I Am Batman

The title of this post is really the most simple way to explain Batman: Arkham City. You are Batman. No other game captures the spirit of being Batman quite like Arkham City. Arkham Asylum came close but in hindsight it was more like a simulator training you to be Batman. Arkham City completely unlocks what being Batman is all about. Swinging through the city at night, solving mysteries, fighting crime, all while engaging in an overall story arc involving super villains. Batman, Batman, Batman.

Combat has been mostly unchanged from the original game. There are some new moves and gadgets, but it flows exactly the same way. It was pretty much perfect in Arkham Asylum so not changing a whole lot makes perfect sense. What they did though, was hone it to near perfection. Boiled down to it's basics it is still punch, punch, punch, counter, counter, punch and you can win just about every fight like that. It's when you mix in Batman's utility belt of gadgets that it really gets spiced up. Leaving small amounts of explosive gel on the ground while flipping then blowing it up and stunning a group of enemies, or whipping a bad guy in the face with a batarang in the middle of a combo, or tossing an ice grenade at someone and freezing them, or whatever your imagination desires...it's all possible and it's all awesome. This is how Batman fights, with his wits as much as with his brawn and skill. Racking up a wicked high combo feels awesome(so I've been told, I max out around 25 hits or so).

The biggest change from Asylum to City has to be the actual map. Arkham Asylum was a small map located on an island outside of Gotham. There were a handful of buildings, some caves and tunnels, and that was it. You ended up revisiting the same areas a lot and the variety wasn't all that great. Arkham City on the other hand, is a living, breathing piece of metropolis. It's gritty and dark and beautiful. Everything is perfectly detailed, there is no wasted space at all. I'm not sure how much bigger the map is then in Asylum but it is at least 3 times as big, and swinging and gliding around all of it is breathtaking to say the least. There are now goons everywhere to fight, sidequests to solve around every corner, hidden riddler trophies are all over the place(and a lot more cleverly hidden), and enough other side content to keep you busy for weeks.

I'm not going to say the game is perfect so that means I have to complain about something. Some of the boss fights are a little uninspired or just don't plain happen like you think they will. There a few situations where you are expecting a kick ass fight aaaaannnnnnd...nothing happens. It's a little disappointing. Also, there is a game mechanic in particular that I found annoying. There are multiple parts where you have to make a little ice shelf to stand on and then pull yourself around with the grappling hook. It's tedious and they use it quite a bit. These are really minor complaints and I normally wouldn't even mention them, but I feel obligated to say something negative if I'm going to say a game isn't flawless so there you go.

The story is solid, there are some nice twists and surprises (FUCK YOU KOTAKU) and it is paced well. The side missions pop up during play so if you do them as you go it can easily take 20+ hours to finish the game. If you go searching for every riddler trophy, you're looking at around 40 probably. I was into the story quite a bit so I skipped a lot of the side stuff along the way and I finished it in probably 10...maybe 12. It never gets boring, though if you install the Catwoman stuff it gets interspersed into the gameplay. You play as her first, then another mission soon after, then you get nothing but Batman until near the end and BAM! they throw another Catwoman part at you. I hated how they mixed it in at the end, I was into being Batman and they completely interrupted me. Playing as Catwoman is interesting. She is a hell of a lot faster than Batman and can cling to chain link ceilings and her cleavage is always out and she does sexy slides that don't seem to be the most functional but overall her parts feel unnecessary. I kind of wish they hadn't bothered mixing it in, or at least given her a bigger role and fleshed (OH HO HO) her out a little more.

What can I say, it's Batman. They did manage what I thought was impossible and made a game that met or exceeded everyone's expectations. It's the closes thing most of us (present company excluded) will ever get to being Batman. Now that it's done, I'm left frothing at the mouth for more like a rabid, starved wolverine in a butcher shop full of delicious smoked meats. I've still got a fair amount of game left to play too. It will be a while before I'm done with the sheer joy of just plain being THE BATMAN.

Gears of War 3: San Francisco Jam!

There aren't too many releases that get the blood flowing quite like a new Gears game. The latest one, which came out this week, is the third and supposedly final game in the Gears series...I doubt that. The game sells way too well for them to just stop making them. Something tells me we'll see a Ge4rs of War before too long.

