Post by wafflerevolution on Sept 7, 2013 21:59:11 GMT
Gaming Soundtracks
By Apathetic_Prick
20 years ago, the music on the NES and SMS was considered revolutionary. 15 years ago, the music on the SNES and Genesis/SMD, same thing, and on and on, but ultimately, sometimes the music either didn't fit, or - and this is a glaring mistake in the case of a lot of action titles - didn't get the blood up.
Now, I'm an extreme case. I went out of my way to rip 60 songs for listening to while I play Doom (these were my own, thank you very much), and I custom tailored my XBox custom soundtracks for racing games, Death Row, and Black on my XBox (oh yes, I'm a very bad boy when it comes to audio "harmony").
However, those soundtracks (despite the fact that Black's really needs to be tweaked) have really enhanced the feel and atmosphere of the games that can use them. Grand Theft Auto 3 right through to San Andreas is missing Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law" (which Scarface duly rectified).
And Black's mediocre soundtrack is only okay - if you want to be bored off your tuchas. However, add some Testament, Ministry and Iron Maiden and you've got over-the-top music to go with over-the-top shooting (although the gameplay was a tad limp DUE TO BLACK ONLY BEING A FOUR HOUR GAME!!!).
Most racing games also have very mediocre soundtracks. Last racing game I played with a good - and irreplacable - soundtrack was F-Zero X. Sega GT - sucked. Gran Turismo...too varied - only half the songs are good to race to. Forza...christ no. Add some ZZ Top, KMFDM and Crystal Method and you're good to go - with any racing title, from Need for Speed to the sim racers to Burnout (although you'll probably want something heavier for burnout...just a thought).
Unfortunately, I haven't seen a lot of this in regards to computer games - unless you count sourceports for Doom like Legacy, ZDoom and EDGE. However, some games, like Morrowind, have a directory of MP3's, so in theory, you could just switch those out for your favourite fantasy RPG'in' tunes.
However, I personally find most soundtracks in general are lacking, especially action games. Red Faction 2, one of my favourite XBox shooters, doesn't have enough oomf. Neither did Red Faction 1's
Quake 2's was also fairly subdued, and I Quake 1's was uglier than the game itself. Half-Life 1 and 2 made very poor use of dynamic music, I found; neither had much of an atmospheric soundtrack, and this was another area in which Unreal beat that whole generation of shooters.
, which in my opinion, while a good game, also had an inappropriately downbeat soundtrack. Orchestral is a good choice, but the lack of dynamic music didn't do much for it, either, and Grand Theft Auto's developers wanted their games to sound like pop-culture radio stations.
Which, of course, brings us to licensed music. The only game I've played that used licensed music that I can't say I totally hate is Scarface. By far the best use of licensed music I've seen, as it fit the game completely, regardless of chronology (Bif Naked is a blatant anachronism in Tony Montana's world, as is Ministry - although Burning Inside was a damned good opener). And rap music does not belong in a racer. And Team Ninja's Aerosmith fetish is unforgiveable. Although, admittedly, Nine Lives was a friggin' good opener for DOA3, let alone any fighting game.
Anyway, that isn't to say that some games don't have brilliant or timeless soundtracks. Super Mario World is a perfect example of this, as is Goldeneye 64. And we can't forget Street Fighter 2 (well, no, Guile and Sagat had pretty forgettable music). A lot of RPG's have good soundtracks, although the Final Fantasy ones do grate my nerves.
Even then, it doesn't stop one from ripping some good tunes to a cd and and then popping it in the player. Sometimes we just want to wreak havoc to our own tune. And, considering modern gaming music, it certainly seems the better option.
By Apathetic_Prick
20 years ago, the music on the NES and SMS was considered revolutionary. 15 years ago, the music on the SNES and Genesis/SMD, same thing, and on and on, but ultimately, sometimes the music either didn't fit, or - and this is a glaring mistake in the case of a lot of action titles - didn't get the blood up.
Now, I'm an extreme case. I went out of my way to rip 60 songs for listening to while I play Doom (these were my own, thank you very much), and I custom tailored my XBox custom soundtracks for racing games, Death Row, and Black on my XBox (oh yes, I'm a very bad boy when it comes to audio "harmony").
However, those soundtracks (despite the fact that Black's really needs to be tweaked) have really enhanced the feel and atmosphere of the games that can use them. Grand Theft Auto 3 right through to San Andreas is missing Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law" (which Scarface duly rectified).
And Black's mediocre soundtrack is only okay - if you want to be bored off your tuchas. However, add some Testament, Ministry and Iron Maiden and you've got over-the-top music to go with over-the-top shooting (although the gameplay was a tad limp DUE TO BLACK ONLY BEING A FOUR HOUR GAME!!!).
Most racing games also have very mediocre soundtracks. Last racing game I played with a good - and irreplacable - soundtrack was F-Zero X. Sega GT - sucked. Gran Turismo...too varied - only half the songs are good to race to. Forza...christ no. Add some ZZ Top, KMFDM and Crystal Method and you're good to go - with any racing title, from Need for Speed to the sim racers to Burnout (although you'll probably want something heavier for burnout...just a thought).
Unfortunately, I haven't seen a lot of this in regards to computer games - unless you count sourceports for Doom like Legacy, ZDoom and EDGE. However, some games, like Morrowind, have a directory of MP3's, so in theory, you could just switch those out for your favourite fantasy RPG'in' tunes.
However, I personally find most soundtracks in general are lacking, especially action games. Red Faction 2, one of my favourite XBox shooters, doesn't have enough oomf. Neither did Red Faction 1's
Quake 2's was also fairly subdued, and I Quake 1's was uglier than the game itself. Half-Life 1 and 2 made very poor use of dynamic music, I found; neither had much of an atmospheric soundtrack, and this was another area in which Unreal beat that whole generation of shooters.
, which in my opinion, while a good game, also had an inappropriately downbeat soundtrack. Orchestral is a good choice, but the lack of dynamic music didn't do much for it, either, and Grand Theft Auto's developers wanted their games to sound like pop-culture radio stations.
Which, of course, brings us to licensed music. The only game I've played that used licensed music that I can't say I totally hate is Scarface. By far the best use of licensed music I've seen, as it fit the game completely, regardless of chronology (Bif Naked is a blatant anachronism in Tony Montana's world, as is Ministry - although Burning Inside was a damned good opener). And rap music does not belong in a racer. And Team Ninja's Aerosmith fetish is unforgiveable. Although, admittedly, Nine Lives was a friggin' good opener for DOA3, let alone any fighting game.
Anyway, that isn't to say that some games don't have brilliant or timeless soundtracks. Super Mario World is a perfect example of this, as is Goldeneye 64. And we can't forget Street Fighter 2 (well, no, Guile and Sagat had pretty forgettable music). A lot of RPG's have good soundtracks, although the Final Fantasy ones do grate my nerves.
Even then, it doesn't stop one from ripping some good tunes to a cd and and then popping it in the player. Sometimes we just want to wreak havoc to our own tune. And, considering modern gaming music, it certainly seems the better option.