Category: Video Game / Computer Game

Categories
2002 I Soundtracks Soundtracks by Title Video Game / Computer Game

Intellivision In Hi-Fi

Intellivision In Hi-FiMore or less an album songs performed by or inspired by the Intellivision video game console, Intellivision In Hi-Fi is an affectionate throwback to the days when video game music was anything but hi-fi. To come even close to approximating a popular piece of music was a feat, and achieving true polyphony, even in just a flat, synthesizer-esque tone, was pure luxury. Intellivision was the first home game console to manage this level of musical sophistication, and even so, it only did so on the most primitive of levels – no attack or decay or anything as fancy as sounds intended to emulate acoustical instruments. But even with that extreme return to the basics of making music, Intellivision game designers pulled off some real winners – the jazzy chase music heard when Snafu drops from a four-player game to a two-player death match, the catchy theme (coined by a then-unknown musician named George “The Fat Man” Sanger) from Thin Ice, and the sticks-in-your-head-and-stays-there music from Shark! Shark!. All of these and more appear on Intellivision In Hi-Fi.

There are also numerous Intellivision-generated ditties from never-before-heard programmers’ concept tests and a few aborted works in progress. These include classical pieces such as “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (better known to many as the theme from 2001), and more decidedly modern works along the lines of the James Bond theme and a McDonald’s jingle, among others. (It’s interesting to note that a James Bond video game was later made, but not for the Intellivision, and not by Mattel Electronics, the company that originated the console in 1979.)

To round things out, there are a few more tracks which are either songs about the Intellivision, or are reinterpretations of classic Intellivision musical themes on actual instruments. This along brings us to George Sanger’s surf-rockin’ “Surfing On Thin Ice”, which is in itself a good reason to buy this CD. Jazzy interpretations of music from Snafu and Shark! Shark! also prove to be entertaining. Confusium provides two tracks featuring copious samples of Intellivision sound effects and vintage TV ads starring George Plimpton; the first of these opens the CD to great effect, while the latter is simply too bloody long and wears out its welcome. (At nearly 15 minutes, I find it hard to sit through the whole thing without skipping to the next track.) Best of all, however, is Michael Schwartz’s “My Intellivision”, an appropriately new wave-flavored pop tribute to the machine, sung from the perspective of someone who pines for his long-lost Intellivision.

3 out of 4Naturally, this CD is really for those who are already enthusiasts of the game machine in question; Intellivision In Hi-Fi doesn’t feature gobs of stuff remixed into a more modern form, opting instead to give you the actual beeps-and-boops sound of the original hardware. I’m a fan of both approaches, but this album’s diverse sampling of original sounds and reinterpretations should have something to please just about everyone.

Order this CD

  1. Compare This! – Confusium (5:03)
  2. Snafu (1:33)
  3. Shark! Shark! (0:29)
  4. Buzz Bombers (0:29)
  5. Mind Strike (0:24)
  6. The Jetsons’ Way With Words (0:21)
  7. Melody Blasters (Blasters Blues) (0:31)
  8. Thin Ice (Carnival Of The Penguins) (0:43)
  9. Billiards Blues (1:34)
  10. Surfin’ On Thin Ice – The Fat Man (3:06)
  11. Also Sprach Zarathustra (0:47)
  12. Scooby Doo’s Maze Craze (0:32)
  13. Thunder Castle Songs (1:29)
  14. Lounge Shark! Lounge Shark! – The Tilton-Tate Orchestra (3:21)
  15. Maple Leaf Rag (1:21)
  16. My Intellivision (1982 Mix) – Michael Schwartz (4:38)
  17. James Bond Theme (0:37)
  18. You Deserve A Break Today (0:36)
  19. Linus & Lucy (1:14)
  20. Blow Out (0:58)
  21. Yogi’s Frustration (0:23)
  22. Rocky & His Friends (0:16)
  23. The Bullwinkle Show (0:19)
  24. Snafu City – The Buddy O Trio (3:12)
  25. The Closest Thing To The Real Thing – Confusium (13:58)
  26. Tron 1.1 – Tom Kahelin (7.49)

Released by: Intellivision Productions / Retrotopia.com
Release date: 2002
Total running time: 55:42

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Categories
2001 Namco Soundtracks Video Game / Computer Game X

Super Xevious – video game remixes by Haruomi Hosono

2 min read

Video game music legend Haruomi Hosono turns his remixing talents to some of Namco’s classics with this EP-length CD single. Curiously tagged Super Xevious, this remix CD essentially revolves around the music that game shared with its predecessor, Xevious. Hosono stretches the game’s few signature tunes out to a whopping eight minute remix; as you might expect, there’s quite a bit of musical repetition, but the music evolves by the layers of rhythm and other elements Hosono piles on top. A somewhat shorter remix of Hosono’s remix is included as the last track.

