Lately I have been thinking about video game music and how it has evolved over the years. For me it technically started with 8-bit (chiptune) music when I was a young boy in the late 80’s and early to mid 90’s playing games such as Super Mario Bros on the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). Having said that I first started to really notice video game music when I was playing games such as Streets Of Rage 2 which uses FM (frequency modulation) synthesis on a 16-bit system, in this case the Sega Mega Drive. I realize of course that there will be people who are probably older than I am that will have memories of older, more primitive sound systems. But around the time of the end of the 8-bit and beginning of the 16-bit era is where it all started for me.
I found a few of my favourites from that time on YouTube.
Streets Of Rage 2: Go Straight
Street Fighter 2: Ryu Theme
Street Fighter 2: Guile Theme
Later as technology improved, video game music also improved at an impressive rate. From 16-bit systems we went to 32-bit with the PlayStation which also used a CD-ROM (compact disk read only memory) instead of cartridges. This meant it was now possible for the PlayStation to play music as you would if you were listening to a music CD. The drawback however is that the CD only had a maximum capacity of approximately 1 gigabyte of storage. Composers and cinematic directors would therefore need to keep that limitation in mind when developing their game. The CD-ROM drive also meant there was a massive advancement in playing games on PC, however there were other drawbacks, the main ones being that computers were usually expensive and bulky. Running games in DOS (disk operating system) allowed some games to be played on computers with low specifications, but it only got you so far. Still, that’s what I did to play Crusader: No Remorse which I completed again back in October 2020.
These are a few of my favourites from the time of 32-bit gaming on the PlayStation and the budget family computer.
Crusader: No Remorse: Main Theme
StarCraft: Terran Theme 1
Final Fantasy VII: Those Who Fight (Battle Theme)
Front Mission 3: Raid
Metal Gear Solid: Encounter
It is also during this time I heard my first full track/song while playing a video game. During the end credits of Final Fantasy VIII we hear the song Eyes on Me which was composed by Nobuo Uematsu especially for the game. It’s difficult to describe, but knowing the story of Final Fantasy VIII and having completed the game, the song is incredibly emotive to me. I also completed this game again back in February 2024.
Since the end of the CD-ROM era when we moved to DVDs (digital versatile disc) and high speed internet connections, games could easily accommodate a full high quality soundtrack. Triple-A games such as Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec and Grand Theft Auto III were therefore able to pay royalties to musicians and feature music tracks in their game. While it is cool and suits some games, for me it’s not as good as when video game music is composed specifically for a game to help create an immersive atmosphere. It pains me to say it but no matter how far Blizzard Entertainment have fallen from grace in recent years, they have in my opinion created some of the best cinematics and video game music in the gaming industry to date.
Here are some of my favourite modern day (sort of) gaming music titles.
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth: Freehold
XCOM 2: Squad Layout
Stellaris: To The End Of The Galaxy
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
What I find amazing is when talented fans create their own versions of music from their favourite games. I think my favourite might be the Black Materia: Final Fantasy VII album by rapper Mega Ran. People who know me will say that I don’t like rap or hip hop music very much, but oddly I have to say this is an exception. Another favourite is A Fleeting Dream: A Melancholy Tribute To Final Fantasy X by pianist TPR.
Recently my friends Jamie, Shadey and I completed a play through of Dead Island 2. Released in April 2023, Dead Island 2 is a first person action role-playing game developed by Dambuster Studios. I never played the original Dead Island released back in 2011, but I knew it was a massive hit with its gory hack and slash zombie theme.
As a stand alone game I enjoyed playing Dead Island 2. As well as a decent co-operative mode allowing up to 3 players to play side by side, I liked the exploration, puzzle solving, boss fights and story. I found the main story line funny at times and I really like most of the sound track. I recognized a few tracks such as Humans Are Such Easy Prey by Pertubator from his Dangerous Days album, and I really like the main theme song, Drown by Karen O. There are 6 characters to choose from, I chose Ryan who at first I thought was a firefighter but turned out to be a stripper. My friends chose Dani and Bruno who are both pretty funny and unhinged.
