Music to my Ears: The Greatest Video Game Music

 Album Title: The Greatest Video Game Music
Composer/Band/Performers: London Philharmonic Orchestra
Released: 07/11/2011

Final Verdict: 9.3/10

This is like music to my earholes.

Internet points if you can figure out who I'm quoting.

But this. Really.

Look, music in a game is something that stays with you forever, sometimes subconsciously, sometimes not. Sometimes it'll come up while you're on the bus, and you'll start humming, and then your day feels a little more epic because you have a theme song going.

BUT THIS.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra really did an outstanding job with the creation of this album, The Greatest Video Game Music though maybe not so much on the title. Points for originality there guys, it really means a lot. (Though I GUESS it does convey what the album offers in a pretty straightforward way.)

The song list is as follows:

1. Advent Rising: Muse
2. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2: Theme
3. Angry Birds: Main Theme
4. Final Fantasy VIII: Liberi Fatali
5. Super Mario Bros: Theme
6. Uncharted - Drake's Fortune: Nate's Theme
7. Grand Theft Auto IV: Soviet Connection
8. World of Warcraft: Seasons of War
9.  Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty Theme
10. Tetris Theme (Korobeiniki)
11. Battlefield 2: Theme
12. Call of Duty Modern Warfare: Main Menu Theme
13. Mass Effect: Suicide Mission
14. Splinter Cell: Conviction
15. Final Fantasy: Main Theme
16. Bioshock: The Ocean On His Shoulders
17. Halo 3: One Final Effort
18. Fallout 3: Theme
19. Super Mario Galaxy

I know what you're thinking. Or at least I hope I know what you're thinking, and it better be...

 

I know right? Actually, let me tackle a few of these points which aren't ALL as glorious as I've been putting them out to be. This album isn't flawless. Just nearly.  It titled itself The Greatest Video Game Music, but even that can be dissected. Is it supposed to mean the greatest video game music performance? Or the greatest music from games? Or the music from the greatest games? But really this is about a CD so I don't know why I'm so stuck on the title.

As for the playlist. I enjoyed that they didn't stick exclusively to the classics, but incorporated some underloved game music along with the classics, even giving odd and interesting swings to unexpected additions. Like Angry Birds.

All of you get this straight. I HATE Angry Birds. I get it, it's a nifty game, the physics are great, it's addictive and simple and fun. Why do I hate it? Because it's being crammed down my throat at every turn! I've seen Angry Bird shirts, plush, toys, board games, keychains, mouse pads.... It's just. A little. Meaningless. App! It's nothing compared to the modern works of art being released on our current generation of consoles, but for some reason it overshadows all of them! HOWEVER. I have to say how pleased I am with the orchestral production of the theme. It's fun, and simple and iconic enough to bring those frustrated fowls to mind. At the same time it helps lighten the mood from the often darker, more 'epic' themes making up the rest of the album.

Other then that I really don't have many complaints. I was neither surprised nor overly thrilled at seeing the Super Mario Bros, Tetris and Zelda Themes that seem to haunt EVERY SINGLE video game music compilation of any sort, but it's always a comforting sound to hear, and usually opens up for the flow of memories, especially with such beautiful interpretations.

There is also two Call of Duty Modern Warfare pieces (because it's clearly impossible to updo CoD in artistic performance, amirite?) and a Battlefield piece, which makes for an awful lot of war-type epic music. Same goes for Final Fantasy. The variety may have been upped a tiny bit by substituting some of the clones for very different titles. Like something from Street Fighter, or Metroid might have been welcomed. But I digress. We can't all share the same taste in games and there's always bound to be someone unhappy with the outcome.

One last little tick I have is the Bioshock song. For those who don't know Bioshock is my bible when it comes to games. I compare everything to it, I use it as an example of a wonderfully interpreted game, it's my beloved #1. Although my feelings for Bioshock are honest and pure, the song they picked just falls short. It's just not as impressive as the rest. It kind of just sneaks in there unnoticed. This could have been so grand, but it just... missed.

