I recently read a short editorial in EGMi lamenting background music in games.  The author, Paul Semel, points out how he always turns the music off in his games, as he feels many times the music ruins the experience.    “[I]‘m . . . not into music in games because, most of the time, it doesn’t make sense to have music in those games.  If you were a secret agent sneaking up behind an enemy combatant, you wouldn’t crank some Metalica.”

I think he makes a good point, but I found his article all the more interesting because I often find myself wishing my games had more music.  For example, as much as I enjoyed romping through exciting fields and deserts in Monster Hunter Tri, I really found the overall lack of background music disappointing.

Sure, your Monster Hunter main character wouldn’t be battling beasties with his iPod, but having a blood-pumping orchestral score to accompany my adventure really enhances the experience for me.  For example, as much as I enjoy Dragon Age, I’ve found the overall music to be lacking.  However, having recently finished Awakening, I really enjoyed the tense music at the end as you make your way toward the Mother’s lair; it heightened the sense of tension.  In some ways, I think I appreciated it more because of the overall lack of music (or variety) both the original game and expansion have.

I think games can use music as effectively (if not moreso) than a film does, but I also think developers should give players more options in controlling the volume of music in their games, or even give us the ability to turn it off completely.  Of course, some games do offer the ability to use your own custom soundtrack, which introduces a whole other issue entirely.

So, what do you think?  Are games better off without musical accompaniment, or are they a necessary part of the gaming experience?  Sound off in the comments.

What is Community Voice?  Community Voice is your chance to make yourself heard on Spawn Kill.  Yes, you can leave comments on any post that we have, but The Community Voice is a feature that is notorious for encouraging discussion and fostering a sense of, yes, community.  We want to hear from readers of the site, so let us know your opinions on the topics each week and let’s get something lively going!

I’ve returned from this year’s Fan Expo, which took place in Toronto this weekend.  The expo is a large convention for fans of anime, horror, gaming, comics and science fiction.  I saw a lot of great stuff this year, and I’ll admit that while it was a huge improvement since 2008, the first year I went, it had a lot of fatal flaws that may keep me from going next year.  While I had plenty of exciting experiences, some were not nearly so awesome, and some were just so completely terrible that I hope to never have to suffer through them again.

The Ugly

I realize that the ugly portion usually comes at the end, but it just so happens that the ugly stuff happened right at the beginning of the expo.  I arrived early Saturday morning, around 9:30 a.m., after witnessing the mass of people from Fan Expo all over the morning news.  The news casters was interviewing elaborate cosplayers and warning expo goers that if they were going to go that day to go early, as some people lined up several hours in advance.

This was a far cry from how things were in 2008, and I heard 2009 was “much, much better” from a friend.  I’ll take her word for it.  The line stretched for several blocks, and there was absolutely no rhyme or reason when it came down to the different lines.  In fact, you wouldn’t have even known about the several different lines unless you heard the female expo worker screaming at the top of her lungs about where people were supposed to be.

I encountered three lines: one for those who had already purchased tickets online, one for those who hadn’t purchased tickets yet, and a line for re-entry and the media.  I stood with those in the pre-purchased line, since I was with friends and knew that once I was through those doors I probably wouldn’t see them again for hours.  Yes, it was that crowded.  The folks who run Fan Expo don’t place a cap on tickets, allowing an unlimited amount of people in, which completely backfired in this case.

Later on, I found out that  people were outside chanting for a refund, because those who had left for lunch couldn’t get back into the expo the rest of the day, thus spending $35 on a full day pass and only getting maybe two hours worth of expo time.  Some people who had already purchased tickets weren’t able to get in at all.  I’m really interested to see what will be done to rectify this situation for those unfortunate folks who weren’t even able to get in.

Once we were finally shuffled into the building after being screamed at, we were yelled at some more by another Fan Expo employee who was attempting to make an elaborate snake-like line inside the building.  I’m not sure about you, but I dislike going to an expo and being screamed at due to their own disorganization.  It would have helped if they had ropes, rails, anything to divide up the sections to form a real line.  Just sayin’.

Once through the gates and into the actual expo, we weren’t surprised to see that almost no one could move throughout the convention center.  People were constantly walking into each other, and if you were wearing open-toed shoes like I was, well, then I feel your pain.  No, literally, I feel your pain, because my feet are sore from being stepped on all day.  I really shouldn’t have worn open toed shoes.  But then again, I had no idea I wouldn’t be able to breathe once inside.  Oxygen is overrated, right?

The expo itself was pretty interesting, when you were able to approach a booth or get close enough to something without being bumped halfway across the hall.  Put a cap on your tickets next year, Fan Expo, otherwise someone might wise up and call the fire department about your obvious safety violations.

Edit: I just learned from several people who attended the event that the doors were closed after the building reached maximum occupancy.  There was a fire marshal lockdown, and those who went outside to have a smoke or grab something to eat were not able to re-enter, including those who purchased three day passes.  Reactions on Fan Expo’s facebook page have been mostly negative.

The Bad

Next up is the bad of Fan Expo 2010, because I decided that I wanted to end this article on a positive note and not a negative one.  Unfortunately, Nintendo decided that they weren’t going to bring the Nintendo 3DS after all even though it was advertised in the program, so that means I wasn’t able to get a hands-on report of it.  Nintendo did have a booth set up with older, playable Wii games available.  They also had a Dragon Quest IX special edition map that you could download, but it didn’t overshadow the disappointment over not being able to see and touch the 3DS.

While not a deal breaker, if you were hoping to get an autograph from a particular celebrity (Felicia Day and Amy Okuda from The Guild were present), it was pretty difficult to determine where you had to go in order to do that.  Again, this is another clear sign that the event was not organized well at all, since people were huddled in the back of the convention and wandering aimlessly around trying to find the right line to get into for their celeb of choice.

