The "Sony Games" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
On Monday 22nd October, I had the privilege of going to the Royal Festival Hall in London to see Video Games Live. For those not sure what Video Games Live is, it is a concert of video games music past and present.
I went early in the hope there would be a preshow, which usually has the upcoming releases to play and with the show being the kick off to the London Games Festival week, hopes were high. Unfortunately, there wasn't one.
We got let into the hall at just after 7pm. I had a seat on the ground floor, 7 rows in from the stage on the far left. I had the aisle to stretch my legs. They were very good seats as I had an unobstructed view of the stage and screen and could see the piano player clearly. I had booked tickets early so I was pleased with what I got. It was announced as a sellout.
Before the concert began, they played a video on the screen of a person dressed up as Pacman running round a city being chased by 3 people dressed as ghosts. It was funny and a good way to kick off the show. Pacman got cornered in the end. They also had a cosplay contest which turned into a close contest between Tentacle and Wolf Link. Tentacle won.
The conductor then appeared on the stage and got the crowd warmed up and told us that this isn't one of those stuffy concerts where you weren't allowed to shout out and applaud etc. He wanted us to applaud whenever because the musicians feed off it.
The concert got started with a selection of Arcade classics from well known games like Space Invaders, Defender and Frogger to lesser known games like Rastan and Space Ace, the enemy of which looked like the genie from Aladdin.
My memory isn't that good so the order may be a little wrong but I remember everything that was played. Next up, they played Metal Gear Solid, which is a fantastic tune. In the middle, a gunman came on the stage looking around while someone followed him in a box. The lights then dropped and the gunman had a lit exclamation mark appear above his head, ala Metal Gear Solid.
Next, they played the Sonic medley which is basically the end credits of Sonic 1. I do love my Sonic tunes and Sonic 1 is my favourite game of all time. It was the game that really took my interest in gaming to the level it is today.
Tommy Tallarico, the composer of Earthworm Jim and others, was the kind of host for the evening and he revealed that the person in the box was video game pianist Martin Leung. He would appear a few times throughout the evening. His first piece was a tune from Chrono Cross. I'm not familiar with the game but this piece won my favourite of the night. It was a really beautiful piece and stole the show for me. It's so good, here is a link to it on Youtube from the event I went to.
Chrono Cross
I believe they played Bioshock next followed by Civilisation 4, which was really good. They had the London Chorus doing all the language bits in the song.
At this point, I think Tommy looked for someone in the crowd to play a game on stage. He picked a guy with a ninja t-shirt on and he was told that he'd be playing Space Invaders with a twist. He was given a shirt with a picture of the Space Invaders ship on the back and he was told that he would be controlling the ship by moving left and right on the stage. He had 2 minutes to complete the level and he would win an arcade box which had 1000 arcade games in it. He was rubbish and lost all his lives before the time ran out. Despite being rubbish, he got a 360 with Halo 3 and some other stuff.
Tommy then brought out Richard Jacques, composer of Jet Set Radio and Headhunter, and he would play some Outrun remixes. He played a remix of Magical Sound Shower and either Splash Wave or Passing Breeze. I can never remember which one is which. There was some really good piano work and it was very vibrant with it's drum beat.
The first half of the show was drawing to a close and they played the Tron soundtrack from the film. I've never managed to sit through Tron. I think they played the Zelda theme earlier but I'll mention it here. It really is an epic tune and is really atmospheric in the middle where they slow it all down. Have a listen for yourself.
Zelda theme
I believe they ended the first half with the Final Fantasy 8 tune Liberal Fatali and then there was a 20 minute intermission. There was apparently a room set up with 20-30 360s playing Halo 3 and Guitar Hero but I didn't even attempt to get in there.
The second half began with another gaming challenge. This time, 2 people would go up against each other in a game of Frogger with the highest score after 1 minute 30 being the winner. They decided to play rock, paper, scissors to see who would go first and managed to tie 6-7 times before a winner was found. The game of Frogger was pretty close with both players completing the first stage. The winner (who got invited up on stage because he said he'd have Tommy's babies) won a 360 Elite with Halo 3 and a whole bunch of stuff with the runner up getting a consolation prize pack.
