be a vital and integral part of stories told about the Justice League. For whatever reason, and you could easily come up with a lengthy list, she’s never quite attained the same cultural foothold as her peers, never quite moving past the campy Lynda Carter TV show. But at least on the plus side, she’s not Aquaman.

Here are a few images of Wonder Woman from DC Universe Online, coming to PS3 and PC this fall.

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WiiWare

Tales of Elastic Boy – Mission 1
Publisher: Lexis Numerique
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 600 Wii Points™
Description: Tales of Elastic Boy offers a totally innovative and unique style of game play that takes full advantage of the Wii Remote™ controller. To fulfill your quest and save your planet, you’ll have to travel through many lands, defeat various enemies, meet unexpected friends and solve tricky puzzles. Play in single-player mode or with your friends and discover funny games. Use your stretching arms to swing and punch, roll as fast as you can or jump onto your enemies. Based on a powerful physics engine, Tales of Elastic Boy offers a truly original and entertaining gaming experience that’s easy to learn but challenging to master.

Nintendo DSiWare

Cosmos X2
Publisher: Saturnine Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Pilot the Cosmos X2 to defend your planet against an alien invasion. Battle your way through the solar system to the alien home world to defeat their army. Equip your ship with two weapons of your choice and switch between them at any time during battle. Your active weapon takes damage when your ship gets hit. Defeating enemies regenerates energy in your inactive weapon. The key to your survival lies in finding a balance in your weapon usage. Battle your way through six levels of action and test your skills with three difficulty levels. Three bonus modes provide additional challenges.

myNotebook: Pearl
Publisher: Nnooo
Players: 1
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: myNotebook allows you to take notes wherever you go. Just pop open your Nintendo DSi system and jot down your thoughts. Make a list and cross it off, or play your favorite pen-and-paper games (games not included). You can even personalize your notebook by drawing on the cover and changing the paper type with 24 different unlockable paper styles. Use the pen or pencil to make your notes or doodles and then erase the bits you don’t like. With five ink colors, you’ll always be able to make your notes and doodles look stylish.myNotebook also includes 128 pages to write on and the ability to export your pages to your Nintendo DSi Photo Album.

Music on: Learning Piano
Publisher: Abylight
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: An entire orchestra follows your performance of 15 great classics. By playing each day, your ability may increase. Earn the bronze, silver and gold medals for each song, completing each different level. A simplified music score is shown on the upper screen and a full piano keyboard appears on the touch screen, guiding beginners note by note on their first steps. Learn works by famous composers including Beethoven, Pachelbel, Bach, Strauss and Verdi.

Nintendo announced Monday that starting Friday, September 12th the DSi and DSi XL systems will receive a price drop to $149.99 and $169.99 respectively. One wonders if this is in anticipation of the 3DS info that is rumored to hit in mid-September. Does this mean the 3DS price will be around $200? Hopefully, because it’s hard to see myself spending $250 on any portable system.

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Nintendo is dropping the suggested retail price of its NintendoDSi^™ and Nintendo DSi XL^™ video game systems. Effective Sept. 12, the new suggested retail price of the Nintendo DSi system will be $149.99, while the new suggested retail price for the Nintendo DSi XL system will be $169.99. The Nintendo DS^™ Lite model will remain at a suggested retail price of $129.99. The Nintendo DS family of video game systems is the best-selling in the history of the U.S. and worldwide. The new prices offer consumers tremendous value for their money while providing access to the best portable video game experiences possible.

“We know shoppers want to get the maximum value out of every dollar they spend,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Our new Nintendo DSi prices make it easier than ever for consumers to access the tremendous variety of games, applications and social tools on the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL systems.”

The Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL systems offer consumers access to more than 1,300 packaged games and more than 200 downloadable games. Both systems feature two built-in cameras and photo- and sound-manipulation software that provide for a more social experience. Users can wirelessly upload photos to Facebook with the touch of a button (wireless broadband Internet access required). The Nintendo DSi XL system, which features a screen that is 93 percent larger than that of the Nintendo DS Lite, comes pre-loaded with software like Brain Age^™ Express: Math, Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Flipnote Studio^™, Photo Clock and the Nintendo DSi Browser.

Through the end of July, total Nintendo DS family hardware sales are more than 42.3 million in the United States alone, according to the NPD Group. Recent and upcoming software releases for the Nintendo DS family of systems include DRAGON QUEST^® IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies^™ (now available), Professor Layton and the Unwound Future^™ (Sept. 12), Pokémon^™ Ranger: Guardian Signs (Oct. 4), Art Academy^™ (Oct. 25), Mario vs. Donkey Kong^™: Mini-Land Mayhem! (Nov. 14) and Golden Sun^™: Dark Dawn (Nov. 29).

Remember that Nintendo DSi features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendodsi.com.

That’s right, folks. It’s the triumphant return of the GamerPops Game of the Week. Finally, you can breath that sigh of relief you’ve doubtlessly been holding in for the last few weeks. It’s go time, baby.

This week sees no shortage of quality candidates, what with Castle Crashers making its way to the PS3 finally, or Valkyria Chronicles II for the PSP dropping. Oh, and apparently there’s a little title coming out you may have heard of. Something called Metroid: Other M. I’ve heard it’s kind of a big deal. But we’re going against the grain here at GamerPops because, well, it’s what we do. Our unanimous choice for Game of the Week is none other than (NO NOT CAMP ROCK: THE FINAL JAM!!!!!) Disney’s Guilty Party, exclusive to the Nintendo Wii, one of the most anticipated family titles of the year. We’ve been waiting for this one since we saw it at E3 and at a special preview event back in July. My whole family is looking forward to it, and so should yours.

Apple has another one of their shrouded-in-mystery events scheduled for September 1, with many possibilities for what might be unveiled. New Apple TV? New iPods? New Macbooks? TV Show rentals on iTunes? About the only thing it can’t be is a new iPhone.

Personally, what I’d want most (and I think the odds of this are about 100%) is seeing a new iPod Touch that’s more in line what the iPhone currently offers, with the dual cameras for FaceTime, the improved hardware for gaming, etc. Because I can justify buying an iPod Touch a lot easier than I can justify the monthly costs for an iPhone. Plus, given the options available, I’d take a iPod Touch and a cheaper Android phone anyway, or stick with the Blackberries, since I use my phone mostly for GamerPops email.

Though there’s still a part of me that would like to have an iPad. Not because I need it, but because I think my 3 year old and 1 year old would have a lot more fun destroying that.