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That has me thinking, since retro game soundtracks aren't considered, what about throw-back games, particularly re-makes and re-releases? I know that the Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection was released last year containing both new and old music from FFIV, which also goes for DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY and DISSIDIA 012[duodecim] FINAL FANTASY. Would Katamari Forever also not count since it's mostly arranged music from the first few Katamari games (Pre-2005)? A few more considerations might include: Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (PS release vs. iOS release [Co-op/PvP Mission Music]) Shin Megami Tensei Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999 Japanese release vs. 2011 US release) Super Street Fighter IV Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles Contra 4 The Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (MGS2 vs. MGS Peace Walker) Any Nintendo property

Portal 2 has a very (and ) soundtrack.I'd also like to nominate Shadows of the Damned for the film score methodology to its soundtrack (a rarity for modern games).If I had to judge a game's BGM simply by its overall tone alone, I could find no better and appropriately fitting example than the long forgotten PS2 gem Dog's Life. ( , think Earthbound meets Beyond Good and Evil.)And, if we've completely moved on the voting phase, I'd like to throw my support in for killer7 and The World Ends with You as representatives that VGM doesn't have to follow distinct and established conventions. If I'm restricted to only voting for soundtracks from the Round 2 list, I'll pick Hitman: Blood Money (because despite being very much a film score, Kyd manages to infuse a great deal of flair into his works) and inFamous 2 (despite the comparisons to [and preferences for] Bastion's soundtrack, I still like it better than Bastion's music).

I think that this thread has shown that commercial tie-ins have had a effect on the presence of certain characters even after their own franchises have run aground. Sonic

Interesting. I didn't realize that the original localization actually went that far to make the joke. Anyway, back on topic - play da dang games, y'all.

That's not exactly true. The full title of the first game was originally Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman!: What Did I Do to Deserve This? Also, NIS revised the name of the first game after the second one was localized to reflect the original Japanese title, hence What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? 2....

Since everyone has thus far only recommended cartridge and disc-based games, I'll limit myself to DLC content for the PSP and DSi. PSP: -Disc/DLC Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (Includes SotN and RoB as unlockables) Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded Capcom Classics Collection Remixed Capcom Puzzle World (includes Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo) Crush Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions HALF-MINUTE HERO Jeanne d'Arc LocoRoco 1 & 2 Me & My Katamari Mega Man Maverick Hunter Metal Gear Peace Walker Metal Gear Portable Ops, Ops+ & Digital Comic Bundle Patapon 1 & 3 Sega Genesis Collection Silent Hill Shattered Memories SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together Valkyria Chronicles What Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord!? 2: Time to Tighten Up Security -DLC only echochrome Everyday Shooter flOw Gradius Collection Metal Slug Metal Slug Anthology No Heroes Allowed! Patapon 2 PATCHWORK HEROES SUPER STAR SOLDIER UNO -PSOne Classics Final Fantasy VII - IX Metal Gear Solid Parasite Eve I & II Resident Evil 1 - 3 Silent Hill Street Fighter Alpha 1 & 2 Suikoden Threads of Fate Tomb Raider 1 - 4 Vagrant Story Xenogears -Japanese PSOne Classic Imports Arcade Hits: Shienryu Arcade Hits: Sonic Wings Special GaiaSeed Magical Drop F Mega Man I - III DSi -DSiWare 99Bullets 505 Tangram Anonymous Notes Chapter 1 & 2 (From the Abyss series) Cave Story Dark Void Zero Dr. Mario Express Earthworm Jim Game & Watch series Mighty Milky Way myPostcards (wink, wink) Rhythm Core Alpha (hintity-hint-hint) Shantae: Risky's Revenge Tetris Party Live Wario Ware Snapped!

I agree with you, though MEMG is an overdub professional and not a sound designer by trade. So, who knows if there's someone from the sound department that will be overlaying the static/noise filters onto the dialogue, especially for Mary's lines heard on James' radio? And what about the sound effects? Will Konami be re-recording James' and Maria's in game sound effects (breathing, attack grunts, injured grunts, death screams)? I honestly don't think they'll leave it out, but how weird is going to be to hear someone else's voice every time you stop running?

