Dec 30, 2011

The Best Game Music of 2011: Readers' Choice

Sonic Generations Collection

We've already recognized a whole bunch of the best game soundtracks of 2011. But of course, there are only so many hours in the day—only so much time to play games, and one can only write about so many game soundtracks.

Fortunately, you guys were up to the task of nominating outstanding soundtracks that didn't make our official round-up. On Thursday, you put forth a ton of worthy original soundtracks from the year. I gathered 'em all together and listed them here.

As an unscientific aside, if I had to gauge the general tenor, enthusiasm, and number of nominations, Kotaku's "Readers' Choice" Award for Best 2011 Video Game Soundtrack would go to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, with Bastion and Xenoblade Chronicles as runners-up. Y'all have good taste.

Each of these entries has been written by a Kotaku commenter, sometimes more than one.

Let's get down to it, shall we?

Xenoblade Chronicles

There are two games that make my short list: Xenoblade Chronicles and Radiant Historia. If we are only counting US releases, then I will default to Radiant Historia. I place the Xenoblade OST above Radiant Historia's though. It is not because of the established talent behind it, but rather because of the surprising great work of ACE+. Each piece really brings you into your new environments, and the new battle theme that kicks in some time into the game is just fantastic. This is one song and environment I particularly enjoyed (and it is different from the other tracks usually posted by others and myself). —Dodgewd

At least for being released this year in the UK, Xenoblade deserves a call out for contributions from heavyweights like Yasunori Mitsuda and Yoko Shimomura.—Tye The Czar

True dat. Some great tracks throughout. This track plays in the first open area you get to explore. It conveys a great sense of freedom, one of the best aspects of Xenoblade from both a gameplay and a JRPG context. The first time I accidentally jumped off a bridge and plummeted hundreds of feet down into the water below, only to find that I could swim around and explore was something special. Even after spending hour 7 in Colony working on sidequest #4563, this track is fresh.—bobtheblob916

"Xenoblade Chronicles". I have played many videogames, among them many JRPGs and as a music hobbyist, if there something that I really appreciate is a soundtrack that helps you immerse in it's game world. "Xenoblade Chronicles" boasts a 4 audio CD soundtrack that manages to mimic the exact feelings of the what's happening on the screen. Beautiful, stunning compositions and I hope this wins next year when the game hits America and you will all see why I am nominating it right here.—Shiryu

To The Moon

There's a place deep inside me that rarely gets touched, moved. Too much of life is filled with the ordinary and mundane, we are surrounded by it, we choke on it. The moment I heard those first few simple notes I was swept to that place. The music has the ability to make the world stop for that brief moment when you listen to it. The soundtrack is all inclusive, all immersive and utterly captivating. It demands all of your attention, it gently compels you to feel, to share at that moment in the game the feelings that the characters go through... it is truly magical.—Han Cillers

Shadows of the Damned

There was a lot of great game music this year, I agree with most if not all of the previous posts. Though there's one game in particular that I feel bears mentioning: Shadows of the Damned. It has a really fantastic sound design, and I think this track is a descent, if not perfect, representation of the kind of atmospheric music you can find in it. That's not to say this is a great representation of the style of music you'll find in the game, though. That would be quite a feat, for the soundtrack shifts wildly from heavy metal, to old fashioned ragtime, to mariachi rock expertly from scene to scene. It would be impossible for me to disregard it as a heavy contender for my game music of the year.—VonAbsynt

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

I gotta say, Ghost Trick's music really gave the game's more intense moments the dramatic edge they needed. It's a bit like the music that plays when you make a successful objection in Phoenix Wright, it just gives you that "Oh man, shit just got real" feeling. My personal game of the year, for sure!—Diamond Sea

Batman: Arkham City

Bastion, Deus Ex: HR and The Witcher 2 are all highlights but I was most surprised by Batman: Arkham City. Perhaps because I could barely recall anything from Asylum, or because I was playing Arkham City so damn much. The theme is wonderful, and I love the build-up from about 1:17, that increase in tension that releases into a bold heroic yet tragic theme at around 1:56. 'This Court Is Now In Session' is also great music by which to punch people. In the game.—hot_heart

