Harmonix has tweeted earlier today that tomorrow they will be announcing a brand new game. In their tweet,  they have officially stated that it’s not a new Rockband or Dance Central. Tomorrow will be an exciting day for the Harmonix/Music game fans.

Check out the tweet right down below:

“Harmonix is announcing a new game tomorrow (it’s not @RockBand or @Dance_Central). Stay tuned for the exciting news!”

Could it be the return of Guitar Hero, or is this a brand new next-gen music IP? We won’t know until tomorrow, and I am sure many of you cannot wait to find out what it is.

Let us know what you think the new game will be from Harmonix in the comments below.

Check back on GamingBolt for more updates and tomorrow’s official announcement regarding the new title.

However, there’s always one specific theme that most games are associated with. When you thinks of games like The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Halo or God of War, a few particular themes always immediately spring to mind. And thus, we’re here to compile a list of what we think are the ten best main themes in recent video game OSTs.

Be warned, you won’t see many games that were released before 2010 on this list, because then there would just be too much content to cover, and we wanted to make a Top 10 list, not a Top 80 list.

Also, please note that this list is not about soundtracks in general. It is about main themes. Also, only the main themes from OSTs are being listed, not any other tracks.

Only one game per series is being listed.

So let’s begin!

God of War 3

God of War has always had epic music, matching the games themselves perfectly. Though “Overture” doesn’t manage to outdo the excellent, adrenaline shock inducing “The End Begins” of God of War 2 and Ghost of Sparta, it still manages to prepare you, right from the game’s menu itself, for what is an epic, unforgettable ride through mythological Greece. This surely ranks as one of the best themes for a game, ever.

Assassin’s Creed 2

“It is a good life we lead, brother.”

“The best. May it never change.”

“And may it never change us.”

This is how Ubisoft introduces us to the wonderful game that is Assassin’s Creed 2, accompanied with a breathtaking Florence skyline and the striking, memorable music that has now become anonymous with the Assassin’s Creed franchise and even Ezio himself. Sure, Ubisoft may have delivered a perfectly decent main theme with Assassin’s Creed 3’s “Lorne Balfe” but I doubt they will ever outmatch “Ezio’s Family”.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

We’ve heard different renditions of “Nate’s Theme” four times now, with each Uncharted installment, and while some might say that Uncharted 2’s version is better, Uncharted 3’s “Nate’s Theme 3.0” actually makes some slight improvements that makes it sound somehow more grand and sweeping. Everytime you boot up your Uncharted 3 disc, you’re greeted by this wonderful music in the main menu itself. That’s the best gift a Naughty Dog fan could ask for. And a good game, of course.

Gears of War 3

Gears of War 3 is one hell of a game, and it deserves to have excellent music. Thankfully, it does. The main theme itself sets the mood for the rest of the game- epic, large in scope, thrilling. It’s what you want a main theme to do- you want it to describe the mood of the game, and this one does it perfectly. Also, it serves as perfect background music when you’re doing your math sums.

]]> https://gamingbolt.com/top-10-main-themes-in-video-games-in-recent-years/feed 1 123521 https://gamingbolt.com/supremacy-mma-adds-more-metal-music https://gamingbolt.com/supremacy-mma-adds-more-metal-music#respond Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:56:00 +0000 http://gamingbolt.com/?p=47676

Supremacy MMA is adding a whole bunch of new tracks to the game and of course they will be that underground power metal that drives you to bash someones skull in.  Underground music for an underground MMA scene, seems quite suitable to me.  This also gives these underground, unsigned metal artists a chance to get their music out there with the help of 505 Games and Fung Fu Factory.  Supremacy MMA will also be hitting the PS Vita once the handheld console is launched as well, so look out for that.

Back to the roster of metal musicians which the ones that are already signed are courtesy of Victory Records and Sumerian Records. Director of the games developer Kung Fu Factory, Ricci Rukavina, says “This collection of songs represents a great variety of what metal has to offer, delivering a powerful and passionate music line-up for the Supremacy MMA underground fighter storylines”. The Final In-Game Track List will include:

A Thousand Shades of Cold –“Bullet Train to Tokyo”

A Thousand Shades of Cold – “Suddenly”

A Thousand Shades of Cold – “Running Dry”

Aenimus – “The Grasp of Ruin”

Etched in Stone – “Birth of Unknown”

Journal – “Conducting With Passion From The Grave”

Journal – “Undisputed”

MOAB – “Fembot”

Rings of Saturn – “Seized and Devoured”

Slant – “Lying and Bleeding”

Slant – “No Regrets”

Slant – “Another Day”

The Rose Line – “The More We Struggle, The More We Sink”

The Rose Line – “Words”

The Rose Line – “Despite All Reasons”

The Rose Line – “Become the Hunted”

The multi-platinum rock band the Foo Fighters will be playing in front of the sold-out crowd during closing ceremony of Blizzard Entertainment’s epic gaming festival, BlizzCon 2011.  Since the event is sold out as always you can purchase a BlizzCon Virtual Ticket, that will include live coverage of event as well as the Foo Fighters performance, via Internet worldwide and DIRECTV in the US.