Back to the music and Tommy said we'd be getting a world first. He made the mistake of saying Harry Potter, which was rounded booed and then he said that EA made great Harry Potter games and that got booed. It was all very playful and Tommy invited the Harry Potter composer onto the stage. The music was okay, typical Harry Potter really.
They played a Blizzard section of World of Warcraft and Starcraft 2 and Martin Leung came back to the stage to play a collection of tunes from the Final Fantasy series.
They kept the Square Enix theme going with Kingdom Hearts 2 and then played the theme from Super Mario Bros with clips from a whole load of Mario games.
Martin Leung came back on stage and he played a level tune from Super Mario World on the piano. He was playing it pretty quick and then played the running out of time bit and played it even faster, which was crazy to watch. He then played the Tetris music, which is one of the catchiest tunes ever I think. To close out the little section, he played the Windows shut down tune, which was a nice touch.
It was time for the 'main event' as it were and Tommy invited the Halo composer on the stage, Marty O'Donnell. He was asked whether the opening to the theme was done by Tibetan monks but he said it was just jingle singers. He then sung that part with the crowd joining in.
The London Philamonia Orchestra played the Halo theme, which is one of my personal favourites. I think it just fits the game so well and creates an amazing feel and atmosphere. It came to an end and they said they had time for one more. Final Fantasy 7 - One Winged Angel.
And that was the show. Everyone who was a part of the show came up on stage and got a standing ovation. They had a meet and greet after the show and they asked what part of the show they enjoyed and to spread the word about the show.
That is basically what I'm doing now. I would totally recommend this to anyone because it was an incredible night and video games played in this way is wonderful to hear. I love video games music but you only have to be a fan of video games to enjoy this.
If you want to hear a bit more from the show, Youtube is good and if you want more of the show I attended, search Youtube for Video Games Live London and click the date added tab and it should be all at the top.
I'm planning to go next year and maybe I might see some of you there...
I went early in the hope there would be a preshow, which usually has the upcoming releases to play and with the show being the kick off to the London Games Festival week, hopes were high. Unfortunately, there wasn't one.
We got let into the hall at just after 7pm. I had a seat on the ground floor, 7 rows in from the stage on the far left. I had the aisle to stretch my legs. They were very good seats as I had an unobstructed view of the stage and screen and could see the piano player clearly. I had booked tickets early so I was pleased with what I got. It was announced as a sellout.
Before the concert began, they played a video on the screen of a person dressed up as Pacman running round a city being chased by 3 people dressed as ghosts. It was funny and a good way to kick off the show. Pacman got cornered in the end. They also had a cosplay contest which turned into a close contest between Tentacle and Wolf Link. Tentacle won.
The conductor then appeared on the stage and got the crowd warmed up and told us that this isn't one of those stuffy concerts where you weren't allowed to shout out and applaud etc. He wanted us to applaud whenever because the musicians feed off it.
The concert got started with a selection of Arcade classics from well known games like Space Invaders, Defender and Frogger to lesser known games like Rastan and Space Ace, the enemy of which looked like the genie from Aladdin.
My memory isn't that good so the order may be a little wrong but I remember everything that was played. Next up, they played Metal Gear Solid, which is a fantastic tune. In the middle, a gunman came on the stage looking around while someone followed him in a box. The lights then dropped and the gunman had a lit exclamation mark appear above his head, ala Metal Gear Solid.
Next, they played the Sonic medley which is basically the end credits of Sonic 1. I do love my Sonic tunes and Sonic 1 is my favourite game of all time. It was the game that really took my interest in gaming to the level it is today.
Tommy Tallarico, the composer of Earthworm Jim and others, was the kind of host for the evening and he revealed that the person in the box was video game pianist Martin Leung. He would appear a few times throughout the evening. His first piece was a tune from Chrono Cross. I'm not familiar with the game but this piece won my favourite of the night. It was a really beautiful piece and stole the show for me. It's so good, here is a link to it on Youtube from the event I went to.
