You can find Part 1 here.
You can find Part 2 here.
It’s our third and final game OST piece, and arguably we’ve saved the best till last! Here’s 5 great soundtracks by five CDT members. Some weekend listening for you all:
Sine Mora – Ben
The Sine Mora soundtrack performs in the same way that good AI should; you don’t notice it’s there. The tempo and tones of the soundtrack, scored by Akira Yamaoka (best known for the music in the Silent Hill series), matches the gameplay perfectly throughout, yet when you listen to it separately you realise it’s not at all what you expected. For the large part it actually remains subdued and mystic, which allows for the high tempo boss battles to feel that much more dramatic. Inspired by 1970s electronic music it fits the diesel punk style of the game perfectly and just all round adds to how good Sine Mora actually is.
Highlights include: Imperial Airborg Factory-B, Cardinal Canyon-A, Last Enkie City-B, but here’s the entire playlist for you:
Beautiful Katamari – Mhairi
When life gives you lemons sometimes you want to roll up those lemons and everything else in your way until you have a big ball of satisfaction. Meet Beautiful Katamari a game where you can do just that. The story, game play and level design are a whole can of WTF-ery and the soundtrack immerses you even further into the madness. The Japanese lyrics are unintelligible to a western audience, which leaves the aforementioned madness up to your own interpretation. All tracks are upbeat and happy and blend well with all other elements. The catchiness and the quirkiness have often been cited as the most prominent of it’s kind. Beautiful Katamari’s soundtrack is loaded with a selection of 80’s J-pop tunes that are as catchy as they are colourful. Is it cheesy I hear you ask? My answer, absolutely. Honourable mentions – Lonely Rolling Star, Guru Guru Gravity and Katamari on the Funk.
Minecraft – Alan
Minecrafts music is the definition of ambient. You’ll forget that it’s not even been playing for half an hour and then it slowly, quietly creeps up on you and reminds you how beautiful it is. The timing of it is often impeccable too. As a new dawn breaks and you find yourself atop a mountain taking in the sunrise, the music gradually increases in volume to help create some of the most stunning and majestic moments in gaming. C418 was completely unknown when he composed the games soundtrack and sound effects but he’s certainly known now. Stand out tracks: Haggstrom, Minecraft, Subwoofer Lullaby, Mice on Venus.
Halo – Esler
Some games have those incredibly poignant moments when the soundtrack and game play merge in to one beautiful experience sending chills down your spine but very few series have so many stand out moments. The slow build up of vocals and thumping orchestral backing of Halo runs unparalleled. There are very few soundtracks that you can hum from gaming and find everyone around you slowly chiming in, but if there was one it would have to be Halo. Even when they use the same song for a new series, they add a gnarly guitar solo or tweak it to give you that tingly feeling all over again. Highlights: Halo 2 Theme song, Halo Anniversary Installation 04, Halo 3: ODST OST Main Theme
Dragon Age: Origins – GFG‘s Mike
Sometimes the soundtrack to a game needs to be as epic as the subject matter or the game will fail. Nowhere is this truer than Dragon Age: Origins. Inon Zur’s masterpiece perfectly fits one of best RPGs ever made. The percussion sections make you feel as if you are physically going to war whilst the beautiful vocals in Lelianna’s Song whisk you away to the land and time of her story. Not only is this a perfect soundtrack but as a stand alone album it is truly wonderful when listened to from start to finish Highlights: Origins, I am the one, Lelianna’s Song, Ferelden at war – Inon Zur.
So that’s our list. Whats on yours?