Sonic Generations

I am surprised not a single person has mentioned Sonic Generations and its incredible soundtrack! While I certainly wouldn't nominate it for any game of the year awards, its soundtrack is probably the best of any Sonic game. Rather than go straight-up rock, the composers instead went with a very violin-heavy sound that actually fits Sonic perfectly. Granted, almost every single song is a remix of a previous game, but it's impossible to deny that this is an incredible piece. The piano backing the violin is beautiful, and the drums really give the entire thing a sense of speed that just makes you want to move.—Goopygoo

Child of Eden

How could everyone forget Child of Eden's OST? The entire game is based on music, beats, and rhythm. This style of Tech-House is easy to listen to. Very catchy and with a soulful singer behind it too. Genki Rockets FTW!—tehjonel

Catherine

The soundtrack to Catherine is an incredibly strange mix of classical music and, I guess, rock? Either way, it's tremendously unique and the perfect music for a frenetic puzzle game.—PsychoDantis

Battlefield 3

I can't BELIEVE that no one has posted anything about Battlefield 3 yet!

The strange, electronic soundtrack goes perfectly with the atmosphere of the game, both in the singleplayer and multiplayer. For instance, when a multiplayer battle is reaching its conclusion, a track starts playing in the background, and the fight seems more and more intense until you see "Your team lost." or "Your team won!"

For me the music is a tribute to the intensity of battle that the game is trying to convey. That syncopated 6-feel rhythm sounds spastic yet oddly ordered, sort of like a series of autocannon shots or mortar shells going off. That little synth line that comes in on top is just so wonderfully placed, and carries the song, which starts out rhythmically, harmonically. All the little beeps and sounds are very similar to a lot of the noises that you hear in the game, like the target lock sound on your Javelin or a bullet whizzing by, or bits of dirt hitting the ground after an explosion.

Something about this music just really gets me into the game... makes me want to sprint around and vault over things before snapping my sight onto that Russian that's about to cap a flag.—llama.fragments

Radiant Historia

Yoko Shimomura just nailed it with Radiant Historia's OST, in my humble opinion. It's a game that goes without complex graphics and voiced dialogue, but it doesn't really need either because every track does such a wonderful job of setting the mood of a scene, conveying a particular emotion. This is the stuff classics are made of, both the game itself and the soundtrack.—Paradox Me

Someone already mentioned it but my vote goes to Radiant Historia too. Even though the soundtrack hasn't that many tracks it's still fantastic. Then again I shouldn't be surprised since the soundtrack was composed by Yoko Shimomura. And the game is amazing as well so if you haven't played it yet, go play it.—klezdoom

Dark Souls

Dark Souls for certain. Some of those boss themes are outright intense, but I fell in love with the game as soon as I heard the menu music. It's just so calm yet haunting as well, as if it were trying to comfort you before your hardship comes about each time. It almost reminds me of the Resident Evil save room themes.—GanymedeJupiter

Rarely does a game's negative use of music affect how powerful the musical parts actually are.—snakelinksonic

Tactics Ogre

Blasphemous Experiment (Nybbeth's theme) is probably the best example I can think of [of why this soundtrack needs more attention]. That song is just plain chilling, especially considering it's a battle theme. The original SNES version is okay, but the PSP arrangement is just ridiculously good. Such a good damn song. Whenever you hear it, it's also a good sign that you're probably about to get your ass kicked!—Archaotic

And there you have 'em, our readers' picks for the best soundtracks of 2011. Thanks to all who contributed!

Dec 30, 2011

This Year in the Business: 'The Hacker is 2011's Person of the Year'

Kotaku

This Year in the Business: 'The Hacker is 2011's Person of the Year' This week, Industry Gamers took a look at what happened in 2011, and what will happen in 2012.

