E3 2011

Game Music

E3 2011: Nano Assault Composer Revealed, CD in the Works

June 27, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

One of the biggest surprised for me at E3 came from Majeco’s booth. I had never got to try my hands at Shin’en’s Nanostray or Nanostray 2 although I was already interested in checking them out, and when I saw Nano Assault for the 3DS sitting there at the Majesco booth I just couldn’t help myself. I was flying and shooting in some very non-traditional and all 3-dimensional stages which covered everything from stages that resembled planetoids from Super Mario Galaxy where you flew around their surfaces searching for objectives, to a cool tunnel stage where I was flying into the screen. Theses levels wouldn’t be nearly as powerful without the 3D functionality of the 3DS.

While playing, however, I noticed some pretty cool drum ‘n’ bass music in the background. I immediately asked the Majesco staff person next to me, who happened to be the game’s leader tester, about the game’s music. As it turns out, Shin’en staff member Martin Schioeler is responsible for the music (and has worked on the music for several other Shin’en titles). I was told that Schioeler is a new presence on the Nano team, however, as studio president Manfred Linzner actually composed the scores for the two Nanostray games. Even more, the studio is also working on a special soundtrack album featuring music from Nanostray, Nanostray 2, and Nano Assault to release alongside Nano Assault on both iTunes and CDBaby.

I was excited by what I heard, so definitely keep an eye on this game. We’ll keep you posted on details regarding the soundtrack disc as well.

Were you a fan of any of Linzner’s work on the Nanostray or IRIDION series? Are you looking forward to Nano Assault?
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E3 2011: A Word With Final Fantasy XIII-2 Director Motomu Toriyama

June 23, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

We were fortunate enough at E3 this year to sit down with Final Fantasy XIII-2 director Motomu Toriyama to ask him some questions about the game’s music. While we had a similar opportunity at GDC 2010 to discuss the original Final Fantasy XIII, it was still interesting to witness Toriyama’s surprise that people actually care about the music and sound design in the game projects he oversees.

We get some interesting tidbits, including the fact that other composers will be contributing to Final Fantasy XIII-2’s soundtrack, the general approach they’re taking with the game’s score, and just how elusive Masashi Hamauzu has been since his departure from Square Enix.

Hit the jump for our brief interview with Motomu Toriyama. (more…)
Game Music

E3 2011: Nintendo’s Got Game (Booth Audio Impressions)

June 20, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on E3 2011: Nintendo’s Got Game (Booth Audio Impressions) Share this

Nintendo had a lot of stuff to show off this year. In addition to a new console announcement, there were a ton of games to play and hear on both the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo Wii. We spent time with many of the games to catch a peek at what we can expect to hear from these games over the next year, and have posted many of the official E3 2011 trailers on our OSVchannel for your listening pleasure as well.

The games we checked out include Super Mario, Mario Kart, and Paper Mario on the 3DS as well as Rhythm Heaven, Kirby, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword on the Wii.

Join us after the jump for a crash course through the Nintendo booth this year. (more…)
Game Music

E3 2011: SEGA’s Anarchy Reigns… Well, Reigns

June 17, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on E3 2011: SEGA’s Anarchy Reigns… Well, Reigns Share this

I had high expectations for Anarchy Reigns. MadWorld featured an amazing and innovative soundtrack, featuring Japanese composer Naoto Tanaka paired with a number of hip hop artists. We already knew that my favorite of these artists, Sick YG, was on board for the game, but I wasn’t sure if we’d be getting more of the same.

The E3 floor demo we saw allowed for up to four players to enter into an all-out brawl, smashing one another with special moves and berserker attacks. I had a lot of fun with it even though I ended up losing, but I think what I enjoyed most was the music. While the hip hop influence was still present, I heard mostly electronic sounds in the style of drum ‘n’ bass with a bombardment of percussion that really built up the action. It seemed to be more instrumental the sense that most of the tracks I heard didn’t feature vocals.

I was informed by one of the producers who was on hand, however, that there will indeed be that same hip hop influence present in the game, although it won’t be exclusively a hip hop soundtrack. Still, I liked what I heard, and certainly want some more.

What did you think of the MadWorld soundtrack? Do you think it would have cheapened it to have gone and done the same thing with the Anarchy Reigns soundtrack?
Game Music

E3 2011: Square Enix’s Heroes of Ruin Composer Is…

June 16, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on E3 2011: Square Enix’s Heroes of Ruin Composer Is… Share this

A lot of people were surprised by Square Enix’s announcement leading up to E3 that they’d be publishing an original IP developed by U.S.-based developer n-Space. We had some hands-on time with Heroes of Ruin, a four-player MMO-style fantasy action title, and enjoyed some of the tweaks that have been made to the traditional MMO-style gameplay. The demo led us through a forested area and through a battle with one of the game’s mini-bosses, cutting off before the main boss battle.

What we were most interested in, however, was the game’s audio. We were told that the soundtrack is being composed by film and television composer Sacha Alexander Puttnam. While his game credits are sparse (Tiger Woods ‘Golf’ and Adventure Ecology), he has worked on several films, documentaries, and television shows, and has a long history as a recording artist. What we heard in the game was your typical orchestral fantasy score, but I have high hopes for what Puttnam will be able to accomplish. Also of note is the fact that Tony Porter is heading up sound design, who I had the pleasure of writing alongside during my days at Music4Games.

Are you surprised to see Square Enix publishing this title, and more surprised by their choice of composer? What about this game has you excited?
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E3 2011: Final Fantasy XIII-2 Has Lots of Battle Themes

June 13, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 9 Comments Share this

During our separate hands-on and hands-off demos of Final Fantasy XIII-2 at E3 2011 last week, there was a lot of music to hear. While the game pretty much controlled the same way as Final Fantasy XIII, it sounds like Masashi Hamauzu (confirmed to be working on the title) has a number of tricks up his sleeve to make sure the game’s soundtrack provides something familiar yet refreshing.

We heard a number of pieces throughout the demos, but what stood out most were the battle themes. We heard four in all, and I think you’ll be surprised by what you’ll be hearing. Hit the jump for more! (more…)
Game Music

E3 2011: WayForward’s BloodRayne Betrayal Scored by Jake Kaufman

June 9, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 4 Comments Share this

I suppose this news isn’t really a surprise to anyone, but we’ve confirmed that Jake Kaufman is responsible for the soundtrack to WayForward’s stunningly beautiful reboot of the BloodRayne franchise, BloodRayne: Betrayal. We saw the game in action and were not only impressed with the visuals, but also the side-scrolling action gameplay that we were told is inspired by games like Bayonetta and Ninja Gaiden (I confirmed that there are fortunately no falcons).

Regarding the soundtrack, Kaufman was responsible for scoring the game’s 15 stages and boss battles. Even more, we were told that Kaufman has created an alternate 8-bit version of the entire score which can be accessed by pressing a series of buttons. Knowing Jake personally and knowing that WayForward worked on Contra 4, I asked if the button sequence was the Contra code, but was told it’s not.

In any case, the game will be out soon for PSN and XBLA, and deserves some attention not only for its contradictory beauty with blood and gore, but also for its soundtrack. Majesco and WayForward are currently discussing the distribution of the soundtrack as well, so we’ll hopefully have more news on that soon.