Since the first few concept art shots were shown to the public, I have had an interest in NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits. With its inspiration drawn from ancient Greece, elemental Gods assisting you with their powers, a female protagonist with a unique look and 2D platform gameplay, it seemed to be a game that could fill the void in my gaming heart for a genre I miss dearly. The music from early footage seemed to rely on soft strings and very atmospheric style, which only helped to keep my interest high.
This summer, NyxQuest was released on WiiWare in Europe, and will be released in the US early next week. We’ve fortunately had the opportunity to play through the title and listen to the soundtrack ahead of the US release.
So, how is it? Find out what we think after the jump! (more…)
Last week, we posted a glowing review for the soundtrack to Shatter. The PSN title and its soundtrack both hit the market on July 23, and it didn’t take long for the buzz on this title to get out. And every review of the game we’ve found on this vast Internet has made positive comments about the soundtrack.
So we thought it was time to learn more about the man behind the music. Jeramiah Ross, who goes by the name “Module,” worked closely with Sidhe on this project for a full year. And now that the work has paid off, he has been getting bombarded with questions about who he is and where people can find more of his music. We ask these questions, and more, in the following interview: which you will find after the jump. (more…)
Mustin and the Bad Dudes have finally revealed the details on their upcoming project, CHRONOTORIOUS! With big names onboard like Mustin, Danimal Cannon, Ailsean and even OSV’s Tim Sheehy and our own little punching bag, Dhsu, you can be sure this will be an album to look out for! They are planning on pressing a limited number of CDs, which will contain 5 extra bonus track, and as a pre-order bonus, you get a poster as well. If the prototype CD artwork above is any indication, this should be a nice bonus. An iTunes release will follow a few weeks later, though without the 5 bonus tracks.
Bad Dudes released Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – Resurrection last year, with a varied style of music, and this release seems to follow in the same spirit. Personally I am very excited for the Bladiator piano track and the ever so awesome Ailsean doing “Frog’s Theme.”
The CD will be released August 18th, so mark your calendars! You can check out the samples for each track over at the Bad Dudes website.
‘Sploding onto XBOX Live Arcade to kick off “Summer of Arcade” is Twisted Pixel’s ‘Splosion Man. This little gem has caught the attention of gamers everywhere with its surprisingly substantive package of challenging gameplay, artfully zany presentation, and irresistible protagonist. I absolutely LOVED this game and am happy to report that it is in no small part thanks to its composer, Joshua Mosley.
A relatively small game whose premise it is to ‘splode oneself off of walls and onto evil scientists (turning them into various deli meats) would probably not be served best with an 80-piece orchestral sound (i.e. Shadow of the Colossus, Killzone 2). So, what did Mosley do in his score that made our ears and hearts ‘splode with joy?
Well, we were right. Back in May, Vince DiCola teamed up with a group of friends to create a rockin’ song and video titled “Invasion of the Machines (Pt. 1),” and just as we predicted, the “(Pt. 1)” did in fact suggest that there was a second installment in the works. Aptly titled “Invasion of the Machines (Pt. 2),” this time DiCola, guitarist Kenny Meredith, and violinist Scarlet Rivera take on the classic Transformers theme, and it seriously rocks.
While it’s a tragedy that Vince DiCola wasn’t featured in the recent Revenge of the Fallen film, I hope that somebody somewhere hears this stuff and pulls him back into films or even games. Not only is the track amazing, but the video editing is really top-notch, syncing perfectly with the music. I would have died to have heard this during the Transformers film credits.
Do you prefer the nostalgic approach taken with “Invasion of the Machines (Pt. 2)?” Would you like to see Vince DiCola scoring some videogames?
Aksys Games made some big waves with their recent Limited Edition run of BlazBlue -Calamity Trigger-, a fantastic 2D fighter for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. For the same price as the regular edition release, they included 3 bonus discs: a two-disc soundtrack, and a tutorial DVD. The hype around the game is well-warranted, and the love most people are showing for the music is also entirely justified.
After all, BlazBlue is the most recent game from Arc System Works, creators of the Guilty Gear series. And that series’ same music composer, Daisuke Ishiwatari, makes a fantastic return with this new soundtrack.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of published music floating around for BlazBlue, and there are some duplicate tracks between the different albums available. It’s hard to figure out “which is which” with these albums. The earliest soundtrack dates back to the end of 2008, when the arcade version of BlazBlue was released. For August’s Soundtrack of the Month, we won’t just delve into the music–we’ll let you know what you’ll find on each of the albums available, and help you decide where your best bet is in terms of finding good music.
If you’re ready to be smacked in the face with some of the greatest electric guitar licks in VGM today, you’ll get exactly what you’re begging for…after the jump. (more…)
Sidhe’s newest title, Shatter, is a downloadable PS3-exclusive brick-breaking game in the style of Arkanoid. It’s the coolest thing to come out of New Zealand since the Lord of the Rings films.
But the game, fun as it is, may not be as good as its soundtrack (at least, a price comparison might suggest this to be the case). Composed by Jeramiah Ross, whose musical moniker is “Module,” this retro-inspired blend of electronica and space-age rock is guaranteed to grab your attention.