The legendary Stan Lee was the guest of honor, and rightly so, but he was off in a distant corner.  There was a huge Marvel booth where you could get on stage with a Captain America shield and have your picture taken, and this booth could be seen from almost every angle in the convention hall.  I assumed Stan Lee would be over there, but it turns out he was tucked hidden away in a back corner.  We actually stumbled upon him purely by accident, and it’s Stan Lee!  While I didn’t make it to his panel, I did see how crowded it was from a snapshot and I’m wondering if anyone made it out of the room alive due to the amount of oxygen there wasn’t in that room.

The Good

The Fan Expo wasn’t one big miserable time, though!  Overall  I had a really great time, despite the problems.  Some of the games that were featured at this year’s Fan Expo that I managed to check out a bit of included the Playstation Move, MicroVolts and Tron Evolution.  Also in attendance was Halo: Reach and the Microsoft Kinect.  Fans swarmed the Kinect booth and again, there was no line involved – it was pretty much first come, first serve.  Or rather, whoever pushed their way up there first got to play the Kinect.  Lots of smiles donned the faces of those who were able to  jump and jog through the sports demo.  The racing demo wasn’t quite as spectacular, though.  Something about holding my hands up in the air and moving them back and forth to simulate a wheel just doesn’t seem all that impressive, but the fans really enjoyed what they played and that’s the important thing.

The Playstation Move booth was slightly more organized, but it also didn’t have as many people.  The crowd created their own line, and patiently waited behind others in order to get their hands on the Playstation Move.  I have no idea why people decided to act polite at the Playstation Move booth and not the Kinect, but this worked out because I was able to get a video of a friend playing the Ping Pong demo.  I also got a chance to play the demo, and overall I’d say I am a fan.  You only use one button in Ping Pong, and that’s used to serve the ball.  It was pretty intuitive and I would say the motion tracking was quite a bit better than the Wii, but a friend of mine says that it isn’t a far cry from the Wii Motion Plus.  Still, I enjoyed myself and thought that it was judging the depth accurately.  It felt just right.

Again, I’m not sure that the Ping Pong demo was the best to show at the expo, though I can understand that they probably didn’t want people hitting one another in such a small amount of space.  It didn’t take much moving around; in fact, you could probably just sit down and play the game, which is fine, but I think it would have showed off the Playstation Move more if they had a game to demo that actually made you, well, move.  The controller was nice and light and felt completely comfortable in my hand.  The glowing orb on the end of it was a little bit distracting, but I definitely liked what I saw and played and am looking forward to seeing more from the Playstation Move in the future.

The Tron Legacy booth was probably one of the largest in the convention center and had lots to look at, including the Tron Evolution video game.  The game is available for the Playstation 3, the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360.  The Wii demo showed off the Light Cycle gameplay, where players are supposed to cut off their opponent and destroy them.  If you’ve seen the first Tron movie, this should look familiar.  The graphics on the Wii weren’t too shabby, but the Wii remote controls left something to be desired.  While it wasn’t necessarily difficult to navigate around the small area in the cycle, sometimes the controls were unresponsive and I would end up in a wall despite my best efforts.  The booth also showed off the special edition keyboard and controllers (check out the gallery below for pictures).  I can’t wait until these are finally available to purchase, because I think they’re pretty impressive looking.

Though it wasn’t on the schedule, I came across a large section featuring the online multiplayer toy shooter, Microvolts.  The team was on hand to answer questions and chat with fans about the game, while players were given a chance to sit and try it out for themselves.  The game is currently in a closed beta, and up until the Fan Expo I hadn’t heard a single thing about it.  The graphics are stylized and look almost like a Saturday morning cartoon, where adorable dolls and action figures wander around the map with large bazooka guns and other weapons to take out their enemies with.

Naomi is a playable high school student figure in the micro-world, Knox is a “super poseable” hip-hop figure, Pandora is a demon-like female action figure who apparently hates men, and CHIP is a figurine that was created using spare parts.  So far there’s only four playable characters to choose from, though I’m not sure if this is just for the closed beta or if they plan on releasing more characters in the future.  Overall, the game looked like a very unique and fun shooter.

Electric Playground’s Briana McIvor and Shaun Hatton were sitting at a table signing autographs and taking pictures for happy fans, and Tommy Tallerico also made a last-minute appearance at the expo.  The Halo: Reach booth allowed fans to try out the new Firefight mode.  Due to the poor organization of the event once again, Halo fans had a really difficult time getting in to see and try the game.  Where did the line start?  Again, not many people were able to figure that one out, unfortunately.

In Conclusion

I’m glad I went to Fan Expo again this year, but I can’t help but feel as though I missed out on a lot of stuff due to the lack of organization and planning.  The schedule that was released ahead of time was helpful to those who wanted to plan out their weekend, but unless you got there very, very early your chances of getting into the panels you wanted to see were pretty slim.  Many fans expressed their aggravation and anger over twitter, wishing that those who organized the event would at the very least come forward and apologize publicly.

It wasn’t run well, to say the least.  As I mentioned in the beginning, there were some people who never even got a chance to get in after they paid, and many others who weren’t able to purchase tickets at all.  Once inside, it was an absolute mad house that left very little oxygen left for those who paid a decent amount of money to be there.  If there was just one piece of constructive criticism I could offer, it would be to put a cap on those tickets next year and take the disappointment many fans felt this year to heart.  Limiting the amount of people would greatly improve the event as a whole for everyone.

The gaming center was improved since 2008, but it was also the most crowded area due to lack of space and because the Kinect was just so popular.  In terms of general popularity, I’d say that the Microsoft Kinect took the cake, but I’m not sure if it’s because people genuinely were interested in Kinect, or if it was because the Playstation Move was in a really odd spot.  If you’re a gamer and in the Toronto area next year, it may be worth stopping in to Fan Expo for a Sunday afternoon.  Still, if I were you, I’d just save my money for PAX until they get their act together.

I understand that not everyone had the same experience that I did.  So please, sound off in the comments section below of what your experience was like at Fan Expo 2010, and what you thought.