One thing I really like in games are stats. I do not think my stats are particularly good, but here are some of mine after around 33 hours of play time. One thing which made my friends laugh was getting 0 perfect blocks and dodges. This is something I must have missed during the tutorial.
Having completed the game I feel like I can safely add it to my list of completed games. There are no difficulty settings so we played the game as the developers intended and to top it off we played through the Haus and SOLA story lines which arguably we didn’t need to do but I felt it was important. After taking a break to play The Forest and Goat Simulator 3 it felt good to return to Dead Island 2 to play these and wrap things up.
There is still so much more to do. There are many side quests, journals to find, challenges to complete and named zombies to slay. Not to mention loot to find. I think someone could easily sink another 100 hours completing everything and getting all of the achievements.
To be honest I don’t know where to begin when it comes to writing about playing Goat Simulator 3. I suppose it begins with my friends Jamie and Shadey who thought it would be a good idea to play something a little different and more light hearted than the survival games we have been playing such as Valheim and The Forest. Developed and published by Coffee Stain Studios (who also published Valheim) Goat Simulator 3 is, well, I don’t really know what it is but it uses the Unreal Engine 4 and was released in 2022. Before reading on I must point out that there are a few spoilers.
I have of course heard of simulator games, the most famous being the Microsoft Flight Simulator series which dates back to the 1980’s, but also Farming Simulator, Euro Truck Simulator and more. I have never played any of these but my understanding was that they are games developed to deliver a close approximation to whatever they were simulating. I didn’t know what to expect from Goat Simulator 3, but I knew that it surely couldn’t be literally simulating the life of a goat. I was right, but nothing could have prepared me for how random this game is. My friends and I would each play a goat in which we were able to change the appearance with cosmetics we could unlock by performing any number of random tasks within the world named San Angora. To say these tasks were varied would be an understatement, whoever thought up some of the activities in Goat Simulator 3 must be clinically insane, taking some potent drugs or both. The wild imagination it took to develop this game is I must say impressive, it’s the sort of game where a perceived bug could actually be a game feature, it being a feature before or after the bug report (if there ever was one) would have been irrelevant in Goat Simulator 3. I don’t know if there was a QA team for this game, but beyond making sure you can form a party with your friends and starting the game, I don’t know what else they could have tested.
Many of the activities reference a wide variety of pop culture. I think my favourite is a reference to the 1992 Wolfenstein 3D game developed for DOS. During the activity the game UI changed to a Wolfenstein 3D style where we would navigate around some rooms which contained grandmothers in rocking chairs that would shoot balls from a bazooka while shouting at you. As a reward for completing the challenge my friends and I unlocked a cosmetic of one of the grandmothers in a rocking chair with a bazooka which would sit on your goats back and shoot balls for you. I feel crazy just trying to explain it. Some things I can’t explain, such as what was going on in the screenshot below.
As we progressed and completed stuff we obtained illuminati ranks which unlocked rooms and features in our goat castle, which also acted as a sort of waypoint to different zones in San Angora. Eventually, after a few gaming sessions, we unlocked all of the rooms in the castle which introduced us to an end game boss fight. I did not think that Goat Simulator 3 would end up on my list of completed games, but after consideration I believe it just about deserves a spot there on account of doing enough to unlock the castle and defeat the boss after about 12 hours of play time. But there is still so much to this game, I think we could probably sink another 20-30 hours into it and still not complete everything it has to offer. Another favourite moment of mine was when we found a secret container rave and we chose some cosmetics to join other goats there. I made a short recording of what it was like.
I think Goat Simulator 3 is misunderstood by some. Yes it is a complete train wreck of a game, but that’s the point. It is precisely because of how random it is that it’s always funny and successful. I was highly sceptical at first and just happy to be spending some time with my friends, but now I can honestly say that I really enjoyed the game. My final thought for this blog post is that Goat Simulator 3 reminds me of someone I used to play World of Warcraft with, Kyra. I think there is a good chance that he is responsible for this game. I believe this because if you could pour all of his thoughts into a game this would be the likely outcome.