This album brings the cheerful bird slinging in with the soviet gangsters, it makes you want to run and gun as much as skulk around in the dark nooks, stalking your enemies. It makes you want to be a part of a grand adventure, it makes you want to go galloping in the breeze... It'll give you chills and take you away to wonderful and exciting lands. So you might not want to listen to it on the bus, because when I did people looked at me like I was crazy. I was just pretend sword-fighting. Only a little.

I am going to give this 9.3 gothic chants out of 10 because as much as I can bitch about Call of Duty getting a spotlight they really did a bang up job interpreting every single piece on that album and it really does make you feel all sorts of things. Except Bioshock, because it was bad.

Unboxing Day: Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls V Collector's Edition

Contents of: Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls V Special Edition

Final Verdict: 8.5/10

Keep it in your pants kids- I'm going to review the contents of the special edition version of the game, not your precious little baby itself. Not yet. That will come later. (You could at least notice I changed my hair color. Geeeeez.)


But it's been done, Aerie, Skyrim is practically old news.

Leave me alone and let's get on with this!

I came to own Skyrim's Collectors Edition pretty late because of 3 very good reasons. 1. I was broke. 2. I refused to get anything but the Collector's Edition and it's expensive and 3. A friend of mine had to go and buy it for me so I'd shut up about it.

If there is something I am more then a gamer, it's a collector, and I love when publishers make the little extra effort to supply their fans with something cool to come with their long-awaited games. Though; I understand the lot of you who see this as milking the franchise for as much cash as possible, but truth is, if you're not into it, don't buy it, it's as simple as that. The fun of collector's editions are that it's optional, so if you don't like it, then shut up and let me sink my own money into them.

This came as a going-away/Valentine's Day/etc gift from said friend, so it was unexpected and treasured beyond my own purchases of course, but that doesn't mean I can't put the gushy emotional crap aside and get into this nitty-gritty.

First of all, the box it came in is a little overwhelming. For your convenience, I even stole this picture from Google to help you understand:

The size is impressive, but the box itself isn't a "plus" to the loot. It's really just packaging, unlike the Bioshock 2 Collector's edition box which was meant for display, but I digress; this thing is far too big to fit on any of my damn shelves anyways.

Upon opening, the first thing you pull out is the art book. I have a LARGE collection of video game art books, from special edition exclusives or just store-bought. I really love seeing the evolution of concepts and the gallery of art work, and the creative integrity put into all these games. I have to admit, I am -really- impressed with Skyrim's included art book. The size of it, the included works, make it all a worthy candidate for my favorite art book to date, but what truly pushes it to the top is it's magnificent leather cover. My American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns art book is of comparable size/style/etc and retailed for about 40$ at Chapter's, which would probably price this book somewhere in the 50$ range, which we'll discuss more of at the end of this review.

Now comes the game. It comes in a cardboard style box with 2 discs and a sleeve which holds a DVD and a texture-paper printed map. The peak of my annoyance has to be the cardboard box. While it does fit aesthetically with the rest of the merch, it's cardboard. It's weak. For anyone with any intention of boxing/unboxing this game a gazillion times while going through a 100-hour playthroughs more then once KNOWS that thing doesn't stand a chance of remaining mint. Why not a steelbook or a neat leather-bound case to match the art book? It was certainly possible to come up with a better idea, and the final outcome feels cheap. However, I must move on. The DVD is something that any geek interested in the production or games would enjoy watching, but it was far from being what attracted me to the collector's edition. DVDs and movies and such always end up being ripped and thrown online for everyone to download for free, so it's not something I'd truly feel I'd missed out on.

But the dragon.
Oh baby.

It's big- a lot bigger then I had originally expected, even with the ridiculous box size. It makes a really great piece to display and I'm proud to have it sit in my collection. The dragon felt like the best choice for a sculpt, since your dovahkiin will always look different from your buddy's, it would have kind of made a "Well, that's really cool, but it's not really me." kind of reaction. The dragon is made of a hollow plastic material, which I know surprised a few collectors. From the advertisement images it looked solid, heavy, like a typical porcelain-type material that the dragon sculptures fantasy/medieval stores sell. Your first impression might be "cheap" but the fact is, it looks great, displays beautifully, and that's truly all you need out of a sculpt. Think of the original Big Daddy sculps that came with the original Bioshock's special edition. They were all heavy, porcelain-like sculptures, and they nearly all shattered at distribution. This dragon is sturdy, and could probably survive a fall (though I beg you not to try). The best comparison I can think of is of Halo: Reach Legendary Edition's Noble Team sculpture. The same material, the same style. Would actually make a great perch for this dragon!