If you've ever played Gears of War or the sequel then you basically already know what to expect from the single player campaign. Visceral cover based combat against relentless enemies, huge boss fights set in a post apocalyptic world, guns and bullets and blood and guts and boomers. Aside from new locales, new enemies, and new weapons, there is little changed about Gears of War 3. It plays basically exactly the same as the first two games and that's alright with me. If it ain't broke...don't fix it.

The story is excellent and has quite a few BIG moments to it. I'm not going to talk about it because I don't like taking the chance of spoiling anything for anyone, but they big moments are quite BIG. All I'll say is at the end it does wrap up in a way that makes it look like the trilogy is over, but I just won't believe it until I see it. The franchise is far too valuable to just stop making games with the Gears name. The game is pretty short, about the same length as previous games which means it can easily be beat on normal difficulty within the first or second day. However, there is a ton of online content, and I'll be talking about that some more...next Game Beard. I haven't played enough of it to talk about it here.

Next is my surprise game of the year. Crawling from the depths of franchise hell comes a shocker of a good game...Driver: San Francisco. I, like many others, assumed the Driver franchise was done. After some mediocre to bad games, I figured they were done with it. When I heard about this game, I was surprised, but my expectations were extremely low based on the previous entries. However, I am very happy to say, Driver: San Francisco shattered my expectations and pulled this dead and bloated franchise out of the murky water and back into the hearts of gamers everywhere...or at least back into my heart.

The game is good...very good. They took the formula, distilled out all the extra crap, and just left the meat of what makes a good driving game...driving. There is nothing on foot, the only time you aren't in a car is when you're floating above the city deciding which driver to possess next...wait, what? Driver handles the out of car stuff very simply. You're character is in a coma, so he can enter a ghost mode at any time and switch cars. This extends beyond just picking a car for a challenge. If the challenge is to take down a runaway thief, you can possess the cars ahead of them and drive them directly into their path to take them down with vicious ferocity. The story is out there a bit, but honestly, I didn't care. I was having too much fun possessing drivers and racing cars.

The story is a bit bleh, but I barely noticed. Honestly, there really could have been no story and just a series of challenges and I still would have loved the game. The driving is a nice arcade style that requires skill, but also can be handled by gaming novices. Some of the late challenges get downright brutal and only the most seasoned player will get through them. There are a ton of different licensed vehicles, from super cars to pickup trucks to DeLoreans, the latter of which has a special bonus if you go over 88mph.

Finally I'm going to talk about a game that's been out for awhile but I only just recently played. The new and improved NBA JAM! I waited a long time to get it because frankly, I didn't feel it was worth full retail price. I finally found a price I could swallow and purchased it. I was definitely right in waiting, it's a really good game, but there is very little meat to it.

It's the exact same formula as the original NBA Jam, 2 on 2 basketball with 3 players per team being available. You push and shove opponents while dunking from the free throw line with great ferocity. Hit 3 shots in a row without your opponent scoring and you go ON FIRE! This doesn't seem to have the same impact it used to. I remember in the old SNES game when you were ON FIRE! pretty much every shot went in. In the new version the difference seems to be negligible other then your dunks getting bigger and better. I can't say a whole lot more about it...it's NBA Jam. It's basically the exact game they made in the past with some shinier graphics. This isn't a bad thing, per se, but I was hoping for a little more. Worth the $15 I paid for it, but not much more.

Another brilliant installment of The Game Beard will be coming your way soon. Next time I'll be talking about Resident Evil 4HD, maybe some about upcoming games I'm interested in like Batman, Skyrim, and Uncharted 3. Also, look for a new top ten list coming your way hopefully sooner rather then later.

Captain America and the NFL. I've Got Patriotism Running Through My Veins

Been too long since I last got my blog on. Been playing a fair amount of games lately and I'm going to do a few updates over the course of the next week or so to catch up. This update will be dedicated to two things every blue blooded American patriot should love. Captain America and NFL Football.

So I'll start with Madden 2012. Before I talk about it, let me just say that Madden and I have a history. I've been buying and playing Madden football since 1994, the first year it was on the SNES. I still remember the infamous error where the New York Giants and New York Jets had their entire rosters switched. I was there for the switch from pixels to polygons, when the hit stick was added, hot routes, blah blah blah. All of the changes. I've watched the game take big steps forward and then take big steps backward. I've bought the new version and been immediately disappointed by the lack of change some years.