Be sure to check out the picture gallery below of Fan Expo 2010.

12►

Like always you can subscribe or download the podcast via iTunes and don’t forget to let us know what you thought about the podcast. Thanks for listening!

We’ve discussed it before here at Spawn Kill: the issue of game length.  Recently, one of the developers of Joe Danger, Sean Murray, wrote a blog post about the subject, and it got me thinking about it once again, especially since it’s a concept I ruminate about often.

Many game reviews include game length not only in their text, but also consider it when determining the score.  Of course, that leads to the argument: is a game bad simply because it’s short?  Obviously, that depends on a lot of things.  As Sean Murray wrote in his post, Limbo and Portal are both short games, but the fact that they took only a few hours to complete didn’t lessen their critical acclaim.  In fact, I agree with him on a lot of his points, as the concept of “gameplay arc” is something I’ve touched upon before.  Some games have a natural length to them, partially due to pacing, and if you go beyond this (or below it, for that matter), the game feels “off.”  Many times this results in complaints of “the game is too short”; I’ve also argued that the game can feel “too long” for the same reasons.  For example, I felt Bowser’s Inside Story was too long in the sense that it exceeded its pacing and began to drag, with content added to extend the game, perhaps to live up to RPG-length expectations.  Likewise, as much as I loved Persona 4, I also felt it was “too long,” partially due to pacing and partially due to practicality, which is another side of the game length coin, and one which Murray touches upon briefly.

Today, many of us lead busy lives, perhaps with multiple jobs, families, kids, and other hobbies that reduce the amount of time we can spend gaming. As a result, many are drawn to a fun, compact 5-10 hour experience, rather than a 100-hour odyssey that many will never get to complete.  According to Murray, only 10-percent of people completed Joe Danger, with average playtime for all those who downloaded it resting at 20-hours.  Apparently, most journalists only played about half-way through.  Does this mean that Joe Danger is too long?  Obviously, Murray doesn’t answer this question, but it’s a valid point to consider.

So, what do you think?  Are shorter games better?  Should reviews call out games if they are too short or too long?  How much do you relate your dollars spent to number of hours of content?  Let your voice be heard in the comments.

What is Community Voice?  Community Voice is your chance to make yourself heard on Spawn Kill.  Yes, you can leave comments on any post that we have, but The Community Voice is a feature that is notorious for encouraging discussion and fostering a sense of, yes, community.  We want to hear from readers of the site, so let us know your opinions on the topics each week and let’s get something lively going!

An ordinary school day in Columbine, Colorado most likely never consisted of a bloody, pre-meditated massacre at the hands of an outcast and ethically unsound teenager. Two Combine High School students by the name of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold changed this perception on April 20th of 1999. Eric and Dylan single-handedly shook the foundation of American media and propagated concerned parents around the globe to question the consequences of uncensored entertainment. A large majority of psychologists and journalists reporting on the incident were quick to degrade the “Goth Scene,” antagonistic music, and both Eric and Dylan’s immersion in the virtual world of Doom, a hugely popular first-person shooter video game depicting ruthless killing of “demon-esque” creatures.

Once again, Ms. Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam (M.I.A.) is a concerned mother and also happens to be fluent in Cannabis and robbing convenient stores according to her outplayed pop hit “Paper Planes,” a song you’ve probably heard flood your radio and various recycled teen movies starring “McLovin’” many times.  M.I.A. isn’t all talk, though. She’s an advocate of human rights and has involved herself in school-building projects in Liberia since 2006. Unbeknownst to many first-time listeners, she spits her game true to her belief system with many of her songs containing controversial topics and satirical value. “That’s what ‘Worldtown’ is about, that’s what ‘Paper Planes’ is about. It’s what people in the third world live through,” she says.

M.I.A. recently expressed her growing concern in Connect Magazine, believing the younger generation is growing immune to the overwhelming display of violence in video games. In regards to her upbringing in Sri Lanka, M.I.A. discussed the extremity of her hardship in a third-world country and the possibility of her son being entertained by, well, shooting people in the face. “My kid is gonna see it,”she says “But he’s gonna see it in video games.”

The lyrically rebellious singer is understandably concerned that the age of exposure may be too soon for immature minds to digest.“They feel like they know the violence when they don’t,” she explained. “Not having a proper understanding of violence, especially what it’s like on the receiving end of it, just makes you interpret it wrong and makes inflicting violence easier.” Well, many people may disagree with Ms. Arulpragasam, especially unbiased psychologists who don’t inherently dislike video games — kind-of.

A recent study was conducted on 44 adolescents, where each played a different genre of video game, albeit both high-octane, before researchers employed an MRI scanning. “Teens that played the violent game showed increased activity in the amygdala, which is involved in emotional arousal,” says research. Murray, a psychology professor at Kansas State University conducted a similar experiment in relation to film and television which produced identical results.

I may be going out on a limb here, but it doesn’t take a brainiac to figure out that any artistic medium, even literature, is designed to invoke a reaction and it is obviously not always going to aim for plausibility.

“It is likely that aggressive or hostile youths may be drawn to violent games,” says Psychologist Lawrence Kutner and sociologist Cheryl K. Olson. This study would indicate that subjects already prone to aggression may or may not exhibit an outward response. In contrast, another study indicated that players “tended to be less angry after playing a violent video game; 210 college students were allowed to play Wolfenstein 3D, a fairly violent game, and Myst. After a short time, it was found that the students who played the violent game punished an opponent for a longer period of time compared to the students who played the non-violent game.

Ph.D Craig A. Anderson stated, “Violent video games provide a forum for learning and practicing aggressive solutions to conflict situations. In the short run, playing a violent video game appears to affect aggression by priming aggressive thoughts.” Psychology Ph.D John M. Grohol stresses: “It must be emphasized that correlational studies cannot show whether video games cause particular behaviors.” Is it really rational to deny that big-banking games like Call of Duty have zero affect on the good judgement of our youth, though? The thing is, my neighbor wanted to be a marine after seeing the John Cena film. Mr. Marine is now freshly graduated from high school and waiting to be shipped off along with his Air Force-bound brother. An important question, “why?”never crossed his brain. Surprising, no. Scary? Yes.

