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The Physics of Video Games column is now onto soundtrack reviews. Why? Sound is physics. Also, the lovely Jeremy (the Gaming Futurist) told me to. We’ll review the horrendous, the masterpieces, and everything in between. If you have any suggestions, let me know. Obscure, popular, appalling, it doesn’t matter.
Let’s critique a game I have never played, that seems fair. Alien Monster Bowling League, from what I understand, seems to be a mediocre bowling game on the Wii that received virtually no attention. I haven’t played this game, nor have I really paid attention to any footage. All I know, is that I have a folder of music sent by someone special, that says “Alien Monster Bowling League”. There is the possibility that this is a sham, and none of this music is even in the game. So I will be reviewing the songs in my downloads folder, which may or may not be from this game. Clearly, reviewing a game’s soundtrack in spite of never playing it, nor ever really wanting to, is the best policy. Why on earth are we doing this?
Greg, from On Being Human (the lovely gentlemen who produce RetrowareTVs the Humans are Coming songs, found here) composed this soundtrack. Since he suggested we take a look, I think it is fair that we embrace the work of those in the Retroware family. Have no fear, I will not spare his feelings just because of the request that is closer to the chest, this will be as unbiased as possible.
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Yeah, these guys. Check out their site and buy their stuff on Bandcamp. It’s proper tidy stuff.
Unintentionally, I believe the bias of this analysis will be reduced even further due to the nature of this review. In the previous soundtrack reviews, I have always been looking at the soundtracks in context. The context has been the cause of dislike or love in certain cases. For example, in spite of my undying love for Super Metroid, I know that out of context, the songs aren’t impressive. As contrast, I probably would have enjoyed Tomba! 2′s soundtrack much more, had it been independent of the game. So this will be the first time I will be reviewing a game solely for its soundtrack, and not how it works within the context of the game. So suggest away if you want me to do this with other games, since I won’t emulate or seek out rare/expensive games, it might be fun.Since songs only seem to be in gameplay videos and Let’s Plays I won’t be posting links to them. You are going to have to take things based on faith unless you’ve played the game. Onward we go.
The title theme. I think that the title theme is something that most development studios tend to disregard in modern games. There are so many classic games that had incredible songs to open things up, Legend of Mana, Final Fantasy IX, Mega Man 2, Crash Team Racing, Legend of Zelda and Dragon Quest V are just off the top of my head. Thinking about modern games, I had trouble coming up with a few titles. They exist, but they don’t seem to have the same impact that they once did. Games have improved considerably in many other aspects, but that isn’t one of them (there are great ones like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Ni No Kuni at least). Is this song an exception? Do we have a title theme to add to our short list of modern theme songs?
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Don’t worry, I won’t forget about how magical you are, Ni No Kuni.
No. But it isn’t a bad song, it has some appeal. But it doesn’t really get me excited to start doing anything, much less start to virtual bowl. I do like the gradual progression into something slightly more intense, followed by a rapid decline, then cycling that way in its entirety. It is rather nice to listen to in the background. Let’s move on.
The Lava Planet song. I don’t think that bowling has ever had such intense music to bowl to. It is heavy at first, then transitions into something more melodic and mysterious. It is a really darn good listen. It is a surprisingly lengthy song that almost takes listeners on a journey through this planet. I was listening to these songs with the media player on in the background, so I never had an idea what planet each song was on. It was really fun to have the song put an image in my head that was similar to what the actual planet title was. It doesn’t really conjure up any inclination to begin bowling, but the planet is in my mind, so the composition was clearly executed quite while.
Finally, we’ll take a look at the Ice Planet song. Much like the Lava Planet song, this song really put an image of the world in my mind. While listening to it, I was quickly reminded of a snow level from Joe & Mac 2. So I am not sure if the similarity put the image in my mind, or if it was solely due to the track itself, but it does conjure the image of a wintery planet. It has a cold feel to it, with its slow pace and high notes peppered throughout. I really enjoyed listening to this song and put it on repeat a few times.
Final verdict? If the Alien Monster Bowling League soundtrack were food, it would be delicious Korean barbeque served in a mediocre, contemporary, North American restaurant. You’re not quite sure as to why the restaurant is serving this type of food as there clearly isn’t much compatibility. But the food is so delicious. You can’t help but stay in spite of how much it clashes with the surroundings. The food alone allows draws you in, immersing you to the point that you forget that you are in this clashing restaurant. So if you ever see this game, go for the ‘food’, ignore the ‘restaurant’.
Dan
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