Continuing with the tradition of our Thursday Top 10’s, we decided to look at something very obvious, but yet very distinct. So far we’ve looked at the Memorable Character Deaths, the Best Weapons Featured in a FPS and the Top Ten Nine (don’t ask) Original Game Songs. This week, we’re doing a run on some of the most memorable video game themes.

Why? Because apart from the fact how great games really are (no, really!), gamers themselves often tend to rate a game based first on graphics, game play and artistic appeal (though not necessarily in that order) – which is pretty much what decides whether its good enough to play. But EVERY game has to make use of sound and it’s plain to see that, what with games like Half-Life 2 and System Shock 2. Music forms a crucial component of the game-play experience; get the right music at the right time, and you feel the adrenalin pumping. But while most newer games now use ambient noise and music, a lot of cue based intros and then outros – the games we’ve all grown up on and loved have always had that catchy tune, hook, phrase or riff that made everything that much more captivating!

Hit the jump to read more.
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No. It’s not any state or college elections I’m talking about here.

I’m talking about The Darkness by the publishing wizards 2K and the development warlocks at Starbreeze. The Darkness is a game that will make you beg for more. It will eviscerate all you had come to expect from shooters. It will rip to shreds the horrible; “comic-book-hero-meets-video-game-and-dies” legacy that a certain developer has been fucking up EVERY time with my favourite arachnid hero. It will make you believe in a real world. It will make you believe in an alternate world. It will make it worth the investment.

Fancy, no?

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OK, OK, enough with the emails already telling me the Aliens FPS and RPG have been confirmed. So I forgot, it’s been 8 months and a third of my life span is over - don’t skin me alive already! We’d already announced the coming of the new Alien vs. Predator 3PS for the PSP, in development by Rebellion, a couple of days ago. As such I was bitching about the third person mode and playing the Colonial Marine and Alien missions in broad daylight, which is just wrong! (”Wrong!” as in Lexie’s scream in Superman Returns) Not to mention that the game is a spin-off of the upcoming Alien vs. Predator sequel that’s set to invade theaters (Stop! No! Think of the fans!) on December 25, 2007.

But then, in an official press statement released yesterday, Sierra Entertainment confirms that the situation is worse than I thought it was. Well, at least I don’t have to worry about the Marine or the Alien missions not being scary on the PSP, because they’re fucking not there! Although the game is called AvP, this is just a Predator game that’s got its naming all wrong. In the upcoming game, players will take on the role of an elite lone Predator that stalks and kills humans and xenomorphs alike with all the usual weapons and the multiple vision modes, and some new ones such as wrist blades, laser trip mines and dual shoulder cannons. (Remind me, these are new again, how?)

This PSP rendition of Concrete Jungle, with a screwed up name, will also feature co-op multiplayer (we’re guessing Ad-hoc WiFi) where you and your friends can team up as allies of the Yautja and take on hordes of invading xenomorphs. The game is also touted to ramp up the challenge by implementing an honor point system which will evalutate the player’s success on how closely they adhere to the Predator’s value system. So, the harder you try to “honor the code”, the easier it is to get weapon and armor upgrades. Hit the jump to take a look at the first batch of screenshots. And oh, for those of you who are feeling angry and violated by this announcement, don’t worry, the Aliens FPS and RPG are still on track, being developed by Gearbox and Obisidian for release later.

Sorry, AvP fans, all you can do is mope around quoting Bender: “Ahhh, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones, it bones for thee!” As for me, I am going to go punch the stuffing out of a Ted E. Bear. Why? Because it’s small, vulnerable and defenseless.

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