Chrono Cross
I believe they played Bioshock next followed by Civilisation 4, which was really good. They had the London Chorus doing all the language bits in the song.
At this point, I think Tommy looked for someone in the crowd to play a game on stage. He picked a guy with a ninja t-shirt on and he was told that he'd be playing Space Invaders with a twist. He was given a shirt with a picture of the Space Invaders ship on the back and he was told that he would be controlling the ship by moving left and right on the stage. He had 2 minutes to complete the level and he would win an arcade box which had 1000 arcade games in it. He was rubbish and lost all his lives before the time ran out. Despite being rubbish, he got a 360 with Halo 3 and some other stuff.
Tommy then brought out Richard Jacques, composer of Jet Set Radio and Headhunter, and he would play some Outrun remixes. He played a remix of Magical Sound Shower and either Splash Wave or Passing Breeze. I can never remember which one is which. There was some really good piano work and it was very vibrant with it's drum beat.
The first half of the show was drawing to a close and they played the Tron soundtrack from the film. I've never managed to sit through Tron. I think they played the Zelda theme earlier but I'll mention it here. It really is an epic tune and is really atmospheric in the middle where they slow it all down. Have a listen for yourself.
Zelda theme
I believe they ended the first half with the Final Fantasy 8 tune Liberal Fatali and then there was a 20 minute intermission. There was apparently a room set up with 20-30 360s playing Halo 3 and Guitar Hero but I didn't even attempt to get in there.
The second half began with another gaming challenge. This time, 2 people would go up against each other in a game of Frogger with the highest score after 1 minute 30 being the winner. They decided to play rock, paper, scissors to see who would go first and managed to tie 6-7 times before a winner was found. The game of Frogger was pretty close with both players completing the first stage. The winner (who got invited up on stage because he said he'd have Tommy's babies) won a 360 Elite with Halo 3 and a whole bunch of stuff with the runner up getting a consolation prize pack.
Back to the music and Tommy said we'd be getting a world first. He made the mistake of saying Harry Potter, which was rounded booed and then he said that EA made great Harry Potter games and that got booed. It was all very playful and Tommy invited the Harry Potter composer onto the stage. The music was okay, typical Harry Potter really.
They played a Blizzard section of World of Warcraft and Starcraft 2 and Martin Leung came back to the stage to play a collection of tunes from the Final Fantasy series.
They kept the Square Enix theme going with Kingdom Hearts 2 and then played the theme from Super Mario Bros with clips from a whole load of Mario games.
Martin Leung came back on stage and he played a level tune from Super Mario World on the piano. He was playing it pretty quick and then played the running out of time bit and played it even faster, which was crazy to watch. He then played the Tetris music, which is one of the catchiest tunes ever I think. To close out the little section, he played the Windows shut down tune, which was a nice touch.
It was time for the 'main event' as it were and Tommy invited the Halo composer on the stage, Marty O'Donnell. He was asked whether the opening to the theme was done by Tibetan monks but he said it was just jingle singers. He then sung that part with the crowd joining in.
The London Philamonia Orchestra played the Halo theme, which is one of my personal favourites. I think it just fits the game so well and creates an amazing feel and atmosphere. It came to an end and they said they had time for one more. Final Fantasy 7 - One Winged Angel.
And that was the show. Everyone who was a part of the show came up on stage and got a standing ovation. They had a meet and greet after the show and they asked what part of the show they enjoyed and to spread the word about the show.
That is basically what I'm doing now. I would totally recommend this to anyone because it was an incredible night and video games played in this way is wonderful to hear. I love video games music but you only have to be a fan of video games to enjoy this.
If you want to hear a bit more from the show, Youtube is good and if you want more of the show I attended, search Youtube for Video Games Live London and click the date added tab and it should be all at the top.
I'm planning to go next year and maybe I might see some of you there...
Heh, really? Maybe it was a mistake. I used to do it a lot accidently. I thought I had clicked reply quoting this message and I was doing something else, pressed enter and I had found out I had reported something. :)
Any particular reason why this was reported to me as an abusive post? :)
London Games Festival info
That should be everything you need to know. There is also something going on in Nottingham.
