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Rock Band Unplugged Track List Announced: 1990s In Full Force

May 20, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

Despite the slew of rhythm games that are slated for the remainder of this year, I’ve been keeping an eye out for news regarding Rock Band Unplugged. It’s due out on the PSP in June, and since it was announced, I was hoping we’d be getting a healthy serving of some of my favorite bands from the 1990s given the many amazing “MTV Unplugged” concerts from that era. Unfortunately, I missed the boat in terms of what they meant by “Unplugged,” which apparently refers to the portability of the PSP version of the game rather than the acoustic instrumentation I was hoping to hear.

Well, at least some of my favorites bands (who coincidentally had their own MTV Unplugged concerts) are represented, including Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden, but they each have only one track present. It would also appear as though Stone Temple Pilots is missing, but I hope DLC will fill in the gaps in this regard. It looks like the game features a solid list of tracks, and we’ll be sure to let you know what we think when we see the game at E3.

Are you looking forward to the Rock Band experience on the PSP? Are there any glaring omissions from the track list? Read the full press release with the track list and first ten downloadable tracks after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

DJ Max Fever Review: Or, “I Used To Think I Was Good At Rhythm Games”

April 29, 2009 | Patrick Gann | 2 Comments Share this

PM Studios brought DJ Max Fever to North America, and it marks the first time a console-based DJ Max game is officially released here in the US (the other games have “International Versions” that work on American PSPs, but were technically import products). Korean developer “Pentavision” created a sleeper-hit of a rhythm game that has really started to catch on in East Asia. And Americans who want to jump in on the latest rhythm game have the opportunity with one fantastic collection.

You see, in East Asia (Korea and Japan), multiple DJ Max games were released on PSP. DJ Max Portable and DJ Max Portable 2 each had over 50 songs. The “best” tracks from each of those two games were merged to create the North American DJ Max Fever. The soundtrack features music from a group of fantastic composers, most of whom are Korean. Among the many great composers on here, I have to give props to ESTi and Nauts, the prolific composers whom I (and many other fans) first encountered through Ragnarok Online nearly a decade ago.

In this review, we’ll be analyzing not just the music, but also the gameplay for this unique rhythm game. All of this comes, of course, after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

DJ Max Fever Crew Edition: For the Truly Hardcore (Already Sold Out!)

April 15, 2009 | Patrick Gann | 1 Comment Share this

You may or may not remember us running this story about DJ Max Fever‘s limited edition contents, as well as its availability. The basic gist of it was this: 30 lucky fans are going to get the most elaborate limited edition set for a game ever. Unfortunately, however, you couldn’t get the full set simply by being wealthy and/or willing to spend loads of money on the game.

All that changed, however, with the advent of The Crew Edition. Starting last week, fans could preorder one of 125 available copies of this special package, which essentially mimics the Japanese “Orpheus” limited edition that we described in our last story. What all will you find? Along with the PSP game itself (signed by the developers), you get the DJ Max Audio Trinity Soundtrack (3 discs), a DJ Max Art book, an NB Rangers mask, some post cards, a puzzle, and a DJ Max Technika IC Player Card.

Are you interested in owning it? I’m afraid I have some bad news. Just a few days after the preorder was made available, the limited edition sold out. So we’re a little late reporting the news. Maybe some chump will decide to re-sell his/her copy of DJ Max Fever: the crew, and then you’ll be in business. But unless that happens, you won’t be able to jump on this train-full-of-goodies. Sorry about that.

The good news is that, for the gamer who likes to keep a tight reign over the old wallet, this limited edition set cost $130. Compare that to the $40 retail price of the regular edition DJ Max Fever (which was published by PM Studios in late January this year), and you’re talking huge savings. So yeah… maybe it’s a good thing you missed out on this one. Not that I’m condemning the lucky few who got their preorders in on time!

We will have a comprehensive review of DJ Max Fever in the coming weeks, so if you’re not sure if you’d even be interested in this rhythm game, keep an eye out for the review to help determine whether or not it’s up your alley.
Game Music, Reviews

Koreans Are Happy About Golf! PangYa Portable Soundtrack (Review)

March 4, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

You’ve probably figured out by now that if “Korea” appears anywhere in my posts, it’s a good indication that it’s something I like. It’s no different with the PangYa Portable Soundtrack that was just released last December in Korea. Another pattern you’ve likely noticed is my mentioning of soundTeMP and ESTi when I talk about Korean game music… and yes, the ubiquitous ESTi strikes again here along with a team of seemingly untested composers that I’ve never heard of.

Similar to La Tale Soundtrack that was released last year, ESTi teams up with a new group of composers including nev, supbaby, and Nikacha. NieN and Electronic Boutique (of La Tale) even make an appearance as performers, and vocalist Sanch provides some of the album’s most memorable moments. Needless to say, this super laid back and poppy soundtrack is amazing, and needs to be in your collection.

Hit the jump to find out why through our review of the soundtrack album. (more…)
Game Music

DJ Max Fever Interview: Developer, Publisher, and Korean Composers Nauts and ESTi

January 22, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 2 Comments Share this

We posted awhile back that the Korean-developed DJ Max Portable series is finally making its way to the States as DJ Max Fever. While you’ve likely read our review of the related DJMAX TECHNIKA arcade soundtrack, DJ Max Fever is poised to please fans on the PSP with its blistering difficulty and amazing track selection come January 27.

With the release date so close, we thought it’d be a good time to sit down with some of the people who worked on the title to learn more. While executive producer Michael Yum from PM Studios and Kalos Kim from Pentavision Entertainment in Korea answer questions on the development side, we also get some questions in with soundTeMP composer ESTi and fellow Korean composer Nauts. This is definitely a big deal for me as a crazed soundTeMP fan, so I hope you’re as excited as I am!

Read the full interivew with this talented group after the jump. (more…)