QUOTE | "The Hacker is 2011's Person of the Year." - James Brightman, Editor-in-Chief of IndustryGamers, presents the Top 10 people of the year and why they mattered to the game industry in 2011 in this 4-part series.

QUOTE | "Microsoft will announce a successor to Xbox 360 at E3 2012." - Billy Pidgeon, game industry analyst, making his predictions for the game industry in 2012.

QUOTE | "GTA V will be 2012's biggest release." - EEDAR's Jesse Divnich makes the bold prediction that Rockstar's next blockbuster will topple Call of Duty as the biggest game in 2012.

QUOTE | "World of Warcraft will need to reinvent its business model in the face of subscriber declines." - David Cole of DFC Intelligence makes this and other predictions about key events for the gaming industry in 2012.

QUOTE | "Triumphs, failures, great games, new market trends, big announcements and new consoles revealed." - IndustryGamers Senior Editor David Radd reviews the top stories of the year in this 4-part series.

QUOTE | "I wouldn't even expect any official announcements of new hardware in 2012." - Industry analyst Jesse Divnich makes this and other predictions about what will happen in 2012.

QUOTE | "Expect some significant new styles of social gameplay in 2012." – Steve Peterson, West Coast Editor of IndustryGamers, making 5 predictions for social gaming in 2012.

QUOTE | "Expect even more layoffs and mergers from game companies in the coming year." - Scott Steinberg marketing expert and analyst of TechSavvy Global on what he thinks will happen in 2012.

QUOTE | "Some of the Winners may surprise you." - Steve Peterson, West Coast Editor of IndustryGamers, talking about IndustryGamers' Top 5 Winners For 2011.

QUOTE | "Tablets will get AAA titles." - Steve Peterson, West Coast Editor of IndustryGamers, predicting one of the top 5 things that will happen in mobile gaming in 2012.

QUOTE | "No need to go hunting for the snark... it's here." - Steve Peterson, West Coast Editor of IndustryGamers, giving the top Losers of 2011 some recognition for their failures.

This Week in the Business courtesy of IndustryGamers.com

Dec 30, 2011

The Virtual Pikachu That Didn't Need Food, Just Affection

Kotaku

Back in 1998, Pokémon was the shiz-nittle-bam-snip-snap-sack. Much like Ninja Turtles the decade before, Pokémon was -the- children's franchise. Even people who didn't watch the show could instantly recognize the American series mascot, Pikachu. It was during this time that Nintendo and Game Freak decided to release a giga-pet based on owning an actual Pokémon. And thus the Pokémon Pocket Pikachu was born.

Now I know there are two version of this giga-pet, the original LCD one and the later GS color one, but unfortunately I only have the black and white one. There are a few differences between each Pikapal, but overall it's the same experience. Only a few animations, mini-game changes and the additional color make the difference.

Pokémon Pikachu is slightly different from more traditional portable virtual pets in that Pikachu does not need to be fed, watered, or cleaned up after. Pikachu only requires interaction and exercise to keep him happy. The unit is a virtual pet, but it also has a pedometer function built in. With every step the user takes, the Pokémon Pikachu will provide credits ("watts") which can be used as presents for Pikachu. It's not an exact science, but around eighteen steps on the pedometer will earn one watt.

Overall, your relationship status with Pikachu will be gauged on the Select screen a score. When you play with him, you'll gain points, and the more you have, the more he'll like you. You can gain more points by walking, shaking him, and giving him watts. You must be careful though because shaking him at the wrong time will cause him to become upset with you. Some examples are when he's stacking building blocks or sleeping. I haven't tried it while he is in the shower, but I know that in the GS version he gets frightened and runs away. Here is a list of activities I've seen Pikachu do.

