Sound in Games: Gunman Clive

As a game worth $1.99 on the Nintendo eShop, I figured it’d be a pretty cheap and mindless experience with nothing to write home about. And to be honest, at first I thought so too – it’s a simple run-and-gun platformer in the same vein as Megaman, albeit simpler and less demanding. However, once I gave it a few more run-throughs, I realized that it was a great textbook game to teach aspiring game developers on how to create a satisfying challenge while keeping things interesting.

Plus, the music itself is really cool too! Let’s check it out.

As I said, it’s a really simple game. It’s got a simple plot too – Ms. Johnson, your girlfriend, is kidnapped, and you gotta go save her. Brush off hands, we’re done here. It’s all about the gameplay and music from now on.

And the music is quite interesting, for a game that encourages shooting up everything in sight – this includes other cowboys, robots, rabbits, cowboys on horses, and ducks. You’d think the music is going to feature something that will boost your adrenaline, much like Megaman’s soundtrack.

…Nope.

You get a pretty cool and laid back cowboy tune instead. I love the little introduction that the guitar makes – it makes for an instant audio cue to be associated with the game. I will admit, I did not find myself humming along to this song, mainly because the main tune on the synth flute isn’t particularly memorable or interesting. However, this tune does establish a great character and atmosphere for the game – yes, the action on screen is a run and gun, but you’re playing as a cool cowboy. He’s not going to charge head long into battle – he’ll take his damn time.

There are times, though, when the game acknowledges its Megaman roots. Check this one out:

Classic 8-bit stuff, with a bit of the old cowboy guitar playing in the background. It’s a great way for the game to pay tribute to its classic roots in many other run and gun games. Plus, it’s really well put together, much like a Classical period – it has an antecedent and consequent, which leads to a concluding section. It’s simple, but it knows that simple is often the best thing since sliced bread.

Now I will proceed to something I never usually do in Sound in Games – encourage you to buy the soundtrack! This game is being sold for $1.99 at the eShop, and you know how much the soundtrack is being sold for? A single dollar. A DOLLAR!! There should be no excuse. Pick up the music – these guys definitely deserve it.

Plus, the last track on the album is probably my favourite track in the entire game – it’s an 8-bit rendition of the first song I showed on this blog. It is really, really cool.

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE SOUNDTRACK!

And buy the game, for that matter. It’s worth skipping your usual morning coffee for.

-FoA

Sound in Games: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

I truly do love Zelda games – they are the perfect blend of adventure, storytelling, solid gameplay, and some really cool mechanics of play. However, there are some truly great Zelda games, and a few that are more like “Ehhh, that was alright.”

Phantom Hourglass is one of those “Ehhh”s. It’s not that they are broken or anything, but it plays just as well as any other Zelda that it doesn’t do anything to blow your mind. The same idea, then, can be said about its music. It’s not terrible music, but it’s nothing to write home to. In either case, there are a few tracks that I think deserve a special mention.

This game plays as a sequel of sorts to Wind Waker – you play as Link after he decides to join Tetra in exploring the sea and finding treasure. However, you and Tetra get caught by the Ghost Ship, and it is up to you to rescue her. Standard stuff.

Because of this connection, the game makes it clear not by its graphical style, but by its main theme. Check this out:

It is very, very similar to Wind Waker’s sea exploration theme. They share the same opening chords, albeit in different keys and different tunes. But essentially, they carry the same spirit of adventure and the high seas.

I find, though, that Phantom Hourglass seems to feature the percussion a little bit more than Wind Waker. It might just be because that I was using earphones to listen to the game, but I had that feeling. In either case, this is one of my other favourite themes in this game – it is always heard when the Great She-Pirate, Jolene, catches you in her sights.

This is also a really neat “remix” of sorts for the main theme of Zelda – which was strangely absent for most of the game! Hearing it for the credits roll in this game really made it stand out and special.

And finally, just one more track. This is the track for Oshus, the man who serves as your father figure for much of the game. He has a rather lovely theme played on the harp and flute, with its tune and chord progression invoking a sort of melancholy and wisdom in his character.

And there you are! A pretty neat DS game with some really fun mechanics, some nice tunes, and clever bits that make use of the DS hardware.  

I will hopefully catch you next week with another Sound in Games! I have a few ideas and games that I’d like to share with you. Let’s hope the essays will hold off for a bit…

-FoA

Sound in Games: Prince of Persia (2008)

At first I was slightly skeptical of this title. It got divided reviews when it was released, due to the fact that it really challenged the idea of what makes a Prince of Persia game. You had only one on one battles, cel-shaded graphics, and no ‘death’ – the main source of criticism by many fans. I decided to pick it up since my friend recommended it to me.

Ummm. Wow. I missed out big time. This is a beautiful game, through and through.

You play as the titular Prince, and as he got lost in the desert, he finds Elika, a mysterious princess who has to save the world from Ahriman, the God of Darkness. It’s a really simple storyline with really endearing and charming characters, some rock-solid platforming, and a really thoughtful and poetic ending. But let’s talk about the music first.

The soundtrack is as cliché as they come. It uses the typical Persian scale – the Phrygian dominant scale as its main melody. Some simple orchestration moving from brass to strings with simple chord progressions make it sound like something out of Aladdin or other movies involving ancient Persia. Despite that, it is a very usable and inoffensive main theme.

The same theme is used here, but with more gentle orchestration. Gotta love plucking harps and deep strings under it as accompaniment for a lovely flute melody.