That should be everything you need to know. There is also something going on in Nottingham.
Isn't there some kind of games festival in London coming up or this week?
It's another show I really wanted to see but couldn't get there. Glad you liked it. I'm sure it'll be available for download soon. Maybe next year!
On Monday 22nd October, I had the privilege of going to the Royal Festival Hall in London to see Video Games Live. For those not sure what Video Games Live is, it is a concert of video games music past and present.
I went early in the hope there would be a preshow, which usually has the upcoming releases to play and with the show being the kick off to the London Games Festival week, hopes were high. Unfortunately, there wasn't one.
We got let into the hall at just after 7pm. I had a seat on the ground floor, 7 rows in from the stage on the far left. I had the aisle to stretch my legs. They were very good seats as I had an unobstructed view of the stage and screen and could see the piano player clearly. I had booked tickets early so I was pleased with what I got. It was announced as a sellout.
Before the concert began, they played a video on the screen of a person dressed up as Pacman running round a city being chased by 3 people dressed as ghosts. It was funny and a good way to kick off the show. Pacman got cornered in the end. They also had a cosplay contest which turned into a close contest between Tentacle and Wolf Link. Tentacle won.
The conductor then appeared on the stage and got the crowd warmed up and told us that this isn't one of those stuffy concerts where you weren't allowed to shout out and applaud etc. He wanted us to applaud whenever because the musicians feed off it.
The concert got started with a selection of Arcade classics from well known games like Space Invaders, Defender and Frogger to lesser known games like Rastan and Space Ace, the enemy of which looked like the genie from Aladdin.
My memory isn't that good so the order may be a little wrong but I remember everything that was played. Next up, they played Metal Gear Solid, which is a fantastic tune. In the middle, a gunman came on the stage looking around while someone followed him in a box. The lights then dropped and the gunman had a lit exclamation mark appear above his head, ala Metal Gear Solid.
Next, they played the Sonic medley which is basically the end credits of Sonic 1. I do love my Sonic tunes and Sonic 1 is my favourite game of all time. It was the game that really took my interest in gaming to the level it is today.
Tommy Tallarico, the composer of Earthworm Jim and others, was the kind of host for the evening and he revealed that the person in the box was video game pianist Martin Leung. He would appear a few times throughout the evening. His first piece was a tune from Chrono Cross. I'm not familiar with the game but this piece won my favourite of the night. It was a really beautiful piece and stole the show for me. It's so good, here is a link to it on Youtube from the event I went to.
Chrono Cross
I believe they played Bioshock next followed by Civilisation 4, which was really good. They had the London Chorus doing all the language bits in the song.
At this point, I think Tommy looked for someone in the crowd to play a game on stage. He picked a guy with a ninja t-shirt on and he was told that he'd be playing Space Invaders with a twist. He was given a shirt with a picture of the Space Invaders ship on the back and he was told that he would be controlling the ship by moving left and right on the stage. He had 2 minutes to complete the level and he would win an arcade box which had 1000 arcade games in it. He was rubbish and lost all his lives before the time ran out. Despite being rubbish, he got a 360 with Halo 3 and some other stuff.
Tommy then brought out Richard Jacques, composer of Jet Set Radio and Headhunter, and he would play some Outrun remixes. He played a remix of Magical Sound Shower and either Splash Wave or Passing Breeze. I can never remember which one is which. There was some really good piano work and it was very vibrant with it's drum beat.
The first half of the show was drawing to a close and they played the Tron soundtrack from the film. I've never managed to sit through Tron. I think they played the Zelda theme earlier but I'll mention it here. It really is an epic tune and is really atmospheric in the middle where they slow it all down. Have a listen for yourself.
Zelda theme
I believe they ended the first half with the Final Fantasy 8 tune Liberal Fatali and then there was a 20 minute intermission. There was apparently a room set up with 20-30 360s playing Halo 3 and Guitar Hero but I didn't even attempt to get in there.