Brushing His Teeth - (Shaking it: He brushes faster.)
Playing At The Beach – (Shaking it: He shovels faster.)
Weight Lifting – (Shaking it: He drops the weight.)
Building With Blocks – (Shaking it: A block drops off his small building.)
Sleeping – (Shaking it: He wakes up.)
Spinning Around – (Shaking it: His ears "perk" up, and he'll start looking at you.)
Adding 9+2 – (Shaking it: Has a question mark over his head.)
Licking an ice cream cone/lollipop – (Shaking it: He drops the cone on the floor.)
Watching TV – (Shaking it: He jumps up and down.)
Taking a bath – (Shaking it: He bobs his head back and forth.)
Standing around – (Shaking it: He will wave his arms and his tail around.)

When you first get Pikachu he will be a little grouchy and just be "okay" with you. He won't look at you and he will spend most of his time doing activities on his own. As you spend more time with Pikachu, your friendship score will grow and you'll start seeing him engage in more activities. Giving him watt presents is also a great way to quickly boost the friendship. Different denominations of watts will prompt different reactions from Pikachu.

000: Pikachu will make an angry face and your friendship score will go down.
010+: Pikachu will yawn.
100+: Pikachu will cheer and do a small march.
400+: Pikachu will write you a letter.
500+: Pikachu will do a backflip.
600+: Pikachu will stare at you with cute eyes and little hearts will appear around him.
999+: Pikachu will perform a little show where he will either swim, hang-glide, play the trumpet/piano, or balance on a ball.

More top stories from Tikisaurus.com
• My visit to the Penny Arcade Child's Play Charity Auction

• Looking Back (and Currently) at Metal Gear Solid 2&3

• Famicom Friday (12.2.2011): Contra

If you're really gutsy, or lucky, you can bet your watts in a slot machine game. A 5 watt bet can net you 500 if you manage to hit all 7's. It is a little hard to do, but I have managed it several times. You can also get different combinations with fish, cats and flowers. Triple cats are pretty good because they net you a solid 50 watts.

It's pretty easy to take care of Pikachu as he doesn't require 24hr attention. But if you do neglect him, his mood can quickly change. I forgot to put him in my pocket yesterday and he dropped from "loves you" to "likes you". Man, what a moody guy! A quick 500 watt dosage quickly bought him over though. I don't think Pikachu can die, but if you're really negligent I've heard Pikachu can become angry and eventually refuse to recognize the player. He will actually leave the giga-pet! You'd have to neglect him for several weeks though.

Out of all my childhood toys, I have the fondest memories with the Pocket Pikachu. He has a variety of expressions and he is always busy doing something throughout the day. This is the closest you can get to actually owning a real Pokémon. (Lord knows we all had that dream when we were young.) The Pikapal originally sold for about $15-$20 in the U.S. but the price has gone up; now you have to eBay one for around $50. I'd like to try out the color GS model, but the prices seem too high. For now I'm fine with my original Pikachu at my side.

John Kazemaini is the creator and managing editor for Tikisaurus.com. A video game blog specializing in off-beat and retro gaming news. Republished with permission.

Dec 30, 2011

Is L.A. Noire Kotaku's Game of the Year?

Kotaku

The hardest thing at the end of the year is to parse yourself from the hype you're experiencing and think back to the games you played during the summer, the spring, and yes, 2011's early months.

This fall, when so many of the big games were released, the studio that made my GOTY was going down in flames. This was after a ridiculously long seven-year development period, a stupid misspelling ("Noire?" No, you mean noir), and seemingly endless workplace abuses. The behind-the-scenes development story was dark and destructive. It's amazing the game was even released at all.

That game was L.A. Noire.

WHAT I LOVED

Here's a Yarn - I play video games for gameplay and story. And this year, L.A. Noire sophisticatedly told a great tale with dialogue that sparkled, thanks to smart writing and talented actors. So often, video game plots feel dumbed down. L.A. Noire didn't. I believe Totilo once brought up the importance of whether or not a game was worth playing again—who cares, I can think of countless wonderful movies I'm content with seeing only once. That doesn't make them any less great.

Point-and-Click-and-Talk - This must be the most expensive point-and-click game ever made. I loved combing through crime scenes, finding clues, and then shaking down suspects. The gameplay was so different from everything else, which always relies on shooting (L.A. Noire has that, too) and driving (ditto). L.A. Noire felt fresh, different, and unlike anything else.