It has taken me a long time but I have finally completed Front Mission 2: Remake and have added it to my list of completed games. Front Mission 2: Remake was released initially for the Nintendo Switch in October 2023 then 6 months later on every other platform. Originally however Front Mission 2 was released for the Japan market in 1997 by Square for the PlayStation. Unfortunately until this remake it was never released for any other region.
Front Mission 2 is a turn based strategy role-playing game involving customizable wanzers (mechs) which are piloted by the protagonists and their enemies. Set in the 2102 in a country called Alordesh (Bangladesh) Front Mission 2 tells a remarkable story about a coup d’état, love, betrayal and a secret weapon. I can’t write much more about the story without running the risk of spoiling it for someone, but I will say that the story is excellent and is easily the best feature of this game. One thing I found quite funny is one of the characters, Maylan, reminds me of someone.
I have to admit, that while the story is really good, the combat is clunky and at times the game can be a bit of a chore. After each character has been introduced you end up with 12 pilots and wanzers which periodically need changing for better parts and weapons. Don’t get me wrong, it is fun to customize and try new things, but after a while it became too much and I just wanted to get on with the game. To be fair I am criticizing 27 year old game mechanics which I know was improved significantly for the sequel.
There is a lot of replay value in Front Mission 2: Remake. There are numerous difficulty settings and once you have completed the game I believe you can start over and retain much of the progress your pilots have made in developing their skills. This is also available in Front Mission 1st: Remake, but as before I am only interested in playing through the story and completing the game on ‘normal’ difficulty which actually took over 48 hours of play time. Now I must wait for the remake of one of my most favourite games of all time, Front Mission 3.
A couple of days ago my friends Jamie, Shadey and I completed a play through of The Forest, a survival horror game released in 2018. Developed and published by Endnight Games, The Forest combines survival, exploration, building and a strong sense of horror. It beings with the protagonist surviving a plane crash and watching their son get kidnapped from the wreckage. What follows is a hunter gathering survival style of gameplay while looking for clues for the whereabouts of Timmy, the protagonists son. As you explore a network of caves and find clues, a grim story unfolds.
During our play through we dedicated some time to building a base using the various resources available. While it is cool to build something to call home, it is nowhere near as good as what can be achieved in games such as Minecraft or Valheim. I have to say I also found the game somewhat buggy and at times cumbersome. Having said that I found that the best part of The Forest was the atmosphere and the sense of horror it bestowed. At times it was really good and while exploring the caves I was reminded of the film The Descent. I hear that it is possible to play The Forest using VR, which I am sure would be terrifying and make it that much more atmospheric.
It would be wrong of me to spoil the story but I will say that there are two endings to choose from, which, along with secret items and optional areas to explore, makes the game re playable. We have spent over 32 hours completing The Forest and I have added it to my list of completed games. Jamie is bit of an achievement hunter so we will continue to play it for a while longer, at least until we get the lions share of the available steam achievements. While I do not care much for achievements (I am not sure about Shadey) I think it’s important that we all get what we want out of a game before we move on.
Not too long ago my friends Jamie and Shadey introduced me to Golf With Your Friends, a casual sort of crazy golf game which requires no time investment. Most games that I play requires a certain amount of commitment of time to play through and get the most out of it. Golf With Your Friends is not like that, you can invest very little time yet still have a fun social experience. The way we play the game is usually for maybe 30 minutes to an hour at the end of a gaming session. I find that it is a way for us to play a game, chat, be a little silly and not take it too seriously.
One thing I have noticed about Golf With Your Friends is that people can design and publish their own golf courses. If I wanted to work in the gaming industry this is where I might start. I would learn a lot about level design, publishing my creations and would get feedback. This is hardly unique, there must be hundreds of games which support modding, map creation and community content, but I always applaud games like this which are designed to allow the community to continue to build the game and get satisfaction from creating content.
