Game Soundtracks

We love a good tune here in the GameGrin offices even though, at times, our taste has often been called into question. Usually someone indicates that they disagree with the music selection by throwing something large and heavy in the individual’s general direction. Incidentally for legal reasons we’d like to point out that was definitely not how our first office Xbox 360 broke. However, there’s one thing we can usually all agree on: game soundtracks.

Game music has become a huge industry and is now receiving recognition on a wider basis. Recently a piece from the Civilization IV soundtrack won a prestigious Grammy award and there are an ever-growing number of video game symphony concerts to celebrate this genre. It’s nice to see an increasing degree of appreciation for what are often truly outstanding pieces of work. Here we take a look at some of our favourite soundtracks and the reasons why they stand out from the crowd.

The Silent Hill series has always been a cult favourite among horror connoisseurs and this was in no small part due to their incredibly atmospheric soundtracks. It is hard to think of another game that can instil such a sense of terror from only a few notes of music. The mixture of industrial and white noise with more subtle and melodic pieces was inspired and remains iconic. Perhaps most impressive is the commitment and talent of composer Akira Yamaoka who managed to produce top quality soundtracks even when the calibre of the later games declined.

The first three titles arguably feature the most iconic music, with Silent Hill 2 being singled out amongst fans as an almost perfect album. With a truly superb opening song, “Theme of Laura” the game managed to capture a haunting ambience that was unlike any other. While Akira Yamaoka and frequent collaborator Mary Elizabeth McGlynn may have parted ways with the Silent Hill series, their work has recently cropped up in Grasshopper Manufacture’s Shadows of the Damned. The future of Silent Hill’s music will be continued by Dexter composer, Daniel Licht although whether he can recapture the chilling, melodic moods of the earlier games remains to be seen.

No discussion of game soundtracks would be complete without a mention of the legendary Final Fantasy series. Showered with awards for over a decade now, the music to these games has made soundtracks more accessible and helped to cement their position as a legitimate genre in their own right. In particular the work of composer Nobuo Uematsu helped deliver truly incredible themes that were not only unforgettable but helped really convey a level of emotion to support the complex storylines.

The soundtracks of the Final Fantasy series have been as diverse as the games since the first few titles of the late 1980s. Over the years there have been some amazing tracks that will always be remembered as some of gaming’s most impressive and memorable. Final Fantasy VII’s “One-Winged Angel” is regarded as an all-time classic and has managed to receive widespread recognition. The popularity of the soundtracks has led to dedicated orchestral performances and this in itself is a testament to the quality of the written music.

One of the main aims for a game soundtrack is to not only accompany events within the game but to add something to them. Whether it is helping to create emotion, add tension or develop a sense of scale, music is very important in transforming events from the relatively rudimentary to the unforgettable. Team Ico, the creators of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus understood this in a unique way and both game’s soundtracks are extraordinary.

Shadow of the Colossus remains a unique and incredible experience due to its radically different gameplay and unusual story. Kow Otani’s score was an emotional experience that tied in with the twisting narrative and turned each of the game’s 16 boss battles into an unforgettable challenge against the odds. The intelligent sound design, where there was no music until an encounter with a Colossus, was a brilliant decision and made the soundtrack even more epic. This move made each battle feel monumental in scale and remains one of the most emotive scores from the last decade. In particular the magnificence of “The Opened Way” against one of the earliest enemies set the tone for what would be an incredible soundtrack.

Equally, Ico’s score was beautifully thought out and realised, helping to develop Ico and Yorda’s relationship without stooping to less subtle means. The calm exploration in the midst of crumbling ruins was truly stunning and helped prove that often less is very often more. Team Ico’s use of minimal sound and music helped to make the score even more impressive when it kicked in and added a real gravity to both titles. With HD updates of the both games coming out later this year, there will be a fresh chance to experience these memorable melodies once again.

In terms of interactivity, soundtracks are constantly developing and becoming more fluid. An excellent illustration of an amazing score that changed as you played is the work of Rockstar Games in Red Dead Redemption and its expansion, Undead Nightmare. The composers Bill Elm and Woody Jackson excelled themselves by producing an authentic sounding period score. Using a mixture of modern and historical instruments the sound was immediately recognisable and set the scene for Old West shootouts, not just well, but perfectly.

This soundtrack is the game and instantly draws you into John Marsden’s battle for redemption against innumerable odds. What helps to make Red Dead Redemption’s music even more incredible is that it can dynamically shift and adapt to your gameplay. Whether you are exploring the desert, engaged in a shootout or, err, tying up a prostitute the score will be fitting. Even more impressive is that switching between these activities triggers subtle shifts in the music.

It’s a brilliant system and while not always perfect is exactly the sort of direction that soundtracks should be moving toward. By having the score respond directly to player actions, it creates a greater degree of immersion and involvement and really fulfils the role that a soundtrack should, by furthering the impact of the title. The use of fitting songs at set stages during the game was also a brilliant move that really helped add weight to some of the more emotional set-pieces and create a lasting impression.

The Undead Nightmare expansion took things to the next level with the inclusion of the awesome “Bad Voodoo” song by the Kreeps. This “epic Southern Gothic rockabilly” track went a long way to making the final mission unforgettable. Elsewhere the over-the-top B-movie homage of the expansion was maintained with some dark and sinister themes that made riding around on one of the Horses of the Apocalypse even more fun that it already was.

There are so many other soundtracks that we all love and can’t stop listening to. Deus Ex, MYST, Command & Conquer, Portal 2, Dead Space and L.A. Noire are just a few more, but those will have to wait for next month. In the meantime we’ll settle down with these classics, at least that way no more consoles will go sailing through the air owing to some more unusual music tastes. At least for the time being...