05.06.2010 Video Games Live

I was at Video Games Live last year. As I recall, it was a pretty good show top to bottom. As such, I was expecting an equally good show this time around. This time around, the event was at the newly renovated Queen Elizabeth Theatre. If you have ever been to the the old QE Theatre you would have been pleasantly pleased by the changes. The old venue had very majestic and ornate feel to it. The newly renovated venue was noticeably cleaner in both aesthetics and tidiness. It was certainly a much more modern looking venue.

Much like last year, the pre-show festivities, included a costume/cosplay contest. Probably due to the fact last year's was around halloween, the number of entries were decrease from last years. The majority of the costumes were Final Fantasy related, but the eventual winner was a very amusing, yet mildly inappropriate, Earthworm Jim costume.

My post from last year was pretty thorough, so I'll make this a little more abridged. For the most part the main elements and structure of the shows was pretty similar to last year's. It started with the the typical Classic Arcade Medley, included an interactive audience game section (Frogger this time around) and a live Guitar Hero section. The solo piano portion was back, this time with the original "Video Game Pianist", Martin Leung. Actually, I think the 'staples' were actually in the same part of the setlist as they were last year.

Also returning was Victor Lucas and the guys at "Reviews on the Run". This time they ripped on "Record of Agarest War". This was probably one section of the show that I really don't mind seeing again. Some of the jokes and segues that were used in the show were repeats from the years before. The dialogue at times were repetitive and on the campy side, but overall things were smooth and well run. The setlist had a few repeats, "Halo", "Warcraft", "Kingdom Hearts"; but it did have enough new material to make it fresh. New entries "Shadow of the Colossus" and "Assassin's Creed" were particularly well done. The "Mega Man" rendition was okay. I still prefer the other renditions of it.

Once again, the encores were where the the show really took off. One grip was that the violin solo during "Chrono Cross" was barely audible through the amped guitar sections. The show ended as expected with Final Fantasy 7's One Winged Angel. I don't think the show was a as special as it was last year (a lot more one off / premiere songs), but the setlist was a little better.

Setlist
Intro/Symphony warm up
Classic Arcade Medley
Sonic The Hedgehog
Shadow of the Colossus
Interactive Frogger Competition
Skype Interview with Ralph Baer
Mass Effect
Assassin's Creed 2
Final Fantasy Piano Medley
Final Fantasy 8
Legend of Zelda
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Electric Playground / Reviews on the Run Segment
Kingdom Hearts
Bioshock
World of Warcraft
Super Mario Brothers
Super Mario Brothers Piano
Super Mario World - Athletic Level Piano
Tetris Piano
Guitar Hero Challenge: Van Halen - Jump
Mega Man Medley
Halo
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Castlevania Rock
Chrono Trigger / Chrono Cross
Final Fantasy 7: One Winged Angel