GamerNode: Listen Up's Columns

The Great Game OST Battle Round 2: Citadel Region

I see that everyone missed this, because participation is as high as ever! Who was victorious yesterday?

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS: MIDGAR REGION#1 Final Fantasy VII def. #8 Metal Gear Solid 3#3 Super Smash Brothers Brawl def. #6 Pokemon Red/Blue

#1 seeds stay undefeated, but will today see the first defeat?

Updated bracket!

On to today!!

CITADEL REGION

#1 Mass Effect vs #8 LittleBigPlanet

Can Commander Shepard hold off a burlap sack and keep the #1s perfect?

#6 Super Mario Galaxy vs #14 Metroid Prime

In a Nintendo-fueled fight, will plumbing or bounty hunting rule the day?

TOMORROW'S MATCHUP: SHADOW MOSES REGION#1 Metal Gear Solid 4 vs #9 Resident Evil 2#6 Final Fantasy X vs #14 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Two more great matchups today, but make sure to...

VOTE NOW!!!

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The Great Game OST Battle Round 2: Midgar Region

I see we picked up right where we left off, people must have really liked this...

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS:#4 Metal Gear Solid def. #12 God of War#15 Goldeneye 64 def. #10 Super Mario Brothers 2

James Bond is the Cinderella story! How about that?!

Updated bracket!!

AS A REMINDER: Votes can either be commented on the specific article OR emailed to me at fanellij@gamernode.com

Anywho, now on to today!

MIDGAR REGION:

#1 Final Fantasy VII vs #8 Metal Gear Solid 3

Will Naked Snake sneak past the beast, eliminating the first #1 seed in the process?

#3 Super Smash Brothers Brawl vs #6 Pokemon Red/Blue

Will Ash and co. move on, or will the weight of Nintendo's might be too much?

TOMORROW'S MATCHUPS: CITADEL REGION#1 Mass Effect vs #8 LittleBigPlanet#14 Metroid Prime vs #6 Super Mario Galaxy

Remember, vote ...

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The Great Game OST Battle RETURNS!!!!

After months of waiting, the GREAT GAME OST BATTLE RETURNS!!!!!!!

To recap:

64 games. One champion. This is the Great Game OST Battle.

We are currently in the second round. If you recall, there are four regions: Midgar, Citadel, Shadow Moses, and Hyrule, all named for the #1 seed in that region (Final Fantasy VII, Mass Effect, Metal Gear Solid 4, Legend of Zelda: OoT). 

The link to the current bracket can be found here.

Today's matchup pits four heavyweights against one another, including two Cinderellas of the tournament.

Well, let's not wait any longer. LET'S GET BACK TO BATTLING!!!!

HYRULE REGION:

#4 Metal Gear Solid vs #12 God of War

Can Snake's first adventure quell the rage of Kratos?

#10 Super Mario Brothers 2 vs #15 Goldeneye 64

Which Cinderella will move closer to the title: Birdo or ...

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Just When You Thought It Was Forgotten....THE GREA...

For a month, games battled song vs song to see which was the Greatest Game OST Of Them All.

Then, the music died (or crashed, as it were...)

But July 3rd...the music WILL PLAY AGAIN!

PRESENTING THE RETURN OF THE GREAT GAME OST BATTLE!!!!

Have you been keeping track? Then you should be prepared...

JULY 3RD. THE GAMES BEGIN. AGAIN.

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The Best of SF: The Music and Sounds of Street Fig...

In case you haven't noticed, Street Fighter IV launched this week to great jubilation. Being a huge SF fan, I had been anxiously awaiting the game for quite some time, and I was not disappointed. The gameplay is superb, the characters are true to form, and the online competition is some of the fiercest I've ever seen on Xbox Live. I soon found myself focusing on the soundtrack (duh), and I found that the new original tracks for the new stages are as good as the remixed tracks from some of the classic SF tunes.

Classic SF tunes...that gives me an idea!!!

If you're like me, Street Fighter has been part of your gaming life since you started. I was given a Super Nintendo when I was 5 years old, and Street Fighter II was one of the games that was sitting underneath the Christmas tree with it. As...

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Retro Music Love: The Genesis Era

I recently played Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection on the 360. It was quite a trip down memory lane. I loved the Genesis, at times more so than my #1 console of all time, the SNES. The games were awesome, and the music is some of the best that any console has to offer. There's no giant orchestra, no vocals, not even MIDIs, just classic sound chip beats. There are a ton of memorable songs from the Genesis era, and here now are my Top 5 Genesis Tunes:

#5 Clue - Colonel Mustard's Theme

#4 Streets of Rage 2 - Go Straight (Level 1 Music)

However, as I said above, my favorite console ever was Nintendo's little gray box, the SNES. Perhaps next week?

Until next time,Keep listening. You'll never know what you're missing if you don't.

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Not All Sound Is Good...Here Is a Perfect Example

Sound in gaming is a great thing. The music, the sound effects, the voice-work, everything comes together to make a great gaming experience. However, not all games enjoy sound success. Most sound problems come from a bad score, or sound effects that don't make sense, or cliche voice scripts, etc. However, there is one problem with sound in gaming that even highly successful games like Halo and Gears of War suffer from.

That, my friends, is other gamers.

You know what I'm talking about. Other people on Xbox Live or PlayStation Network who decide that over the headset is the best place to stream obscenity after obscenity, or racist joke after racist joke, or whatever else. These people just talk and talk, mostly just to piss us off and to tell us how often our mothers get around town. PC gamer...

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Nobuo Uematsu: Musical Genius, Gaming Legend

I remember the first time I got to the scene in the Ragnarok’s cockpit in Final Fantasy VIII. Squall sat the lifeless Rinoa down and, after contacting the earth, poured his heart out to her. In the background, a song started that didn't sound like the MIDI-influenced soundtrack, instead like a studio recording. Then, I heard Faye Wong singing, and the scene entered a whole new plane. “Eyes On Me” is the song that started my love for gaming music, and the man behind it is none other than Nobuo Uematsu, who has lent his musical genius to the gaming world for almost 25 years.

Uematsu, born in Kochi, Japan in 1959, started his composing-for-gaming career with Square (now Square Enix) in 1985, his first game called Genesis. The game was not successful, and Square was facing b...

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Hollywood In Gaming: Voice Actors You Might Have H...

Hello, and welcome back to Listen Up! Today I'd like to focus on some of the voices I've heard during my gaming, specifically those provided by the best of Hollywood. Again, I may talk about things that may reveal some story points of some games, so be warned!

Starting way back on PS1, voice acting became an important part of making a game. If there are lines to be said, why not have someone say them? Granted, some franchises have been successful without voice acting in their cutscenes. Hell, Zelda has barely said anything more than "Hey!" However, most franchises have integrated voice acting into their game plan, a very smart and successful addition indeed. Would Final Fantasy X's story have had the same impact on gamers if you read every line? Would Metal Gear Solid 4 have been the giant ...

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A Melodic Journey Through Space: The Music of Mass...

Hello everyone. Welcome to Listen Up! First, before I begin with today's topic, allow me to run through what this column is.

This is a column on the sounds of gaming: music, sound effects, whatever. One week could be about a soundtrack, the next week about voice acting, the next dealing with my top 10 soundtracks ever -- I'll try my best to mix it up.

I will provide songs from the soundtracks I discuss by uploading them or linking through YouTube, but sound effects might be harder to come by. If anyone knows a good gaming sound effect site, please leave it in the comments.

One more thing...I will be talking about when in the game these songs/sound effects happen, so consider yourself warned...

Now then, join me on a journey through space with the Mass Effect soundtrack, won't you?

When one ...

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