The game’s rousing soundtrack was recorded by a session orchestra (at Abbey Road, no less), not some guy with a synthesiser, and if you’ve ever wanted to make your office feel less like a rat race and more like a military junta, you can grab it on iTunes right now for $US10.

Killzone 2 Soundtrack Released On iTunes [PlayStation]

That’s not news to hardcore fans (it’s all over the Halo wikis), but O’Donnell’s past as an adman deliver some neat details in this writeup of Bungie’s oldest (by age; he is 54) employee. He’s worked on the series since Bungie began work on it 10 years ago. And Halo 3: ODST bestowed an achievement in his honour; “Be Like Marty” awards 10 Gamerscore to anyone completing a Firefight round without killing a single enemy.

O’Donnell vows revenge for that.

Most of the young punks here have this unfounded belief that, because of my age, I’m not good at ‘Halo.’ This of course is not true. … The truth is, Marty has never actually “been like Marty.” At some point in the future, when they least expect it, I will pay them back for this.

I’d take that threat seriously, coming from the man who wrote the marching song for a generation of kids 10 million strong – and grooooowing.

‘Halo’ Wouldn’t be the Same without Evocative Music of Marty O’Donnell [Seattle Post-Intelligencer, thanks Ted]

Here is the list, according to the page (translated to English), which I screenshot just in case it gets taken down. The announcement is not dated, and does not appear to be linked from the main ea.dk site.

3 Inches of Blood – Deadly Sinners
3 Inches of Blood – Destroy The Orcs
Accept – Fast As A Shark
Angel Witch – Angel Witch
Anthrax – Metal Thrashing Mad
Anvil – March of the Crabs
Anvil – Tag Team
Apostasy – Sulphur Injection
Bishop of Hexen – A Serpentine Grave
Bishop of Hexen – The Somber Grounds of Truth
Black Sabbath – Children of the Grave
Black Sabbath – Symptom of the Universe
Black Sabbath – Never Say Die
Brocas Helm – Cry of the Banshee
Brocas Helm – Drink the Blood of the Priest
Budgie – Breadfan
Budgie – Zoom Club
Candlemass – Witches
Carcass – No Love Lost
Cloven Hoof Nightstalker
Children of Bodom – Angels Don’t Kill
Coroner – Skeleton on your Shoulder
Cradle of Filth – Her Ghost in the Fog
Crimson Glory – Queen of the Masquerade
Dark Fortress – Insomnia
Dark Tranquility – Cathode Ray Sunshine
Deathstars – Blitzkrieg
Def Leppard – Rock of Ages
Dethklok – Mermaider
Diamond Head – Am I Evil?
Dimmu Borgir – Progenies of the Great Apocalypse
Dokken – Mr. Scary
Dragonforce – Through the Fire and Flames
Emperor – Thus Spake The Nightspirit
Enslaved – Frost
Enslaved – Loke
Firehouse – Overnight Sensation
Girlschool – Bomber
Iced Earth – When the Night Falls
Iced Earth – Pure Evil
In Flames – Goliaths Disarm Their Davids
Judas Priest – Battle Hymn
Judas Priest – The Hellion/Electric Eye
Judas Priest – Leather Rebel
Judas Priest – One Shot At Glory
Judas Priest – Painkiller
Kabbage Boy – Girlfriend
KMFDM – Free Your Hate
KMFDM – Rip The System
King Diamond – Cremation
King Diamond – Welcome Home
Kiss – God of Thunder
Lita Ford – Betrayal
Marilyn Manson – Beautiful People
Manowar – Die For Metal
Manowar – The Dawn Of Battle
Mastodon – Crack the Skye
Mastodon – Oblivion Instrumental
Megadeath – High Speed Dirt
Megadeath – Tornado of Souls
Metal Church – Metal Church
Michael Schenker – Group Assault Attack
Ministry – Stigmata
Ministry – Thieves
Mirrorthrone – So Frail
Motley Crue – Dr. Feelgood
Motley Crue – Kickstart My Heart
Motley Crue – Live Wire
Motorhead – Back at the Funny Farm
Motorhead – In the Black
Motorhead – Marching Off to War
Motorhead – We Are the Road Crew
Nitro – Machine Gun Eddie
Omen – The Axeman
Ostrogoth – Queen of Desire
Overkill – World of Hurt
Ozzy Osbourne – Believer
Ozzy Osbourne – Mr. Crowley
Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of a Madman
Prong – Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck
Quiet Riot – The Wild and the Young
Racer X – Technical Difficulties
Racer X – Y.R.O.
Ratt – Lay It Down
Riot – Road Racin
Riot – Narita
Riot – Swords and Tequila
Rob Zombie – Superbeast
Rotting Christ – Ad Notics
Running Wild – Riding the Storm
Sanctuary – Battle Angels
Savatage – Hall of the Mountain King
Saxon – Wheels of Steel
Scorpions – Blackout
Scorpions – Holiday
Skeletonwitch – Soul Thrashing Black Sorcery
Skid Row – Youth Gone Wild
Slayer – Metal Storm/Face The Slayer
Slough Feg – Warriors Dawn
Static-X – Love Dump
Tenacious D – Master Exploder
Tenacious D – The Metal
Testament – For The Glory Of
Testament – More Than Meets The Eye
Tvangeste – Birth of the Hero
UFO – Rock Bottom
Whitesnake – Still of the Night
Wrath of Killenstein – Ignisis Dance