I think you should know that Mary Elizabeth McGlynn is the V.O. director in charge of the HD Collection. So, the decision to put herself in the role of Mary/Maria is entirely her own. (This isn't the first time she's done this. If you recall her interview video a few years ago at an anime convention, she notes that during her direction of V.O. for the English dub of Cowboy Bebop, particularly when the time came to place a voice for Julia, she filled the role herself out of her own personal desire for said role.)

I'm wondering what your thoughts are on the "Vote With Your Wallets" campaign against the Silent Hill HD Collection. [Reference] Given recent events, I think I know what your response will be, but I see a conflict in overlaping issues from the Video Games and Storytelling and Innovation episodes. Also, there are unexplored issues of altering original works and control of intellectual property ownership involving re-releases.

It's an interesting question: is it fair for a company to continue to make money on re-releases of its intellectual properties, even after the development team has left the company? In the case of Silent Hill, Team Silent has completely disbanded and almost all the original staff have left Konami. So, in essence, Konami is only earning money from Silent Hill re-releases as a publisher, not a developer. Therefore, is it appropriate for Konami to alter the original works (SH2 & SH3) without the input of the original staff? I don't think there would have been much of a problem if the re-release was solely to remaster the graphics and sound, much the same way older films are remastered for new media releases. However, the issue here is complicated by a re-recording of the original dialogue by new cast members and a new cast director. The issue is even further complicated by allegations that even though members of the original staff are willing to work with Konami on a re-release, Konami is reluctant/unwilling to negotiate with said staff on payment of residuals from past and future releases. I'm sure there have been cases of this before with other companies and other re-released games, but I think this is the first time the general audience at large has had to really think about the consequences it creates for development staff who are uncompensated in the process. Possibly with Final Fantasy/Square games, Mega Man collections, arcade collection re-releases, or even cult-title re-releases this is true, though in general these re-releases have had improvements added either through content, visual presentation or director's cuts. Even with previous Konami re-releases such as the Castlevania series were clear improvements added. However, who knows how much of the original staff was involved in any of these releases?

I'm thinking that by this point, most everyone has seen this for the forthcoming Silent Hill HD Collection. Based on comments and poll votes online, it's received a surprisingly negative response overall. Many fans are unhappy about the altered voice-overs, citing changes in the performances that are affecting the presentation of the story.Well, in related news, Twin Perfect (a joint website operated by fungo, Rosseter and DerFuzhwar), who recently compiled their video commentary for the Silent Hill series, is petitioning fellow enthusiasts to not purchase the Silent Hill HD Collection in a "Vote With Your Wallets" campaign. Between their two video commentaries, they raise a plethera of valid reasons why fans should not purchase the re-releases of SH2 and SH3. Whether or not you agree with the popular opinion currently, it should be noted that if the campaign is successful, this could mark the first major console release of the last two generations to receive overwhelming support against its release by its intended audience. In turn, it could also indicate a dramatic shift for the video game industry at large. It's currently unknown how much Konami has invested in the project or how much they intend to sell in return (though I assume it is a great deal), but if their goals fall short it could mean drastic changes within their business model, which could affect the general culture among video game executives. (I feel I may be over-dramatizing the situation, perpetuation the stereotype that well-written games generally don't sell, but I think it warrants explaining the possible consequences that could occur in the event that the Silent Hill HD Collection becomes a major flop, though I fear they may be farther reaching than I anticipate.) Personal Note: I do not intend to purchase this re-release do my dislike of Konami's business practices toward the creative teams, as more and more talent comes forth citing poor treatment by executives post-release.

That certainly makes things a lot clearer. I sincerely hope that things go well for everyone from now on.

I really don't like seeing this kind of thing happening to anybody for any reason, and I really don't like to point fingers, so I'll try to be objective. However, as I've been reading through the facebook messages and forum posts between James and the management from The Escapist, it becomes more and more apparent (to me) that discussion of what to do with the excess funds was made without inclusion of feedback from The Escapist until the announcement to develop an indie company, which at that point, exposed a bevy of unresolved conflicts between everyone. "He said that; she said this" and so on. Basically, James was upset at the unreliability of payments from The Escapist and The Escapist was simply wanting compensation for materials and expenses encountered for providing the bonus content for donations. If the long-distance communication between all parties had been more fluent, I don't think any of this would have happened. I still hope that both Extra Credits and The Escapist can work things out. Addendum: As far as I understand, The Escapist did come through with donating some money to Allison's surgery/recovery initially post haste and have made no effort to recollect it per se. EDIT: Being that I made a contribution to the fund after the goal was reached, I am unhappy to see that my donation is not going toward the intended purpose. As such, I will be more wary of making donations to Extra Credits in the future. It's unfortunate because I really want to support the show, but not if it leads to more situations like this.