The track of music from Gaplus is essentially a layered reworking of the third-level music from that game; nothing is really changed from the original game music, but again, elements are added over the top 3 out of 4of it. A very brief track of music from Tower Of Druaga is also included, though even at its short length, this track doesn’t exactly invite repeat listening.

Perhaps a bit pricey for its meager running time, Super Xevious does include some interesting remix material that is, for the most part, a fun listen for fans of the 80s arcade classics.

Order this CD

  1. Super Xevious (8:51)
  2. Gaplus (5:20)
  3. The Tower of Druaga (1:47)
  4. Super Xevious – Gust Notch Mix (3:46)

Released by: Scitron Digital
Release date: 2001
Total running time: 19:47

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Categories
2005 Katamari Damacy M Soundtracks Video Game / Computer Game

Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy

3 min read

When it hit the U.S. in 2004, Namco’s offbeat Playstation 2 sleeper hit Katamari Damacy had barely undergone the rigorous “localization” that most games from Japan are put through before hitting the English-speaking market. Numerous objects in the game were covered with Japanese lettering (nothing essential to the game play, mind you), and the game’s distinctive soundtrack was sung in Japanese as often as it was sung in English. And somehow it worked. So the question is: how do you top that?

The sequel game, Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy, deftly sidesteps a lot of sequel expectations by being a self-referential tribute to the original game – and to some extent that includes the music as well. Several of the new tracks are tributes as well, putting a new twist on the signature tune of Katamari Damacy, ranging from a hilarious a capella rendition to a medley of all of the original Katamari songs as “sung” by sampled animal sounds – dogs, cats, ducks, elephants, etc. It’s a nice acknowledgement of the original, and at the same time, it’s having some fun and not overdoing it. Other songs like “Katamari On The Swing” split the difference, dropping references to the Katamari theme in during the chorus of an otherwise original number.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t some cracking good original songs though. In particular, I have to single out “Everlasting Love”, a punchy, upbeat number by Alisa (of Sailor Moon fame) with occasional bits of English peppered in throughout its Japanese lyrics, and featuring some fantastic guitar and vocal work. English or not, video game music or not, “Everlasting Love” is, hands-down, one of the catchiest songs I’ve heard this year, and it’s hard not to have a smile on one’s face while listening to it, and perhaps even harder to resist the urge to go back and listen again. “Disco Prince” throws a solid dance beat into the works, and other tunes repeat Katamari‘s effective use of styles that just don’t get a lot of airtime these days.

rating: 4 out of 4As good as the music is, now that I’ve heard it, I can’t help but wonder how much fun the game is. The good news is that, while the soundtrack isn’t likely to see domestic release in North America, the game itself is slated for a fall release. Even if you don’t feel like having the CD shipped from Japan (even though, if you liked the original Katamari soundtrack, it’s worth it), you’ll soon have a shot at hearing the music in the game itself.

Order this CD

  1. Introduction (0:24)
  2. Dokaka – Katamari On The Rocks (6:37)
  3. Asuka Sakai & Yu Miyake – Overture II (1:16)
  4. Shigeru Matsuzaki – Katamari On The Swing (4:40)
  5. Illreme- Kuru Kuru Rock (5:10)
  6. Alisa – Everlasting Love (4:45)
  7. Kirinji – Courageous Soul (5:32)
  8. Beautiful Star (3:08)
  9. You – Angel’s Rain (7:11)
  10. Katamari Robo – Houston (4:16)
  11. Kahimi Karie – Blue Orb (5:00)
  12. Yuusama – Katamari Holiday (5:37)
  13. Nomiya Maki – Baby Universe (5:06)
  14. Kenji Ninuma – Disco*Prince (7:01)
  15. Scorching Savanna (5:32)
    (featuring John the Dog, Bigmouth the
    Duck, Yuuhi the Cow, Pe the Goat, Booby the Pig, Sexy the Cat and Nyuu the
    Cow)
  16. Katsuro Tajima – The Royal Academy of Katamari (3:36)
  17. Kitomu Miyaza – King of King’s Song (4:41)
  18. Hidden Track (0:15)

Released by: Columbia Records Japan
Release date: 2005
Total running time: 79:47

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Categories
1990 Soundtracks T Video Game / Computer Game

This Is Namco!