I Love L.A., Hate the Main Character - I got lost in the jazz, the old cars, and 1940s Los Angeles. The world of L.A. Noire seduced me, just like real L.A. Protagonist Cole Phelps, while sympathetic, is a bit of a dick as are most noir archetypes. Filmmaker Paul Schrader pointed out that film noir isn't not a genre. Rather, it's a mood and a specific time period in film history. For all its references and hat-tips, L.A. Noire understands that. The bleak characters are fitting for a game inspired by the genre and for a game barreling towards a nihilistic conclusion.

WHAT I HATED

That Is Not How You Hold a Notebook - Seriously? Who holds a notebook like that?

As flawed as L.A. Noire is (and it is flawed), the game did so much, so well and so differently, that it not only merits to be my GOTY, it also merits to be yours.

Stephen Totilo Responds:

WHAT I LOVED

Gamble of the Year - I love when studios take risks. This was a huge one for Team Bondi and the crew at Rockstar that brought this across the finish line. If you're trying to make a guaranteed hit, you make a shooter, not a game about determining, from tones of voice and facial expressions, if a person is lying. I'm so glad they made this.

Who Can you Trust? - Games have too few liars in them. Most lore-dumpers in role-playing games and bragging bosses in action games ramble the truth. Not here. This game was all about sifting truth from lies. My favorite strain of that: wondering if even the guy I was controlling was the kind of man I thought he was.

The Partners - Every one of them was a character, in the best possible ways.

WHAT I HATED

The Necklines - The faces of L.A. Noire's characters looked human. The bodies looked mannequin. And there cracked the illusion the game was made to build. As real as vintage L.A. looked, its people looked fake. The tech seemed halfway there, a mile marker toward future gaming graphical achievements.

I don't think about L.A. Noire much these days, which is why my gut tells me it's not the GOTY. It didn't linger, but it did do so many things well. It deserves this nomination.

Evan Narcisse responds:

When it came to sheer drama in AAA video games this year, very little came close to beating the battle of wits in L.A. Noire's tense cop/suspect confrontations. Yet, after the dazzle wore off, Rockstar and Team Bondi's joint effort left me with some, um, doubt, as to whether it should be a Game of the Year.

WHAT I LOVED:

That Old-Time Religion: Thanks to the motion capture technology and great preformances, playing through L.A. Noire felt like getting to participate in a 1940s radio play, only in updated, interactive form. The attention paid to design and aesthetics make L.A. Noire a period piece on par with the Assassin's Creed games and Team Bondi's willingness to downplay action elements to focus on investigation and interrogation made the game stand out even more for other titles this year.

WHAT I HATED:

Get a Move On, Ya Bum: L.A. Noire was one of those games this year that I felt was just too long. I realize that the story structure and flashback statement was in service of building suspense and a sense of the characters, but I just wanted to get on with it after a while.

L.A. Noire can be looked at as part of video games' journey of evolution. Still, the crime drama felt more frustrating and a little less perfect than other games this year. Bold? Yes. Best? No.

Owen Good responds

L.A. Noire is by far the most maturely presented and professionally acted story I have ever encountered in a video game. But as a game it left me almost painfully disappointed, wanting more.

WHAT I LOVED

The Last Good Man - Of all characters I encountered this year, none meant more to me than Herschel Biggs, the arson desk loner who partners with Cole Phelps in the game's concluding act. Phelps' partners were all foils for his ascent and fall, yet Biggs earns his own redemption as you pursue Phelps'. Biggs' turn from a disinterested, paper-pushing skeptic into a corruption fighter with a renewed moral code delivers the subtle optimism that the best in film noir is never too hard-bitten to show. With a beautiful acting job by Keith Szarabajka, Herschel Biggs stands for all that is good in L.A. Noire.

