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Featured, Game Music, Reviews

TOO GOOD!! Dust: An Elysian Tail OST (Review)

October 4, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 6 Comments Share this

There’s a part of me that’s angry about HyperDuck SoundWorks’ newest release. It has to do with timing.

You see, there have been boatloads of wonderful indie game soundtracks released in 2012. It has been truly overwhelming. But, at the end of the year, I thought I had my winner for the indie game OST category picked out already. And how would anything sneak up and knock my new favorite off its pedestal within the last few months of the year?

Well, they did it. Chris and the rest of the HyperDuck team, alongside some special assistance from VGM veteran Alexander Brandon (Deus Ex, Bejeweled 3), have thrown in a surprise contender in the form of the soundtrack for Dust: An Elysian Tail (an Action RPG for XBLA). This thing is amazing and surprising and well outside the style(s) I expected to find on the soundtrack.

After the jump, our detailed review and (of course) the bandcamp embed! (more…)
Game Music

5 Quick Questions: Double Dragon Neon (Jake Kaufman)

September 11, 2012 | Audun Sorlie | 2 Comments Share this

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Game Music, Reviews

Gritty Riches: Shoot Many Robots (Review)

July 4, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on Gritty Riches: Shoot Many Robots (Review) Share this

We VGM aficionados tend to classify composers, trying to make them into certain-shaped pegs so they fit the holes we expect them to. I had Rich “Disasterpeace” Vreeland pegged as almost exclusively a “chiptunes” composer. In my mind, he did chiptunes, usually in a math/prog-rock style. But no one composer is as one-dimensional as we assume them to be.

Case in point: Shoot Many Robots from Demiurge Studios and Ubisoft. This soundtrack is about as far away from the world of square waves as you can possibly get. I mentioned to Rich, in passing, that this soundtrack was way out of the norm for him. His reply? Apparently, it’s more common than we fans realize.

To learn what Rich meant by that, and to get some feedback on this new soundtrack, join us after the jump. (more…)
Featured, Game Music, Reviews

Spacial Soundcraft: Astroman OST (Review)

June 7, 2012 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Spacial Soundcraft: Astroman OST (Review) Share this

Back in the hay-day of video gaming, there was a genre of game that was coined the “platformer” — in reality a 2D game where your main objective is traversing over the screen and through levels that consisted of many obstacles; most of which were platforms and the like. It was a popular type of game through the 90s that, within the past few years, has really been making a comeback in grand retro-style. Downloadable games seem to be leading the charge recently, with games like Braid and ‘Splosion Man becoming hits in their own right, enticing players with oldschool finger-twitching gameplay.

One of the more overlooked games for the Xbox Live Indie Arcade was a release earlier this year titled Astroman: a platform side-scrolling game featuring an adorable little spaceman romping through the solar system trying to repair his ship as he blasts aliens to bits as he goes. It’s a short, cute game that goes for about $3 on XBLA. However, what really shines about the game isn’t it’s nostalgic gameplay, but rather the music, which has gotten some well-deserved attention due to the recent release of the Indie Game Music Bundle 3.

A short but sweet original soundtrack crafted by composer Jeff Ball, known for his composition and violin work on games such Mass Effect 3 and Monkey Island 2: Special Edition, he has delivered some fantastic work for the little indie title and really makes the game shine. Journey with us into the star-stricken foray of music that is the Astroman Original Soundtrack. (more…)
Game Music

Danny B Says “Nice To Meat You!” – Super Meat Boy OST Review

January 26, 2011 | Patrick Gann | 2 Comments Share this

If you’re into indie games and indie game music, the MAGFest event quickly becomes a star-studded event. One such star is Danny Baranowsky, composer of the runaway hit XBLA title Super Meat Boy. The game sold like hotcakes, in no small part due to its incredibly fun, addictive, and challenging gameplay as a puzzle/platformer.

But, even in passing, one cannot help but notice the super-hip music to this wonderful game. That’s why I was so excited when I bumped into the composer, who was selling copies of the limited edition double-disc soundtrack that he kept in his backpack. I’d played a couple hours of SMB at a friend’s house and wanted to dig deeper into the soundtrack. Here was the opportunity, literally standing in front of me.

Props to Danny for independently printing this two disc set, which was just released on January 11th (the week before MAGFest). We’re going to slice this meaty package apart after the jump; you’ll not want to miss it! (more…)
Doujin, Game Music

Steamy Stemage Talks MAGFest, Alpha Squad and Metroid Metal

January 25, 2011 | Audun Sorlie | 1 Comment Share this

Photo by Chris Serani

One of the best parts of an event such as MAGFest is to see all the recurring faces which have now aged and matured in the year’s time that passed since we all last saw one another. Friends, artists and vendors all have new stories to share, filled with excitement (or letdowns) from the year that has passed by, making each conversation more interesting than the last.

One of the men that had new things to share was none other than Grant Henry, better known as Metroid Metal’s frontman and leader Grant “Stemage” Henry. It’s been a busy year for him with his projects and ambitions taking off and leading him into both familiar territories as well as all new endeavors. In the sea of sweat and the poorly-concealed flab that inhabits the MAGFest floor space, us fit dudes managed to get a few minutes of down time to talk about some of these projects that Henry has been working on.

(more…)
Game Music

Free is Good: Atlus Gives Zeno Clash Ultimate Soundtrack Away

May 18, 2010 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on Free is Good: Atlus Gives Zeno Clash Ultimate Soundtrack Away Share this

Atlus has long been known for spoiling its fans. Well, they’re here to do it again with a limited time free download of the soundtrack for Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition. This is a change of pace from the slew of pre-order bonus soundtracks they’ve released, as this is available to everyone without purchasing the game. This is especially cool when you consider that the soundtrack was on sale for $9.99 in its physical format.

Regarding the soundtrack, composer Patricio Meneses provides approximately 64 minutes music across 18 tracks. The music has a rather retro vibe to it that I enjoyed a whole lot as I skimmed through the album. I’m reminded of some of the dark atmospheres that I loved so much in the King’s Field series.

In any case, head on over to the official Zeno Clash website for the free download (do it before May 31!), and check out the official press release after the jump. (more…)