2 min read

Celebrating the close of its most prolific decade in the video game business, and the company’s own 35th anniversary, Namco turned an ensemble of musicians loose on musical themes from the company’s legendary lineup of arcade games. Whether or not every resulting reinterpretation of those themes is successful is really in the ear of the beholder, but at the very least they’re all interesting new takes on the simplest of old favorites.

That simplicity is really the fascinating wild card of the This Is Namco! album. Some of these tunes hail from such an early period of video game sound that they barely even qualify as polyphonic. In some cases, with just one line of melody and perhaps one line of counterpoint to work from, the artists were free to layer their own improvisations onto the music freely, from rhythm to harmony. “Pac-Man A Go-Go” takes the simple intermission music from that game and turns it into a bouncy, brassy horn-and-sax jam. “One O’Clock Galaga ’88“, on the other hand, takes thematic material from that game and reinterprets it in a Benny Goodman-inspired style.

The boldest experiment on This Is Namco! is “Solo Suite Xevious No. 1″, which rearranges music from that seminal game into a piece for solo violin. Considering that the original music consists of intricate, fast-moving, almost hypnotic passages, that it actually works is almost surprising. The other pieces on the album, all arranged by Kenichiro Isoda and Kenichi Mitsuda, vary in how much they lean rating: 3 out of 4on the original game music. “One O’ Clock Galaga ’88” is actually a good example of not relying on the original music very heavily at all, merely using it as a springboard.

This Is Namco! is a nice exercise in using the most basic of material for inspiration and coming up with something that, while the resemblance is still there, is on a whole different level.

Order this CD

  1. Pac-Man A Go-Go (5:07)
  2. One O’Clock Galaga ’88 (3:36)
  3. Mappy’s Lullaby (3:53)
  4. Dragon Spirit (6:28)
  5. Solo Suite Xevious – No. 1 (2:41)
  6. Tarosuke In Beijing Hotel (6:30)
  7. Main Theme From Rolling Thunder (7:29)
  8. Thunder Ceptor (4:23)
  9. The Return Of Ishtar (3:24)
  10. Ending Theme From Assault (5:22)

Released by: Apollon / Compusic
Release date: 1990
Total running time: 48:53

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Categories
1997 S Soundtracks Star Trek Video Game / Computer Game

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

4 min read

This is an item that took years to track down for my soundtrack collection, and the history of Starfleet Command – and its rarity – is a story unto itself. Bearing the slightly inaccurate legend “Award-winning music from the composer of numerous TV series and Star Trek movies, Ron Jones” (Jones never scored a Trek movie, and over half of the CD’s music was composed by someone else), this CD is the soundtrack from the hit computer game Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. But what’s with the rarity? Surely anything bearing the Star Trek name would be mass-marketed to a fault, wouldn’t it?

In 1998, indie label Sonic Images (started by Christopher Franke of Tangerine Dream and at the time best known for its ongoing series of Babylon 5 “episodic” CDs, each containing the entire score to just one show), won the license to give the Starfleet Academy soundtrack a general release. And around the same time, Sony was prepping its nicely remastered and gorgeously packaged re-release on CD of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture soundtrack, which had been out of print for several years.

But there was one other thing that happened in 1998 that nixed both of those releases: Paramount wanted to give priority to marketing the then-upcoming Star Trek: Insurrection. The studio told Sony and Sonic Images to hold their releases back; Sony later released The Motion Picture 2-CD set in 1999 (which worked better anyway, as that was the film’s 20th anniversary), but Sonic Images’ license was not renewed by Paramount. The label had a warehouse full of pressed CDs, and wanted to renew the license and release that inventory. But Paramount wouldn’t budge – and so Starfleet Academy‘s soundtrack, for most, never saw the light of day.

