My Favorite Game Soundtracks

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of music from Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. In addition to it being genuinely fun music, it also draws me back to the joy of exploring the wasteland.

I wrote in an earlier post that sound is both a vital part of the gaming experience and something too often overlooked. Some of the biggest offenders in this area, in my opinion, have been free-to-play MMOs whereas indie games by one or two developers can be among the best. In order for a game to become an experience, quality sounds are vital.

Moreover, great music in a game can also inspire great music made by fans. When a theme is evocative in the right way, it can be reinterpreted again and again. Some of the most enjoyable game music comes from fans of the originals who reinspire the songs with their own energy.

But, I digress. After hours of big bands and crooners I decided that I would like to put together a few playlists of my own favorites and so, without further ado, here it is:

Fallout Franchise: A Sense of the Past

In addition to being just about the only country music I can enjoy, the music from Fallout takes the player back in time and into a world where art has stagnated in the wake of an apocalyptic war and a lasting strife. It both develops the world and draws the player into it. Some of the music is only vaguely familiar the first time you hear it, but as it becomes your soundtrack to the wasteland the two become undeniably linked.

While the game's original soundtrack is good, it's the radio playlists that really make Post-Apocalyptia special.




Legend of Zelda Franchise: The Power of Themes

It's hard to know for sure what it is about The Legend of Zelda that makes it's impact last for so long. I loved The Ocarina of Time, but since then none of the games have grabbed me in the same way. Even Wind Waker. And yet, the music is something which I have always deeply enjoyed.

This playlist includes a variety of ways to listen to this music. Symphonies, ensembles and dubstep remixes all founded on the same several themes and, like a jarred fairy, all possessing some of the magic of Hyrule4.




The Elder Scrolls Franchise: A Sense of Setting

I am a huge fan of The Elder Scrolls, so it is no surprise to find it here. I remember hearing the Skyrim theme before the game was released and listening to it endlessly. Too, the themes from Morrowind and Oblivion call me back to vicarious hours spent in another world. More so than in other games, the soundtracks of the Elder Scrolls put you back in a mood and in a place. Close your eyes, and the grassy valleys stretch out before you. The distant, cloudy mountains rise up and cradle you. The wildlife dances its natural dance through the shaded woods and across the sun-soaked plains.




Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag: A Sense of Character

I admit that I'd enjoyed a few shanties before I ever played Assassin's Creed 4, but ever since I sailed out on the Jackdaw they've held a new place in my heart. AC4 is another fine example of sound being used to draw the player into a world. While repetitive cut-scenes are a shortcoming of the game in many ways, the consoling presence of the crew's shanties makes up for a great deal. The songs allow your crew to feel like people rather than resources and I, for one, love to sing along.

Here is a playlist of all the shanties your crew knows so that you can learn them, too.




Tony Hawk's Pro Skater: The Power of Community

When I was growing up, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was a franchise to rival Madden NFL for popularity. I had it, my friends had it, and we all thought we knew the best trick. Beyond simply being a fun game, I still find today that the songs from the first three game's soundtracks hold a special nostalgia for me. Moreover, at the time and as a gamer, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was introducing and inviting me into a community. In those days, "skaters" were a clique unto themselves and this was especially true in their music. Punky, indie rock was a staple of their genre, usually sounding off on an anti-establishment theme of one kind or another. While I never would have identified myself as a "skater kid", the franchise and the playlists introduced me to the community and helped me to understand it.

Today, many of these songs still hold a special place in my memory and altogether they make for a pretty great playlist.





Assorted Others: The Sense and Power of Nostalgia

Throughout this post I have discussed how certain games and franchises can make effective and consistent use of music to strengthen the experience of their game. In LoZ, we see that musical themes can tie worlds together and, in the same way, THPS demonstrates how ideological themes can bring a greater depth of experience. In Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Assassin's Creed 4, sound is used to give the player a greater breadth of feeling all throughout their vicarious explorations. While these examples are favorites of mine, there are a plethora of games and franchises which have done and continue to do this same thing. Because I can, here is another list of some assorted video game songs that I really love, but which are not included in the above playlists.

ESO Impressions

I recently got a chance to participate in a weekend beta test of the Elder Scrolls Online. While I won't be talking specifics, I would like to talk a bit about my impressions on the game and how my expectations have developed.

My first Elder Scrolls game was Oblivion. I remember envisioning my dream game as something that could combine my fascination with the fantasy genre with the gameplay style of Halo, and in TESIV I realized that dream. Suffice it to say I fully explored Cyrodiil.

