It appears as though 2008 was a successful year for a number of orchestral arrangement albums, as we mentioned earlier this month that that Symphonic Shades was getting a second printing. Now, another of our favorite releases of 2008 is getting a similar treatment, with a second printing of the Echoes of War: Standard Edition set for next month along with a price reduction to $19.95 for those who pre-order before the June 16 re-release.
Echoes of War: The Music of Blizzard Entertainment not only featured unique arrangements from the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo universes, but was also created by a large team famous arrangers and performers including Kow Otani, Go Shiina, Natsumi Kameoka, and the Eminence Symphony Orchestra. If you missed out on the legendary edition or the first print of the standard edition, I highly recommend picking it up at this discounted price.
If you’ve already picked up Echoes of War, were you thoroughly satisfied with the purchase? Did you have a favorite arrangement from the 2-disc collection?
Read the official press release from Eminence after the jump. (more…)
I’ve played the first installment of The Sims twice. Both times I failed miserably and managed to get my character so depressed that they eventually could not afford food to eat. In the background there was this MIDI-ish soundtrack that can best be classified as easy listening, and while I never found it to be overly impressive, it did the job. I’m pretty sure that if I had continued playing that some of the tunes would have stuck.
When the second installment came along, it definitely had a lot more polish while still staying true to its roots. Now that The Sims 3 is upon us, however, what will composer Steve Jablonsky unleash upon the unsuspecting world?
Find out more about this simtastic offering after the jump! (more…)
This is a reminder that there are two copies of one of the best albums of 2008 still up for grabs. We’re giving away two copies of Symphonic Shades, and all we’re asking you to do is record yourself saying the word “Hülsbeck” and shoot it over to [email protected]. The deadline is May 28, 2009 at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time, so get those entries in before it’s too late!
We told you about this release back in March, and we’ve finally had the opportunity to absorb everything contained within this DVD. I can’t tell you how bad I wanted to fly over to Japan for this concert, as I really dug THE BLACK MAGES III Darkness and Starlight. I know not everyone agrees, but I liked the synthy approach of this album compared to past Black Mages albums.
What you’ll find here is the concert in its entirety, including the MC segments, along with a special behind the scenes look at the preparation that went into the show and a promotional Neo EXDEATH music video, all of which will make great additions to your collection. This is admittedly my first time seeing the band up close as I’ve never watched their other DVD releases, so it was definitely a new experience for me.
Hit the jump to read our review of the Darkness and Starlight LIVE DVD from their concert back on August 8, 2008. (more…)
I’m posting this because I love Retro Remix Revue and because the only guy I’ve met from the group is Adam Alesi, and he’s an awesome dude. Oh, and “Greenhill Zone” was one of the best tracks on their debut album, which you should definitely pick up right now if you for some reason didn’t last year.
Apparently Adam is trying out for the Brian Setzer Orchestra. Didn’t even know those guys were still around, but I wish Adam the best of luck, and think it’s cool that they used Sonic music to demo his talents. Maybe the Brian Setzer Orchestra will pick up RRR as their opening act!
Have a particular favorite track from Retro Remix Revue? Would you like to see them posting live performances of some of the other instruments (perhaps McGurty on synths)?
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…)
Earlier this month, we (or rather, Jayson) reviewed “Love Relaxation,” which is Kikuta’s score for the 2005 Puzzlebox erotic love adventure Sakura Relaxation. Today, we cover the other album from the Kikuta-Puzzlebox match-up: “Nice Life As Wife.”
Like Love Relaxation, this album title is not one in the same with the game title, which is “Niitsuma wa Sailor Fuku” (and, actually, the Romanization on the album cover is incorrect, it’s actually Niizuma). And also like Love Relaxation, Nice Life As Wife is essentially a reprint of the game’s OST, released as a promotional item alongside the game in 2005. So if you were hardcore enough to follow Kikuta-san’s post-Square, post-Sacnoth work, you’ve probably already heard (or, at least, heard *of*) these albums.
But if you haven’t heard this music, and you want to know what your old friend of Seiken Densetsu fame was able to accomplish during his “I write music for hentai games” phase, check out the rest of this review, after the jump! (more…)