Rumors abounded about the cause of the cancellation, including the possibility that Rick Berman, who had input into Star Trek product licensing, nixed the release to retaliate against former Star Trek: The Next Generation composer Ron Jones’ less-than-flattering comments about his time on the series. Whatever the reason, the only copies of Starfleet Academy that made it into the public’s hands came in the form of premium offers, a limited edition run of the game which included the soundtrack CD, and advance copies of the CD sent out to video game and music journalists ahead of the Sonic Images release. With its cutscenes starring William Shatner and George Takei, and its lush musical score composed and conducted by someone who had actually been connected to the franchise, Starfleet Academy was something of a big deal at the time. Thus ends the tumultuous story of the soundtrack’s premature demise.

Where the music itself is concerned, the first ten tracks will be familiar to those who fondly recall Jones’ music from the first four seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. His signature sound is sweeping, nautical, and dramatic, paying homage equally to the Star Trek film scores of James Horner and the late, great Jerry Goldsmith and melding those sensibilities nicely. Some of the passages of Starfleet Academy’s musical score are very reminiscent of Jones’ fourth-season Next Generation episode The Nth Degree, and it’s all great stuff – the sort of adventurous bombast that became verboten on the TV series, and yet makes the soundtrack for this computer game sound like a legitimate entry in the movie series.

Jones protegè Brian Luzietti provides the remainder of the music for Starfleet Academy, and while it’s interesting to hear someone attempt to reach toward the same style, some of Luzietti’s tracks don’t quite have the “oomph” of Jones’ music. Then again, that’s probably also a side effect of hearing the music outside of its intended medium – these things would probably Rating: 4 out of 4go unnoticed buried under the layers of sound effects and pre-recorded dialogue that typically accompany a computer game from the 1990s. Luzietti is at his best when he’s doing his own thing and not trying to meet Jones halfway stylistically, and some of his tracks are quite listenable indeed – and legitimately Trekkish, with throwbacks to the Alexander Courage fanfare for the original series.

    Can't order this CD
  1. Starfleet Academy Theme (4:07)
  2. Surrounded (2:22)
  3. Evasive Maneuvers (2:22)
  4. Exploring The Unknown (1:57)
  5. On The Edge (2:49)
  6. Crew Introduction (1:50)
  7. Red Alert (2:49)
  8. On To Victory (2:22)
  9. Discovery (1:59)
  10. No Way Out (2:22)
  11. To Stop The Vanguard (3:41)
  12. Personal Problems (0:40)
  13. Romulan Suicide (1:04)
  14. Kirk’s Briefing (1:19)
  15. Venturi Suite (3:03)
  16. Sneaking Instincts (1:21)
  17. The Vanguard’s Plans (1:35)
  18. Log – Looking Grim (1:04)
  19. Log – Mission Accomplished (1:04)
  20. Log – Situation Normal (1:05)
  21. Thoughts Before The Briefing (1:38)
  22. Forester – Captain Of The Enterprise (4:00)

Released by: Interplay Productions (1998 Sonic Images release cancelled)
Release date: 1997
Total running time: 46:44

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Categories
2003 K Katamari Damacy Soundtracks Video Game / Computer Game

Katamari Fortissimo Damacy

4 min read

The soundtrack to an almost unreasonably fun video game, Katamari Fortissimo Damacy is one of the most varied soundtracks I’ve ever heard to any multimedia entity, and it’s also one of the few soundtracks consisting of the works of multiple artists that I’ve ever heard rise to this level.

To give just a little bit of background on the game itself, Katamari Damacy is a Japanese import from Namco, the folks who brought us Pac-Man, Dig Dug and other almost illegally addictive video games down through the ages. You control a diminutive Prince, whose father, the King of All Cosmos, has apparently obliterated all the stars in the sky. You’re sent on a mission to create “katamari” – balls of objects all rolled up into a big clump. In the early stages of the game, you pick up pencils and paper clips and other small objects, but if you’re good enough you can eventually roll your katamari over entire oceans, picking up giant squids and islands. Nothing is safe. Everything can be accumulated. But if you try to pick up something that your katamari simply doesn’t have the mass and momentum to accumulate, you’ll either dislodge a few precious items from it – or lose it altogether. The object is to grow the katamari big enough to launch it into the night sky as a new star.

