The Zelda Reorchestrated project (a.k.a. ZREO) first got started six years ago when a 14-year-old had the brilliant idea to redo all the music in the game with an orchestra. Now, 82 tracks later, the idea is real and you can listen to it yourself.

As of a month ago, we were only short a handful of songs to complete the album, however, many of the songs from Ocarina of Time were not nearly up to par with others, so we decided to go through the album, song by song, and figure out which songs needed to be remade. It started out as five, then ten, twelve. The list grew and grew till we reached a whopping 22 tracks. Today, we release those additional 22 remakes.

Frushtick rightly points out that this work is in no way protected from a take-down notice from Nintendo (though I'm sure the more clever legal minds out there could make a case for fair use). So get it while it's hot in download form or pop over to Zelda Reorchestrated just to sample their work. Really, it's pretty neat.

Zelda Reorchestrated [Zreomusic.com via MTV Multiplayer]

Sure as snot seems that way! Ice-T (gamertag "Lord 187X") posted an image of the after action report for a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multi-player round. The report details the player's score and Accolades — awards for completing a session with a specific set of requirements.

Ice-T's top three Accolades for the session:

The Show
10 kills/No deaths

Supernatural
Kill/Death ration over 10

Immortal
Highest kill/death ratio

None of which are easy Accolades in the slightest. Yep, you gonna die!

Ice T Demonstrates His 'Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' Gaming Skills In Today's Daily TwitPic [MTV Movies Blog]

Called the "New York City" pack, it will include three songs from a recent live performance in NYC: Jet, Band on the Run and Sing the Changes. Or, as per usual, you could just download them individually.

They'll hit Xbox Live on January 5, and the PSN on January 7.

The God of War: Blood & Metal digital EP will feature exclusive, sometimes God of War inspired tracks from Killswitch Engage, Dream Theater, Trivium, Opeth and Taking Dawn. If you follow any or all of those bands, you're likely aware that they're Roadrunner Records acts, Sony's partner in giving God of War fans something heavier to rock to.

"This is the first time in 24 years that we've written and recorded a song for anything other than one of our own albums, so we're up for the challenge and excited to have been asked," said prog metal act Dream Theater's drummer Mike Portnoy.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm more than interested to hear just how God of War inspired any of these previously unreleased songs are.

Roadrunner Announces God of War EP [Roadrunner Records]

Going on sale next March, the box set will retail for ¥21,000. Which in US dollars is $232. That's a lot, but then, remember, it's on 19 discs. Break that up and it's a steal, at $12.20 a disc!

Sadly, there's no pics of the sure-to-be-amazing box the collection will come on, but we do know that some of the soundtracks featured include the MSX2 version of the original Castlevania, Castlevania Legends, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia and the Saturn version of Symphony of the Night.

There are 18 discs worth of soundtrack, the 19th disc being a DVD containing interviews and some behind-the-scenes footage of the music being recorded.

悪魔城ドラキュラ Best Music Collection BOX [Amazon, via Original Sound Version]

Indeed, the only clues as to tracks we can expect when the game ships sometime in 2010 come from this single screenshot, above, which is...eclectic, quality like Dre and Snoop's "G Thang" and Pete Rock & C. L. Smooth's "They Reminisce" joined by stuff like...Gold Digger and Live Your Life, which I now can only think of as "that song from The Hangover".

Ah well. These games can't help but try and cover all the bases. It's how money is made.

And hey, it could be worse. Much worse.

The band—which is largely a solo act—will change its name to Owen Pallett next year. That's in reference to violinist Owen Pallett, the musician at the core of the artist formerly known as Final Fantasy. I know what you might be thinking, that Square Enix's trademark protective team of laywers has gone after Pallett, putting him in a legal headlock, forcing the man to change his band's name. Not so, says Pallett.

While he points out that "the laws of trademark infringement exist for good reason," he says he is "voluntarily retiring" his band name.

