Technology gets better, graphics get better, technology gets better, graphics get better.  What happens to the music?  9 times out of 10, the music gets the shaft when all the other aspects of gameplay make quantum leaps.  The question I always ask myself is: why?

Anyway, this week I’m talking about one SNES game that stands out musically where others dropped the ball.  You’ve guessed it from the large image up there ^ and I guess… also the title of the post.  Chrono Trigger.  Man this game had it all.  It boasted a great story line, an AMAZING sound track, and one of your party members was a freaking frog!  Everything you could want in a game.

In all honesty, this game set the bar very high for video game composers in the future, and very few have come close to reaching it.  If you haven’t played Chrono Trigger or don’t remember the music, you live in a sad, sad world devoid of some of the most beautiful aural experiences ever.  Wanna see why Chrono Trigger’s music is at the top of my list? Click the jump!

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Crisis averted.

Until now, the war between music game franchises has left frugal gamers with no option but to pick a side and hope for the best. Following Guitar Hero publisher Activision’s press conference, however, Chris Kohler over at Game|Life brings us good news:

At Activision’s E3 press conference Tuesday, Guitar Hero director Brian Bright told the crowd that if they already owned guitar controllers and drum controllers from “previous games” on the Xbox 360, they’d work with Guitar Hero World Tour.

As a person who owns Rock Band and all its peripherals on the 360, this makes it a lot easier to be on both sides of the music game fence. My Rock Band 2 purchase is all but sealed up, but knowing that I can get the full Guitar Hero World Tour experience without crowding my basement with even more peripherals makes it all the more enticing.

Specifics on now the RB drums will work with GH remain to be revealed, but it should be interesting, as the Guitar Hero World Tour drums require one more input than the Rock Band drums currently have. In addition, Bright did not adress PS3 or Wii compatibility. We’ll have to wait and see.

[Image and info via Wired]

Wouldn’t ya know it? As I was writing this, Nathan managed to post the entire tracklist, but… uh… enjoy the first part of the article anyway.

With the start of E3 today, Harmonix has revealed the entire setlist for Rock Band 2 as well as a few other awesome details to secure at least 60 of my hard-earned dollars. THere will be 75 regular tracks as well as 9 bonus tracks, all of which will be master recordings. In addition RB2 will feature two debuts: AC/DC will make its first appearance in a video game and in even bigger news, a track from Guns N’ Roses (possibly) long-awaited Chinese Democracy will be a part of the setlist.

Rock Band 2 will also sport a number of other cool amenities. in addition to all DLC being cross-compatible, owners of the first iteration of the series will be able to copy those songs onto their console’s hard drive for use in Rock Band 2, saving the hassle of switching discs. In addition, despite the 84 tracks, MTV wanted to include over 100, so they will be releasing at least 20 master tracks for free via download.

If you really want to know, personal highlights from the tracklist include Journey’s “Any Way You Want It”, Beck’s “E-Pro”, Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer”, and The Who’s “Pinball Wizard”.

Low points include Panic at the Disco’s “Anything they have ever written”.

Keeping on track with Activision leaks, Intellisponse has revealed brand new (potential) info about Guitar Hero: World Tour.

First up, the guitar. The new guitar will feature a “touch-sensitive neck slide.” This is going to make guitar solos so much better than they originally were. This detail doesn’t seen so hard to believe, as Activision has told the press before that the new guitar will have new controls, but the company did not reveal any detail.

Next up, the setlists. The songs in Guitar Hero: World Tour could amaze me, IF they are indeed true. Bands that could be in the upcoming title include the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Doors, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, KoRn, System of a Down, Ozzy Osbourne, Interpol, Muse, and many more. 1Up brought up a great detail with the Doors being on the list, noting that their drummer, John Densmore, is very against licensing songs for other media, and if this proves to be true, it can make a very significant difference in future Guitar Hero titles.

Finally, the price. $179.99 is the listed price, according to leaked documents from Intellisponse.

And yes, the leaks are STILL coming. If not from me (I’m totally sure I’m going to be covering everything as I have nothing to do this Monday afternoon), then from another writer I push these stories on. And again, take all of these bits with a grain of salt, as they have not yet been confirmed.

Next up on the leak list is Microsoft’s karaoke game, titled Lips (NOT pictured above). This music title will contain 30 songs, and two wireless microphones. The biggest news about this game though, is the ability to allow users to use their own downloaded tracks.

Lips will allow gamers to rip songs from their CD or iPod, and use them to sing along with in-game. Lyrics are also uploaded to each song, while the vocals on ripped tracks will automatically be lowered.

The game will score its players based on pitch, rhythm, and tune. It’s also noted that the mics are motion sensored, and will be used for giving out bonus points for players who dance along (I see this as shaking your mic like an idiot) while singing.

Again, take this all with a grain of salt as this has not been confirmed yet.

After owning a Wii for a little over a year now, and playing a fair amount of the absolutely horrid titles available on the system, I initially had very low hopes for Battle of the Bands, Planet Moon Studios and THQ’s entry into the recent hit rhythm-music game genre. However, the track record for rhthym games on the Wii has been and looks to be very solid, what with Guitar Hero III already released and the upcoming Rock Band and Samba de Amigo to release on the system later in the year. How does Battle of the Bands fit into the equation? Quite messily, in fact.

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After it was announced that the next Guitar Hero game would incorporate other instruments to the game, fans began speculating on the price. Well, GameStop placed the prices of the game up on its website, revealing that the bundles for the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 will cost $20 more than Rock Band’s special edition bundle cost - $189.99. The PS2’s bundle will cost $10 less, at $179.99.

To purchase just the guitar and game, it will cost $99.99. The game is priced at $59.99 for 360 and PS3 owners, while PS2 and Wii owners can buy Guitar Hero: World Tour for $49.99. The game will release October 27, 2008.

[Via Kotaku]

Above is a video of Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Chad Smith, blink-182’s Travis Barker, and The Police’s Stewart Copeland babbling about how great Guitar Hero: World Tour’s drumset is. This can probably confirm that all of these bands will be featured in the game. It’s also revealed that the set will be sensitive to velocity, meaning how hard you hit the pads on the wireless drumset will determine how loud the volume will be in the game.

Here it is, the video that everyone who’s anyone has been waiting for, the debut video for Guitar Hero World Tour (also previously known as Guitar Hero IV)! The video shows players rocking out on the guitar, bass, drums and microphone, something that Rock Band aficionados will be quite familiar with. However, with the game boasting the biggest track list ever as well as the ability to create and share your own songs with other players, Rock Band might be a thing of the past!

In a recent conference call, Activision gave out a handful of details on its upcoming franchises. The most interesting facts out of the pool of information were regarding the Tony Hawk series, as well as Call of Duty 5.

Actvision has FINALLY decided to not produce a Tony Hawk Pro Skater game this year, and to totally reinvent the franchise. This breaks the nine-year-long tradition of releasing a game every year, although there is a THPS game that is planned to release on the Nintendo DS later this year. Activision CEO, Mike Griffith, commented:

“We’re inventing Tony from the ground up. For competitive reasons we’re not going to talk about it today, but we’re very bullish on the kind of innovation it will bring, and it won’t be your father’s Tony Hawk.”

The conference call also spoke upon Call of Duty 5, giving us the only information we have about the game: it’s going to take place in “a new military theater.” Note, however, there is a rumor flying around CoD 5 saying it’s going to take place during World War II…again.

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