After listening to them on repeat for the past few days of work, I think it needs to be said that - and a shout out given to - the unsung heroes of the gaming industry are its music composers, without whom the atmosphere, tension and emotion would not be felt in the games we love so much.
I have been listening to the Starcraft 2, Bioshock, Oblivion and Red Dead Redemption soundtracks as I trawl away at my job and I have to say, it makes working feel more epic. It also adds some serious atmosphere.
You don't realize, while you're in a game, how important the music is - not like when you're in a movie. Sure, we can all whistle the Tetris or Mario Bros theme song, but how many of you can do that for the theme of your favourite modern game? Okay, anything outside of Halo. I thought so.
It's amazing how much the screeching violin makes Bioshock such a terrifying game. You just feel naturally pumped or on a mission when you hear the twangy slide acoustic guitar, ripping electric solos and chugging drums of the Starcraft 2 soundtrack. The peace you feel at the wonderfully composed, classic-sounding Oblivion score. How motivated or soothed or pushed to action do you feel when you hear the Western-styled mostly-acoustic music of Red Dead Redemption? For me, extremely.
If you want some music to relax, work, work out, write, read or do anything to, I highly recommend any of your favourite game soundtracks. You will not be disappointed.
Mahalo.
Showing posts with label bioshock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bioshock. Show all posts
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Looking forward to 2012? I am.
Hey all!
In a departure from my more recent (and very sparse) posts, I want to take a minute, as a gamer, to tell you why 2012 makes me excited to be such.
With the exciting year that was 2011 that saw the release of Dead Island, Skyrim, Dead Space 2, Dragon Age 2, Portal 2, L.A. Noire, Duke Nukem Forever, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Gears of War 3, Rage, Batman: Arkham City and Halo: Combat Evolved 10th Anniversary Edition, among many, many others, it's hard to see how 2012 will beat that. Well, here are some of my - and the world's! - most anticipated titles.
1) Diablo III:
Need I say any more? Gamers across the globe are looking forward to this tremendous release. Though the release date has been repeatedly, a recent article has shown that that is no longer because of the South Korean Game Ratings Board, but now because Blizzard are still fiddling with the core systems. The various trailers being released make it look as if this game will be an epic return to the world of the first two Diablo titles and I, for one, am desperately looking forward to it. Especially because, hey, let's face it, when has a Blizzard game ever - really - been sub-par?
2) Bioshock: Infinite:
After the sleeper hit, perfectly crafted Bioshock release in 2007, I was hooked. The game's atmosphere and writing were unmatched in most games I had played up until that point - with the notable exclusions being Half-Life 2 (2004) and Portal (2007) - and it created a first person shooter with a seriously intense and well-crafted storyline, which is hard to come by.
Though the sequel, Bioshock 2 (2010), was somewhat less amazing than its predecessor, it was still an en-RAPTURE-ing game (god I am sorry for that).
Now, the third installment in the series - which is neither a direct sequel or prequel, but merely set in the same sort of world - is being released this year. Bioshock: Infinite features similar gameplay concepts in a world seemingly as well crafted and equally as horrifying. With trailers and gameplay footage abounding, this game has shown us that 2K is back with something far more enticing and exciting than Bioshock 2 and one which I am incredibly looking forward to.
3) Halo 4:
I know, I'm full of franchises today, aren't I? Halo, for me, is one of the most important games of my teenage years - barring, of course, Starcraft and Diablo II. I don't know what it is about the game, but it's like my Star Wars. I find every aspect of the world and its characters fun and interesting. I've read the novels, the comics, watched the fan films, seen the short animated films, kept up with a lot of the extra promotional stuff, I have the soundtracks and I've even learned to play the main theme on guitar. What I'm saying is, I like this game. I like the world. It's also the only four-players-on-one-console game that Xbox really has at the moment, and it's killer and the blurb for the new one really says it all.
It's a game franchise that means a lot to me even though I know the story is somewhat lame and cliched. I don't care. I want this game.
These along with films like The Devil Inside, Red Tails, The Grey, Man on a Ledge, Safe House, The Raven, The Cabin in the Woods, The Avenger, Rock of Ages, Prometheus, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Dark Knight Rises, Frankenweenie, The Hobbit, World War Z, Django Unchained and, despite being in 3D, The Great Gatsby, this is going to be a pretty good year.
Mahalo.
In a departure from my more recent (and very sparse) posts, I want to take a minute, as a gamer, to tell you why 2012 makes me excited to be such.