Dokken, Megadeth, Metal Church, Judas Priest, Ratt and—holy god Whitesnake. I’m 14 and watching Headbanger’s Ball on MTV all over again. Tipster Greg the Allegedman points out the game’s obvious lack of Iron Maiden, though. What gives with that?

You’ve heard the theme to Bowser’s castle from Super Mario Bros. But have you heard it remixed in kind of a hip-hop way and officially commissioned by Nintendo as part of the Pictobits soundtrack?

A reader rightly chided me for omitting mention of YMCK in my Pictobits review last month. That’s YMCK, the Japanese chiptunes artist who I’d previously not heard of. And that’s Pictobits, the Tetris-looking DSi downloadable exclusive puzzle game from Skip Ltd and Nintendo. It is played like you are using the stylus as a pixel-collecting and pixel-drawing eyedropper, and it is designed with pure love for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The blocks you clear gradually illustrate beloved sprites from the NES era.

And the music… the soundtrack is comprised of remixes from YMCK of classic Nintendo songs. I couldn’t find an official issuing of the soundtrack, but you can check out more samples of the music associated with the YouTube clip above.

Pictobits is available in the DSiWare shop for 500 Nintendo points or $US5 USD. Not a bad price for 16 remixes of classic Nintendo tunes, to say nothing of the game that you play while listening to them.

Given that not everyone thinks that a battle between Wolverine and M.Bison should be set to jazz, Capcom will offer a downloadable hip-hop mixtape themed to Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. The mixtape will be offered digitally close to the pending summer re-release of the game on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation 3’s PlayStation Network, according to Capcom.

Forget the jazz. Might you like to beat up Marvel’s roster to some hip-hop instead?

Artists features on the game’s “mixtape” include the following rap greats, who, we’re told, are providing original songs inspired by MvsC2 and other fighting games and fighting game themes:

- Raekwon
- Talib Kweli
- E40
- DJ Qbert
- Hieroglyphics
- The Grouch and Eligh of Living Legends
- Planet Asia
- MC Supernatural
- Havoc of Mobb Deep
- DJ Toure
- And more…

The soundtrack will be issued for free on Marvel.com, Capcom-Unity.com, and the game’s promo site tu4ar.com. Capcom is also exploring options for issuing the music downloadable directly to consoles, but has no plans to announce yet.

Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is a faithful port of the 2000 original, though the new version will support a stretched-background widescreen mode, some optional graphical smoothing and custom soundtracks. All the content that shipped with the original will be in the new release.