We must analyze the difference between public perception and what statistics are saying, thus federal crime statistics report that the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low, and this is all while 60% of households own a gaming console, an increase from about 44% reported three years ago. The number is rapidly growing, too. While 90% of boys and an astonishing 40% of girls are gaming, I would think American media exposure is steadily building a clan of stealthy killers, but this is obviously not the case.

Let’s not forget, ERSB ratings are existent and clearly labeled for better judgment; therefore, they are obviously meant to be properly enforced. This forewarning alone should indicate that parental guidance plays a predominate role in improper and premature exposure. If Call of Duty’s rating label reads “M for Mature” this is a good indication of an unsuitable birthday gift for a ten-year-old.

It’s safe to say that negative depictions will continue to plague video game titles such as Halo and Medal of Honor if they were previously played by teenagers running rampant on killing sprees, however it is faulty to be ignorant to both Eric and Dylan’s home life and the same goes for every other violent teen. The Surgeon General’s report states that “the strongest risk factors for school shootings centered on mental instability and the quality of home life, not media exposure.” Grohol goes on to say that “far too frequently, this important distinction between correlation and causation is overlooked.”

[Source: CVG, MSNBC, PBS, Serendip.brynmawr.edu, Psychcentral, Sciencedaily]

If you do a Google image search for RPG, unfortunately most of the shots you’ll find feature a certain deadly weapon.  However, use that word around any gamer and they’ll immediately think something completely different. Role-playing games.  If you play games regularly, chances are good you’ve played at least one RPG at some point in your life.  Many of us thoroughly enjoy the genre in all its facets, which made this week’s Staff Picks even more difficult.  Once again, the staff here at Spawn Kill got together to each pick just one of our most favorite RPGs.  Again, no easy task.  However, we all managed to settle on one title to represent some of our favorite moments in gaming.  Check out our list, and feel free to list your picks in the comments.  And, unlike us, you aren’t limited to just one pick.

Stephanie’s Pick:

Xenosaga (Series)

A lot of people give me heck about this, that I’d choose Xenosaga over Xenogears, in all of its elder nostalgia-driven glory, but few RPG plot and casts sucked me in the way Xenosaga ever did. Aside from the bonus points from having a sci-fi, futuristic setting, the dark religious undertones behind many of the characters and plot points kept me wanting to know more – for three games straight. It’s infamous for its you-can-go-to-the-bathroom-and-make-a-sandwich lengthy cutscenes, but I could rarely take myself away from them. Fewer games had as many plot twists or exciting revelatory moments as this game when playing all the way through for me, plus, hey, there’s a pause button, you big babies.

Below KOS-MOS’ battle-driven exterior, launching missiles from an open-plated metal chest piece, studying her amidst the plot twists about her I won’t reveal, and seeing her learn almost human responsiveness at times kept me really attached. All of the characters have their own special charm to them, and a ton of interesting battle skills, let alone their own E.S. (mechs), to experiment with, not to mention there is a haunting soundtrack hovering throughout the game. Xenosaga just had it all for me.

Dana’s Pick:

Final Fantasy VIII

I know, I know. It’s a Final Fantasy game. How cliche, right? I think VIII is a very underrated game, and while VI and IX were both great (and I just didn’t click with VII), VIII still holds the key to my heart. When I first played through the game, I was around 15 years old and I was completely mesmerized by the story. It was the first Final Fantasy game I had ever played, so maybe that’s why I love it so much. It could also have to do with the awesome soundtrack (Liberi Fatali is still one of the most amazing RPG scores, in my humble opinion), the interesting plot surrounding the students of Balamb Garden and the sorceresses, or the unique characters.

Rinoa Heartilly irritated the crap out of me the first time around, but by the second play through I was attached to her. I could actually relate to her, and if you guessed that my “Heart1lly” handle was inspired by her, you’d be correct. She’s one of my favorite video game heroines, and probably always be. This game will stay near and dear to my heart no matter how outdated it becomes.

Rebecca’s Pick:

Dragon Quest IX

This was a really tough decision. I’ve enjoyed many RPGs, and there are even more on my backlog, yet to be played, but finally I decided on DQIX. Why? Well, you can read my review for details, but what finally helped me decide was I started thinking about what is it about an RPG that makes it so enjoyable? The gameplay? Yes, especially in a strategy RPG. The story? Definitely, and that’s what makes Dragon Age: Origins one of my favorites. However, the act of exploration and the sense of discovery is what really draws me to many games, particularly adventures and RPGs. In the end, I picked Sentinels of the Starry Skies because it really plays into that sense of discovery. The world is large, but it’s more than that: the exciting feeling you get every time you make an item in alchemy for the first time, or encounter new monster, or uncover a new quest you might not even be able to accept yet. The story may not be as deep as Dragon Age, but it keeps me coming back for more to discover what new spells or talents I can learn, what new weapons I can uncover, and what other new excitements I may find in that world inside my DS.

Dave’s Pick:

Persona 4

My favorite RPG of recent memory probably goes to Persona 4.  I’m certainly not saying it’s my favorite of all time, and there are certainly better games out there.  The truth is, I couldn’t even sit down and play the game in one full sitting.  I think I let it lapse for about 2 months before I sat back down and finished it.  Despite its flaws and my own hang ups, Persona 4 has stayed with me.  I remember every character, every voice, every plot twist.  And the music is still a staple of my iPod for the indefinable future.  Some people dismiss it as a dungeon crawler combined with the Sims, and maybe it is.  I never played a Sims game, and I like dungeon crawlers.  Maybe Persona 4 (and 3) is just my perfect amalgamation of genres.  Or maybe I just played it at the right time.  Regardless, it stays with me, as golden as memories get, and I know that at some point I’ll probably play it through for another 120 hours, though this time not on Expert which I foolishly did on my first playthrough.  I also know that Yukiko will always be my first romance, that Chie’s spunky attitude will always make me smile, and that Teddy is totally gay (not that there’s anything wrong with that!).  Not many games can give me that kind of afterglow.