WHAT I HATED

I Still Need Him - For all of its luxurious set decoration—and it conveys a powerfully vivid sense of place—the basic interaction offered by L.A. Noire is very thin, leaving this gorgeous city to serve only a sightseeing purpose. It is a painfully linear game that is done a disservice by having the action-oriented side pursuits segregated from the main experience. Ordering your partner to drive began as a time saver, but then exposed how little I was actually doing in this game other than turning over evidence and pressing a button to ask questions. Because the game's true novelty is in the suspense of puzzling out each case there is almost no replay value in the game, even to correctly ask all questions and find all the evidence.

Trading in L.A. Noire was my saddest day as a gamer this year, but I knew I would never play it again.

Luke Plunkett responds:

I thought we were voting for Game of the Year. Not Game Show of the Year.

WHAT I LOVED

Face On - Not much else in L.A. Noire was worth the wait, but that face tech sure was. For the most part. When it wasn't coming apart at the neck or mouth, it provided more punch than any video game face has ever managed before, and was the only thing keeping one of the game's core mechanics from being 100% guesswork.

A Time and a Place - God I love me some proper historical games, and I appreciate the lengths to which Team Bondi and Rockstar went to really bottle 1940s Los Angeles. Especially the hats.

WHAT I HATED

Game Show - L.A. Noire is, at its heart, the world's most boring game of Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Face Off - When Team Bondi's face tech worked, it was mesmerising. When it didn't, it was a horror show.

This might merit your vote, Brian, but it doesn't merit mine. "Mostly boring with nice faces" isn't a quality I look for in my GOTY.

Kirk Hamilton responds:

Oh, L.A. Noire. I have such complicated feelings about you. So many things I liked, or wanted to like, but so many things I found frustrating, alienating, and weird. If only there were some binary way of breaking down my thoughts…

WHAT I LOVED

Let's Play Together - 2011 was the year that I rediscovered how fun it can be to play single-player games with your friends. L.A. Noire lent itself to this kind of social play extremely well.

Points for Ambition - I liked how the facial-capture tech wasn't just for looks, but allowed the designers to build a game that revolved around a new mechanic rather than the same old running, jumping, shooting, etc.

Play It Again, Sam - I adored L.A. Noire's fantastic jazz soundtrack. Any game that scores a chase-scene with a bass clarinet solo is cool by me.

WHAT I HATED

Empty Suit - The film-set façade of L.A. Noire's Los Angeles creeped me out. It wasn't just boring, it was oppressive. Ditto the Phelps-obsessed NPC street-chatter.

The Opening Chapters - Things picked up after Homicide, but the first half of the story was a predictable, unsatisfying slog.

Unclear Rules, Unfair Play - The rules of each interrogation were unclear, and several scenarios were built around forced failure. I didn't like that I had no choice but to put innocent men away, even though I could tell that they had been set up.

Whadda "Dick" - Protagonist Cole Phelps was a real knob, and not in a compelling antihero way. He was blustery and confused, pathetic and abrasive. Shut up, Cole Phelps.

Michael Fahey responds: :

As a long-time fan of the adventure genre, I wasn't quite as overcome by the power of L.A. Noire as players that had never experienced the joy of pointing and clicking their way through a crime scene.

WHAT I LOVED:

So It Gave Good Head: L.A. Noire did feature some of the most realistic facial animation ever seen in a video game. This was accomplished using a process so complex it required each actor to say his or her lines in exactly the same way their video game counterpart would. Why not just have full motion video? Come on people, this is the year 2011, it's not like anyone is rotoscoping anymore.

WHAT I HATED:

Yep, That's Another Dead Woman's Arm: L.A. Noire successfully made finding a dead woman in a park and rifling through her things seem boring. After the third or fourth lady corpse I'd completely had my fill. I bet somewhere out there an aspiring serial killer played this and decided he'd rather run a fruit stand that secretly sells alcohol on the side.

There you have it, our arguments for and against L.A. Noire as Kotaku's 2011 Game of the Year. This is the last argument of the week. Now, we are going to vote and announce the winner on Monday, January 2.

Read the rest of our 2011 GOTY debates.