Because the game is such a casual and easy going experience, I got the game for my friend Jason. We speak for several hours each week and now sometimes play this game and chill. The game supports up to 12 players so I can see that it could be a little less chill and more chaotic, but it’s an excellent way to break the ice and possibly make some new friends. Another benefit is that Golf With Your Friends can kind of be like neutral ground. You might have gamer friends who are interested in playing a game that you’re not into right now or vice versa, but you can still hook up from time to time and play this for an hour, bringing different gamers and different friends together.
It is not often that I write a blog post for my ‘personal‘ category, but I feel compelled to write about a fellow blogger, gamer and nerd who went by the name Ibelin. His real name was Mats and was a Norwegian man born in the late 80’s and sadly died of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in 2014, aged just 25. I did not know Ibelin, nor did I ever exchange messages with him, but we both fell in love with a game called World of Warcraft and escaped from the realities of our world to Azeroth.
I first heard about Ibelin some years ago. I heard that a man had died and that the community was hurt by the loss. I do not recall where I heard it, I suppose someone told me or maybe I picked it up on the grape vine, but I will forever remember my surprize when I saw there had recently been a Netflix documentary made about him called ‘The Remarkable Life of Ibelin‘. I watched the documentary and found it amazing that Ibelin had touched so many people’s lives, but it is not entirely surprising to me. I would encourage anyone to watch the documentary, even if you have never set foot in Azeroth. If you do not have the time then the below YouTube video promoting Cure Duchenne will summarize how remarkable Ibelin really was in this online world some call home.
As well as helping to promote and support Cure Duchenne with a ‘Reven Pack’ microtransaction, a monument was added to the retail version of Azeroth as featured above. It reads ‘Deeply missed, never forgotten’. There are many monuments in Azeroth, but this is the only one I know where so many people took the time to pay their respects. I don’t know if it makes any difference, but when I visited the monument I decided to bring my first character that I created in 2004 at the beginning of my journey. Perhaps I am bring overly sentimental, but it felt right.
I will admit that while watching The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, I cried. But it wasn’t all because of Ibelin, his struggles and untimely death. Part of it was because I wondered if I had ever touched peoples lives in this way, and, after 20 years of playing the game, I have come to the realization that I do not think I have. It’s not because I am constantly a troll or intentionally unkind, but I am shy and reserved most of the time. When I think of the opportunities I might have missed to make someone’s day, but kept quiet and did nothing, I am filled with sadness and sorrow. I do not play World of Warcraft very often anymore, but perhaps now I will make an effort.
It’s rather dated, but if you have made it this far, watched the above video and documentary, you might be interested in reading Mats blog which he called Musings of life. I would like to end my post with a quote from his blog. I don’t have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, nor do I have a handicap, but it’s something that I recognize in myself.
“My great escape is gaming. I boot up the computer, get into position and then I leave this world. It’s not a screen, it’s a gateway to wherever your heart desires. I spend most of my time in a little place called Azeroth, familiar name to some, I’m sure. In there my handicap doesn’t matter, my chains are broken and I can be whoever I want to be. In there I feel normal.”
Recently I have been playing TCG Card Shop Simulator, which is available on Steam as an ‘Early Access’ game. Developed by indie developer OP Neon Games, TCG Card Shop Simulator combines retail shop simulating with a trading card game called Tetramon. Players are encouraged to sell Tetramon cards and other typical card shop merchandise in order to make money, level up the shop and build a business. Meanwhile you can open packets of Tetramon cards to either sell them individually or collect.
So far I have completed 124 ‘days’ and have a shop level of 42 with £115,430 in the bank. I have also collected 774 out of 1332 Tetramon cards. The most expensive in game card I have (which I suppose makes it the most rare) is the one pictured below. The value of merchandise fluctuates to simulate what happens in real life, which is kind of cool, but right now its value is around £2700. I have expanded the shop several times, upgraded the furnishings, increased the range of products I can sell and even employed a member of staff. I have to say that while I am pleased with my progress it is quite paltry to what others have been able to do.
