Inon Zur's "Remember" from Dragon Age can be found on Play for Japan: The Album! Check it out! There's more great songs from other fantastic games!! http://playforjapan.org/
Just as game developers, publishers, and press worked together to hold auctions for the last couple months, a collection of the game industry’s finest music composers have joined together to create a relief benefit album featuring original compositions.(original album artwork by Yoshitaka Amano)
Today, we are extremely happy to announce the first details for Play For Japan: The Album. Set for release in early June on the iTunes Store, PFJ: The Album features the following composers and their original songs:
Akira Yamaoka(Shadows of the Damned) |“Ex Animo”
Arthur Inasi (Harmonix) |“We Are One”
Bear McCreary (SOCOM 4) |“Maverick Regeneration”
Chance Thomas (Lord of the Rings Online) |“Rise Up”
Hip Tanaka.β (Metroid) |“HVC-1384″
Inon Zur feat. The Lyris Quartet (Dragon Age) |“Remember“
Jason Graves (Dead Space) |“Necromancer”
Koji Kondo (Super Mario Bros.) |“Super Mario Medley On Two Pianos”
Laura Karpman (Everquest II) w/Lisbeth Scott |“Pine Wind Sound“
Laura Shigihara (Plants vs. Zombies) |“Jump“
Mitsuto Suzuki (The 3rd Birthday) | “Play for You”
Nobuko Toda (Metal Gear Solid 4) |“Reminiscence”
Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) |“Every New Morning“
Penka Kouneva (Prince of Persia) |“White Cloud”
Sean Murray (Call of Duty) | “The Temple Stone”
Tommy Tallarico (Advent Rising) |“Greater Lights“
Woody Jackson (Red Dead Redemption) |“Moshi Moshi”
100% of the proceeds generated by Play For Japan: The Album will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross. Please take a moment to watch the above message from album coordinator Akira Yamaoka (with special thanks to Area5), and be sure to peruse the artists page for more information on our gracious and talented contributors.
Check back with us soon for a specific release date…
In the blackness of space beyond Jupiter, a burst of gamma rays signals the appearance of a ragged hole in the very fabric of the universe. A vast armada of alien ships, their shields glowing as they deflect the incredible energies unleashed by their hyperspace transit, pour out of the hole and assemble behind the gas giant. With a final spasm of radiation, the tear in space-time seals itself, forever closing access to that mysterious other-where from whence the aliens came.
The fleet assembles into a protective formation around the largest ship--the mothership. Upon the bridge of the mothership, the alien commander examines the main screen where the small blue white pearl of Earth is shown.
"Aaahhh," the commander speaks, "Finally we are here. Our future lies ahead of us."
The commander of the alien armada waves a tentacle towards the display and orders, "Dispatch scout vessels immediately. We must learn more about the inhabitants of our new home."
...a few days later at a police station
Joan: I'm telling you, officer. My husband was kidnapped by aliens!
Police Officer: Ma'am, I'm telling ya. There's no such thing as aliens. Let's go over it one more time. Tell me again what you saw.
...a few weeks later on the television
Reporter: Not much is known except they have said they come in peace and will be sending a diplomatic envoy to speak to the United Nations. This is the biggest event in the history of mankind!
...during the 26th assembly of the United Nations
The alien diplomat speaks to the assembly in perfect English, "Humans of Earth,
we are an old and noble race from a far-away system of planets." The alien presses a button on a small device and a holographic image of another star system appears above the table. The aliens pauses while the humans whisper in amazement, then continues.
"We come in peace. We are scientists and explorers, and like you, we seek to know the unknown. There is much about you and your planet that we do not know. We demand that we be given land and resources so that we might learn."
At this, whispers of consternation circled the room. Many representatives looked towards the US representative for comment. He sighed and stood, "Demand is a strong word. Perhaps your grasp of our language is not strong enough and you meant to say you request some land?"
The alien slammed the holographic projector onto the table in obvious irritation.
"My grasp of your simple language is perfect. We do not request anything.
We demand this of you. We demand this land you designate as Australia."
As it spoke, a new image of the continent in question formed above the table.
Immediately the room was in an uproar. Two Australian representatives stood up and began shouting, "This is an outrage!"
One of the European Union delegates tried to calm everyone down,
"Keep quiet! We must think! You will bring an interplanetary war upon us!"
The alien commander interjected, "We have no wish to wage war on your planet.
We just wish to conduct our research. Do not argue with our demands and there
will be no war."
The US delegate spoke again, "You must understand. Australia is inhabited by
millions of people! We can't just give it to you!"
The EU delegate added, "Maybe we could arrange for some other, less populated land.
How about Antarctica? We could also arrange to send Earth scientists to help you
with your research."
The alien shook its head in perfect mimicry of human expression,
"No. Our research is private and will not be shared. It is beyond the capacity of your human brains to understand. And the land you designate as Australia is the land we require. Furthermore, we demand that all population within the designated area remain.
Our research will require large numbers of human subjects."
The meeting broke into cries of "Human subjects!?" "Are you insane!?" "Never!"
Through it all, the alien stood patiently. Eventually, the US representative stood and
said in a shaking voice, "We need a short break while we deliberate on your requests."
The alien nodded, "Very well..."
...a few months later
A ragged page torn from a journal swirls across a twisted and broken landscape.
Writing upon the page, barely legible, reads, "We've retreated to the final bunker 2km underground beneath the base. The air is stale and the odor of blood and fear is oppressive. All of our fortifications are in place--whatever good they will do. I can hear the scraping and clicking of the aliens as they near the entrance. Soon the fighting will start again. Our blood seeps through our bandages and our bodies are drowning in pain and fever, but our minds are still whole. We won't give up. We will fight until are all dead. I know that there are other survivors out there. Somewhere. And the story of our courage in the face of death will inspire them. They will continue the fight. They will discover why the aliens brought war to our planet. They will overcome the enemy."
Battlefield 3 art shows Gulf of Oman and Sharqi maps
The Gulf of Oman and Sharqi Peninsula maps get the artistic treatment over on the Battlefield 3 blog. The pictures follow on from previous images of Wake Island and Back to Karkand. All four of these maps make up the Back to Karkand map pack, which is free with Battlefield 3 pre-orders and will be released as paid for DLC when Battlefield 3 comes out.
The Back to Karkand pack also adds a collection of Battlefield 2 weapons, remade to work in the Frostbite 2 engine. The lead designer on Back to Karkand also developed the excellent Vietnam expansion for Battlefield: Bad Company, which is good news for players who loved the original incarnations of Back to Karkand, The Gulf of Oman, Sharqi and Wake Island. You’ll find the new artwork below. Click to see it full-size.
•Hunt down the Cartel and experience the lawlessness of the modern Wild West as you journey from Los Angeles to Juarez.
•3-Player Co-Op: Play the 15-mission campaign mode solo or with up to 2 friends.
•Triple the replay value: Play the entire campaign with each of the 3 characters.
•Game play variety including punitive raids, witness protection, tough interrogations, undercover missions, car chases and more.
•Choose between 30 weapons including pistols, revolvers, sub machine guns, machine guns, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, anti-air weapons and more.