Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a little bit of magic. It’s the game that my 16 year old self would have designed if he had the tools and intelligence to create an ode to ’80s action flicks (though it would be set in outer space and feature bloodthirsty mutant ninjas).
A large part of Blood Dragon’s throwback appeal is its soundtrack. The Power Glove-scored audio backdrop is as equally ’80s as the neon lasers, robotic Speak ‘n Spell cyborg voices, and nuclear fears expressed throughout the game.
[AudioCade is recurring feature in which we gush over a video game soundtrack by analyzing not only what makes it a pleasurable listening experience, but its overall significance as well. This time out we listen to Anamanaguchi's Scott Pilgrim vs. The World:The Game (Original Video Game Soundtrack)]
Suits only dream of this type of polymorphic, multimedia cross pollination. This AudioCade highlights Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game (Original Video Game Soundtrack), a chiptunes score to a 16-bit styled video game that served as a tie-in to Edgar Wright’s 2010 film adaptation of the nerd-popular Bryan Lee O’Malley comic.
[AudioCade is recurring feature in which we gush over a video game soundtrack by analyzing not only what makes it a pleasurable listening experience, but its overall significance as well. This time out we listen to the Michiru Yamane-scored Castlevania: Symphony of the Night soundtrack.]
I am not afraid to admit that Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was my first Castlevania game. I am also proud to say that the only reason that I decided to play the game in the first place was because I heard that it had one of the best soundtracks in video game history. Are these claims true? I suppose the answer depends on how you form and support your opinions. I can say, without a doubt, that SotN has one of the best OSTs that I have ever heard. Here’s why.
Double Dragon Neon, the reboot of the beat ‘em up classic as it reaches the quarter century mark, deservedly scored a 2D-X Excellence Award for its incredibly fun retro action. Instead of strictly adhering to the original game’s plot of Billy and Jimmy Lee retrieving a kidnapped Marion from the hands of street vermin in a post-apocalyptic metropolis, Double Dragon veers into the area of Day-Glo, synthesizer abuse, and big hair–and revels in its cheese.
Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, originally released on the PC Engine CD platform in 1993, has a marvelous soundtrack in a franchise packed with rich music. When I think Castlevania music, I think Rondo music, which is odd because it is such a departure from what came before and after it. Super Castlevania IV’s tunes personify the darkness that is the Demon Castle with its dense soundscape, while Symphony of the Night’s epic compositions match the size and scope of Dracula’s fully-realized demon abode. Rondo of Blood’s 16-track score, however, is tighter, lighter, and more heroic–Castlevania “pop” music, if you will.
A new Mortal Kombat hit store shelves in 2011, dragging the franchise bicycle-kicking and siren-screaming back into relevance. It looks good! Really good. But in the multimedia powerhouse’s ’90s heyday, you couldn’t swing a dead kombatant around without hitting some goofy tie-in or spin-off. Comics, cartoons, movies, direct-to-video prequels, sequels, side stories, action figures, pogs (and slammers), and a novel … that I actually read. I couldn’t tell you what’s it about, except it starred Kung Lao for some reason and did a pretty good job with Scorpion’s back story. For a kid getting into reading that was some scary, heavy stuff!