Now that all of that is out of the way and I've been confirmed as a "Madden expert" let's talk about 2012(not the mediocre John Cusack film).

The game looks good. Not a huge graphical overhaul from 2011 but it's noticeable. There hasn't really been a leap forward in terms of graphics for some time. It's alright though, the game looks good as is and doesn't really need to be tweaked right now.

There are substantial gameplay changes. For the first time the blocking and tackling in this year's Madden is not magnetic. Meaning that in the old versions when a tackler or blocker got close, the players would be magnetically drawn in to the tackle or blocking animations. It makes for a much more realistic game. Running the ball is fantastic with the new blocking. You can watch which direction players will be forced and wait for holes to open up in the line. It's the most realistic running game Madden has ever offered.

The passing game hasn't changed much, but the passing defense has. You really need to read the defense and know football on the harder difficulties or you will throw a lot of interceptions. The middle linebacker is freaking Superman though. He will knock down a ton of passes over the middle and make impossible reads. It's not very realistic in that regard. It's awesome though to make the correct read and fire an accurate pass into the hands of your receiver as he cuts in front of the defender for a split second. It's realistic and tough and fulfilling.

The biggest leap this season are the changes to franchise mode. You can finally trade future draft picks (though only one year ahead), free agent signing have become more like a race. As soon as a player is offered a deal, a clock starts ticking. When it runs to zero whichever team has put up the best offer gets the player. It isn't necessarily realistic, but it works well for a video game and it is an improvement over the old system. Scouting rookies has been improved as well. You can scout a number of players ahead of time and get an idea of how good they are before the draft. Again, not perfect, but better. Rosters are handled better, allowing 75 players when preseason starts. Cut downs are made weekly until brought back to the regular season roster size. It allows you to keep rookies and free agents that you are unsure of. You'll be given a question marked rating (which is often way off) with the actual rating being shown after you decide whether to keep them or not. Once yet again, not perfect, but better.

And that's the theme of Madden 2012...not perfect, but better. A step in the right direction with some solid bulding blocks for the future.

Now to discuss everyone's favorite super soldier, Captain America. I rented the game based on very little but it looked good enough, and I'm a pretty big fan of the Captain. My first impression of the game was "Batman: Arkham Asylum Lite" The gameplay borrows heavily from Arkham Asylum but is never quite as good. You fight with basic combos, when an enemy attacks, he glows and you can press a button to dodge or counter then continue your combat. It's never as flowing as Arkham Asylum but it still works pretty well. Hell, Captain America even has a sort of "Detective Mode" where you can make ledges and pipes glow, showing you possible pathways you can take.

I haven't seen the movie so I don't know if it follows the plot line but the plot in the game is pretty basic. Captain America thwarting some nazi plans with his fists and vibranium shield. There is some stuff about a giant robot and whatever, I didn't really pay attention. It wasn't honestly that interesting.

The biggest issue I had with the game is the mass of collectibles. Virginal statuettes, cowl and gloves, Prussian helmets, blah blah blah. So many things to collect. CERAMIC EGGS. 50 ceramic eggs, hidden throughout the battlefield for Captain America to find and store...in his magic pouch I guess. I think more impressive then Captain America single handedly fighting and defeating an army of nazis is his ability to carry 50 ceramic eggs unbroken while doing it. The military should be proud. None of the collectibles are particularly hard to find and they all show up on the map, but it takes you out of the game and you have to walk to every nook and cranny while nazis are advancing their plans around you.

For a movie licensed game, Captain America is a solid effort. Better than most of them, that's for sure. The graphics aren't going to impress anyone, and the frame rate often drops making the action choppy at time, but the overall package is worth the time. It's not a long game, I had it done with 1000 gamerscore in less then 10 hours, but it's long enough. Any longer and it would have been too long though. It's not a good enough game to compel you to play it for any longer then you have to.

That's it for this edition. Hopefully another will be along soon. I've still got Driver: San Francisco, Deus Ex, NBA Jam, Lego: Pirates of the Caribbean, Brink, The Maw, Test Drive Unlimited 2, The Saboteur, and other games to talk about. Not to mention Gears of War 3 and Resident Evil 4 HD coming on Tuesday. I'll be bearding a lot about these games so look forward to a lot of updates in the future.

Simple Title: Bastion

It's been too long since I've last Gamebearded about anything so it's time to fix that. Today's gamebeard is brought to you by Bastion and all of it's awesomeness.

