Feature: Top Ten Classic Game Soundtracks

Game music in the early days is historically remembered as typically either horrendous or genius. However, great game music wasn’t always high art. Numerous classic games boast great theme songs, but lack engaging music throughout the core of the gameplay. Yet, some composers of the 8 and 16-bit eras took on the technical challenges and crafted impressive compositions – music that stayed with us long after we put down the game. These soundtracks are the complete package, entertaining from beginning to end.

10. The Guardian Legend
Composed by: Masatomo Miyamoto (Miyamoto Shant), 1988
The Guardian Legend soundtrack translates the mysterious yet sublime temperament of an alien world into impressively enchanting musical harmonies. Even years after its release, the dramatic tones of the “Crystal Labyrinth” or “Forest Corridor” make us want to explore and defend space all over again.

Review: Black Rock Shooter - The Game (PSP)

The first time I saw Black Rock Shooter was at an introduction to Vocaloid panel at a large anime convention years ago. Supercell’s entrancing electro beats played over the elegantly animated illustrations by Ryohei Fuke a.k.a. Huke, transporting me to an excitingly mysterious new world. When Black Rock Shooter: The Game hit the PlayStation Network in North America, I picked it up hoping for a more interactive trip down the Black Rock rabbit hole. Though lacking the visual visceral magic that made the music video so enchanting, the game succeeded in pulling me in.

Interview: Ted Price (Insomniac Games, FUSE)

At a recent press event for the game Fuse, I sat down with Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price (TP). We discussed FUSE, freedom of speech and the next generation of consoles. My interview was recorded and his answers have been transcribed/paraphrased.

Big thanks to Ted for talking to us!

AE: Has the game Fuse changed significantly from what you originally envisioned compared to the final product?
The core concept has remained consistent. We wanted to create a core cooperative game that was a blast for one through four players.

There are always four heroes playing with you whether they are controlled by humans or AI. We knew that when it came to coop and humans playing together, that we had to raise the bar in some way In terms of themes, the game had always been about a team of agents infiltrating enemy strongholds in pursuit of a volatile banned substance. While the window dressing for the game has changed a bit, those core concepts have remained consistent.

Preview: Fuse *Hands-On* (360, PS3)

Weapons, weapons and more cool weapons! As a company, that's the general theme of Insomniac Games (IG). Starting with Ratchet and Clank and through the Resistance franchise, both series have featured cool weapons. I still remember seeing the commercial for the original Ratchet and Clank where several guys were sitting in their backyard testing out a weapon called the "morpher" on one of their friends and turning him into a chicken. It was pretty cool and it was my introduction to Insomniac Games.

For the past decade, IG have found themselves working exclusively for Sony on the Ratchet and Clank and Resistiance franchises. A few years ago, IG announced that they had joined forces with Electronic Arts to develop a a multi-platform game whose core focus was on creating a cooperative experience.

Preview: Saints Row IV (360, PC, PS3)

Saints Row IV is setting itself up as one of those games that will feature a launch trailer that is neatly diced by one-off quotes from previews divorced of context and box art that will have at least two quotes on the back saying lines like:

"Saints Row IV is like Prototype 2 with a sense of humour!"
"Taking ridiculousness to astounding new levels!"
"A pimped-out sandbox world!"
"FUN!"
"Super orgasmic!"
"The action is never flaccid!"
"Juvenile? 100%"
"Volition's got your stimulus package right here!"

And so on.

Review: Metro: Last Light (PC)

Growing up at the tail end of the Cold War like I did, Soviet Russia was this weird other place that part of me wanted to visit, if only to say that I'd been there and liked what I had in America better.

Russian culture, as far as I could discern from pre-Revolution through post-glastnost, was weird but not that weird.  And being part of the last Cold War generation, as much as I wondered how America might change after a nuclear war, I was equally curious how Russia might change.  I seem to have found one possible scenario in Metro: Last Light, and it's a decidedly Russian experience.  Which is to say, weird but not that weird.

Preview: Remember Me (360, PC, PS3)

I'm a sucker for "lost memory" stories even though I think it's a trope full of lazy cliché, especially in games. Too often it's a matter of convenience and makes it feel like the designer didn't quite know how to begin a story so he or she washes the main character up on a beach with a healthy case of amnesia. The character innately knows how to summon a two-headed, acid-breathing dragon, SURPRISE, which is the only way to defeat the evil sorcerer, SURPRISE!

The player is never surprised.