Video games have taken on a life of their own. They can show us things that we could never dream of, giving us compelling and visceral narratives that books and films couldn’t necessarily offer the gaming community. But while these experiences are endowed with a unique quality in regards to gameplay and graphics, there is an aspect that is at times overlooked, which many games hinge their entire livelihood upon. For many titles, music defines the game. After all, an entire genre has been built around the concept. But, music titles aside, I’m talking about games where the soundtrack serves to immerse the player into the game, drowning them in the universe that the developers created. When this is accomplished, it significantly enhances the experience of the game itself, propelling a title that may have just been good to amazing. Thus, I present the top ten video game soundtracks of the HD generation - with attached YouTube videos.
10. Gears of War 2: Regardless of the cheesy dialogue or the macho way Dom kept searching for Maria, from the introduction on throughout, the music constantly sets the mood in a way that helps the game along. Look at it this way, being the middle child of the sure-to-be ‘Gears Trilogy’ this has to take on a darker and far grimmer tone than the soundtrack of the original. The humans are beset on all sides by the Locust Horde and essentially stand to lose the war, entire cities are being sunk into the surface of Sera by a giant bloody worm and the Coalition of Organized Governments just had to sink their base of operations and last refuge for the sake of trying to halt or destroy the enemy that is ravaging them unto extinction. Suffice to say, you won’t really be finding a lot of chipper and cheery themes throughout the score of Gears of War 2. This is music that conveys elements of battle and the sorrow that goes hand in hand with such gruesomeness and it does it exceptionally well.
9. Street Fighter IV: Say what you want about this song, but it has a timeless quality to it the same way Street Fighter does. Oddly enough, it stylistically causes me to recall the 90’s more than anything else and makes me think of Street Fighter II, which ultimately I think is what they were going for as it all just flows together very well artistically. Across the rest of the title, you’ll find an exceptional soundtrack throughout that, while does at times seem like standard fair, constantly surprises and stands out, seeping through despite this being a fighting title.
This feature list continues on the next page, please click below to reveal our next couple choices for the Top Video Game Soundtracks of the HD Era.