With the exciting year that was 2011 that saw the release of Dead Island, Skyrim, Dead Space 2, Dragon Age 2, Portal 2, L.A. Noire, Duke Nukem Forever, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Gears of War 3, Rage, Batman: Arkham City and Halo: Combat Evolved 10th Anniversary Edition, among many, many others, it's hard to see how 2012 will beat that. Well, here are some of my - and the world's! - most anticipated titles.
1) Diablo III:
Need I say any more? Gamers across the globe are looking forward to this tremendous release. Though the release date has been repeatedly, a recent article has shown that that is no longer because of the South Korean Game Ratings Board, but now because Blizzard are still fiddling with the core systems. The various trailers being released make it look as if this game will be an epic return to the world of the first two Diablo titles and I, for one, am desperately looking forward to it. Especially because, hey, let's face it, when has a Blizzard game ever - really - been sub-par?
2) Bioshock: Infinite:
After the sleeper hit, perfectly crafted Bioshock release in 2007, I was hooked. The game's atmosphere and writing were unmatched in most games I had played up until that point - with the notable exclusions being Half-Life 2 (2004) and Portal (2007) - and it created a first person shooter with a seriously intense and well-crafted storyline, which is hard to come by.
Though the sequel, Bioshock 2 (2010), was somewhat less amazing than its predecessor, it was still an en-RAPTURE-ing game (god I am sorry for that).
Now, the third installment in the series - which is neither a direct sequel or prequel, but merely set in the same sort of world - is being released this year. Bioshock: Infinite features similar gameplay concepts in a world seemingly as well crafted and equally as horrifying. With trailers and gameplay footage abounding, this game has shown us that 2K is back with something far more enticing and exciting than Bioshock 2 and one which I am incredibly looking forward to.
3) Halo 4:
I know, I'm full of franchises today, aren't I? Halo, for me, is one of the most important games of my teenage years - barring, of course, Starcraft and Diablo II. I don't know what it is about the game, but it's like my Star Wars. I find every aspect of the world and its characters fun and interesting. I've read the novels, the comics, watched the fan films, seen the short animated films, kept up with a lot of the extra promotional stuff, I have the soundtracks and I've even learned to play the main theme on guitar. What I'm saying is, I like this game. I like the world. It's also the only four-players-on-one-console game that Xbox really has at the moment, and it's killer and the blurb for the new one really says it all.
It's a game franchise that means a lot to me even though I know the story is somewhat lame and cliched. I don't care. I want this game.
These along with films like The Devil Inside, Red Tails, The Grey, Man on a Ledge, Safe House, The Raven, The Cabin in the Woods, The Avenger, Rock of Ages, Prometheus, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Dark Knight Rises, Frankenweenie, The Hobbit, World War Z, Django Unchained and, despite being in 3D, The Great Gatsby, this is going to be a pretty good year.
Mahalo.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
An Addendum
I feel an addendum must be made to my previous post about Bioshock 2. While my opinion of the single player aspect to the game remains unchanged, the multiplayer aspect is a different story. It would appear as if it was added as an afterthought, rather than a pre-thought-out portion of the game (Hmm, much like this addendum to an already fine article?). While it is cool to play a first person shooter game with others over the web using superpowers as well as weapons, the fashion in which it is done is slow and not worthy of the high status of game that fans have come to expect of Bioshock.
That is all. Mahalo.
That is all. Mahalo.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Legacy of Rapture Continues...
So, recently - several years after its initial release - I obtained a copy of Bioshock. And finished it quite promptly. To say the least, I was sucked wholly into the world of Rapture and its filthy and degenerate populace. The game's steampunk-esque world and intricate storyline are worth the buy alone. The game itself plays like a dream, alternating between plasmids (like superpowers...that become part of your DNA) and regular weapons. The hacking system was fun, the graphics beautiful, the game just the right level of challenging. And for those who like to simply rush through games in order to reach the ending, I don't recommend this for Bioshock. I recommend taking the extra few minutes to explore small areas and discover the tape recorders which reveal background plot and secret information about Rapture, widening its range even further. Although the end Boss fight was a might to quickly finished in my opinion, the game itself was hours of fun and includes hours of re-playability with different plasmid and tonic (like...body enhancements) choices.