Eric’s Pick:

Knights of the Old Republic

The one thing that I love about some of the games we’re playing in this generation is the incorporation of RPG elements into surprising genres. MLB The Show, Borderlands, FIFA, and NHL all have excellent RPG elements that change the way we play those games. As much as I love the way these titles incorporate RPG elements, the one true RPG that stands out for me is KOTOR.

Knights of the Old Republic was my first real introduction to RPG’s. As a big Star Wars fan, I found it easy to make the transition into the genre, and the game became my gateway drug into other roleplaying games. I’m still not too much into the JRPG (play for 8 hrs before anything happens) scene, but I’m no longer afraid to play an RPG. I used to think they were boring, but KOTOR made me realize that molding your character, playing through an engaging story, being able to choose which path you want to take, all while wielding a light saber is really badass. I enjoyed every bit of KOTOR, but the story is what sucked me in and made me want to explore other RPGs. Even though I can’t play a Jedi in every RPG, KOTOR opened me up to an exciting genre that I had ignored for years.

K-Tuck’s Pick:

Final Fantasy Tactics

Final Fantasy Tactics managed to catch my attention in a rather sneaky way. I knew I liked Final Fantasy, I knew the lore, and the traditional classes were easy enough for me to understand. Though the game was immediately comfortable, Tactics introduced me to a then-unknown dimension of character and party building. No longer were members of my party limited to their particular class strengths, weaknesses, weapons, or even visual style. My options seemed almost limitless at the time, and I couldn’t have had more fun trying out new ways to set up my squad.

For an RPG fan primarily interested in the Final Fantasy series (as I was at the time), the battle system in Tactics was like a playground. I spent hours building my characters in random classes so that I could try to take on battles as party of only Black Mages. Another time I meticulously trained characters to bolster the strength of a single warrior who I then used as the sole attacker in battle. The freedom to be as precise or ridiculous as I wanted was something I have never forgotten.

Of course, FFT had some super deep political/religious plot, and that does add a lot to its level of immersion, but my draw to the title will always be its fantastic battles. In fact, I still haven’t become tired with it; I still play this game today.

Fonzi’s Pick:

Grandia

Every gamer knows that it’s difficult to pick a “favorite” game in any genre. When deciding which RPG was my favorite, I had to choose which one I enjoyed the most (which makes up a large list), as well as which one had the most heart. After arguing with myself for days on the subject, I finally decided on Grandia.

After Final Fantasy VII was released, it quickly became clear that there was an evolution occurring in the RPG world, and that evolution involved polygonal characters. Two years later –during the hype of the also great Final Fantasy VIII – Game Arts introduced Grandia to North America. I decided to give this sprite-filled game a shot, and right from the beginning, my heart was stolen. Very rarely do I find myself so immersed in a game that I can say I am addicted to it, but Grandia was one of those games, and I would recommend it to any gamer looking to have a good time. Not only was the game easily playable for people who were new to the RPG genre, but it also had the best battle system in a JRPG this side of Star Ocean. Grandia showed that 2D sprites could still survive in an RPG world that had become dominated by polygonal figures, and it proved this through its fun story, incredible gameplay, and its heart. If you haven’t given it a shot yet, look for it on PSN!

“Americans are dying and I can’t imagine who would really want to sit and shoot U.S. soldiers on a game,” says Meredith, commenting on the upcoming October release of Medal of Honor. Karen Meredith is a mom. Like many Americans, Meredith is also severely distraught over losing her son in our country’s so-called “War On Terror.” Meredith, appalled by EA’s blatant insensitivity, stated “I find it disrespectful and irresponsible for EA to be putting this game out at this time.”

See, Meredith doesn’t have any intention in fighting for a ban of Medal of Honor, but instead made an understandable plea to EA, hoping they would shelf the title until the American invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan is more of a scar instead of an open wound.

It isn’t that easy, however; Meredith claims she is even more surprised over the personal attacks she’s received via online commentary. “I’m called ignorant here. ‘Stupid mother… stupid mothers who are too traumatized, your son died.’ I think it’s telling me to get over the death of my son,” she explained. We’ve “lived” through the release of Call of Duty and the controversial “airport” scene, so I’m unsurprised by the hostile outlash of a select few. Jeff Brown of EA Corporate chalked Meredith’s grief up to “nonsense,” adding “I think this is all nonsense generated by people who haven’t played a video game in the last twenty years.”

Many players are boasting of Medal of Honor and it’s current significance, but is this really something to be prideful of? The sales are rising and so is the body count, with American casualties surpassing the 1,000 mark in Afghanistan alone and this doesn’t include a count for US mercenary groups, non-US soldiers, NATO, suicides, and of course, civilians. “His life is over, and I have to deal with this every day…it’s just not a game,” says Meredith.

“I find it an act of treason that EA would allow a player to kill US Servicemen. There is no excuse that would make this acceptable. Where is the respect and honor for the US Military?” says a regular-Joe, commenting on EA’s choice to allow players to “side” with the Taliban in Medal of Honor.

“In the multiplayer set-up, soldiers are fighting against the Taliban much like Allies fight Nazis in WWII shooter games. In Medal of Honor multiplayer, we give gamers the opportunity to play both sides,” EA said in a statement.

“Most of us have been doing this since we were seven – if someone’s the cop, someone’s gotta be the robber, someone’s gotta be the pirate and someone’s gotta be the alien. In Medal of Honor multiplayer, someone’s gotta be the Taliban.” Major news networks likely won’t count, but with almost one million Iraqis and Afghanis killed in both wars combined, we’ve been playing a debatable game of “cops and robbers” since 2001. With all due respect, Meredith and/or any other concerned parties should direct a plea of objection toward her country, not EA.