The second half began with another gaming challenge. This time, 2 people would go up against each other in a game of Frogger with the highest score after 1 minute 30 being the winner. They decided to play rock, paper, scissors to see who would go first and managed to tie 6-7 times before a winner was found. The game of Frogger was pretty close with both players completing the first stage. The winner (who got invited up on stage because he said he'd have Tommy's babies) won a 360 Elite with Halo 3 and a whole bunch of stuff with the runner up getting a consolation prize pack.
Back to the music and Tommy said we'd be getting a world first. He made the mistake of saying Harry Potter, which was rounded booed and then he said that EA made great Harry Potter games and that got booed. It was all very playful and Tommy invited the Harry Potter composer onto the stage. The music was okay, typical Harry Potter really.
They played a Blizzard section of World of Warcraft and Starcraft 2 and Martin Leung came back to the stage to play a collection of tunes from the Final Fantasy series.
They kept the Square Enix theme going with Kingdom Hearts 2 and then played the theme from Super Mario Bros with clips from a whole load of Mario games.
Martin Leung came back on stage and he played a level tune from Super Mario World on the piano. He was playing it pretty quick and then played the running out of time bit and played it even faster, which was crazy to watch. He then played the Tetris music, which is one of the catchiest tunes ever I think. To close out the little section, he played the Windows shut down tune, which was a nice touch.
It was time for the 'main event' as it were and Tommy invited the Halo composer on the stage, Marty O'Donnell. He was asked whether the opening to the theme was done by Tibetan monks but he said it was just jingle singers. He then sung that part with the crowd joining in.
The London Philamonia Orchestra played the Halo theme, which is one of my personal favourites. I think it just fits the game so well and creates an amazing feel and atmosphere. It came to an end and they said they had time for one more. Final Fantasy 7 - One Winged Angel.
And that was the show. Everyone who was a part of the show came up on stage and got a standing ovation. They had a meet and greet after the show and they asked what part of the show they enjoyed and to spread the word about the show.
That is basically what I'm doing now. I would totally recommend this to anyone because it was an incredible night and video games played in this way is wonderful to hear. I love video games music but you only have to be a fan of video games to enjoy this.
If you want to hear a bit more from the show, Youtube is good and if you want more of the show I attended, search Youtube for Video Games Live London and click the date added tab and it should be all at the top.
I'm planning to go next year and maybe I might see some of you there...
I went early in the hope there would be a preshow, which usually has the upcoming releases to play and with the show being the kick off to the London Games Festival week, hopes were high. Unfortunately, there wasn't one.
We got let into the hall at just after 7pm. I had a seat on the ground floor, 7 rows in from the stage on the far left. I had the aisle to stretch my legs. They were very good seats as I had an unobstructed view of the stage and screen and could see the piano player clearly. I had booked tickets early so I was pleased with what I got. It was announced as a sellout.
Before the concert began, they played a video on the screen of a person dressed up as Pacman running round a city being chased by 3 people dressed as ghosts. It was funny and a good way to kick off the show. Pacman got cornered in the end. They also had a cosplay contest which turned into a close contest between Tentacle and Wolf Link. Tentacle won.
The conductor then appeared on the stage and got the crowd warmed up and told us that this isn't one of those stuffy concerts where you weren't allowed to shout out and applaud etc. He wanted us to applaud whenever because the musicians feed off it.
The concert got started with a selection of Arcade classics from well known games like Space Invaders, Defender and Frogger to lesser known games like Rastan and Space Ace, the enemy of which looked like the genie from Aladdin.
My memory isn't that good so the order may be a little wrong but I remember everything that was played. Next up, they played Metal Gear Solid, which is a fantastic tune. In the middle, a gunman came on the stage looking around while someone followed him in a box. The lights then dropped and the gunman had a lit exclamation mark appear above his head, ala Metal Gear Solid.
Next, they played the Sonic medley which is basically the end credits of Sonic 1. I do love my Sonic tunes and Sonic 1 is my favourite game of all time. It was the game that really took my interest in gaming to the level it is today.