"I feel it is in my own best interests to definitively distinguish my music from Square/Enix's games," Pallett said in a statement. His previous band name, he says "the experience— and the tone of the material— was reminiscent of the hours and hours" spent playing Japanese RPGs.

Final Fantasy Changes Name [Pitchfork - thanks, Spoo!]

And that's in its digital shopfront. While Rock Band and Guitar Hero are stuck with antiquated stores, accessible only via crude in-game portals or a console's online store, Sony have today launched the "SingStar Viewer", a PS3 application that lets users browse online videos and purchase songs directly from the XMB, without having to access either the game or the PlayStation Store.

For SingStar users, it's mighty useful, both as a shopfront and as a community hub. For everyone else, it's useful too, if only so you can complain to Harmonix and Activision that their respective band games could do with something similar.

Rubber Soul isn't just one of The Beatles' best albums. It's perhaps one of the greatest albums of all time, constantly making such lists in periodicals such as Rolling Stone which are in the know when it comes to this sort of thing. Only three tracks from the album made it onto the disc for The Beatles: Rock Band, and quite frankly "Drive My Car," "I'm Looking Through You" and "If I Needed Someone" just weren't enough. The album has so many amazing songs, like "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," "Nowhere Man," "Girl," and "In My Life," all of which will be available next week as part of the Rubber Soul Complete the Album Pack. The eleven songs will set you back $13.49 on the PlayStation Network or 1440 Microsoft points, with individual songs available on both consoles as well as the Wii.

This is the Beatles album that holds the most memories for me, particularly with the song "Michelle," which my family would sing to me when I was a little girlish-looking baby. I'd post a picture, but the Kotaku comments section can't handle that much "Awwwwww."

Rubber Soul Complete The Album Pack Track Listing:

· "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"
· "You Won't See Me"
· "Nowhere Man"
· "Think For Yourself"
· "The Word"
· "Michelle"
· "What Goes On"
· "Girl"
· "In My Life"
· "Wait"
· "Run For Your Life"

No Doubt's beef comes from the fact they claim they only signed on to appear in the game singing No Doubt songs. Activisions, meanwhile, are suing the band over allegations including "failing to do its due diligence on the videogame before signing away its digital likeness, breaching a contract to provide marketing and promotion to the game, and being unjustly enriched by their inclusion in the game."

You have to wonder whether the money Activision stand to win from this - if they win - is worth all the bad press.

Activision countersues No Doubt in 'Band Hero' flap [The Hollywood Reporter]

8 Bit Weapon is one of my favorite chiptune bands, using their arsenal of old computers, consoles, handhelds, and various electronic toys to craft some very impressive tunes. Their holiday release, It's a Chiptune Holiday, is an exquisite example of what traditional music can become in the hands of capable 8-bit artists.

The album features 8 tracks perfect for replacing your family's traditional holiday music, at least until they figure out what you've done. You'll probably get away with "Ave Maria," "O Christmas Tree," and possibly "Joy to the World," but the beats in "Deck the Halls" and "Jingle Bells" will be a dead giveaway, and that's only if they manage to miss the electronic voices.

And yes, they've got Hanukka in there as well.

It's a Chiptune Holiday is currently on sale at both 8 Bit Weapon and ComputerHer's websites for $9.95, with each CD shipped in case handcrafted from a 5.25" floppy diskette.

It's the perfect way to remind your family that you're the odd, video-game loving member of your household.

When Sonic character designer Naoto Ohshima was asked by game site Gamasutra the obvious question as to why Sonic's sneakers are white and red, it got a less than obvious answer: "His shoes were inspired by the cover to Michael Jackson's Bad, which contrasted heavily between white and red — that Santa Claus-type color. I also thought that red went well for a character who can run really fast, when his legs are spinning."

Also know that Sonic is blue because SEGA's official color is blue, not because he is sad that Sonic games aren't good any more.