Word.

Definitely second the Mass Effect series, Dragon Age and Bioshock. I would personally recommend DJ Hero 2 and Rock Band 3. Lost Odyssey seems to be somewhat popular around here, seeing as how there are 3 posted remixes (tied for this console generation, excluding portables), though I haven't played it.

I want to go back and touch on the issue of the role of the player, partially in response to the episode, but mostly in response to the addendum on The Escapist. It seems to me that the best (and most simple) analogy to use when discussing the role of the player as artist and the depth set by the game designers would be to compare it to a mad lib. Anyone familiar with a mad lib will likely scoff at this, but I think it would be better to take it seriously for a moment as the entire discussion about the role of player as artist can be boiled down to this simple analogy. Mad libs are defined by a general set of rules (constrained by design), they offer a degree of freedom in terms of player choice (at the discretion of the designer), and they can tell a story fluently and naturally. The degree to which the player interacts with the mad lib is defined by the designer, whether the designer chooses to have one blank or all blanks. So, if we consider a mad lib with only one blank (an example of linear storytelling), does this qualify as a game? I would argue that it does as it still offers choice and player input, though not consisting of a particularly engaging game. And if we consider a mad lib with all blanks (an example of open-world game play), would this still qualify as a story? Again, I would argue that it does, since it is still defined by a structure, albeit a structure set by the designer and the mad lib rules. The only real argument left is to what degree is the mad lib engaging enough to offer the player fun while maintaining a cohesive enough story to satiate the designers' vision. I think that this is the point to which the episode was directing us; that the balance between engagement and direction isn't solely one-sided.

I was disappointed "Neutopia" didn't explore the gender-reversal further with the individual characters. As such, it seems the gimmick was pretty one-dimensional as a means of driving the episode towards its expected conclusion/moral. In "Benderama", how is it that everything went back to normal after Grey-Goo Bender left Earth, when they had converted ALL fresh water into alcohol? Also, wouldn't the severe reduction of planetary mass when Grey-Goo Bender left cause another change in the Earth's rotation/revolution, again altering the 3000's calendar? (Is this a running gag?)

Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill are already released on the PSN as PSOne Classics. For PS3 owners, whom the ad is clearly marketed towards, having MGS on disc would be a redundancy. Choosing to go with Peace Walker was a smart decision in my book. I'm assuming that complaints about the lack of MGS here are coming from those XBOX360 owners who didn't own a PSX/PS2 or didn't own the Metal Gear Solid Collection. I'd rather there be an omission of MGS in favor of having MGS3: Subsistence. (Please, Konami?) HD Silent Hill 2 and 3, huh? I guess that's what this was all about then.