The oboe is often so misunderstood in many orchestral video game pieces, but it gets a fantastic solo here. Oboes are a good choice, too – they were believed to have its roots in Persian woodwind instruments, brought to the West due to the trades and the Crusades. Again, inoffensive, but extremely lovely and works really well.

Clichés are often hated on because they don’t innovate or push for a new idea of thinking, but sometimes they are the best thing for the job, and I think the standard soundtrack suits this game well. With a game that depends heavily on a new vision of what the Prince of Persia series is about fundamentally, sometimes a well-grounded and typical soundtrack is what’s needed to keep the game from dividing the fanbase even further.

Oh! I do want to make a special mention, though, to the sound effects used in this game. Here, I’ll give you an example:

I love, love, the sound design that went into the Prince’s platforming. It is brilliant. It gives such a tactile feel to the world, and gives it a unique aural experience unlike any other platformer I’ve ever played. I love the ‘whoosh’ that happens whenever you do something awesome, such as swinging off a pole, roofrunning, or jumping to do a wallrun. I love the clickety-clack sound whenever you continue a motion using the giant brass rings. The sound of the gauntlet grinding against the wall is also pretty awesome – again, it makes you feel as if your hand is really working hard to keep the Prince against that wall. The sound of the character sliding along is also really satisfying.

All these sounds add up to a pretty fantastic rhythm of platforming for the Prince, especially in later levels when you do some pretty unreal stunts.

Don’t let the divided opinion sway you – this is a game worth picking up. It’s real cheap now, too, and I can guarantee you that it will last you for the years to come, thanks to its amazing art style and really charming characters. Definitely try it out!

-FoA

Sound in Games: Rhythm Heaven Fever

I’m a bit saddenned at how quickly the popularity of games such as Rock Band or Guitar Hero faded out. Those two games had a great idea going for them – empowering the non-musical audience to feel what it would be like to be a rock star. However, their appeal faded out faster than most rock bands overstay their welcome.

Despite that, however, there are still plenty of games out there that employ the power of music and using it as a device to propel the game forward. One of those games is Rhythm Heaven Fever.

The basic premise of the game is to keep the rhythm of the scene/minigame you’re playing through. It’s a deceptively simple game – though you really have two buttons to worry about for the whole entire game, the manipulation of rhythms in each minigame is pretty genius.

Let me give you an example.

You manipulate the Wrestler’s answers as he’s being interviewed, and they go in rhythm. The thing I love is how they progressively make it more complicated as the song goes on – you are introduced to variations on when each ‘rhythm block’ is played; for instance, the ‘Pose for the fans!’ call starts to fall on beat two rather than beat one, or they start to happen one right after the other.

I remember this mini-game blowing the living hell out of my mind.

It starts off pretty simple enough, what with them introducing one element at a time.

But God damn. The mixing of different ‘rhythm blocks’ and the polyrhythms they use – they are doing some pretty crazy contemporary rhythm interplay here, and how do they introduce such complex rhythmic ideas in a game? With cheerleaders in a library. It is sheer genius.

They even added Bossa Nova! Though, their lyrical content is quite questionable…

If you haven’t given this game a try, seriously play it! Especially if you’re a hardcore musics man, like myself. It’s a ton of fun.

-FoA

Sound in Games: LostWinds 2

The Wii’s final days are unfortunately coming. I love that console. Sure, it brought with it a metric butt-ton of unnecessary shovelware and some terrible games, but every once in a while it brings a gorgeous gem for us to play with.

One of those little-known gems is Lostwinds.

I never got the chance to pick up the first LostWinds, unfortunately. I did, however, pick up LostWinds 2 on a bit of a whim. I’m glad I did though – not only did it surprise me with some really clever Wiimote mechanics, but it was also rather gorgeous and quaint. It is not set out to rock the world from its core, but much like a flower blossoming, it’s a simple experience that unravels to show off its elegance.

That simple beauty was really brought to life by the gentle soundtrack that was provided.

As you may have noticed from this blog, I’m really not much for ambient or ‘background’ style soundtracks. I prefer music with a melody that is singable, or something with a defining character and rhythm that really exemplifies the mood the game’s trying to convey.

The soundtrack for this game might not have a singable melody, but its sense of identity and character is very strong. With the dulcimer providing the backbone for the track, it provides a rustic and ancient sort of feel to the game. Gentle touches by percussion, cello, and whistles help soften the harshness of the dulcimer, giving the track a real warmth and mystery to it.

Plucked strings and a harp help create a warm and welcoming atmosphere to the game. Its rhythm is also quite free – you’ll have a hard time pinpointing the downbeat, but it doesn’t matter. This free-flowingness helps create the right mood for the level. A lack of a bassline also makes it hard to figure out the chordal structure of the song, but who needs to know when the music simply moves along like the wind, or the water in a river?

It’s only during the final boss fight that things really hit the fan. An epic yet kind-of-expected drum part is heard, whilst familiar tunes from past levels whistle by through the dense drumming. It doesn’t try to hit you hard in the face that this music is meant to be intense – because the rest of the game is rather quiet and subtle, just by having some gentle yet rhythmically strong drums is enough to up the tension within the level.

This is one of those games that wins your heart – not through an epic landscape or a truly rousing soundtrack, but by using gentle hues and simple yet elegant touches of colour and warmth. I heartily recommend this game – if you don’t want it on WiiWare, you can pick it up on the App Store too, I believe.

-FoA