Your Virtual Ticket will also get you an exclusive pet for World of Warcraft and his name is Murkablo. Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters founder/frontman said “We’re pretty sure that in the future, music historians will look back at BlizzCon 2011 as the unquestionable pinnacle of Foo Fighters’ long and illustrious career,”. He continued on saying “We look forward to living up to that prediction by bringing the Horde and Alliance together to rock the hell out of Anaheim next month.”

Now you might think they are just getting paid for the event but I think we all know that Dave Grohl and the rest of the Foo Fighters are just as much as the gaming geeks that will be in attendance at BlizzCon 2011, taking place October 21st-22nd at the Anaheim Convention Center. Full press release below.

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that Foo Fighters will headline the closing concert of this year’s sold-out BlizzCon^®, taking place October 21-22 at the Anaheim Convention Center. While tickets to the convention are currently sold out, viewers can watch at home by ordering a BlizzCon Virtual Ticket, offering comprehensive live coverage of the event (including Foo Fighters’ performance) globally over the Internet and also on DIRECTV^® in the United States.

Over the course of their 16-year career, the Foo Fighters have sold tens of millions of records, won half a dozen Grammy awards, and raised countless voices in singalongs of iconic anthems like “Everlong,” “My Hero,” “Learn to Fly”, “All My Life,” “Best of You,” and “The Pretender.” Foo Fighters’ BlizzCon debut marks founder Dave Grohl’s triumphant return to the convention after playing drums for Tenacious D in last year’s show, and comes during an international arena, stadium, and festival tour promoting their seventh album, the international #1 record Wasting Light.

Opening up the concert will be The Artist Formerly Known as Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain, who are returning to BlizzCon following a two-year interstellar tour through the Koprulu sector. Blizzard’s in-house metal band will amp up the crowd with an earth-shaking set of both familiar and brand-new songs drawn from the Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo universes before turning the stage over to Foo Fighters for the main event.

“There’s no better way to cap off two days of gaming entertainment than by blowing the roof off the convention center with an awesome rock concert,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Everyone attending BlizzCon and watching from home can look forward to ending the show with a bang when Foo Fighters bring the house down.”

“We’re pretty sure that in the future, music historians will look back at BlizzCon 2011 as the unquestionable pinnacle of Foo Fighters’ long and illustrious career,” said Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters founder and frontman. “We look forward to living up to that prediction by bringing the Horde and Alliance together to rock the hell out of Anaheim next month.”

BlizzCon is a celebration of the global player communities surrounding Blizzard Entertainment’s Warcraft^®, Diablo^®, and StarCraft^® game universes. In addition to serving as a gathering place for the Blizzard Entertainment gaming communities, BlizzCon will have an array of activities, including discussion panels, competitive and casual tournaments, contests, hands-on playtime with current and upcoming Blizzard Entertainment games, and more. Viewers at home can order a BlizzCon Virtual Ticket for $39.99 USD, available around the world as a multi-channel Internet stream with over 50 hours of coverage (pricing and availability may vary by region), and also via DIRECTV in the United States. Visit www.blizzcon.com/live-stream/ for more details and ordering information.

To keep pace with the continued growth of World of Warcraft^® as well as development on other Blizzard Entertainment games, the company is currently hiring for numerous open positions. More information on available career opportunities can be found at www.blizzard.com/jobs. As BlizzCon draws closer, further details about the show will be announced at www.blizzcon.com.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft^® and the Warcraft^®, StarCraft^®, and Diablo^® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes thirteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net^®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Blizzard Entertainment generally uses words such as “outlook,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “remains,” “to be,” “plans,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimate,” “future,” “plan,” “positioned,” “potential,” “project,” “remain,” “scheduled,” “set to,” “subject to,” “upcoming” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Blizzard Entertainment’s titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Blizzard Entertainment’s products, competition from the used game market, industry competition and competition from other forms of entertainment, rapid changes in technology, industry standards and consumer preferences, including interest in specific genres such as real-time strategy, action—role-playing and massively multiplayer online games, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Blizzard Entertainment, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers who can create high quality “hit” titles, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, and the other factors identified in the risk factors section of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

We have all come to love certain songs in video games most notably the original Portal song by Jonathan Coulton call ‘Still Alive’.  Now you can download his new song in Portal 2 during the ending credits called ‘Want You Gone’ right here.  (Right click and save as) If that is not enough for you how about the classic Duke Nukem song remixed for the upcoming Duke Nukem Forever game out in early June, right here (Update: The link no longer woks so we have removed it).