Out of the Blue: Naoto Ohshima Speaks [Gamasutra]

You can pick up that T-shirt (if you dig barfing robots) and some free mp3s at their Myspace page. I caught one of their tunes off this page, too.

They've been around for more than a year (their first album, on Eyeball Records, released last July.) I don't want to turn this into a discussion of trademark law because I'm trying to wind down my amateur freelance litigation career. Maybe Nintendo's mark doesn't cover indie/electro/pop music. So, carry on Metroid the band. But if anyone names their group "Grandma Incest" we're gonna have a lawsuit.

Metroid on MySpace Music [via GoNintendo]

Right before Apple launched games for the Apple iPhone on the App Store, Square Enix released the original Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes, a strategy RPG for the original click-wheel iPod. The game used your own music to generate troops in battle, with power, class, and rarity determined by the song used in creation. You could even power up your characters when not playing, just by listening to the music that summoned them.

It was a brilliant concept, but why wasn't it on the iPhone instead? Well now it is, and I can stop asking that question.

Song Summoner follows the story of Ziggy, a young conductor with the power to give music physical form. His brother has been kidnapped, and he must rally the troops to fight by your side.

The iPhone version of Song Summoner features more than 50 unlockable troops to aid you through a story twice the size of the original game, for more than 30 hours of gameplay. 30 hours of gameplay is a hell of a deal for the $9.99 asking price, and there's also a free lite version available if you want to try before you buy.

I've spent the past hour going through the music on my iPhone, trying to create the perfect army. Apparently Weird Al isn't good battle music. Go figure.

[thanks denki!]

Check out Julie and Hally's collaboration.

And remember, when you go into an arcade, be sure to wear a helmet and gloves. Very important.

DreamHack - News: [Official Site via Kotaku Japan]

Video: 8-bit ‘Thriller' [Pink Tentacle]

In an interview with EPSN, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, who recently lent his voice to the game Brutal Legend, talked about the group's Nintendo gaming.

"In Judas Priest, we actually play the games in the dressing room," said the singer. Generally before a show. Just to get in the mood for the excitement and the energy for what we're gonna do.

"However, at our stately metal god time of life, we tend to do the Nintendo bowling. And the golfing. If there's any energy left after the show, we get into the boxing mode."

Halford recently trademarked the name of a video game "Metal God" this past January. The trademark covers "computer games; video games; and game controllers for computer games."

ROB HALFORD Interviewed At Launch Party For 'New Super Mario Bros.' [Blabbermouth Thanks, James!]

Not only does next week's Rock Band Music Store update bring six live tracks from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, it also gives us insight into what Harmonix feels is family friendly. For instance, "Refugee," "A Thing About You," and "Here Comes My Girl" are all available for LEGO Rock Band as well as the normal version, while "American Girl," "Even the Losers," and "Mary Jane's Last Dance" are not. All of the tracks are from The Live Anthology, in stores November 24th.

Kelly Clarkson makes her Rock Band / LEGO Rock Band debut with "Miss Independent,", rounding out a non-Petty, family-friendly trio that includes the Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed" and Pink's "Who Knew."

Things can only get worse.

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Nov. 24) and PlayStation 3 system (Nov. 26):

· Go-Go's – "Our Lips Are Sealed" +
· Kelly Clarkson – "Miss Independent" +
· P!nk – "Who Knew" +
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – "A Thing About You (live)" +
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – "American Girl (live)"
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – "Even the Losers (live)"
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – "Here Comes My Girl (live)" +
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – "Mary Jane's Last Dance (live)"
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – "Refugee (live)" +

Can't figure out if it's her head size, hand size or what.

Comparison of in-game Yaguchi with real Yaguchi.

Full body image.

セガ、PS3「龍が如く4 伝説を継ぐもの」。矢口真里さんが3Dキャラとなりマッサージ店のセラピストに！ [GAME Watch]