[Source: Sify News]

You can download and subscribe to the podcast via iTunes and let us know what you thought about the episode. Thanks for listening!

However, being the generous sort of folk that we are, we felt it was only fair to open up the floor for all of you to weigh in on what game music keeps you humming long after you’ve hit the “power” button.   Do you prefer the classic nostalgia of 8-bit blips, or do you relish the full orchestra?  Perhaps you go for more of the eclectic or avant-garde works.  Perhaps you’re a rhythm game junkie!  Maybe it’s a little of everything.  Whatever your faves, we want to hear them, so feel free to post your picks in the comments, and don’t be afraid to include a YouTube link so others can enjoy your selections!

Oh, and unlike us, you don’t have to pick just one soundtrack if you want: feel free to make a list!

What is Community Voice?  Community Voice is your chance to make yourself heard on Spawn Kill.  Yes, you can leave comments on any post that we have, but The Community Voice is a feature that is notorious for encouraging discussion and fostering a sense of, yes, community.  We want to hear from readers of the site, so let us know your opinions on the topics each week and let’s get something lively going!

Music has always been a fundamental part of the gaming experience, from simple chiptune melodies to today’s symphonic scores.  The staff here at Spawn Kill has gathered around the virtual campfire to each pick one of our favorite video game soundtracks.  Some may be what you expect, others may introduce you to a new tune or composer.  Each staff member also selected one song to represent the game’s overall soundtrack in order to give you a feel for the music if you may be unfamiliar with that title.  So turn your speakers up, scroll down, and enjoy!

Stephanie’s Pick:

Chrono Cross

Since music is not my favorite thing about a game, when music stands out to me – it probably was placed in an extremely cinematic moment or literally brought me to tears when I heard it. Chrono Cross‘ soundtrack is the one of the very few soundtracks I’ve ever purchased. The music from this game is unlike that of any other. Yasunori Mitsuda, who worked on several other amazing games like Xenogears, Xenosaga, Shadow Hearts, and Chrono Trigger, gave the music a very emotional, gentle and almost tribal/ethnic flow. The majority of them are very soft and cinematic-feeling that were guaranteed to move me during the twists and turns throughout the story. Some of my favorite tracks are Time’s Scar, Garden of God and my favorite theme that puts me in a really soft, mellow state when I hear Radical Dreamers (below).

Rebecca’s Pick:

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

Although I found the game incredibly, heart-breakingly disappointing, the soundtrack is phenomenal.  Although the composer is an unknown, the tracks remind me of the great Joe Hisaishi, who writes many of the themes for Japanese films, including Spirited Away and Kikujiro.  The melodies are haunting and beautiful, and the two voiced tracks are some of the best video game songs ever.  Even though I don’t understand Japanese, they both make me cry each time I listen to them.

Dave’s Pick:

Red Dead Redemption

My pick for this round is Red Dead Redemption’s soundtrack.  Not only can I listen to it out of game, but in game it is nearly perfect in its capacity to set mood and make a player feel like they’re wandering around in the Old West.  The music changes from zone to zone, and at certain points in the game, a very specific song will start playing, usually after an event of great import, that will tear your soul apart.  But a warning:  whatever you do, don’t jump off your horse to pick a flower when one of those songs starts up or you’ll miss it and kick yourself repeatedly for being a collector of rare plant life.  In fact, do nothing but ride and listen and you’ll be rewarded.

Eric’s Pick:

FIFA 10

To be honest I never notice the music in a game unless it stands out as being incredibly bad or really good. When I first thought about this topic my immediate reaction was Mass Effect, but other than the loading screen music, I don’t quite remember the music from the rest of the game. So for me (I guess this could be a cop out) I have to go with FIFA 10. For the past few years, FIFA has done a great job at picking a good soundtrack that brings together music from across the world. They’ve introduced me to artists ranging from Lady Sovereign (from previous FIFA titles) to Marcio Local, Nneka and Rocky Dawuni in this year’s title.  There are some terrible songs, but for the most part the tracks in FIFA 10 are incredibly catchy and I find myself singing them, even the ones in other languages. Download the Revolution!

K-Tuck’s Pick:

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

It’d be very hard for me to name one game soundtrack that I’ve found to be hands-down better than the rest. Many games have very suitable but otherwise lackluster music, while other games have phenomenal music that really doesn’t suit the rest of the game. In deciding between what had the best balance of game-appropriate tracks, I’d have to say the soundtrack for Symphony of the Night (composed by Michiru Yamane) ranks highest in my mind. Yamane shows off some very impressive melodic organ or piano work one minute, then switches to some funky jazz tunes the next, and then flips right around for some guitar-heavy rock riffs — all while keeping in line with the ambiance core to the Castlevania series. Very impressive.

Jason’s Pick:

Metroid Prime

Like Eric, unless a game’s soundtrack tugs at me in a significant way (whether good or bad), I don’t really notice it. Red Dead Redemption and Mass Effect 2? I barely remember the soundtracks from those titles. A few games like Katamari Damacy and Super Mario Galaxy are notable for me, the former for featuring bizarre, quirky songs and the latter for offering uplifting and bright orchestral pieces that made me grin the whole time. But my favorite has to be Kenji Yamamoto’s work on Metroid Prime’s soundtrack. Its tracks perfectly match the environments to create the mystery and sense of loneliness of the underwater Orpheon wreck, the feeling of history and legacy in the Chapel of the Elders, and the atmosphere of industry and maliciousness in the Phazon Mines. The visuals and the music worked together to completely blow my eleven- or so-year-old mind away. Even today, I don’t believe anything compares with Metroid Prime in precisely blending the soundtrack with the worlds. Also, I can’t help but feel that nostalgic tingle when I listen to some of the tracks (some of the soundtrack are remixes of music from older Metroid titles). Perhaps if more games strove to perfect how the visuals and music blend, I would pay more attention to the soundtracks.