I don't think we're disputing the merits of the game itself; it definitely has its strong points, particularly in its atmosphere and level-design. However, as far as the story is concerned, it really isn't an integral or engaging part of the Silent Hill series. Its more like a side story or fan fiction game than a poignant, revealing take on the events leading up to the first game. That in itself makes the game unnecessary, especially as a prequel. If you're not convinced, let's compare a few things. Image that Silent Hill 1 was not the first game in the series, but was instead created as a prequel to Silent Hill 3. So, let's take a look at the connections between the story, and just for the sake of argument, let's say it was developed for a handheld device (since as a PSOne Classic it can be played on the PSP). In SH3, we're told that Harry Mason was Cheryl's father and that the cult of Silent Hill tried to bring their god into the world. As we begin SH1, the connection between father and daughter is already established, there isn't a need to set up that connection. In fact, even if we aren't privy to that information, we quickly learn this from a combination of Harry's immediate distress when she goes missing and in his introductions with other characters, where his questions always seem to revolve around searching for Cheryl. In SH0, Travis has a very lengthy introduction to his connection to Alessa, and even then the connection is only tenuous. There is no deeply connected motivation in relating a new character to a clearly established one. While Travis' immediate concern for Alessa stems from a sense of curiosity and noble indignation, this is completely diffused upon meeting Lisa, who doesn't seem to have any connection to Alessa throughout the course of the game. I would think that in creating a prequel to Silent Hill, the Lisa/Alessa relationship would be the part that you and the audience would want to expand upon the most. In fact, by the time Travis reaches the Sanitarium, his focus isn't like Heather's in the first half of SH3, who was looking to escape the nightmare and return to a sense of sanity and order. He's not looking for escape from the terrors of Silent Hill, but rather he seems to be reveling in them, especially during a second play-through when one receives the moon gauntlets. While this in of itself doesn't make for poor narrative, it does make for a bad choice of a prequel storytelling. Harry's story shows how deeply his concern for Cheryl was. That he was willing (if somewhat unable) to brave the darkness in order to reach her and take her from the hand that was pulling her away from him, which in SH3 sets up a clear and present motivation why she was so adamant on returning home to her father and her subsequent desire for revenge when he is murdered. SH0 does little to set up the story for SH1 or its motivations. It only gives a means to it. Finding the pieces of the Flauros seems very arbitrary, especially towards the end of the game. (To which it is never explained why the Flauros was divided into pieces in the first place.) The connection between Alessa and the cult to Travis is non-existent in the motel area, so finding a piece of the Flauros after Travis confronts his past is more gimmicky than integral. Additionally, if Travis' story was to show a parallel between Travis and Alessa via his emotions and mental state, it isn't very convincing or necessary to have him maintain a protagonist role by game's end, especially if the goal is to present Alessa as the antagonist in SH1. Ultimately, when one looks at the connections between SH0 and SH1 they are loose and unrevealing in comparison to the connections between SH1 and SH3. This makes SH0 wholly unnecessary. If SH0 had actually not been related to SH1 as directly and instead focused on Travis and his delving into his murderous and perverse behaviors in the context of the Otherworld setting, I'd be much more likely to treat it as integral to the series as a transformation metaphor of man to monster, an underlying and unexplained theme throughout the series.

Silent Hill Merchandise Announcement: Silent Hill Sounds Box Released in Japan: Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltm. announced on December 28, 2010*[1] the release of a collector's edition of the Silent Hill music series in a single boxed collection entitled, "Silent Hill Sounds Box." Released on March 16, 2011*[2] on physical media format via Sony Music Distribution (Japan) Inc., this collection features 9 discs: 8 soundtrack CDs and a DVD*[3] of trailers from the Silent Hill series and a 20-page art booklet. The catalog number for the Sounds Box collection is GFCA243-251 and retails at 14,700円 (YEN)*[4] (sales tax included). The collections consists of 8 music CDs, 7 of which are soundtracks from the main series of titles and an 8th containing demos, unreleased tracks, extended versions and limited-edition-released tracks from the series. In addition, the 8th CD also contains Akira Yamaoka created tracks from Silent Hill The Arcade. The included DVD contains the E3 and TGS trailers from Silent Hill Zer0 (aka Silent Hill 0rigins), Silent Hill Homecoming (unreleased in Japan), and Silent Hill Shattered Memories. Each disc has a newly designed cover slip and CD face. The included 20-page artbook contains unreleased drawings and concept art from the above mentioned games as well.*[5] Although this is seemingly a re-release of previous soundtracks, there are some major and minor changes, particularly with the most recent releases*[6]. For example, the original Silent Hill soundtrack does not include the track "Esperandote" by Rika Muranaka. Also, the Silent Hill Homecoming soundtrack features a re-ordering of the tracklist to spread out some of the more melodic tracks amid the more ambient tracks*[7]. In addition, the last track has been replaced with a remix version of "Alex Theme"*[8]. To hear a sample of select tracks from the collection, visit the full details page and click on the "listen" icons*[9] next to the highlighted tracks. *[1] Footnote: The Silent Hill Portal Site announced the release by posting the order/pre-order page on the KonamiStyle of Japan site on Tuesday, December 28, 2010. Subsequent news reports followed on the same day. *[2] Footnote: Although the collection released on schedule via Sony Music Distribution (Japan) Inc., shipments of the Sounds Box from KonamiStyle were delayed due to the recent tsunami disaster in Japan. *[3] Footnote: Encoded for Region 2 (Japan, Europe, Australia). (Personal Note: Sorry, North America and East Asia.) *[4] Footnote: For those that order from the KonamiStyle site, they recieve a 10% discount. The sales price of 13,230円 (YEN) is payable by cash (if ordered from the KonamiStyle retail store in Tokyo), credit card or Konami Points. In turn, KonamiStyle members recieve 126 points for purchasing this collection. *[5] Footnote: Among the included images are the unreleased box art covers from Silent Hill Homecoming by Masahiro Ito. *[6] Footnote: The Silent Hill Sounds Box marks the first official releases of the SHH and SHSM soundtracks. *[7] Footnote: The US promotional release album features a different tracklist for the Silent Hill Homecoming soundtrack. Personal Note: ??? *[8] Footnote: The new track is titled "Alex Theme (Machine Head Mix)" Personal Note: Which is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!! *[9] Footnote: Samples download as streaming asx files. Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltm. - Products - Silent Hill Sounds Box KonamiStyle of Japan - CD・DVD・BD - Silent Hill Sounds Box Sony Music Shop - SILENT HILL SOUNDS BOX Personal Note: *Ahem* This is probably the longest response time I've had between replies, but whayagonnado.