This zany, cartoony fun takes place against the backdrop of some simply wonderful music, making the package even better. (I highly recommend the game too – unsure of whether or not anyone outside of the Far East would “get it,” Namco dumped this game in the U.S. at a budget price of $20 and it promptly sold out its first print run just on word of mouth alone.) The music is whimsical, light-hearted, and has a great energy to it. Few CDs have made me smile as much while listening as this one does on a regular basis.

Yu Miyake’s “Katamari On The Rock” serves as a recurring motif throughout the various songs, and it’s as versatile a tune as you could ask for. Not every song features that element, though. Highlights range from the J-pop stylings of “Lonely Rolling Star”, “You Are Smart” and “The Moon And The Prince”, to the almost Sinatra-esque “Que Sera Sera”, to the New York jazz-flavored “A Crimson Rose And A Gin & Tonic”, to the meandering remixed guitar of “Angel Flavor’s Present”, to a Michael Bolton-style power ballad called “Katamari Love”, to “Last Samba”, which sounds a bit like someone’s been listening to John Williams’ Naboo celebration from the end of Star Wars Episode I. That every syllable of every lyric on the album is sung in Japanese doesn’t diminish my enjoyment of it one bit. Frankly, if anything, this CD gives me a nice, long list of artists whose other works I’ll be keeping an eye out for, if their work here is any indication of their usual output.

rating: 4 out of 4It’s a wildly infectious listening experience and, like the game itself, it has the almost inexplicable effect of brightening my day every time I come into contact with it. It’s almost hard to explain. Even harder to explain is how Namco might possibly top this collection of music for the upcoming sequel, Everybody Loves Katamari Damacy. My first Damn Near Perfect Album List addition in a long, long time. Katamari Fortissimo Damacy is that good.

Order this CD

  1. Nananan Katamari performed by Yu Miyake & Yuusama (1:21)
  2. Katamari On The Rock: Main Theme performed by Yu Miyake & Masayuki Tanaka (5:57)
  3. Overture performed by Yu Miyake & Asuka Sakai (0:49)
  4. The Moon And The Prince performed by Kenji Ninuma & Akitaka Tohyama (5:30)
  5. Fugue #7777 performed by Asuka Sakai (1:22)
  6. Lonely Rolling Star performed by Yohihito Yano & Saki Kabata (5:44)
  7. The Wonderful Star’s Walk Is Wonderful performed by Yuri Misumi (3:12)
  8. Katamari Mambo (Katamari Syndrome mix) performed by Nobue Matsubara, Yuri Misumi & Sakamoto-chan (5:35)
  9. You Are Smart performed by Akitaka Tohyama (3:32)
  10. A Crimson Rose And A Gin & Tonic performed by Ado Mizumori & Asuka Sakai (4:29)
  11. Wanda Wanda performed by Yu Miyake (3:23)
  12. Que Sera Sera performed by Charlie Kosei & Asuka Sakai (5:31)
  13. Angel Flavor’s Present performed by Yu Miyake (5:08)
  14. Katamaritaino performed by Yui Asaka & Hideki Tobeta (5:54)
  15. Katamari Stars performed by Hideki Tobeta (2:28)
  16. Cherry Blossom Color Season performed by Yu Miyake & Katamari Company Jr. (6:14)
  17. Lovely Angel performed by Yu Miyake (1:27)
  18. Stardust Fanfare performed by Akitaka Tohyama (0:08)
  19. Last Samba performed by Yu Miyake, Asuka Sakai & Katamari Samba Company (1:00)
  20. Katamari Love (Ending Theme) performed by Shigeru Matsuzaki & Yohihito Yano (4:09)
  21. Katamari March Damacy performed by Yu Miyake (2:21)

Released by:
Release date:
Total running time:

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Categories
1999 Soundtracks Video Game / Computer Game X

Xevious 3D/G+

2 min read

Not really a soundtrack in the strictest sense, this is – like Namco Classics Collection before it – a collection of remixes of background music as heard in Namco’s 3-D update of the classic Xevious arcade game. In many cases, you won’t hear any correlation whatsoever to the music that’s heard in the game – it’s been reworked that much.

Sometimes, as in the mesmerizing “Area 1: MLO Deep Pan Mix”, this is just fine. There are quite a few tracks on here which have an almost hypnotic effect – overall, pretty good standard-issue trance. But the lead 3 out of 4track, “Area 7: Happy-Go-Lucky Mix”, is worthy of skipping every time – it sounds like it’s trying to find a whimsical tone, and it winds up being more annoying than anything.

