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My favorite game soundtracks: current era
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And here we are: the current day. The video game market is expanding in terms of money and audience and the mainstream press is hailing Guitar Hero and Rock Band who for saving the ailing music industry and many popular artists are rushing to get their music into games. Many of the most popular and critically acclaimed games are using less and less of actual in-game compositions and relying on giant licensed soundtracks.
Thankfully, there are some games that use incredible orchestrations. And these are my favorites. Just like the past four eras, I'm only gonna cover the games I've played and this will be my favorites. I'm only looking at songs and music written for the game, not just a giant MP3 listing.
PS3:
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008) Composers: Harry Gregson-Williams, Nobuko Toda, Shuichi Kobori, Kazuma Jinnouchi, Yoshitaka Suzuki, Takahiro Izutani, and Norihiko Hibino-Completely bombastic throughout with little scants of soft, emotional music for some of the more speechier scenes, but the main draw of the music is found in the intense (and intensely long) cutscenes. And the music also has nice touches on past MGS solid tunes. Soundtrack availability: A two-disc album is available and also comes with the Limited Edition version of the game.
Fallout 3 (2008), Composer: Inon Zur: Settings don't get anymore menancing than a post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C. and the score facilitates that menancing atmosphere with with complex, orchestral patterns. Which was matched with some memorable tunes from the 1940s. Soundtrack availability: I'm not sure if an album was made but different songs from the game can be easily found through iTunes.
Xbox 360
Bioshock (2007)-Composer: Garry Schulman: An absolute materpiece in design, the use of classic tunes in the game were an a incredible touch in conjunction with the incredible orchestral score. Soundtrack availability: Many of the score was available on the 2K Games website in MP3 format for free and many of the licenesed songs were put in a playlist at Last.FM. Also a EP with three remixes by Moby is also available.
The Orange Box (2007)-Composers: Johnathan Coulton, Kelly Bailey: Even though there were five incredible games with awesome scores, especially Half-Life 2, the main draw was Portal and it's infectious end theme, 'Still Alive', which was become a staple of gaming culture. Soundtrack availability: A Orange Box soundtracks is available at many online retailers, inlcuding iTunes, Steam, and Amazon.
Call of Duty 4 (2007), Composers: Harry Gregson-Williams, Stephen Barton: One of the best cinematic experiences in video games, the gorgeous soundtrack helps put the game's intense experience in on a level that can shame most Hollywood attractions. Soundtrack availability: Many of the tunes are available at Infinity Ward's website and Barton's website as well.
Wii:
No More Heroes (2008), Composer: Masafumi Takada: A incredible combination of rock and techno music, this soundtrack is one of the best I ever heard. Not only does it do a good job of remixing the same theme, it adds some 8-bit stylings, especially in the game's surprising shooter minigame. The standout track has to be 'Speed with Teeth', which is heard on the 2nd ranked match stage. Instantly likable and impeccably unforgettable. Soundtrack availability: A huge 3-CD soundtrack is available for import, as well as a second album full of remixes, titled 'Dark Side'
Super Mario Galaxy (2007), Composers: Mahito Yokota, Koji Kondo: This was an epic Mario game, but that's standard for the Mario series. This was an epic soundtrack, something I felt that past Mario games barely touched on. From the moment you control Mario at the start of the Star Festival, the strings gave a small feeling of grandeur and when the game begins proper and you're going after the first Grand Star, the music just explodes in epicness and gives Mario's princess saving a big touch of importance. Sweeping orchestra numbers, past remixes of classic Mario tunes, relaxing island tunes-all without losing the uniqueness and genre mixing that the Mario series is known for, this is probably the best Mario soundtrack ever. Soundtrack availability: Two versions of the soundtrack were made available to Club Nintendo members is Japan only and is very hard to import but best of luck to finding it.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007), Composers: Kenji Yamamoto, Minako Hamano, Masaru Tajima-Another stellar atmospheric soundtrack for the series, it has some haunting choral tracks and some awesome boss battle music. Too bad the the music you can unlock is so paltry. Soundtrack availability: Sadly, an album was never, leaving the job of finding MP3s to the internet.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008), Composers: Yuzo Koshiro, Koji Kondo, Yasunori Mitsuda, Yoko Shinomura, Kenji Yamamoto, Hirokazu Tanaka, Nobuo Uematsu, Motoi Sakuraba, Shogo Sakai,, and other Various Artists-Look at the list of artists and that's just a partial list-this soundtrack was huge, full of new touches on classic Nintendo themes and special mixes of specific levels and games, Many of them are quite beautiful, especially the Bramble Blast song and the new Fire Field arrangement, one of my personal favorites. Soundtrack availability: An album may exist somehwere, but the sheer enormity of the songs make it impossible for it to exist. Buying the game is worth having just for the soundtrack.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (2007), Composer: Yuka Tsujiyoko-Absolutely breathtaking in scope, the majestic orchestra gives the game an epic weight to it's stories, giving the game an emotional scope that the matches the intensity (and maddening difficulty) of the battles. Soundtrack availability: Some of the songs appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and an album was recently released in Japan and is relatively inexpensive to import.
Thank you for reading and listening through all 5 parts. Which era do you think had the best music?
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