Kotaku reader bonus, courtesy of Capcom… here are Raekwon and MC Supernatural making sure the game is pixel-perfect at this year’s E3:

Soundtracks to Capcom’s latest games will soon be available for purchase at select retail locations, Sumthing Else Digital, and iTunes as part of a new licensing partnership between the two companies. The deal allows Sumthing Else to offer music from Resident Evil 5, Dark Void, Street Fighter IV, Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, Bionic Commando, and Spyborgs. The new music will join previously released Capcom tunes from Street Fighter 3 Third Strike, Devil May Cry 4, and the history of the Resident Evil Series. Release dates for the new soundtracks will be announced at a later time.

Can’t say I’m a huge fan of the music from Capcom games, but with Battlestar Galactica’s Bear McCreary scoring Dark Void, I might just have to pick that one up.

JRPGs are a predictable bunch. Spiky-haired youths, big swords, doe-eyed ladies and comic relief that’s either an ethnic minority or a robot. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all. Their soundtracks are no different.

Which is why this project by reader Michael Chadwick is so brilliant. He’s composed a 12-track accompaniment to the JRPG “Ebben Flow”. Which doesn’t exist. But if we hadn’t told you that, you’d never have guessed. Here’s the game’s plot:

Ebben Flow – A Post-Delugtica World Ripe For the Fishing

Join Olos, Claire, and Senegal as they try to make sense of a world now mostly underwater, save for a few dry patches of land known as The New United Islands which they each call home. Vast cityscapes loom in the murky depths and hidden treasures pocket the sea floor which has now become dangerously low to visitors.

Each of the characters you will meet and control have their own agenda in the land of Ebben Flow. Their paths may cross and diverge at will, leading to exciting new tangents and side stories. Several factions desire to rule their local and remote islands, as well as the depths below, and they’re not above treachery or chaos to achieve it.

Square Enix would be proud. You can listen to the soundtrack below, and if you like that, download the whole thing, picture a moppish-haired adolescent washing up on a beach controlled by an oppressive totalitarian government, throw in some flashbacks to a happier time with a girl in a long dress and you’ll be set.

[Ebben Flow - The Soundtrack]

Gamers attending the Video Games Live concert performance at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on January 24th are in for a special treat, as music from Bungie’s upcoming Halo 3: ODST makes its debut.

Sumthing Else Music Works continues to release music for every big game Microsoft releases, with the announcement that the Halo Wars Soundtrack by Stephen Rippy will be available for purchase on February 17th.

The entire Halo Wars soundtrack, composed by Stephen Rippy and performed by FILMharmonic Orchestra and Choir Prague is represented in the upcoming 2-disc set, with the first disc comprising the music and the second being a DVD with bonus tracks, trailers, and behind the scenes video.

“For Halo Wars I wanted to write music that fit both the size of the story and its sense of discovery,” said Stephen Rippy, Ensemble Studios Music & Sound Director and Composer for Halo Wars. “Each of the various worlds in the game feels a little different; each of the main characters brings something to the mix. More than anything else, it was important that these tracks fit comfortably into the existing Halo universe. I hope they’ll take the listener to some new places as well.”

As per usual, the Halo Wars Soundtrack will be available at select retail locations, as well as www.sumthingdigital.com.

SUMTHING ELSE MUSIC WORKS ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF HALO WARS ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

Music Composed by Stephen Rippy and performed by FILMharmonic Orchestra and Choir Prague

New York – Jan. 15th, 2009 – Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc., through its licensing relationship with Microsoft Game Studios, proudly presents Halo Wars™ Original Soundtrack featuring the original music score from the action strategy game for the Xbox 360 developed by Ensemble Studios. The Halo Wars Original Soundtrack is released Feb. 17, 2009 to retail outlets through Nile Rodgers’ Sumthing Else Music Works record label www.sumthing.com, and for digital download at www.sumthingdigital.com.

The Halo Wars Original Soundtrack 2-disc set features over 50 minutes of the adrenalized and sublime original score from the Halo Wars game. The music was composed by Stephen Rippy (Age of Empires series, Age of Mythology) with performances by the FILMharmonic Orchestra and Choir Prague. The second disc is a DVD with nine additional bonus tracks, nine 5.1 mixes of tracks from the music disc, two cinematic trailers and one behind-the-scenes video.

