How a song from the 2005 Civilization IV won a 2011 Grammy

Civilization IV is now the first game to have won a Grammy... sort of. The game's theme music, "Baba Yetu," won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) at Sunday's awards show, despite the game being released in 2005.

Here's how that happened. We also have the song's official video and performance at Video Games Live.

"Baba Yetu"

The song may have been used in the game during 2005, but it was released on Christopher Tin's 2009 albumCalling All Dawns, allowing it to be included in this year's Grammy Awards. While the game wasn't mentioned during the show, the song has already had a long life in gaming before Tin's album was released in stores.

The song has also enjoyed a place in the Video Games Live show. "The fact that this song has had a life outside of the game is owed almost entirely to Video Games Live. They were the first to bring this music to concert stages around the world and to places I had never dreamed possible," composer Christopher Tin stated.

"Baba Yetu" on Video Games Live

The words "Baba Yetu," mean "our father," and the song's lyrics are a Swahili translation of the Lord's Prayer. Congratulations to Christopher Tin, as a beautiful song's long journey is rewarded.

[via Ars Technica]

Gametap hits 1000 games

Yes, Gametap has added its 1000th game. Sid Meier's Civilization IV. The same game I just spent $40 on. Son of a ..... OK. I digress. If you haven't signed up for Gametap yet, now is a good time. In addition to Civ IV, they've added a lot of new games recently including the Hitman series, Clive Barker's Jericho (newly released game), Just Cause, Overlord and there are quite a few great games of old. You can play the Ultima Series, Baldur's Gate, Planescape Torment and many other great old school RPG's. They also have a couple of highly rated games that nobody played like Beyond Good & Evil, and Psychonauts. Give it a try.

And I am not ashamed to gratuitously try and sign people up, because if you click here and sign up, there's a chance I can get a free PSP!!!

C'mon....help a brotha out...

/beg off

Civilization- a Retrospective

The game of Civilization has grown and has been Game of the year more times than not. The second version is still my all time favorite game.
What vexes me is that while growing up; Nelson and I would play every last type of turn based strategy game made; Chess, Balance of Power, Risk, Etc, Etc. Nelson not only had a high winning percentage of these types of games; but he had a passion for them as well. This is why I cannot figure out why he NEVER got into the Civ Series. It is the ULTIMATE turn based strategy game. It's never the same twice, and it's got a hypnotic power, whether you're playing alone against however many opponents you want, or multi player. The article I'm jumping to has a very interesting paragraph leading into the whole series of the game. it goes as follows:

Few games are as additively fun and as infinitely re-playable as Civilization, a turn-based historical strategy game where a player single-handedly guides the development of a civilization over the course of Millenia, from the stone age to the space age. The game feels uncannily accurate, as if it actually represents the way the world could have unfolded if the course of history were nudged over just a bit.
This article is long, but the series has been out growing steadily for about 15 years. Read, and come back to the article if you can't finish up all at once; just like the game; save when real life interrupts. Here's the jump.