Intriguing. I await in excitement and anticipation on the topic.

Considering Sony's recent problems with it's online services and the likely outcomes to occur, how important is a game company's responsibility to protecting a user's personal information, especially when the industry is abuzz about metrics?

I feel like I should mention that it was also this feeling of isolation and confinement that put people off. For a video game, it was very counter-intuitive, because there seemed like there was more that you could do, but weren't allowed to do. ("Hey, I can look out my window. Why won't it open? Hey, I can look out my peephole. Why can't I get out of the apartment? Hey, I can play with the radio. Why can't I hear anything else but static? *Sigh*/*Quit*) I think SH4 had great presentation and fantastic production values. However, it lacked severely in appoachability. Unlike its predecessors, The Room greatly sacraficed approachability in favor of presentation (i.e. atmosphere). Personally, in hindsight, the overall game is better off for it, as the story comes across more effectively. However, I think this decision thinned the Silent Hill herd too much of fans who were looking for more of the familiar from the series. (IMHO, SH3 did the series a disservice by sticking to the original game design of SH1.) Granted, I will agree that sacraficing approachability in certain gameplay aspects hurt some of the experience. However, the complaint isn't that the game design was broken or unplayable, but that said gameplay mechanics could have been made more succinct or effective. (It was just wonky, not broken) Actually, Henry is a demure character, not a reclusive one. This makes him interesting to me, as this characteristic is uncommon in men, and also somewhat unfitting. There is a hugely subtle difference that should be addressed between the two. However, almost every aspect of SH4 leans heavily upon subtlety. This is a great article and one of the last remaining English overviews left on the internet. Glad you brought it up. THANK YOU!!! I'm glad somebody else said it. Lastly, I just finished reading Silent Hill: Past Life on my PSP. I have to admit, for a four issue comic, it is surprisingly good, aside from the fact that it has almost nothing to do with Silent Hill, which as it turns out is the best kind of Silent Hill story. Good story, excellent artwork, fairly faithful adaptation, great tension and build up, wholly satisfying conclusion. Definitely recommend it.

Actually, according to the escapist, it looks like this is going to be another 0rigins, with breakable weapons, fixed camera angles and QTEs. Color me disappointed. Incidently, if you haven't checked out Silent Hill: Past Life, read the first two issues; it's surprisingly promising. Particularly because the writer, Tom Waltz (Silent Hill: Sinner's Reward), is also co-writing Downpour. I'm highly impressed with the artwork as well, as it merges the art design of the entire comic series with a monochrome pencil-sketch style and an incomparable, original technique that warrants detailed inspection. Also, if you happen to use PlayStation Home, check out the highly faithful, recreated Red Pyramid costume from SH2 in the Konami Space.

New Silent Hill Shattered Memories Remix from Main Finger: Since we're on the subject of SHSM, here's a rough cut of Jesse Gregory's (aka Main Finger) remix of Akira Yamaoka's version of "Always on My Mind." And it is A-W-E-S-O-M-E! MainFinger.com - News - Stream a New Main Finger Remix / Download (.mp4 file / 6.97 MB / 480 x 360)