It may have precious little to do with Xevious, but it’s not a bad listen in and of itself.

Order this CD

  1. Area 7: Happy-Go Lucky Mix mixed by SPAG (6:04)
  2. Area 4: Liquid Groove Mix mixed by SPAG (6:15)
  3. Boss 4: NP Mix mixed by SPAG (4:35)
  4. Area 1: MLO Deep Pan Mix remixed by MLO (8:43)
  5. Boss 7: Berserker’s Fat Beat Mix remixed by Berserker (6:38)
  6. Ending Movie: The Wax Head Mix remixed by The Hypnotist (7:57)
  7. Opening Movie: Dub Struck remixed by The Hypnotist (8:37)
  8. Area 5: Overhead Noise Mix remixed by Overhead Noise (17:20)
  9. Untitled Hidden Track #1 (6:14)
  10. Untitled Hidden Track #2 (4:27)

Released by: Pony Canyon
Release date: 1999
Total running time: 76:52

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Categories
2000 K Soundtracks Video Game / Computer Game

Konami Game Music Volume 1

Konami Game Music Volume 1I previously griped a bit about Taito Game Music, a CD which I liked despite its shortcomings but really couldn’t see recommending to a general audience. Well, as it turns out, some of the same problems rear their heads with Konami Game Music Volume 1, but those problems are tempered by one thing: generally, Konami’s 80s arcade games had more music than Taito’s, lending themselves more readily to a release like this.

Covered in this first volume of Konami coin-op audio tributes are Gyruss (whose techno take on Bach’s “Tocatta And Fugue In B Minor” was the first video game music ever presented in stereo), the original and arrangement versions of Twin Bee and Gradius, music and effects from Pooyan, Time Pilot, Yie Ar Kung-Fu, Roc ‘N’ Rope and a Japan-only release, Kekkyoku Nankyoku Daiboken. All strictly 80s goodness.

3 out of 4The sound transfers, as usual, are phenomenal, but all the difference is made when one tries to do this with games which had music to begin with. Gyruss and Time Pilot are personal favorites of mine in this department, and there’s no doubt that you’ll probably dig others that have memories attached to them for you as well. Good stuff, but still something for only the biggest video game fans.

Order this CD

    Twinbee
  1. Credit – Start BGM (Stage99) (0:10)
  2. Twinbee’s Home Town Song BGM (Game BGM 1) (0:19)
  3. Power Up – Fantastic Powers (1:05)
  4. Boss BGM1 – Clear (0:45)
  5. Boss BGM2 – Stage Clear – Extend (0:54)
  6. Warning – Boss BGM3 – Game Over (0:52)
  7. Normal Ranking (0:18)
  8. Top Ranking (0:26)

    Kekkyoku Nankyoku Daiboken

  9. BGM (1:15)

    Gradius Arrange Version

  10. Beginning Of The History – Challenger 1985 – Free Flyer (4:44)

    Gyruss

  11. Gyruss BGM (3:02)

    Roc ‘N’ Rope

  12. Game Start (0:10)
  13. BGM1 (0:56)
  14. BGM2 (0:54)
  15. BGM3 (0:53)
  16. BGM4 (0:59)

    Yie Ar Kung Fu

  17. Game Start (0:09)
  18. BGM (1:02)
  19. Game End (0:36)

    Gradius

  20. Credit – Beginning Of The History (0:24)
  21. Challenger 1985 (0:47)
  22. Beat Bank (0:17)
  23. Blank Mask (0:22)
  24. Free Flyer (0:46)
  25. Mazed Music (0:18)
  26. Mechanical Globule (0:33)
  27. Final Attack (0:24)
  28. Aircraft Carrier (0:16)
  29. Game Over (0:05)
  30. Ranking (0:21)
  31. BGM (0:53)

    Pooyan

  32. Game Start (0:13)
  33. BGM1 (0:52)
  34. BGM2 (1:02)
  35. BGM3 (0:53)
  36. BGM4 (0:04)
  37. BGM5 (0:41)

    Time Pilot

  38. BGM1 (0:10)
  39. BGM2 (1:18)

    Twinbee Arrange Version

  40. Twinbee’s Home Town Song – Game Over – Normal Ranking (4:54)

Released by: Scitron Digital
Release date: 2000
Total running time: 35:24

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Categories
1994 Soundtracks T Video Game / Computer Game