Still Alive

For my money, there is nothing that can instantly alter the mood, warp the setting, and otherwise create a distinct feeling for a game like music. It’s one of those elements that either works or doesn’t, but it never gets in the way. A glitch is noticeable, because it could potentially kill you, and at the very least it’s an irritation that jars you from the experience. Bad voice acting is potentially hilarious, but also ruins immersion and gets in the way (take note, Marvel Ultimate Alliance). Everything from bad level design to poorly placed hit boxes to unbalanced RPG systems are important enough to the core experience of a game that any misstep could turn a great game into a decent, but forgettable one, or a mediocre game into a bad one.

Music has no such issues. You either notice it or you don’t, and even if it’s noticeably bad, it can be turned off, or turned down. But when games get it right, when the music is interspersed with the game in just the right ways, it can turn a game toward true greatness.

The first time I noticed spectacular music was way back in 2002, when Medal of Honor: Allied Assault was one of the few World War II games on the market (remember when they were original?). Not only did it have the now flagrantly overused Normandy Invasion as one of its high points, it also had future Up composer and Academy Award winner Michael Giacchino in charge of the music. Though his soundtrack fairly straightforward, predictably piping in with its sweeping, enervated score when the bullets were thickest, the effect was tremendous. You wanted to charge up the hill when the music kicked in, and the music moved you just as much, if not more, than the level design did. It was at its best in those frenetic moments when you’re wrapped up in a firefight, completely immersed, timing grenade throws and reloads to the music, even if you didn’t realize it. One of the perks of the game was that the music was contained in separate mp3 files, and I still have some tracks kicking around on my hard drive. I give it a listen now and then.

The Elder Scrolls series has been lauded for a number of reasons, but one of the reasons I consistently return to playing Morrowind is partly because of the fantastic music and sound design. The music is a simple repeat of three or four songs intended to be playing constantly in the background, switching from simple, restrained orchestral tracks to the more adrenaline-injected numbers that come on when the player is in combat. It’s a simple enough gimmick, but there’s a charm to it that is further enhanced by the sound effects themselves. I don’t think any Morrowind veteran is going to argue that any of the sound effects are particularly realistic, but there’s a level of uniqueness to it that for some inexplicable reason has me returning again and again to the rural, empire-resistant land of Morrowind. Though I can’t quite place my finger on exactly why, there is just something about the sound and music in Morrowind that make the game stand out and, I would personally argue, stand above the more recent entry into the Elder Scrolls series, Oblivion.

don't be fooled; that maraca is actually a mace

Half-Life 2, similarly, has nothing much to add to the music portion of gaming (unless you count Portal as part of the Half-Life canon, in which case “Still Alive” delivers in spades), but it certainly has something going for it in the sound department. From the very beginning, after you step off the train in City 17, the Civil Protection forces, with their uncanny-valley face masks and voice-altering helmets policing a debris-strewn nearly empty city, create a palpable atmosphere from minute one in the game. It only gets better as when CP units are gunned down after getting some weapons, each one letting out a two-toned flatline sound in the company of bullets, explosions, or superheated railroad ties fired with a distinct, flat thump (and even more satisfying metallic thunk when the weapon hit against a brick wall with a Combine corpse decorating the end) when fired from the crossbow. Valve’s Source engine was also one of the first in the industry to fully utilize a 3D sound system, which made the throaty boom of an explosion echo off canyon walls, and the lamentable death-scream of a tripod walker ripple out in a city street. From a distance, the effects were changed enough to really make you think that there was a full-on city uprising surrounding you in the later levels.Half-Life 2’s sound perfectly illustrates how exceedingly simple techniques can serve to deeply immerse a player into the world.

All Freeman needs now... is more cowbell

Bioshock took a different, and dare I say, even more immersive approach. Throughout the course of the game, the city of Rapture is as much a character as any of the human or post-human people you encounter in the course of playing. With leaky hallways and the distant groan of Big Daddies, to the mumbling of deranged splicers, every new environment bombards the player with sound, tacitly telling the story of Rapture’s fall. Some of the best moments come when the player enters a room with a scratchy, 60s-era record wobbling around on its player, the voices of bygone singers perfectly underscoring the dying city. The music wafts in from around corners or muffled by doors as a way of injecting a juxtaposition of normalcy for the player. While audibly, the music plays as if to suggest a time before Rapture’s freefall, visually, the player is still stuck in a flooding city with murderous lunatics around every corner. The fact that there is little in the way of normal orchestral scoring, or even a soundtrack worthy of the name, is a perfect illustration of how rich and complex the storytelling in a game can be, with every sensory element lending itself to the crafting of a tale.

Understandably, in my zest to jot down a few of my favorite achievements in music and sound, I invariably missed a few of the great ones. Tell me how egregious my omissions are in the comments.