It's no secret I'm a big fan of Xbox Live Arcade games. I own something like 70 of them and spend close to as much time playing them as I do actual $60 disc games. They are cheaper then full price titles and oftentimes just as good if not better. Bastion is one of the best I've ever played. A while back I did a top 10 XBLA games list and I've been trying to decide where it should fit on that list. Right now, I'm thinking #1.

It's such a harkening to old school games that I was immediately turned on to it. Isometric adventure games immediately make me think of Link to the Past and that is perfect for me considering it is one of my favorites. I watched a few trailers for Bastion and my passion for gaming got fired up. It looked like everything I wanted. When it was released I bought it immediately...then had to wait 2 days to play it. I was concerned the wait would lead to disappointment if the game didn't live up to my now quite lofty expectations. However, I was pleasantly surprised. It really was all I wanted and more.

When you strip away all of the fanciness, Bastion is a pretty standard action/adventure game. You use various weapons and powers to fight through enemies, collecting little colored bits that you use to level weapons, all while trying to save the world. The gameplay isn't going to surprise anyone. It's the fanciness that sets Bastion apart from other similar games. The glossy delicious details. The most noticeable of these is the narrator. He is given a name later but initially he is known as the stranger. He kind of acts like a play by play announcer, generally talking about the area you are in, making comments about your actions, and basically filling in the entire story for you. His voice is that of a chain smoking jazz musician and it is perfect for the task at hand. I'm not going to say anything at all about the story because it is so good I would hate to ruin even the slightest detail. Just know that The Stranger tells the entire tale in his awesomely smooth voice.

The graphics in Bastion are excellent. A colorful world full of strange creatures, and lush and varied environments await you. The stages range from overgrown tropical forests, to burnt out industrial warrens. Each level expands as you walk on it, the ground rising up from the abyss below to fill in where you are going. It's a cool effect and it happens throughout the entire game. It is possible to fall off of the level but you merely take some damage and fall back in from the top of the screen, causing damage to enemies if you land on them. The enemy variety is pretty decent. Bastion isn't a terribly long game, so there wasn't a need for 100 different enemy types. There may not be a lot, but each enemy is well crafted and bring something different to the table. It never gets boring or repetitive.

Bastion is the perfect example of an arcade game done completely right. It's nearly perfect. In fact, the only major flaw I can come up with is that when it was over, I wanted more. Not that the game seemed short, I don't know if I could have ever had enough. The New Game + feature is nice as it allows a second playthrough with levels and weapons in tact, but I wanted more original game. I guess being so good that I wanted more game isn't technically a flaw, but it's the best I could come up with.

I feel like there is a lot more to be said about Bastion but I'd have to go into the story and I don't want to do that even a tiny bit. The game opens without the player having any clue what is going on and that is how it should be. I'd hate to think there is a chance at all that I could ruin the experience for someone so I'm keeping my mouth shut about it.

Singularity and Lara Croft and Guardians of Light and No L.A. Noire

So, L.A. Noire has been put on the backburner for awhile. While I really do like the game and the technology involved with it, it started to drag a bit, and with my extremely limited gaming time, I wanted to spend it playing something I'm going to really have fun with. So, I put L.A. Noire away for a little while and popped in Singularity.

I didn't know much about Singularity outside of it being an FPS when I bought it. It was only $8 though and generally I'll buy almost any game for sub $10. So I put in the disc with very little previous knowledge, started playing, and so far I've been pleasantly surprised. Singularity is a great game. It has a very Bioshock feel to it, an abandoned location with people who have been mutated (though in Singularity they are much closer to monsters then humans) audio logs laying around to listen to to get backstory, scrawled messages on the walls, people talking to you over a com system, etc...

When the game first starts all you have is a knife then eventually a gun and it is pretty standard FPS fare. Singularity uses some jump out scares to try and catch you off guard, but for the most part the game isn't scary, it's creepy. The atmosphere of a burnt out school with charred corpses huddling under desks, will raise the hair on the back of your neck, while blood trails and disemboweled corpses will keep your trigger finger ready for action at all times.