The story is that you are a man on a plane in 1959 and you crash in the ocean, stumbling upon a lighthouse like structure in the middle of the ocean. You enter and discover the underwater city of Rapture, a city meant for the worlds best and brightest to be themselves with no hindrance - an intellectual Utopia. But it has all gone horribly wrong, with gene-splicers gone mad, raving and violent, everywhere. You are helped by man via radio named Atlas who tells you you must take down Andrew Ryan, Rapture's creator and current Head Honcho. Along the way you must collect ADAM to buy upgrades and extra plasmids and tonics. The only way to do so is to harvest or rescue a Little Sister...who is protected by the heavily armored and deadliest creature in Rapture, the Big Daddy.
Luckily for me, when I received and finished Bioshock, Bioshock 2 was only within a month of release. So, I pre-ordered, and I got. I finished Bioshock 2 and was left just as impressed as I was before, I refreshing feeling from a sequel. Considering it was almost three years on in development, I suppose it was likely to be good. The adventure continues, but this time it is ten years on since the end of Bioshock and you are playing the Alpha Series of Big Daddies, your name is Delta. One of the original, plasmid using, more independent thinking Big Daddies, your quest to save Rapture from itself continues.
The game-play did not go untouched, however. Plasmids have been edited and made severely better. Enemies have been made tougher, and some new faces show up - it can't be all the same, your a Big Daddy now. The system for hacking was changed, not for the better I feel, but I suppose to a more realistic format. At least, compared to previously. The ADAM gathering, which is now done by adopting a Little Sister as your own so she can collect the ADAM from the "angels" (Can you see the light in their tummies?), is incredibly hard. Or, can be. The game is surely tougher, despite the fact you are constantly dual wielding plasmids and weapons at the same time, including the signature Big Daddy drill.
The new nemsis, Sophia Lamb, has taken over Rapture and attempted to mold it in her image - and that imagine is reminiscent of a certain Dorian Grey. New splicers and Big Daddies attempt to stop you on your quest to save the Little Sisters and take down Sophia Lamb and her new weapons, the Big Sisters.
A fun game with many hours of game-play and re-playability, this game is highly worth the expense. And if you're into art and music, I recommend the Rapture Edition which includes the soundtrack of Bioshock 1 on vinyl, the soundtrack of Bioshock 2 on CD, the Art Book for Bioshock 2 and some Rapture posters. Mahalo.
The story is that you are a man on a plane in 1959 and you crash in the ocean, stumbling upon a lighthouse like structure in the middle of the ocean. You enter and discover the underwater city of Rapture, a city meant for the worlds best and brightest to be themselves with no hindrance - an intellectual Utopia. But it has all gone horribly wrong, with gene-splicers gone mad, raving and violent, everywhere. You are helped by man via radio named Atlas who tells you you must take down Andrew Ryan, Rapture's creator and current Head Honcho. Along the way you must collect ADAM to buy upgrades and extra plasmids and tonics. The only way to do so is to harvest or rescue a Little Sister...who is protected by the heavily armored and deadliest creature in Rapture, the Big Daddy.
Luckily for me, when I received and finished Bioshock, Bioshock 2 was only within a month of release. So, I pre-ordered, and I got. I finished Bioshock 2 and was left just as impressed as I was before, I refreshing feeling from a sequel. Considering it was almost three years on in development, I suppose it was likely to be good. The adventure continues, but this time it is ten years on since the end of Bioshock and you are playing the Alpha Series of Big Daddies, your name is Delta. One of the original, plasmid using, more independent thinking Big Daddies, your quest to save Rapture from itself continues.
The game-play did not go untouched, however. Plasmids have been edited and made severely better. Enemies have been made tougher, and some new faces show up - it can't be all the same, your a Big Daddy now. The system for hacking was changed, not for the better I feel, but I suppose to a more realistic format. At least, compared to previously. The ADAM gathering, which is now done by adopting a Little Sister as your own so she can collect the ADAM from the "angels" (Can you see the light in their tummies?), is incredibly hard. Or, can be. The game is surely tougher, despite the fact you are constantly dual wielding plasmids and weapons at the same time, including the signature Big Daddy drill.
The new nemsis, Sophia Lamb, has taken over Rapture and attempted to mold it in her image - and that imagine is reminiscent of a certain Dorian Grey. New splicers and Big Daddies attempt to stop you on your quest to save the Little Sisters and take down Sophia Lamb and her new weapons, the Big Sisters.
A fun game with many hours of game-play and re-playability, this game is highly worth the expense. And if you're into art and music, I recommend the Rapture Edition which includes the soundtrack of Bioshock 1 on vinyl, the soundtrack of Bioshock 2 on CD, the Art Book for Bioshock 2 and some Rapture posters. Mahalo.
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