I spent so many hours in that game that it only stands to reason I had fantasized about being able to take it multiplayer (if only to show off my fabulous wealth and treasure chests that took entire minutes to load). My desire for a game like Elder Scrolls Online began there, several hundred hours into Oblivion.

When I heard about the ESO project, I could not help but send an e-mail asking for more information. I got no reply, but, undeterred, when the beta sign-up became available I wasted no time submitting my information.

Ultimately, what I'm saying is that this game was sold to me six years ago and I've just had to wait to buy it.

That being said, I was still apprehensive going into this beta weekend. I had similar aspirations for SWTOR and, while the game at launch was very fun, it has since been micro-transactioned out of my good graces. I've seen a lot of discussion about ESO's expected pay-to-play model and a lot of it hasn't been positive, so I worry that ESO is following SWTOR down the same crooked path.

What I found in the game has reassured me, however, as I am once again sure that I will be playing the game at launch (game servers willing). The developers have certainly paid attention to making the game sound and feel like any other Elder Scrolls title. That doesn't just mean they have all the playable races or that the first-person mode has the health bar in the right spot, it means being able to descend into the rabbit hole and find oneself (or one's elf) wholly enrapt by the familiar variety of people and places characteristic of the franchise.

I enjoyed questing, earning achievements, and sifting through loot in ESO. I was disappointed that I was not able to be as loot-crazy as I am in Skyrim, where I check every body for loose change, but I also feel that if such a thing were an expectation in the game it would be rather pedantic. The voice acting which was present  contributed to getting the feel of the game just right, but in the beta there were also a number  computer-generated voices that, while providing a enriching contrast, upset that same atmosphere.

Speaking of things that were missing in the beta, the crafting systems had not been implemented. I was able to gather a variety of resources, even a few of rare quality intended for crafting specific items, but I was not able to tell if the number of resources I was able to gather easily would suffice to level a crafting skill. It basically meant that I was picking up a lot more vendor-fodder than intended and I really would have liked to try a little enchantment.

And some things were downright bad. I'm talking about the PvP, which I won't discuss in detail any further than to say it faces the same problems that Guild Wars 2's World vs. World combat system did. I haven't been back to play GW2's WvW since around the time of the game's launch, so I don't know if they've managed to improve it, but if they have then I would hope ESO can follow their lead. If not, then I really just need a better way to get where I'm going to die than running for five solid minutes.

While the character choices are nice, I think we all have a tendency to make the same characters. During my time I seldom felt that my character stood out in any real way from the hordes of other player-characters. Don't get me wrong, when you're at the character creation screen making your toon you'll be able to get him or her just the way you like them, but when you enter the world you'll find that there are about a hundred other bodies that look just like yours. That upset the feel of the game for me, but I'd wager that it's a smaller problem once your character has levelled some and had access to a wider variety of gear. If too many armor pieces end up being based on a single model, however, I think the problem of characters not looking unique is going to be a real issue. At least in SWTOR if you wanted to look remarkable you could always choose the fat toon--no such luck in my experience with ESO.

But similar character models is small potatoes compared with my disappointment in the combat. Let me say, first, that it is reminiscent of past games but that, as you might expect, first-person isn't a great choice in an MMO kind of game. So, you will be playing the game in third-person, which isn't so bad and it's nice that first-person remains an option for when you're feeling adventurous. And, moreover, the third-person view tends to look pretty good: the game is pretty, the models, motions, and armor are all pretty. The effectiveness of this control was lacking for me, however, as having my reticle just to the right of my character while I was trying to swing while facing head on was problematic for me a few times. The problem, in short, is just that the player needs to watch the reticle and not the toon, but that kind of sucks, doesn't it? And that's not all that wasn't peachy keen, but laggy controls and interrupted/bugged animations are the sort of things that can be expected in a beta so I'm willing to forgive and forget those little hiccups. Also, the controls felt like they were limited by the constraints of  mere controllers and that was unequivocally sad.

But enough with nearly bashing the beta because all-in-all I really did enjoy getting a chance to play the game. I look forward to its release albeit with somewhat tempered expectations, and I suppose that's got to be a good thing when it's all said and done, but I'm also not thrilled by the prospect of paying fifteen dollars a month. WoW was worth 15 a month when there weren't so many good, cheap options out there, but today MMOs are a dime a dozen and perfectly good ones are F2P (with micro-transactions). Like I said, I haven't played GW2 in months but it wouldn't cost me anything to go back and as a consumer I really, really like that.