I haven't played too far into the game yet, but I did get far enough to unlock the thing that seperates Singularity from other FPS's and makes it original. You gain a device that can control time. Not like slowing down and speeding it up(though it does slow down some enemies) but more like aging and renewing things. Once you unlock it, certain items will put an orange stripe on your hud or a blue stripe. The colors signify whether you can age or renew an item. Aging it will destroy it and leave it a broken husk, while renewing an item...well, renews it. So far it's been used pretty well, at one point I had to age a box, which caused it to collapse, then place it under a door, then renewed it to lift the door up so I could fit under it. You also use the device as a weapon, sometimes slowing down enemies, sometimes aging them into dust. I ran into one "portal" that when manipulated took me back in time to prevent the death of a scientist. When I went back to the present, he was there waiting for me. This is where I left off in the story, so I'll talk more about it next time.

Downloaded Lara Croft: The Guardians of Light last night because it was finally on sale for a mere 600 MS points. It was definitely points well spent. Delved into it last night late, after I was done playing Singularity, and finished the first level. I'm playing it solo right now and it is truly great, I can definitely imagine it will be even better playing coop. When you play solo you play as Lara and your partner (whose name escapes me at the moment) gives you a spear to use as well as your gun. I don't know if he keeps the spear in coop or not but I'm thinking that is how it might work. Hopefully I'll be able to play it coop soon and find out.

The game plays from a 3/4 isometric view (which I've always been a fan of) and controls using both sticks, left to move, right to aim, you hold the right trigger to fire. Y sets and detonates bombs. The spear is used as a weapon, and as a means to reach higher ledges. You can throw them into walls and jump on them. Lara is also equipped with a grappling device that, so far, I've only used a few times, It hooks to specific places only and Lara can climb up walls with it. I'm not sure if it will have a further purpose yet, but if it does, I'm sure I'll talk about it here.

Still have Dead Space 2 sitting and waiting, and today, I purchased Half -Minute Hero from the Arcade. Not sure when I'm going to play either of them but I'll have something to say soon. I'll probably try to get some time with Half-Minute Hero first so that this blog is at least a little up to date with newer games.

I won the Stanley Cup this week...in NHL '09. I'm tempted to upgrade to '10 or '11 but I'm not sure I'm going to. Maybe I'll look into '12...I'm just not that big of a Hockey fan. Now, football...that's another story. Madden '12 is coming in August and I'm starting to feel the Madden itch. THE MITCH! I'm not going to go too far into it but I definitely like what I'm reading about it. Improved Franchise Mode is the thing I'm most excited about. New ways of trading and signing free agents, this is stuff that hasn't really changed in years. The gameplay is always upgraded a little every year, so hearing they are finally addressing some of the meat and potatoes of the game...well, that's just the best news.

The Game Beard is out for now. Next time I'll get more into Singularity and Lara Croft, maybe into Half-Minute Hero and Dead Space 2, and maybe I'll even have finished L.A. Noire or Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. I think a post to talk about the titles I'm excited for that are coming this fall might be in order as well. WHO KNOWS? The Game Beard is a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a fluffy beard.

A quick update-y post

Not much has been going on around here. Had to give LA Noire a break. I think it is because I'm stuck watching investigation and crime shows all day, and random cop dramas at night. Kind of takes away the fun of LA Noire. So, I started playing my season of NHL '09. Not a typo, still trying to finish a season of '09. I'm 1 game away from the Stanley Cup Finals! I'm going to do it!

Other then that, I picked up Dead Space 2 for $20 and Singularity for $8. Once I sink my teeth into them, I'll be doing some yapping about them too.

See everyone later.

Top Ten Songs in Video Games

Alright, I'm not talking licensed songs like in Grand Theft Auto, I'm talking music made specifically for the game it is found in. This is my list, not yours so if you don't agree, or have a song that didn't make it on the list, put it in the comments so I can be proven wrong.

I'm going to try to limit it to one song per game so Nobuo Oematsu doesn't completely dominate my list with FFVI. Also, this is not a list of the most iconic songs so you won't see The Super Mario Bros. theme, or the Zelda theme on here.

Now, ON TO THE LIST...and my first time including anything other then text in a blog post.

10. Wild Arms - Wild Arms Theme

What a great song. It really captured the wild west theme that the game sought out to portray. Whistling in songs is always welcome(as a matter of fact, several songs on this list include whistling). Just a great song to a great and underrated game.

