Game beats: GoldenEye 007 puts music on pause, HBO renews The Last of Us, and ’90s classic Terminal Velocity gets a remaster
In short: Rare’s iconic first-person shooter is finally here on Nintendo Switch and Xbox Game Pass. The film’s adaptation of the game was not expected to have a big impact when it first appeared on the Nintendo 64 in the summer of 1997, but few knew that Rare had a gem in its hands.
Critics praised the game’s visuals, gameplay, and multiplayer, and the soundtrack wasn’t too bad either. In fact, the game pause screen music has taken on a life of its own.
Composer Grant Kirkhope recently recalled on Twitter that the music on the pause screen took about 20 minutes to write and that he really had no idea what he was doing.
Your mission is to sit back and listen to music with Q Watch in #nintendo64GoldenEye 007 Coming January 27th #NintendoSwitch per #NintendoSwitchOnline + Members of the expansion pack. 🎶 pic.twitter.com/8nSobxuR6b
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 25, 2023
Kirkhope was responsible for about half music in GoldenEye 007, while fellow composer Graham Norgate handles the other half. Only one other person helped with the music – British composer Robin Beanland, who is credited with the music track for the elevator.
Elsewhere HBO has updated The Last of Us for the second season. The game’s adaptation of the series premiered on January 15, 2023, following the standard once-a-week release schedule. At the time of writing, only two of the nine episodes have debuted.
HBO said the first episode had already surpassed 22 million viewers domestically, adding that the second episode was watched by 5.7 million viewers on Sunday night. That’s over a million new viewers compared to the previous week’s series premiere, and the biggest second-week viewership growth of any HBO original drama series in the company’s history.
The last episode of the first season is scheduled to air in mid-March. For those who haven’t seen it yet, the first episode is already available for viewing. broadcast free from the HBO website.
In other gaming news, Ziggurat Interactive has announced an updated version of the 90s fighting game Terminal Velocity.
The new game, dubbed Terminal Velocity: Boosted Edition, will feature quality-of-life improvements such as improved graphics, smoother gameplay, higher frame rates, and improved audio. The team also bakes achievements and trophies.
Ultimate Speed Enhanced Edition will be available for PC via Steam starting March 14 (and on consoles later). The original Terminal Velocity game is also available on Steam. $6.99.
