Gaming The System: Video games with awesome soundtracks forgotten to history, Part 1
Video game music has come a
long way since the simplistic
bleeps and bloops of the Atari.
Some of the best modern music
can be found in video games. With
Civilization IV winning a Grammy
for its soundtrack, video game
music is clearly being given the
mainstream attention it deserves.
For your consideration, here are
some games with highly underrated
soundtracks.
Galactic Pinball (Virtual Boy)
“Seriously, a Virtual Boy game?” you ask, or, alternatively, “What the hell is a Virtual Boy?” Yes, listing a game from Nintendo's DOA console seems pretty odd, but trust me when I say that Galactic Pinball's soundtrack complements its space setting and makes for a lighthearted and pleasant listen (until you have to draw your head away from the Virtual Boy due to the inevitable eyestrain that sets in).
Cyber Speedway (Sega Saturn)
Cyber Speedway is a decently fun racing game set in a far future where intergalactic high-stakes flying- sled combat racing between various creatures of the cosmos are the norm. With the sci-fi nature of the game, one would expect the soundtrack to either be some kind of spacey-sounding synth or maybe an orchestral score, but are instead treated to a mix of rockabilly and '90s grunge rock by the (woefully forgotten) Bygone Dogs.
And you know what? It works. It just does. You won't find a sci-fi game with music so grounded in reality, much less it serving its purpose as well as this game's. If you own the game disc, you can also put it in a CD player and work it like a regular audio CD, or even rip it onto your computer. Or maybe just listen to YouTube. It's worth your time.
The Hitman Series (PC, PS2, XBOX, PS3, Xbox 360)
Sigh... yet another series that got the “we want every drooling idiot to buy our game so let's dumb it down” axe to the skull. Current circumstances thankfully cannot change past victories, because the four Hitman games before Hitman: Absolution featured some great music by composer Jesper Kyd. A mix of orchestral sweetness and sweat-inducing electronic beats, much like Splinter Cell, the music set the mood with its awareness of the player's actions.
Panzer Dragoon (Sega Saturn, PC)
The first thing that will draw your attention to this game's music is the amazing orchestral movie-like quality of it. It really is something else for a game from 1996. With the linear, on-rails nature of the game, the music appropriates itself for the mood with little effort.
Like Cyber Speedway, you can pop the disc in a CD player for some musical bliss.
R-Type (Sega Master System)
This game features some of the best chiptune music you'll ever hear. Despite it being a series of programmed beeps, there is something quite epic about how the music plays you, a lone starship fighting an alien menace, out. The intense difficulty of the game might make you chuck your gamepad to the floor, but the music will bring you back.
Tune in next week, when I present four more video games with soundtracks that were overlooked.
Galactic Pinball (Virtual Boy)
“Seriously, a Virtual Boy game?” you ask, or, alternatively, “What the hell is a Virtual Boy?” Yes, listing a game from Nintendo's DOA console seems pretty odd, but trust me when I say that Galactic Pinball's soundtrack complements its space setting and makes for a lighthearted and pleasant listen (until you have to draw your head away from the Virtual Boy due to the inevitable eyestrain that sets in).
Cyber Speedway (Sega Saturn)
Cyber Speedway is a decently fun racing game set in a far future where intergalactic high-stakes flying- sled combat racing between various creatures of the cosmos are the norm. With the sci-fi nature of the game, one would expect the soundtrack to either be some kind of spacey-sounding synth or maybe an orchestral score, but are instead treated to a mix of rockabilly and '90s grunge rock by the (woefully forgotten) Bygone Dogs.
And you know what? It works. It just does. You won't find a sci-fi game with music so grounded in reality, much less it serving its purpose as well as this game's. If you own the game disc, you can also put it in a CD player and work it like a regular audio CD, or even rip it onto your computer. Or maybe just listen to YouTube. It's worth your time.
The Hitman Series (PC, PS2, XBOX, PS3, Xbox 360)
Sigh... yet another series that got the “we want every drooling idiot to buy our game so let's dumb it down” axe to the skull. Current circumstances thankfully cannot change past victories, because the four Hitman games before Hitman: Absolution featured some great music by composer Jesper Kyd. A mix of orchestral sweetness and sweat-inducing electronic beats, much like Splinter Cell, the music set the mood with its awareness of the player's actions.
Panzer Dragoon (Sega Saturn, PC)
The first thing that will draw your attention to this game's music is the amazing orchestral movie-like quality of it. It really is something else for a game from 1996. With the linear, on-rails nature of the game, the music appropriates itself for the mood with little effort.
Like Cyber Speedway, you can pop the disc in a CD player for some musical bliss.
R-Type (Sega Master System)
This game features some of the best chiptune music you'll ever hear. Despite it being a series of programmed beeps, there is something quite epic about how the music plays you, a lone starship fighting an alien menace, out. The intense difficulty of the game might make you chuck your gamepad to the floor, but the music will bring you back.
Tune in next week, when I present four more video games with soundtracks that were overlooked.