Dana’s Pick:

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

I recently purchased this soundtrack from iTunes after playing the game for the first time back in February-March and it was just such a wonderful game.  I remember the music standing out to me because it really created the perfect atmosphere for all the scenes.  Like in the beginning, where you see Zoe lying in the hospital bed in a coma, and this soothing, music box-type music played while she set up the introduction.  There’s also a fantastic song that sadly didn’t make it to the game’s OST for some reason, but was created for the game, called “Be With You” by Magnet.

Fonzi’s Pick:

Jet Set Radio Future

When listening to a video game’s soundtrack, there are two questions that come to mind: one, is the soundtrack good (obviously), and two, does it help create the atmosphere that the developers were going for? Many games definitely fit both of these requirements, but for me Jet Set Radio Future steals the show. Jet Set Radio Future takes place in a futuristic Tokyo, where you play as a gang of graffiti artists trying to stick it to the government the only way you know how: through graffiti. So how do we set the mood? Japanese composer Hideki Naganuma knew exactly how. Creating large mixes of hip hop, techno, electronica, and J-Pop, Naganuma helped bring this futuristic Tokyo to life. Including many other underground bands such as Guitar Vader, BS 2000, and Scapegoat Wax, Jet Set Radio Future brings players into the game with ease, and it is one of my favorite video game soundtracks of all time.

Spawn Kill was able to sit in on a Mafia II developer conference call today with Jack Scalici, Director of Creative Production. He was responsible for creating the authentic setting in Mafia II; making sure the environment fits the era along with finding the the 122 tracks that are included in the game. In the call Jack talks about the struggles of creating a new engine, how hard it was to narrow down which songs will be included in the game (from the thousands he listened to), what went into creating the authentic 50’s mafia world and what the future of the franchise is, which could include the Russian or Japanese mob. We conveniently recorded the call for you so you can listen to it here or head over to iTunes and download it there. Enjoy!

Don’t forget you can subscribe to us on iTunes and also remember to enter our Halo: Reach Special Edition Xbox 360 bundle giveaway! Thanks for listening.

When Halo 3 was coupled with Mountain Dew Game Fuel, I rushed to the nearest 7-11 and bought my weight in Mountain Dew.  My body was not pleased with me, but I satisfied my gamer urges…even though I don’t like Halo.  Also, I almost never drink Mountain Dew.  Some of us go nuts over every bit of game merchandise we can find.  Others only choose to collect certain things, such as t-shirts or figurines.  Some may avoid gaming merchandise altogether, preferring to stick to buying games and nothing else.  So, are you the type of person who completely geeks out when they find some gamer merchandise, or are the complete opposite?  Let us know in this week’s Community Voice!

What is Community Voice?  Community Voice is your chance to make yourself heard on Spawn Kill.  Yes, you can leave comments on any post that we have, but The Community Voice is a feature that is notorious for encouraging discussion and fostering a sense of, yes, community.  We want to hear from readers of the site, so let us know your opinions on the topics each week and let’s get something lively going!

The Spawn Kill crew has gotten together and mulled over the firey question, “What is your favorite PSN game?” and come to some unique and surprising results. We each selected our favorite PSN game that is available and put it together to form Spawn Kill’s PSN editor’s choice list. Some are critical favorites, some are unstoppable addictions we’ve held inside of us, but all of them are our loves. Check out our list of PSN favorites and let us know what your favorite is!

Stephanie’s Pick:

Sneezies (Minis)

I’ll be honest, I haven’t played a whole lot of PSN games, at least not enough that really stood out to me to recommend to you guys. I’m probably the only person who chose a PSP Minis game for this list, but my pick is certainly the most affordable of the bunch. Sneezies was actually introduced to me by Eric from Spawn Kill during E3. It’s one of those crazy crack games that you just play and play and play and have absolutely no explanation why you’re still playing when you’ve noticed an hour or two has already flown by. I don’t even remember being in the same room with him until he scoffed at me from the corner, “I cannot believe you are STILL playing that game,” after hearing me yell at balls of fluff for not sneezing at my command.

The gameplay and premise are very, very simple: You pick an angle to drop sneezing powder to make these fluffballs sneeze (sort of reminds me of Peggle actually in a way), them sneezing means an explosion of more sneezing powder which sets off a radius of sneezes and well, cause the most sneezes you can in one shot! There are 45 levels and each one requires more sneezes to continue to the next level. Cute. Crack. Sneezies. Don’t judge me. Oh, and it’s only $2.99.

K-Tuck’s Pick:

Pixeljunk Monsters

Pixeljunk Monsters is the champagne of tower defense games. Within the title, everything about the genre’s familiar formula seems refined to its most positive aspects. Between passively (and slowly) upgrading towers to frantically collecting money and avoiding personal injury, the smaller bits of the game can become as important as the main task — protecting a bunch of crazy little critters from being killed by swarms of predictable fiends.

Not only is the main campaign fun and lengthy, the challenges really force the player to think about different plans of attack. After completing them, a second play through of the main missions might see the implementation of very different strategies than were used the first time around. Even though perfect runs through certain levels require almost absolute precision, Pixeljunk Monsters is still one of the most flexible (and, in my opinion, enjoyable) tower defense game out today.

Dave’s Pick:

Flower

I’m going to go with the obvious choice and recommend Flower, as it’s arguably the best game on the PSN (with maybe some PS One exceptions). It may seem odd to recommend a game that everyone with a PlayStation 3 should own already, but for anyone yet on the fence, there’s now even a demo to test out one of the prettiest and most relaxing games you’ll ever touch. It won much praise from critics after its release, and also received a fair share of scorn from people not actually considering it as a video game. Personally, I find that to be a moot point. When I play Flower, I am immediately immersed in a lush and gorgeous environment. The controls, while annoying in their sixaxis implementation, nonetheless further that immersion by making you sway and bend like the wind itself. It’s an experience that I think anyone capable should reach for, and if you haven’t even tried it, please do yourself the favor of checking out the demo. If nothing else, it’s the best relaxation simulator on the market, and it doesn’t even need some silly finger sheath to make that claim.

