Year: 1997
Type: Gamerip
Composer(s): David Rippy; Stephen Rippy
Number of tracks: 13

★★★★★

A glorified past

Here you can find the music review for
The Rise of Rome (1998).

I've been putting off writing this review for a few weeks now. I don't know why, but I didn't feel like I could have written anything informative or adequate. Anyone who has read a few of my texts will have recognized that they follow a certain pattern in their structure: Game, Soundtrack, Conclusion. In one of my first reviews, the one for Anno 1602, I couldn't follow this pattern because everything is so closely interlinked in my experience. The game itself forms the soundtrack, the soundtrack forms the game and the nostalgia holds everything together.

Anno 1602 was one of the first games I ever played and therefore has a very special place in my heart. Similarly, Age of Empires, ended up being the first game to cause a clash between me and my parents - something that was to be repeated for much of my childhood. AoE was 'too brutal' for little Mattis back then; an assessment that was entirely appropriate based on the information about games at the time. But, of course, little Mattis thought differently and therefore every minute he was allowed to spend with this game was a pure bliss.

Age of Empires (1997)

Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome (1998)

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (1999)

Age of Empires II: The Conquerors (2000)

As a result, I probably saw the installation screen of Age of Empires more often than any other game. Even that was a lot of fun, as the various units moved across the screen in a silent parade. I was never particularly good at the game, as I always wanted to reach every age, research every technology and build every unit. Where childish skill failed, the good old cheats came to the rescue, adding tons of gold and food to my account while futuristic soldiers and bazooka babies whizzed across the map. And thanks to the great graphics at the time and the animated intro, I became interested in antiquity - something that has stayed with me to this day.

While these experiences were etched into my brain, there was the soundtrack blasting in the background. It's the music that still makes me want to start the installation setup again, watch the intro and then start the game full of enthusiasm, only to realize that it is simply too dated. In fact, I briefly considered buying the remaster, but the test videos were enough for me to realize that I wasn't longing for Age of Empires but for the feeling of that time.

Fortunately, the memories come flooding back every time I hear the soundtrack by the two brothers David and Stephen Rippy - or rather the gamerip, since this is 1997. When "The Hunt" plays in the main menu, I remember exactly what it looked like: an elephant with a red basket rearing up, hit by several arrows and spears, while in the background fires envelop a marble acropolis and light up the gray-black sky in bright red. Simply because I stayed in the menu so often back then to listen to the synth drums. Even today, the sounds of the soundtrack still give me goosebumps making it something that is beyond my descriptive abilities. When I hear "The Capture", the image of a fleet of galleys rowing to the steady beat of the drums for a landing assault automatically comes to mind - something that someone who has not experienced the game simply cannot comprehend.

Looking at the initial comparison again, you'll notice that almost all Anno 1602 titles get 5 stars, while Age of Empires lands at an average 4. The business simulation is simply better at captivating with individual tracks, whereas here there is simply a lot of background music. Nevertheless, I wouldn't want to decide which score I would never be allowed to listen to again. And that's why this review is entirely pointless, because I'm not trying to explain or evaluate a score, but a part of my past. But perhaps someone who has experienced the game too can relate to my assessment. Perhaps one of the people reading this will feel motivated to listen to the score. In any case, these songs shall remain at the top of my hit list for a very, very long time, yet I understand anyone feeling just as clever as before this article.

Nostalgia warning

The rating of the individual tracks is purely subjective and clearly colored by my own experience with the game. You can find out more in the article About Nostalgia.

Nr.	Title	Interpret(en)	Ratings
01	Age of Empires	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	5
02	Sick Sate Rittim	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	5
03	Fretless Salsa	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	5
04	Polyrhythmic Pong	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	4
05	String Attack!	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	5
06	Medieval Melody	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	5
07	The Old One Sleeps	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	4
08	Slow and Spacious	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	4
09	The Capture (Wally)	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	5
10	The Journey (Rain)[Alternate]	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	4

Year: 1998
Type: Gamerip
Composer(s): David Rippy; Stephen Rippy
Number of tracks: 12

★★★★★

The Rise of Rome

The Rise of Rome ist ein Addon zu Age of Empires The Rise of Rome is an add-on to Age of Empires and, to be honest, I have no idea if I've ever played it. But since a lot of songs I know appear in this gamerip that were missing from the main game, I probably have. Again, there's basically nothing I can tell you that will make you feel what these tracks trigger in me.

And while the gamerip of the main game contains a lot of 'boring' ambient songs, The Rise of Rome has all the great classics in it: "Sick Sate Rittim" with its rattles and the rhythmic thumping of the drum sounds wonderfully archaic, "Fretless Salsa" with the organs party-like. "String Attack!" is exactly what it promises, an attack of violins that suitably underline the dramatic carnage. And "Medieval Melody" is a (medieval) melody that is simply fun to listen to. An (un)clear recommendation for anyone who has made it through the article to the main game.

Nr.	Title	Interpret(en)	Ratings
01	Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	4
02	Tango Alpha Bravo	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	4
03	Polyester Jammy	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	3
04	Hyman's Wrath	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	3
05	Slow and Spacious [Mix 2]	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	4
06	Mean [Ain't No Hip-Hop in Tha House Mix]	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	3
07	Medieval Melody [Mix 2]	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	4
08	Sh'Washa	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	3
09	Crawly	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	3
10	Fretless Salsa [Mix 2]	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	4
11	Bigelow's Bungalow	David Rippy; Stephen Rippy	3