Tommy Tallarico, the composer of Earthworm Jim and others, was the kind of host for the evening and he revealed that the person in the box was video game pianist Martin Leung. He would appear a few times throughout the evening. His first piece was a tune from Chrono Cross. I'm not familiar with the game but this piece won my favourite of the night. It was a really beautiful piece and stole the show for me. It's so good, here is a link to it on Youtube from the event I went to.
Chrono Cross
I believe they played Bioshock next followed by Civilisation 4, which was really good. They had the London Chorus doing all the language bits in the song.
At this point, I think Tommy looked for someone in the crowd to play a game on stage. He picked a guy with a ninja t-shirt on and he was told that he'd be playing Space Invaders with a twist. He was given a shirt with a picture of the Space Invaders ship on the back and he was told that he would be controlling the ship by moving left and right on the stage. He had 2 minutes to complete the level and he would win an arcade box which had 1000 arcade games in it. He was rubbish and lost all his lives before the time ran out. Despite being rubbish, he got a 360 with Halo 3 and some other stuff.
Tommy then brought out Richard Jacques, composer of Jet Set Radio and Headhunter, and he would play some Outrun remixes. He played a remix of Magical Sound Shower and either Splash Wave or Passing Breeze. I can never remember which one is which. There was some really good piano work and it was very vibrant with it's drum beat.
The first half of the show was drawing to a close and they played the Tron soundtrack from the film. I've never managed to sit through Tron. I think they played the Zelda theme earlier but I'll mention it here. It really is an epic tune and is really atmospheric in the middle where they slow it all down. Have a listen for yourself.
Zelda theme
I believe they ended the first half with the Final Fantasy 8 tune Liberal Fatali and then there was a 20 minute intermission. There was apparently a room set up with 20-30 360s playing Halo 3 and Guitar Hero but I didn't even attempt to get in there.
The second half began with another gaming challenge. This time, 2 people would go up against each other in a game of Frogger with the highest score after 1 minute 30 being the winner. They decided to play rock, paper, scissors to see who would go first and managed to tie 6-7 times before a winner was found. The game of Frogger was pretty close with both players completing the first stage. The winner (who got invited up on stage because he said he'd have Tommy's babies) won a 360 Elite with Halo 3 and a whole bunch of stuff with the runner up getting a consolation prize pack.
Back to the music and Tommy said we'd be getting a world first. He made the mistake of saying Harry Potter, which was rounded booed and then he said that EA made great Harry Potter games and that got booed. It was all very playful and Tommy invited the Harry Potter composer onto the stage. The music was okay, typical Harry Potter really.
They played a Blizzard section of World of Warcraft and Starcraft 2 and Martin Leung came back to the stage to play a collection of tunes from the Final Fantasy series.
They kept the Square Enix theme going with Kingdom Hearts 2 and then played the theme from Super Mario Bros with clips from a whole load of Mario games.
Martin Leung came back on stage and he played a level tune from Super Mario World on the piano. He was playing it pretty quick and then played the running out of time bit and played it even faster, which was crazy to watch. He then played the Tetris music, which is one of the catchiest tunes ever I think. To close out the little section, he played the Windows shut down tune, which was a nice touch.
It was time for the 'main event' as it were and Tommy invited the Halo composer on the stage, Marty O'Donnell. He was asked whether the opening to the theme was done by Tibetan monks but he said it was just jingle singers. He then sung that part with the crowd joining in.
The London Philamonia Orchestra played the Halo theme, which is one of my personal favourites. I think it just fits the game so well and creates an amazing feel and atmosphere. It came to an end and they said they had time for one more. Final Fantasy 7 - One Winged Angel.
And that was the show. Everyone who was a part of the show came up on stage and got a standing ovation. They had a meet and greet after the show and they asked what part of the show they enjoyed and to spread the word about the show.
That is basically what I'm doing now. I would totally recommend this to anyone because it was an incredible night and video games played in this way is wonderful to hear. I love video games music but you only have to be a fan of video games to enjoy this.
If you want to hear a bit more from the show, Youtube is good and if you want more of the show I attended, search Youtube for Video Games Live London and click the date added tab and it should be all at the top.
I'm planning to go next year and maybe I might see some of you there...