Cheaters in the 21st Century

The Slate usually has some good reads about just about anything in popular culture, including the occasional pieces on gaming. A recent article by Luke O'Brien on the evolution of cheating in video games entitled "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, B, A" was pretty interesting, though I wish more depth was permissible for how cheating functions in this day and age, especially the measures given to eliminate it. Still a good read that you should check out.

And as mentioned, be sure to "compare Contra with World of Warcraft." Hidden plugs? I'm cheap like that.

IGN posts list of best ten 8-bit soundtracks; the universe laughs

IGN has started a new weekly column called "Top 10 Tuesday," in which they, predictably, post a new top ten list of some sort every Tuesday. Their very first list, published this week on the 8th, is entitled "Top Ten Tuesday: Best 8-Bit Soundtracks," covering, among other systems, the NES and Sega Master System:

We realize that, in addition to the Nintendo Entertainment System, the 8-bit console era also included the Sega Master System. And while we considered titles like Phantasy Star and Wonder Boy, the truth is the best Master System soundtrack isn't as good as the tenth best NES game.

Erm, scratch that. But anyway! The list!

1. Super Mario Bros.


2. Castlevania


3. The Legend of Zelda


4. Contra


5. Shadowgate


6. Punch-Out!!


7. Dr. Mario


8. Wizards & Warriors


9. Blades of Steel


10. Metroid

Their honorable mentions include such vastly inferior soundtracks as Mega Man II's.

But the very best part about the article is that IGN decided to include samples of each game's music to show why each game deserved to be on their list. I personally was unsure that Contra should rank as high as fourth, but after hearing their audio sample, the seven-note title theme, I was convinced. Likewise, the song that comes to my mind when I think of Dr. Mario? Why, the game over theme, of course!

NOTE: The list says that the #8 game, Wizards & Warriors, was developed by Acclaim. This is incorrect; the game was actually developed by Rare (the soundtrack was done by resident composer Dave Wise). But after coming up with such a well-reasoned and carefully researched piece, I think we can let that one little mistake slide.

virt experiences wet dream, scores Contra 4

As CHz reported over at ThaSauce, arrangement scene old-schooler turned professional game composer Jake "virt" Kaufman was outed in the current issue of Nintendo Power as being the composer for Konami's upcoming Contra 4 for the Nintendo DS. (Here's hoping they at least stick with Contra IV/4 in the title, and don't drop that in favor of just a subtitle.)

While unable to comment much beyond confirming his role on the upcoming shoot-them-motherfuckers-up (loosely translated, "schmup"), Jake backs up the Ninty Power interview and assures us that we'll be rocked by new themes as well as rearrangements of classic themes from the Contra series.

I personally can't wait until Jake has a chance to score another console game a la 2005's Legend of Kay, but congratulations to Jake on a dream project that's a major footnote in his growing career.