The collector's edition originally retailed for approximately 149.99$ upon release. Since I got it some time later, it was picked up at Toys R Us for about 109.99$. This is where the price breakdown happens and you can decide whether it was worth it in your books or not. At 149.99$ you paid 60$ for the game, which kicks it down to 90$. Out of 90$ I say you subtract anywhere from 40-50$ for the art book's value. So that would leave about 45$ for the dragon, the DVD and the map. At 110$ the break down remains the same, but that leaves 5$ for the dragon and co.

The less pricey the best in any and all cases, but the manner in which you price your collectables is left to your discretion. I love having something to sit on my bookshelf, but you might think it collects dust. Overall, I think Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls V's Collector's Edition is of good value and good quality, even more so now then upon release, and I bestow upon it 8.5 arrows to the knees out of 10.

Game Buzz: Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Title: Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary 
Studio: 343 Industries 
Released:  15/11/2011

Final Verdict: 5/10 

I do realize this is Halo post after Halo post, but I finally had the opportunity to play through Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (which will be called Halo Anniversary the rest of this article) and I thought I might as well get it over with before it becomes too outdated like most of my review material.

Halo: Combat Evolved was an instant cult classic the minute it was released for the original Xbox, which is fairly amazing considering Bungie's original rollercoaster ride of interest/disinterest from publishers during development. The original Halo did a lot for gaming; it brought the first-person shooter genre to light in console gaming, it popularized LAN parties, it... well, I've plenty of source material I could recommend if you wanted your share of Xbox/Halo history. Or you could just see the amount of novels, movies, and more being released to try to satisfy fans and understand that it's a pretty big deal. Point is, Halo was a big deal to a lot of people. It's a beloved classic.

Many fans had their concerns of what this new studio would do to their baby. Bungie had been the one forging the famous series since the beginning, and the only ones to ever try their hands in the Haloverse has been Microsoft Game Studios which somewhat butchered the series' almost flawless reputation with an atrocity called Halo Wars. This being said, fans were skeptical about another studio's ability to take over the immense job of giving their precious game a makeover.

I played the original Halo through and through probably more often then I have replayed any other game. It was easy to love and lose yourself in. It was simple, yet challenging. It was really quite something for it's time.

For it's time.

Not anymore.

I'm not denying that there is pleasure to be had in reminiscing. I'm not saying I don't feel like patting myself on the back when I get an achievement. I'm also not gonna argue that it's nice having pretty graphic instead of rough-cut polygons.

BUT.

That's all the rehash really is. Achievements and HD visuals. I'm not going to pretend I dug into every crack of the game to try to identify the differences, but that's the only thing that really jumped out at me. Sure, the new terminal animations are neat and all, but they aren't enough to make this worth it. I can appreciate that they lowered the price tag from the usual 60$ for a new game to 40$, but this isn't a significant enough drop for me. Why not just replay the original if you really wanted to reminisce? Or why not bring something more to the table then just new graphics? Why not bundle it with a rebooted Halo 2 while you're at it and make the entire trilogy on the Xbox 360?

It feels like 343 was put in a bad position. If they had modified too much, fans would be upset that it's not loyal to the original, don't change enough and fans are upset that you're milking them for money. Halo Anniversary is far from being a bad game, but it's not achieving anything new. The HD doesn't even feel that HD. It just... falls short.

Maybe I'm just a grouchy fan. Maybe I'm too old school. I don't know, but I can't really give Halo Anniversary a decent score considering it didn't really bring anything new to the table. It'll have to settle with 5 frags out of 10. I love Halo, but there's only so much you can squeeze out of a cash cow before it comes out sour.