“For Halo Wars I wanted to write music that fit both the size of the story and its sense of discovery,” said Stephen Rippy, Ensemble Studios Music & Sound Director and Composer for Halo Wars. “Each of the various worlds in the game feels a little different; each of the main characters brings something to the mix. More than anything else, it was important that these tracks fit comfortably into the existing Halo universe. I hope they’ll take the listener to some new places as well.”

Track Listing:

1. Spirit of Fire
2. Bad Here Day
3. Perspective
4. Money Or Meteors
5. Flollo
6. Just Ad Nauseum
7. Unusually Quiet
8. Flip And Sizzle
9. Put The Lady Down
10. Six-Armed Robbing Suit
11. Action Figure Hands
12. Status Quo Show
13. Part Of The Plan
14. Work Burns And Runaway Grunts
15. Freaked Out
16. Rescued Or Not
17. Best Guess At Best
18. One Problem At A Time
19. De Facto The Matter
20. Part Of The Problem
21. Fingerprints Are Broken
22. Out Of There Alive
23. Through Your Hoops
24. Under Your Hurdles
25. Insignificantia (All Sloppy / No Joe).

Based on the legendary Halo universe, Halo Wars is an action strategy game for the Xbox 360 developed by Ensemble Studios. The epic campaign will allow players to command the armies of the UNSC warship Spirit of Fire in mankind’s initial encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition threatening to obliterate the universe. Halo Wars immerses players in an early period of the storied Halo universe, allowing you to experience events leading up to the first Halo title for Xbox. For more information visit http://www.halowars.com/.

The 5-disc set contains the complete original soundtracks to Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, two discs worth of Halo 3 soundtrack, and a special DVD containing four tracks from the upcoming spin off title Halo Wars, along with a behind-the-scenes look at a recording session. While no price is mentioned in the press release, but US store Best Buy is showing it available for pre-order today at $US34.99, which is quite a bargain considering the sheer amount of music included in the set.

The full set should be available tomorrow online via Sumthing Else’s digital download store.

SUMTHING ELSE MUSIC WORKS ANNOUNCES RELEASE OFHALO TRILOGY ®€” THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACKS

5-disc set includes the original music scores and Halo Wars DVD featuring 4 preview tracks and behind-the-scenes from the recording session

New York – Dec. 1st, 2008 – Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc., through its licensing relationship with Microsoft Game Studios, proudly presents Halo® Trilogy – The Complete Original Soundtracks featuring the award-winning original music scores by Bungie Audio Director Martin O’Donnell and Co-Composer Michael Salvatori plus four preview tracks from the forthcoming real-time strategy game Halo Wars™, composed by Ensemble Studios Audio Director Stephen Rippy. Halo Trilogy – The Complete Original Soundtracks is released tomorrow, Dec. 2, 2008, to retail outlets through Nile Rodgers’ Sumthing Else Music Works record label www.sumthing.com, and for digital download at www.sumthingdigital.com.

Halo Trilogy – The Complete Original Soundtracks contents:

Disc 1 – Halo: Combat Evolved Original Soundtrack.

Disc 2 – Halo 2 Original Soundtrack Volume Two.

Disc 3 – Halo Wars Bonus DVD;

Four preview tracks from the upcoming soundtrack presented in 5.1.

A behind-the-scenes look at the recording sessions set to the Halo Wars main theme music.

“Five Long Years” Opening cinematic of the Halo Wars campaign.

Disc 4 – Halo 3 Original Soundtrack.

Disc 5 – Halo 3 Original Soundtrack (cont’d).

Originally created by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios, the Halo franchise is exclusive to the Xbox and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment systems and is optimised for the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network. Halo 3 was released in 37 countries and 17 languages. To date, more than 24.8 million copies of the games in the Halo trilogy have been sold worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.halo3.com/.

Based on the legendary Halo universe, Halo Wars is a real-time strategy game for the Xbox 360 developed by Ensemble Studios. In campaign mode, command the armies of the UNSC warship Spirit of Fire, with familiar and new UNSC units in its initial encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition threatening to obliterate mankind. Halo Wars immerses players in an early period of the storied Halo universe, allowing you to experience events leading up to the first Halo title for Xbox. For more information visit http://www.halowars.com/.