Weekend Gaming Vibes – Playlist

This past week felt like one of those weeks where your energy level just isn’t what it would normally be(not very high to begin with) and you just feel like you could use a recharge. I haven’t been quite as active on things like Twitter or Twitch and had some reading to catch up on here on WordPress this past week, so I thought today would be a perfect day to do something a little more simple like showing a playlist of some of the gaming-related music I’ve been listening to when I’m sitting here at my computer, doing housework or simply not working.

This past week it was announced that Activision is set to release a remastered edition of both Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2. The first things that sprang to mind were the endless hours spent playing THPS games as a kid and the memorable collections of licensed music featured within. I could immediately hear Goldfinger’s “Superman” or the Dead Kennedys’ “Police Truck” playing in my head. As with many other fans of THPS, the series was the introduction to a great many different songs and artists. One of my favorites from the original Pro Skater is Jerry Was a Race Car Driver, the little ditty that introduced me to the goofy, yet talented trio of Les Claypool, Larry Lalonde, and Tim ‘Herb’ Alexander.

Streets of Rage 4 released just a few weeks ago and I’m still having a lot of fun playing through the game. It’s a great example of a sequel retaining the essence of what made the previous games such a beloved franchise among retro gamers. The soundtrack to Streets of Rage 4 is no exception as the generally uptempo tracks nicely compliment the flow of the game. One of my favorites is the track ‘Rising Up’ which coincidentally(or not) is used during the elevator level in the game, a prerequisite for any beat ’em up game.

For any critiques or complaints one may have against Doom Eternal, the heavy-as-hell Mick Gordon soundtrack typically isn’t among them. The aggressive industrial-metal soundscape created is integral for setting the mood of the game – brutality and carnage. The relationship between Mick and Bethesda doesn’t sound entirely amenable, with Gordon himself allegedly stating he does not see himself working with Bethesda in the future after the controversy about the mixing and handling of the game’s soundtrack. Regardless of what happens, the Doom Eternal soundtrack is still an impressive work to go out on.

Another great game with an equally great soundtrack released in the past couple months is Ori and the Will of the Wisps. The track I picked for this playlist is ‘Ku’s First Flight’ which plays early on in the game as we see baby owl, Ku hatch with a damaged wing making flight a seemingly impossible dream. It isn’t until Ori retrieves a large feather and ties it to Ku’s impaired wing the duo are able to take flight as this beautifully emotive track accompanies them.

I picked up the Assassin’s Creed Rebels collection for my Nintendo Switch recently. The set includes an HD remaster of both Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Rogue. It wasn’t until the past few years that I had really started to play more of the AC series and had always wanted to play Black Flag. I really enjoy being able to sail around the map as I loot and plunder the Caribbean islands. Who doesn’t love being a pirate? I also love the arrangement of stringed instruments in the soundtrack, particularly the cello sections.

Probably not much of a surprise here as well, I’ve been continuing to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons as I run around the island hoarding shells, buying turnips, and fishing. The soundtrack, in complete contrast to Doom Eternal, is like a cool island breeze. The relaxing soundscape is the perfect way to chill out and relax amidst everything else going on outside my apartment. I have a fondness for steel drums as well, so the track Island Tour(Day – Rain) has a spot on this playlist.

And not entirely surprising, I’ll conclude my list with a selection from the Far Cry 5 soundtrack, one of my absolute favorite games from this current console generation. I was surprised at just how much I started to like the original songs included in the game as essentially “propaganda” songs played for the Eden’s Gate cult. An interesting part of the game’s soundtrack is, depending on which region of Hope County Montana you are currently in, you will hear different interpretations or arrangements of a given song. One of my other favorites that I’ve been listening to over the past week year and a half is this folksy arrangement of the song ‘Let the Water Wash Away Your Sins’. The alternate version of the song incorporates instruments like acoustic guitars and violins…sorry, I mean fiddles, along with the sing-along chorus give the song almost a Bob Dylan-like feel to the song. The irony of all these songs in the game is just how easily you go from hating “that stupid cult music” to “I love these songs!”.

What have you been listening to this past week? Have you had a special playlist to help keep you sane during quarantine? Let me know. I think I’m gonna jump back into some more Far Cry 5…

Thanks for reading!

Gaming Omnivore Art Gallery

One of my goals for 2020 was to keep pushing forward and continuing to progress in not only my writing ability(hey, it could happen…) and also to experiment with new ideas and formats on my blog site. For today’s post I wanted to highlight some of the captivating visuals found in games I’ve played over this past console generation.

The quality and complexity of game visuals is light years from the simple pixelated images produced in the early days of gaming, like the Atari 2600 or even the NES a handful of years later. Video games have also grown more complex and capable of not only providing an interesting gameplay experience, they can tell stories on par with any Hollywood film and can instantly transport players anywhere from real-world locations, distant planets, or places we could only otherwise see in our own imaginations. Video games have in more recent years finally become accepted and recognized, Roger Ebert notwithstanding, as an artistic medium similar to music or movies, with many games featuring the same level of production as many films. Games are more than able to convey ideas and emotions to match other mediums and today I’m going to showcase some of wonderful visuals found within them.

One of the options featured in a vast number of games this past console generation is Photo Mode which allows you to briefly suspend play and not only take a snapshot of everything on screen, but also giving some rudimentary camera controls or filter options to further color the mood of your digital playground. This comes as a nod of recognition to the painstaking level of detail and effort put in to create such impressive world. It’s become almost an afterthought in most open-world games like Horizon: Zero Dawn or Assassin’s Creed(nearly every Ubisoft game, actually) and is frequently the reason I feel I’m not progressing through many areas of the game as I find myself stopping every so often to jump into Photo Mode and save a quick picture. Here’s a guided tour of five pieces that I love, along with the feeling that comes to mind when viewing them. Please remember to stay behind the velvet rope…

Control

Mystique – The feeling of being inexplicably drawn to somewhere or something and the determination to discover the secrets behind it. We see Jesse as she cautiously ventures down an ever-changing corridor towards a carousel horse that serves as an Item of Power. I also love how the shot brings to mind the film Blade Runner as you can see the carousel horse in the background bears a striking similarity to a unicorn.

Gris

Hardship – Her voice taken away as a result of a traumatic experience, our heroine makes her way across a broken world, devoid of color. We also see the progress of her healing journey through the implementation of colors and as a metaphor for the challenges one may face in life. I love the use of beautiful watercolors in this piece.

Layers of Fear

Obsession – Here we observe an example of the sometimes too fine line between genius and insanity. Our artist has found themselves caught in-between the vision of the mind and the ability of the hands and the ensuing struggle to create. This can also be a manifestation of the artist’s internal struggles as well.

Death Stranding

Death – Sam nears the end of his destination, his journey has been on a personal as well as physical level as he courageously faces death itself trapped between the plane of the living and dead. The ominous BT whale in this sublime, otherworldly shot serves as the Grim Reaper; awaiting us all at the end of our lives.

Far Cry 5

Serenity – Seeing this shot leaves me with a peaceful, calming feeling as I can just about smell the mountain air or the warmth of the sunlight reflecting off the water below the falls. This can represent the tranquility for some in simplicity of life and being in touch with nature as we gaze upon its majestic beauty.

This concludes the tour for now! I kind of like the idea of showincasing different shots and a short description of the feelings accompanying it. This is more or less what I’ve used my Instagram account for as I primarily post screenshots of random games I’ve played. There’s many more screenshots I’ve taken in games that are better than anything I’ve ever photographed in real life. What are some games that feature worlds that you can completely lose yourself in? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading!