Last night, to finish off the Victoria Day long weekend, I attended the
Video Games Live concert. This was the third year it was performed at the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, and also my third time attending.
As always the hosts were Tommy Tallarico (co-creator of Video Games Live, a video game music composer for nineteen years, and also the writer, co-host and co-producer of
The Electric Playground and
Reviews On The Run) and Jack Wall (conductor of Video Games Live, as well as a video game music composer for thirteen years). Also, as usual for the Edmonton performances, the music was performed by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and sung by the Kokopelli Choir.
Unlike the past two times, I didn't make a big deal about arranging to see this with a dozen friends and their friends and going for dinner before the show. And perhaps I should have, to add to the whole experience. I had almost forgotten about going, since in past years the Edmonton concert was in the winter (looks like they wanted to avoid the snow this year, though ironically it started snowing last night and the forecast for the next couple days show more snow - Edmonton isn't always frozen...honest!) - and I even told co-workers I wasn't doing anything interesting for the Victoria Day long weekend since it had almost slipped my mind. Also, originally I wasn't going to go, since
PLAY!: A Video Game Symphony came to town this last winter, which was going to be my one annual game concert I would attend, but since PLAY! was incredibly lackluster (you can read about it
here), my brother immediately bought tickets for Video Games Live after that, as if to say that we need to see at least one GOOD video game concert a year.
So we got there with a half an hour before the show and I almost wonder if we should've come earlier. I remarked in the past that pre-concert events at VGL while in Edmonton seem rather lacking. I know I said in 2007 that it was lacking probably because I attended E3 2006, but I'm pretty sure now that there could've been more. Still, the lobby at the Jubilee isn't exactly huge and it was crowded enough with all the attendees. Someone was playing some
Super Mario Bros. music in the background as we looked around at what there was. There was a
Guitar Hero competition, some
Street Fighter IV and
Resident Evil 5 set up in the corner for people to try out, and a VGL merchandise table, from which I bought two program books and the
Video Games Live - Volume One CD. I saw one of my good friends, Jason Chow, who was volunteering for the show a second time, here he was manning the table for the draw for a PSP, and then, like last year, just before the show, he was leading the cosplayers to where they had to go.
What was an improvement on past years was the number of people who dressed up. And this time they didn't have pre-selected finalists, though I don't know how fair it is to select from two dozen people based on applause alone, especially since there were many good ones. There were a couple of obscure ones (looking back on it, I think one guy was dressed like the lead guy in
Ouendan - why didn't I realize that at the time?) and a few I wouldn't call video game characters per se (there was a Captain Kirk, a Jedi, and the red, yellow, and white Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) A younger boy dressed as Shinboi was pretty good (isn't he a bit young to be playing
Shinobi?), there was a girl dressed as Luigi (she called herself "Lui-
she"), three Links - one accompanied by Zelda, a couple characters from Team Fortress 2, and either Spider-Man in his black alien symbiote costume or Venom (he was introduced as Spider-Man). There was someone dressed as Frank West from
Dead Rising who was in turn wearing a Servbot mask (just like he can in the game, a reference to Capcom's
Mega Man Legends), however the announcer called him "LEGO Man". Sheesh. The winner was one whose costume was initially bizarre...she wore a black hoodie with white markings on the sleeves and had a white ball above her head. When asked what she was, she explained that she was dressed up as the game
Pong - and rocked her head, with the ball above it, holding up her arms, with the markings resembling the paddles - simulating Pong in action. Creative. Rather simple, though, considering the work many of the others put into their costumes, but apparently the audience applauds creativity so she ended up winning some stuff (probably from Future Shop, as they always sponsor Video Games Live).
In the midst of so many gamers, many with portable game systems pulled out and in use, I also tried to mess around with my DS (my DS Lite is currently undergoing repairs), and joined a PictoChat session where I spammed a bit about VGMaps.com before realizing how futile any real conversation was.
Before the show officially began, the video for LeetStreet Boys' "
Yuri The Only One", filled with video game and anime references, played upon the main screen. You can see it on YouTube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=189QSTKC5noWhen the lights dimmed, we were treated to a video by The Go! Team (the same video as last year's, but still amusing) of
Ms. Pac-Man running around New York, avoiding her nemeses, the Ghosts. You can see it on YouTube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQg7qOB5HegAnyway, on with the actual show.
Some pieces are mostly unchanged from previous years; these are the ones we've seen every time:
Classic Arcade Medley (always first)
Metal Gear Solid series (always second)
Final Fantasy series (piano solo)
Space Invaders ("Interactive Symphony" - this time the player, a guy named Wes, actually managed to hit the flying saucer at the top)
Kingdom Hearts (still with only Disney footage, no Square-Enix footage)
The Legend Of Zelda series (before the intermission each time, if I recall correctly)
World Of WarCraftSuper Mario Bros. seriesSuper Mario Bros. series (piano solo)
Halo & Halo 2Halo 3 (but this time it was not just the teaser, but a fuller piece)
Final Fantasy VII (but this time with images of cosplayers on-screen instead)
And also, since the game developer BioWare is based in Edmonton, for whom Jack Wall himself has composed music for, we're always treated to at least one composition from one of BioWare's epics. This year it was
Mass Effect, which premiered last year.
So it's a bit of a letdown that most of the show was a repeat, though surely some gamers would lament if any of those major series were cut. Anyway, you can read my impression of those in my really long 2007 review/recap, as for the most part my opinions of them haven't changed the third time around. The remainder of this recap will mostly be about the material that wasn't performed in Edmonton previously.
Beyond Good & Evil is a game I'm almost tired of recommending to people. As I've always said, there's no reason not to have played it if you like games at all: it appeared on the three major consoles as well as the PC (so fanboyism is not a reason, if it ever was), it is - though also unfortunate - short enough to finish on a rental (so not having enough time is not a reason), and because it didn't sell too well, I'm pretty sure you could've found it for cheap in a bargain bin somewhere (so being a cheapskate is not a reason). Do you have two hands, at least one eye, and a pulse? Then why haven't you played this game? Play it now. Go. This review will still be here, 15 hours later, when you've finished the game. It's been so tiring recommending it to people, and I'm not the only one who does the recommending since most people who have played it do too, that I almost think it's becoming the most overrated underrated game. And yet, people still haven't played it. At least Video Games Live got around to playing its music - it has for as long as I remember, but this was the first time they did so in Edmonton. Briefly introduced in video by Michel Ancel, the creator of the game (he is also known for the
Rayman series), we were then taken into a game montage with an epic medley. My only complaint is the overuse of beta footage, though, Jade didn't look right not wearing green, and seemed downright emotionless in many scenes. The final version of the game looks better...and here it sounds great.
Mass Effect was the requisite BioWare game featured this year, though it premiered and was performed last year with local group The Faunts, they did not return for this year. I liked it better this year than last year's from what I vaguely remember, though I don't think that had to do with their absence. Maybe the footage montage was different? I'm not sure, but as I am a more visual type of person, that might have been it if it had changed.
At one point, Tommy mentioned that they found footage from 1968 of Ralph Baier - the creator of the home video game console - and showed us the video, where Mr. Baier is showing off his Pong-like video game prototype. The so-called "Brown Box" became the Magnavox Odyssey, the first game console which would be released in 1972. It was neat to see history, but it was particular cool when videoconferencing via Skype, to talk with Ralph Baier himself, still alive and apparently fit and sharp for an 87-year-old. He and Tommy talked briefly about his contributions, and the audience cheered and thanked him for creating the games industry which we all love. When Tommy asked for a question, someone asked him what his Xbox Live gamertag was. Mr. Baier said he didn't have an Xbox or a Wii, but he did show off one of his favorite toys, the classic electronic Simon memory game that he had developed.
Tron was an interesting segment. Though I didn't find the music particularly memorable, I recall that it was good, and the video footage of the Tron games made me want to see the movie again. Though Tron is probably better remembered as a film and not its tie-in games, it seemed a bit more fitting than last year's performance of
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, in my opinion. At least the Tron segment features music from a game spun off from a movie about computers and games, rather than the Order Of The Phoenix segment which features music from a game spun off from a movie based on a book that doesn't have anything to do with computers or games.
I'm of the opinion that games should be featured in Video Games Live if they are representative of gaming by being a stand-out franchise. And to me,
Need For Speed isn't really major enough of one. But I guess the music from
Need For Speed: Undercover was decent. Tommy introduced the group Splitting Adam, who performed their song "
On My Own", which sounds like it would fit well with the game. The footage of cars from the cutscenes in the game speeding around was exciting, but I found it odd juxtaposed against the footage of actors in the live-action segments kind of standing around not doing anything. Oh, look, there's Maggie Q. Oh look, there's a bunch of not-very-big-name actors. And there's Maggie Q again. And then there are those other guys. They're standing around, they're hanging out, they're sitting around cars. Great. EA Black Box probably didn't actually have these actors racing the cars and left that to their game counterparts - or else the choice of footage wasn't the greatest. But I digress.
At some point in the second half, they brought onstage a guy named Jeff Orum (I think), an attendee who competed in the Guitar Hero competition. He was challenged to play "
Sweet Emotion" in
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith on Hard difficulty and get over 220,000 points to win $100 of Future Shop stuff. He was so confident that he played it on Expert difficulty. Confidence is warranted if you've got it, and he certainly had it, getting 302,005 points (best streak was 398 notes and he got 97%). Tommy remarked that that was the best Guitar Hero performance he'd ever seen on Video Games Live.
This year also featured Martin Leung, the video game pianist. After doing the
Super Mario Bros. themes blindfolded (I think I mentioned that in last year's recap) as well as a bit of
Super Mario World, Jack Wall asked the audience if they'd like more, and so he played the more familiar
Tetris theme from the Game Boy version...which probably pleased all those who cheered for Tetris when it was featured in the arcade medley only to realize the arcade version's music isn't what most people think of when they think of Tetris.
Towards the end was
Final Fantasy VII's "
One Winged Angel". As I briefly mentioned above, it's actually been featured every time. This time, though, they made no mention about not having the rights to use Square-Enix footage (apparently PLAY!: A Video Game Symphony has the rights, how sad), and they still couldn't, but this time they used the screen to show a slideshow of various Final Fantasy VII cosplayers. There were a lot of shots of Sephiroth and Tifa. Oh, and Cloud and Vincent. It seemed like there were more of the Turks than the other characters. As for the music, it's the same as it has always been. When it comes to popularity, there's no denying this one's impact, but personally, I wish more Final Fantasy music was better represented.
The
Halo series, too, has its share of fans. This time, along with the usual
Halo &
Halo 2 Suite, they played a full piece for
Halo 3, which was now more than just a trailer like it was the last couple times (since the game's been out for a while now). However, they began with music to the trailer of
Halo 3: ODST. Personally, while I thought the Halo 3: ODST composition was short and essentially just advertising an upcoming game (let's be blunt, it's just a trailer), altogether with the Halo & Halo 2 Suite as well as Halo 3, it just seemed to be a bit too much time devoted to one series. Considering not many people were cheering until the main Halo theme (you know which one I mean), I'm thinking if they ever trim it down they should just do that.
The encore included
Castlevania, which was also included in the encore last year. Unlike many of the other game franchises, I'm glad to see the portable games actually got a lot of screen time. The songs of "
Vampire Killer" and "
Bloody Tears" were well done, and any Castlevania fan would have recognized those.
The encore also included
Chrono Trigger &
Chrono Cross, apparently the most requested games. Again, lack of footage. Both Jack and Tommy played guitar here, and while Frog's theme and what I recall was probably the main theme of Chrono Cross were well done, it wasn't a long enough medley to do Chrono Trigger justice. I was hoping to be "rickroll'd" by Robo's theme (I hope you get that reference) or hear Trigger's battle theme or Cross's boss theme, but alas, they were not part of that too-short composition.
My favorite part? Probably still
The Legend Of Zelda theme. Of course I'm a fan of the series, so I certainly get that out of it, but not many of the other segments are quite as rousing. I still wish they wouldn't use that beta version footage of Twilight Princess, though...and no Game Boy games are represented...so it's not perfect, but still very well done. For whatever reason the woman sitting next to me left her seat right before the Zelda segment started (it was just before the intermission so maybe she just needed to step out early) but of all the things to miss, that was probably the worst choice to skip out on. But then again, she might see it one day, as they play that every year, and who isn't glad that they do?
Though I wouldn't want them to play too much of the same material if I go every year. The third time around for a dozen of those medleys is wearing thin. Though I love Zelda, someone else is bound to like Final Fantasy or Halo just as much, so I can understand that it'd be hard for them to cut them out. But if two-thirds of the show is always going to be the same every year, I may not feel as obligated to go continuously. But for anyone who hasn't seen it and likes games at all, I would still highly recommend it at least once. Perhaps I'll consider taking people with me again next year? Events are always more fun with more people - and that might bring back part of what I felt was a bit lacking this year - a larger group experience.