It’s no secret that I like trading card games. I have written several blog posts about Magic: The Gathering Arena and I have physical copies of some trading cards. Tetramon seems to be a spin off of the Pokémon card game which I remember became very popular in the mid to late 90’s where I live in the UK. It goes without saying that Pokémon is still a very popular hobby and well loved franchise, but it’s hard to describe just how crazy people were about it. If only I knew then just how valuable the early Pokémon cards would become.
After playing through Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light not so long ago, this game has been an enjoyable change of pace. That said I don’t think I will invest too much more time in it. I am however impressed with the developer, they are an excellent example of what is possible in the gaming industry. It shows that if you have a passion and like video games, with hard work the sky is the limit.
After less than a week of my play through of Metro 2033 Redux, I completed the sequel, Metro: Last Light Redux. Initially released in May 2013 with the redux version following in August 2014, Metro: Last Light was developed by 4A Games as a post apocalyptic first-person shooter with a solid story line and horror theme.
Set 1 year after the events of Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light is a continuation of the story for the protagonist, Artyom. As before the majority of the setting is in the Moscow metro system where survivors live in relative safety from the fallout above ground. There are however communist Reds, fascist Nazis and bandits to deal with along with a variety of mutants. The game encouraged me to dispatch the enemies using stealth, which I found fun, but sometimes I just wanted to go in all guns blazing.
As with the prequel I think that the best thing about this game is the atmosphere. The graphics are very good, as is the story, but for me the dark, gloomy, dirty, grimy feel of the game is the stand out feature. It’s a very linear game but does have a few side objectives which allowed me to stray just a little and gave me the opportunity to determine what kind of person Artyom is. Having completed the game in 15 hours using ‘survival’ mode with the ‘normal’ difficulty setting, I have added Metro: Last Light Redux to my list of completed games.
As I have written for Metro 2033, there isn’t much replay ability. There are other difficulty settings and the easier ‘spartan’ mode of play. But for me it would be like watching a good film for a second time, it could be fun one day, if I had nothing else, but it wouldn’t be as good as the first time.
Some years ago my friend Jason recommended Metro 2033 Redux as well as the other games in the Metro series. He doesn’t play games very often these days making his endorsement quite rare and I thought worth following. During one of our regular conversations one of us noticed there was a bundle of Metro 2033 Redux with two sequels Metro: Last Light Redux and Metro Exodus for £8.06 in a Steam sale. I couldn’t resist such an offer since I knew I would most certainly want to try them out one day.
Initially released in 2010 and then as the name suggests remastered in 2014, Metro 2033 Redux was developed by 4A Games as a first-person shooter survival game. Set in a post apocalyptic Russia you play the protagonist Artyom as he traverses through the Moscow metro system to reach his destination and achieve his goals. Sometimes it is also necessary for Artyom to go above ground and deal with the fallout as well as mutants and other enemies within the ruins.
The horror at every turn and the atmosphere with its dirty, grimy feel throughout is excellent. It’s a very linear game with little to no deviation. It tells a pretty decent story and made me feel like I was participating in an action horror film. The graphics are really good, especially for a version of the game that’s 10 years old. I must admit that I found the game quite easy. While several parts of the game were a little difficult and I required multiple tries, the amount of checkpoints is so generous that if I failed and died I lost very little progress. It took about 16 hours to play through Metro 2033 Redux on survival mode with the ‘normal’ difficulty setting. I think this is enough to add it to my list of completed games.
There is some replay ability. Instead of survival there is spartan mode which sounds easier in that combat is more forgiving and supplies are more plentiful. Then there are harder difficulty settings which are hardcore, ranger, and ranger hardcore which offer a more intense experience. For me however I usually prefer to play linear games like this just once, so it’s unlikely that I will play it again. I do however have the next 2 games in the series to look forward to.