I'm a huge fan of soundtracks and instrumental scores in general. But I have a particular affection for the original music used in video games.
Video game soundtracks now rival the soundtracks of films. The advantage of the video game soundtrack is that the music reacts to how you play the game. Yeah, you get the cut-scenes that are scored more like a film but when you're playing the game, depending on what you're doing and where you are, the music changes and reacts to you. For example in Left 4 Dead everything can be nice and quiet... You're surveying the area with your gun... You see something move. BLAM. You shoot without thinking and your bullet hits a parked car and sets the alarm off. The music kicks in and you know a horde of infected is on it's way to try and make you a member of the Z.I.
A recent blog post by good friend and follow mint Emma-Jane Corsan really got me thinking. She was asking whether it's possible to become emotionally invested in a video game. Although there are lots of factors in this but I think a real key one is music.
Music in a video game is designed to trigger an emotion. That is true of film's too but in a film you're meant to emphasize what the characters are feeling on screen. In a video game the music is meant to get a reaction out of you because you're playing the lead character. It's meant to get you psyched up or scared or excited or sad or angry or whatever. Then you take this emotion and use it to get ready for the next level or to take down that boss who just squashed your best friend.
So. Here are some of my favourite pieces of music in video games.
Firstly, The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time - Hyrule Field: Dawn
Referred to as the greatest game of all time, Ocarina Of Time has a lot to do with music. The clue is in the title. There are many pieces of music that I love in this game but nothing beats this one.
You know that saying, "It's always darkest before the dawn"? Well there was nothing more frustrating that being stuck on Hyrule field during the night. You had to fight endless amounts of Stalchildren and hope that you were heading in the right direction for sanctuary. Or Lon Lon Ranch at least But when you could see the hint of sunlight on the horizon and the first notes of this piece of music played you were reminded that you really are the Hero Of Time.
Left 4 Dead 2 - By The Skin Of Our Teeth
I've touched on Left 4 Dead a little already. The music in Left 4 Dead is astounding. The game uses musical queues which you rely on to survive. There's the short bits of music that let you know a member of the special infected family is around. Then there's the Witch music that intensifies the closer you find yourself to a Witch. And of course there is the Tank music. When that kicks in you find yourself looking around and shooting at anything that moves.
But the piece of music I've chosen is from Left 4 Dead 2 (there is a version in Left 4 Dead one, it's just less southern.) It's called 'By The Skin Of Our Teeth' and the name sums it up really. It plays at the end of each finale when the rescue vehicle/ way out has arrived. When this music starts playing you know it's time to get running or get dying. The feeling of desperation, panic and excitement that comes with this music is insane. Whether you're escaping victorious or getting torn to pieces by a Hunter it seems to suit the mood. Which is saying a lot.
Red Dead Redemption - Triggernomety
I'd happily put down the WHOLE of the Red Dead Redemption soundtrack but I think if I had to pick one track it would 'Triggernometry.' For me it just sums up what a video game set in the Wild West should sound like. They've done an incredible job of keeping it sounding authentic but making it modern as well. Makes me want to buy a horse and catch outlaws. Dead or alive.
Donkey Kong Country - Main Title Theme
For Christmas 1993 I wanted the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Megazord...
You know, the original one? Made up of the Dinozords? (Which is a stupid name because two of the Zords weren't Dinosaurs. A Sabertooth Tiger and a Mastodon AREN'T Dinosaurs) Still with me? Whatever. I was cool. Anyway, I wanted one of these so badly. And come Christmas morning I opened my presents to find no Megazord but instead a Super Nintendo. (I know the real cool kids call it a SNES but I've never been one for acronyms). So I was a little disappointed. Sure it came with Super Mario All Stars but could Super Mario defeat Rita Repulsa? Probably. But it wasn't the same.
However, by Boxing Day morning I was hooked and I played at every opportunity. At some point I ended up with Donkey Kong Country which must have been a present because being five or six at the time I couldn't have bought it myself and my parents weren't likely to buy me a video game out of the blue.
One of my favourite times to play video games was in the morning after breakfast and after I was ready for school. I can remember I'd be downstairs in kitchen/dining room which is where the Super Nintendo was and I'd play some Donkey Kong while my Mum was upstairs getting my sister ready. But just as I'd fired it up I could Mum calling me. So I'd run to the bottom of the stairs to see what she wanted, hoping that she wasn't telling me to turn the game off. But when I shouted for her she would say she didn't call me. I'd then run back to the kitchen and pick up the controller and before I could press anything she would call me again. But again she would say she didn't. It was quite a while later when I finally realised that there was something in the Donkey Kong Country theme tune that sounded like my Mum shouting "ADAM!! AD....AM!!" Though I still don't think she liked me playing on the console before school...
There are a loads more games I could talk about here. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Super Mario World, Fallout 3, Tomb Raider II etc but I have to reserve a lot of space for Halo.
Those that know me know that I'm a huge Halo fan. I know they aren't considered perfect games like Ocarina Of Time but it was the first game that I experienced that felt like a film. I was hooked from the first time I played it at a friend's house. I'm pretty good at it too. I love the gameplay, the story and I love the music. Martin O'Donnell is a genius and if I ever make a feature film, I'd want him to score it.
He's scored five Halo games. I'm going to pick my favourite track from each one.
Halo: Combat Evolved - Opening Suite
From the first game it has to be the opening suite. Purely because of the choir. That sound sums up Halo and it sounded so different to anything else out there.
Halo 2 - Earth City
This piece of music was originally used in the E3 demo in 2003. The demo was on a dvd that came with an Xbox magazine. I've never watched one game sequence that I wasn't actually playing so many times in my life. It was the way the music built up to this brilliant finale. It got me so incredibly excited. Even though the exact E3 demo didn't make it in to the game this bit of music did.
Halo 3 - Ending. Tribute
Martin O'Donnell has created an incredible and memorable theme tune. Throughout the trilogy he did different things with the piece and this version is my favorite. It perfectly suits the game's finale, a race against time in which the Master Chief and the Arbiter have to make it make back to their ship before Halo and The Ark blows up, taking them with it. There isn't really a lot I can say about this because I think it speaks for itself. I love the Halo theme. Probably my favourite theme of all time. Ever.
Halo 3: ODST - Finale
I loved ODST. My favourite things about it (in this order) 1) Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin and Alan Tudyk were in it. 2) The music.
This was Martin O'Donnell's first chance to do something really different with the Halo music. He wasn't tied to the themes from the trilogy. He had a lot to live up to and, in my opinion, he pulled it off. This track shows off all the kinds of themes and styles he managed to cram in to just one small game. And I love the jazz. There just isn't enough jazz in video games these days.
Reach - Epilogue
The soundtrack for Reach is my favourite video game soundtrack. It borrows heavily from the other Halo games but is much more grand and majestic. Martin O'Donnell put everything he had into this one. After all, it's the last Halo game he would be writing the music for. I could have picked so many tracks but I went for this one.
This plays after credits and it sums up the situation perfectly. Let me summarise with some SPOILERS included:
Your entire team has died. They lost their lives protecting the citizens of Reach from the Covenant onslaught. You've perhaps given humanity a chance but there is no saving Reach. You stand alone as the Covenant glasses the planet. This music plays as you stand there watching, knowing your fate. And then the Covenant come to find you. You know you can't fight them all but you try anyway. Besides, Spartans never die. They're just missing in action.
It's as if Martin O'Donnell knew that this piece of music was his signature at the bottom of his piece of art which is the music for Halo. It perfectly displays his talent for scoring music to a situation that needs you to believe you are really in. Bungie need to hang onto this guy. Hollywood is going to be knocking on his door soon.
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