Tempest 2000

2 min read

In 1994, programmer Jeff Minter had a bright idea: Atari, then still in business under its own steam, and still looking for hot games to thrust its troubled Jaguar video game console into the limelight, should revive one of its arcade classics, Tempest, with some modern game play elements and a new look. Minter handed Atari Tempest 2000 (later ported to the Playstation as Tempest X3), which is about as close to a “killer app” game as the Jaguar got. Among the many changes made to the original Tempest format was the addition of a thumping techno soundtrack (the original 1981 arcade game had no music at all). Before long, Atari had received enough praise for the music that an audio CD version of it was prepared as a premium item.

As with quite a bit of techno (and, for the zillionth time, I ask: why does it seem like 95% of all video games are set to techno music these days?), some of the tracks are so interchangeable that one can be forgiven for not realizing that one track’s ended and another has begun. That said, the Tempest 2000 soundtrack doesn’t continually lumber around the “thundering” end of the spectrum, giving us a few lighter, trance-like tracks in keeping with the game’s mind-blowingly colorful light show. There is actually some welcome contrast among the tracks.

3 out of 4Now out of print, Tempest 2000 (the soundtrack, not the game) is a bit of a collector’s item, but don’t hock the car to get it – in their attempt to try to generate crossover appeal to the music market (and admittedly, this was being done at a time when this genre of music wasn’t really mainstream yet), Atari pressed a lot of these suckers. It isn’t too hard to find one.

  1. Thermal Resolution (3:59)
  2. Mind’s Eye (4:52)
  3. T2K (5:23)
  4. Ease Yourself (7:52)
  5. Tracking Depth (5:04)
  6. Constructive Demolition (4:05)
  7. Future Tense (5:54)
  8. Digital Terror (5:07)
  9. Hyper Prism (4:26)
  10. Glide Control (5:12)
  11. Ultra Yak (4:00)
  12. 2000 Dub (7:31)

Released by: Atari / Interplay
Release date: 1994
Total running time: 63:25

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Categories
1998 D Dune Soundtracks Video Game / Computer Game

Dune 2000 – music by Frank Klepacki

Dune 2000It’s been nearly five years since it first hit PCs (which few people could have missed, given that a marathon Sci-Fi Channel airing of David Lynch’s Dune was sponsored by Electronic Arts in support of the release), and despite all the good stuff we’ve gotten from both game developer Westwood Studios and their in-house music guru Frank Klepacki, Dune 2000 is still my favorite PC strategy game – and still my favorite computer game soundtrack.

Klepacki does invoke Toto’s groundbreaking rock-orchestral score in places, mainly in the use of specific instruments such as percussion and electric guitar. But the vast majority of the music from Dune 2000 isn’t trying to be an extension of the film (which is sometimes more than we can say for the game’s cinematic cut scenes), it’s a sweeping, atmospheric and stunningly original movie-quality soundtrack. Some of the music’s 4 out of 4electronics almost steer it into the abstract, sounding in a few places like some of the better tracks from Evan Chen’s soundtrack from Crusade. It’s sinister, mysterious, and utterly appropriate to the game’s action. Even separated from the game itself, Klepacki’s music makes for a compelling listen. I highly recommend both the game and the music – they’re still among Westwood’s all-time best.

Order this CD

  1. Menu Theme (0:52)
  2. The Ambush (4:14)
  3. Attack On Arrakis (4:03)
  4. The Atriedes Gain (4:16)
  5. Enter The Ordos (5:13)
  6. Fight For Power (5:51)
  7. The Fremen (4:31)
  8. Harkonnen Battle (4:16)
  9. Land Of Sand (5:03)
  10. Plotting (4:32)
  11. Robotix (4:10)
  12. Rise Of Harkonnen (3:37)
  13. The Soldiers Approach (4:01)
  14. Spice Scouting (5:10)
  15. Under Construction (4:32)
  16. The Waiting Game (4:13)
  17. Score (2:05)

Released by: Westwood Studios / Electronic Arts
Release date: 1998
Total running time: 70:39

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