Dana’s Pick:

Fat Princess

My pick for my favorite PSN downloadable game is Fat Princess.  This game is insanely silly and great to play with others, and besides…it’s called Fat Princess.  What’s not to love about that?  There’s six character classes to choose from, and you basically have to rescue your princess and take her back to your base.  It gets tricky though because your enemies will stuff her to death with cake, which causes her to become morbidly obese and heavier to carry – thus slowing you down.  The graphics are cute, but not overly so, and the gameplay is a blast when you have a bunch of friends all playing at the same time.  Besides Flower, it’s probably one of the best PSN games you can download so far.

Rebecca’s Pick:

Patchwork Heroes

I don’t own too many PSN games, because I don’t like to pay full price for digital games (especially), so I won’t buy a PSN game unless it goes on sale.  However, with the recent summer sale, I was able to pick up a few goodies, and Patchwork Heroes is one of these.  The art style is unique and fun (it reminds me of Eric Carle, the children’s author/illustrator’s work), and the gameplay is simple, yet addictive and challenging.   The basic premise of the game is giant, unmanned warships are heading to bomb your home town, so you (and your comrades) must climb along its sides (spider-style) and saw off pieces until you destroy it, all before the ship reaches your town.

The game throws progressive challenges at you, such as needing to rescue hostages, reinforced areas of the ship that can only be destroyed with a special attack or a bomb (the latter of which will sacrifice a party member, basically equivalent to one life), and enemies who will repair your hard work.  The game has several difficulties and timed attack modes, as well as ranking your performance with stars and screws (the currency), encouraging you to return to completed levels to better your score and gain more screws in order to unlock more features.  The best thing about the game is it is truly a portable title in the sense that you can easily pick it up and play a few minutes, then turn it off and move on to something else.  Unfortunately, the addictive gameplay may leave you with cramped hands and sore fingers.

Eric’s Pick:

Critter Crunch

Critter Crunch is a puzzler that brings a unique art style and gameplay to the color-matching puzzle genre. It is a very polished game that has a ton of depth, looks sharp and has both online and offline co-op, something that is rare for downloadable titles – let alone puzzle games.

Instead of simply matching up colors to clear the board, you take control of a critter named Biggs and you must pop the critters by feeding the smaller ones to the larger ones. Using Biggs’ long tongue to move the critters around and creating these long chains by feeding one critter to another is really fun. Once you learn the ins and outs of the various power ups and obstacles, the game becomes incredibly addicting and puts similar games to shame. Critter Crunch also features a ton of extra modes: puzzle, challenge and survival, all of which can be very challenging and intense. Finally it has offline and online co-op that is actually fun. While there is a bit of lag while playing online co-op, having that feature alone brings even more life to this already excellent puzzler.

Critter Crunch has everything I could want from a downloadable game: it’s original, addicting, gives you tons of gameplay hours, online co-op, great graphics and it’s cheap! All you early PSN+ adopters got a really great game for “free” this month.

Spawn Kill was recently given a rare chance to ask Visceral Games a couple of questions about their upcoming release Dead Space 2. Steve Papoutsis, Executive Producer of the studio, was more than happy to oblige. While he’s still a bit tight-lipped on some of the most sought-after information, Mr. Papoutsis did give us a closer look at some of the tweaks to the Dead Space formula that the sequel is going to offer.

Was there any criticism on the different weapons from the first game? If so, what kind of changes were made to make each weapon feel as powerful or as useful as the others?

Steve Papoutsis: The biggest thing we heard was that players loved the plasma cutter and used that pretty extensively.  Since we put so much work into the other weapons, this has motivated us to focus on improvements for most of the weapons.  Of the returning weapons / tools, the one we probably heard the biggest negatives on was the flame thrower.  We have adjusted that one a ton and are hoping folks find it more useful this time out.

Will the more open-ended environments of Dead Space 2 lead to a less-linear path through the game, such as branching paths depending on the player’s decisions?

The goal with Dead Space 2 is to create a compelling story that pulls players in.  Isaac has a clear objective and focusing on that is going to be required to succeed in the game.  After all there is a Necromorph outbreak going on, screwing around is going to get you killed.

Will Dead Space 2 abandon more of its predecessor’s creeping terror in favor of shock value?

Nope, we have heard lots of positives about the pacing and tension in the first game.  We are hoping to improve all facets of the game without taking away stuff players enjoyed.

There will be plenty of terror and shock this time out.

Did the development team have any specific parts of the first game that they felt needed to be improved for the sequel?

The team is extremely critical of the work we do.  I think everyone had one area  they thought we could really improve on.  For instance we were all split on the ADS sequence last time, many of us felt it was too difficult and frustrating so you won’t find a sequence as frustrating as that in the game this time.  Honestly we are trying to improve everything in Dead Space 2. We know it’s a tall order but folks who support us deserve it no matter how hard we have to work to make that happen.

Which new additions to the Dead Space formula do you think will excite players the most?

I’m hoping folks enjoy our impalement feature.  I’ve seen posts mention that you were able to fire off dismembered limbs into enemies in the first game.  That is correct, however they bounced off and did minor damage.  In Dead Space 2 you will be able to impale the shit out of Necromorphs with both the javelin gun and kinesis.  Players will be able to rip and grab a Slasher blade or use other pointy objects in the environment with kinesis and then fire that into enemies resulting in some nasty impalements.  To be clear, you will see enemies pinned to surfaces and see them with pointy objects sticking out of them.  This is a big upgrade from Dead Space.  I also think folks will dig the new Zero-G improvements we have in the game.  We really hope players think every part of Dead Space 2 is better.