9. FFVII - One Winged Angel

Yup, a final fantasy song but this one is one of the best. FFVII was packed with good music, but One Winged Angel stands out as the best song in the bunch. A difficult feat for sure. It's the song that plays during the final boss fight and it encompasses the battle perfectly. It's powerful and dramatic and sucks you right into the emotion of the moment.

8. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Dance of Pearls

This was another tough choice. Castlevania has always been known for excellent music and Symphony of the Night might be the best of the bunch, therefore, choosing one song was incredibly difficult. In the end though, I went with Dance of Pearls, the mesmerizing tune which plays on your way through Olrax's lair. There were a few other songs that easily could have gone here in it's place but in the end, and with some listening, Dance of Pearls wins by a nose.

7. Beyond Good and Evil - Home Sweet Home

Beyond Good and Evil might be the best game that very few people seemed to play. Hopefully with it's recent HD release on the Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network it will get more attention. Such a beautiful game, and such a beautiful song to accompany it. Home Sweet Home plays during the ending credits and it just ties together perfectly with the moment. Truly something that everyone should hear.

6. Blue Dragon - Eternity(Boss Theme)

I've heard people agree with me about how awesome this song is, and I've heard people talk about how horrible it is. Either way though, it leads to discussion. It sounds like an 80's rock anthem, probably because it was performed by an 80's rocker. Ian Gillian was the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple for a number of years and even sang lead for Black Sabbath for a year. The song repeats a lot during every boss fight in the game and it does a great job getting and keeping you pumped up for the fight. It's big and loud and awesome.

5. Katamari Damacy - Que Sera Sera

This was a tough one. I struggled for awhile deciding between this and Katamari on the Rocks(NA NAAAA NANANANANA NA NA N-NA NA NA NA NAAA). I nthe end I went with Que Sera Sera because when I first got the soundtrack I listened to it about 20 times straight and I just absolutely love it. Katamari on the Rock is a fantastic song in it's own right, and definitely the better known of the two, but Que Sera Sera with it's lounge-y sound and awesome lyrics (I want to wad you up into my life) wins the day in my heart, and if we aren't listening to our hearts, then what's the point?

4. Nier - Song of the Ancients/Devola

There are 4 versions of the Song of the Ancients: Devola, Popola, Fate, and Hollow Dreams. They are all excellent, and I had a hard time picking one for this list. In the end I went with Devola because frankly, it is simply a beautiful piece of music. Hell, every song in this game is fantastic. Whether or not you like the game itself (of which there is a lot of debate) the music in it is top notch. Song of the Ancients/Devola is the best diamond in a pile of other diamonds.

3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - Snake Eater

Oh man, Snake Eater...one of the best games I've ever played, and this is one of the best songs ever crafted for a game. It is the only song on this list that I also have had as a ringtone. It's a direct ripoff of an old James Bond type theme and it is simply brilliant. It is the perfect accompaniment to the game. The lyrics are kind of ridiculous at time but that just adds to the charm. You can tell it was written tongue-in-cheek. The melody and vocals are amazing. I almost made this number one but a couple of songs from the same composer just edged it out. It was close though.

2. Lost Odyssey - Neverending Journey

I love Lost Odyssey. It's the best RPG released on the current generation of consoles and it hold up against a lot of the best RPG's of all time. The music in it was done by famed composer Nobuo Oematsu, probably best known for scoring a lot of Final Fantasy games. In fact, his music takes up the top 2 spots on the countdown. Neverending Journey is the music that plays when you are on the world map. The song is so damn good that it is responsible for adding hours to my overall game time as I just left it running over and over so I could enjoy it. It's another song with whistling in it and a couple of minutes in, the song really kicks in high gear. Awesome, awesome, awesome song and only gets beat out for number one due to nostalgia and emotion.

1. FFVI - Aria di Mezzo Carattere

Known by most simply as the "Opera House song" Aria di Mezzo Carattere is an absolute gorgeous piece of music. What makes it more amazing is how limited music was by cartridge based systems of the past. The notes used to represent the singing create a haunting tone that really makes you feel the music. The lyrics (as read on screen) really aren't anything fantastic though they speak of a love seperated by distance and war but that really has nothing to do with the quality of the song. I chose it for number one because of how much emotion it pulls out of you without a single word. I'm sure a lot of it is nostalgia as well, but in the end Aria di Mezzo Carattere or The Opera House song is my personal favorite piece of video game music ever composed. Listen to it and enjoy.