Music in Video Games: Soundtrack to a Generation

Right, before you say anything about the title, I know that it’s not just people of my generation who play video games. But as these helped form the soundtrack to my childhood and beyond, it seemed an appropriate title.

I’ve played computer games for as long as I can remember. From games like ‘Word Rescue’ and ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ games, to MS DOS games like 'Indianapolis 500' and 'Brian Lara Cricket', computer games have always been a part of my life. Then there are the likes of 'Crash Bandicoot', 'Driver 2', 'Gran Turismo' and 'Burnout' on the Playstation and PS2 that I played a lot. There were also games such as 'Doom 2', 'Wolfenstein 3D', 'Return to Castle Wolfenstein' and 'Medal of Honor: Allied Assault' on PC that make up some of my favourite games of my childhood. They are games that don’t get old and are just as good today as they were ten+ years ago.

You could be forgiven then that this is a bit of a nostalgia trip. The music video games however has help ed to shape my taste in music. Now it might be quite predictable, but for me, the two main titles for music in games are Grand Theft Auto Vice City and the FIFA Football games. The soundtracks to these games have been phenomenal. They aren’t the only games included, but the bulk of the music included is from these games.

Hopefully this will invoke some memories. I’m not going to include really well known songs because, well, if I did then this blog would go on forever and I’ve already included quite a few. No doubt there will be songs that you recognise, and haven’t heard for ages.

GTA Vice City:

Vice City for me has the best soundtrack to any game. It is arguably the best part of the game.  There are so many brilliant songs, many that I have only heard within the game. All of the songs are classics, and are instantly recognisable to people who have played it. Depending on what station you listened to of course. It is a great introduction to 80s music, and without it I doubt I’d have strong interest in music from that era.

 Emotion 98.3:

The decade of the “Power Ballad”, this station includes the likes of Foreigner, REO Speedwagon and John Waite in its line-up of rock ballads. These three below however are the ones that I associate most with the game. They are all songs where you can’t not turn the volume up and sing along.

 

 

Fever 105:

Not my favourite station, but this is a great song. A mixture of R&B and New-Wave with a great bass line, it is the song Indeep are best known for.

 

Flash FM

Who doesn’t love a bit of 80s pop, and Flash FM offers some of the best. It’s one of my favourites. The likes of Michael Jackson, Bryan Adams, Lionel Richie and ELO all get airplay on this station. However arguably it’s not the A-Listers who have the best songs. Without doubt, these are some of the best songs on the game.

 

 

 

 

V Rock

The 80s was a great era for rock, with Hair Metal undoubtedly the king, although thrash and NWOBHM was also prevalent on the scene. V-Rock manages to cover the variety of metal quite well. Including the likes the Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest they have all the bases covered. Again however, it’s not the songs from the household names that stick in the memory.

Wave 103:

I love New-Wave music. If there was a particular area of 80s music that’s my favourite, New-Wave is it. Along with Flash FM, Wave 103 was one of my favourite stations. With the likes of Blondie, Spandau Ballet and Frankie Goes to Hollywood on the playlist, it was always one of the stations I changed to. However there was some other great music included, as you can see below.

GTA San Andreas:
In my opinion, the soundtrack of San Andreas isn’t as strong as Vice City. It certainly isn’t as memorable for me. And that’s after I’ve started to play game again recently on the Xbox. One station though sticks in the memory, and who doesn’t secretly love a bit of country and western. There’s nothing quite like driving round the Badlands, in a pickup with some country music pumping out the stereo.

K-DST:

K-Rose:

FIFA Football:

There is one series of games that I have played more of than anything else, and that is the Fifa Football games. Starting with FIFA 96, and apart from a few years playing Pro Evo (when it was better, but that’s another argument for another time), up until the current game, FIFA 13. I love the variety, but also the consistency. There are always great songs on the game, even if you don’t immediately know the songs to look at them. Once you’ve played the game for a few weeks though, you realise you quite like most of the songs on there. Even if you haven't played the games, its well worth checking these songs out.
 

FIFA 99:

The first FIFA game where the music really stood out for me. Both tracks are sounds of my childhood and bring back highly pixelated memories.

FIFA 2000:

FIFA 2001:

With a mixture of electro rock, Ska punk and one of Robbie Williams’ best songs (even if the line “from Stoke on Trent to Beverly Hills” is a bit crap), this a great example of the diversity on the old Fifa games. This was continued the next year with the inclusion of Moby and Utah Saints. The music on these old games was great. Certainly would never have discovered some of these artists if I hadn’t played them.  Once they progressed onto the PS2, the music included went a bit more mainstream.

FIFA 2003:

The first ever game I had on the PS2, the music on it was quality. Again it featured a real mixture of music. From Indie such as Idlewild (You Held The World In Your Arms) to R&B like Ms Dynamite (Dy-Na-Mi-Tee), there was a real mix. However these are the ones that stick in my mind most. I know technically it’s a remixed version of ‘Complicated’ that’s used in the game, but I prefer the studio version.

FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010:

I loved this game.  It was such a bright and vibrant game visually it was a really good experience playing it. It makes the usual FIFA titles look dull in comparison. The soundtrack was brilliant as well; there was a real global mix of music.

FIFA 11:

The first FIFA game that I had played properly for a good few years, and soundtrack was still top quality. A mix of new and established artists.

FIFA 13:

The most recent title from the franchise continues with the great soundtrack theme, with these songs being the pick of the bunch.

(Liverpool) Club Football 2005:
This game title didn’t last very long, and wasn’t particularly good, but it did include both Franz Ferdinand and Snow Patrol in its soundtrack, which helped. First time I’d heard of either band, and became a fan of both. Definitely a case of the music being better than the game.

Le Mans 24hr (PS1):

Being a motor racing fan, I loved this game as a kid. Looking back at it now and the graphics were basic, but it was a good game at the time.  I loved the title track to it as well, albeit a different version to the album version.  Certainly made me aware of the band (after taking ages to find out who it was by and what it was called), and I subsequently ended up getting the album. I seriously recommend the album as well (13 Tales from Urban Bohemia), you won’t find many better.

LMA Manager:

Before Football Manager became the undoubted king, you had Championship Manager on PC, and the LMA Manager series on the PS2, if you fancied your chances at football management. LMA Manager was great fun. Having played 02, 03, 05 and 06 versions of the games, the title tracks to these games hold fond memories.

 

FlatOut:
One of the best racing series to appear on gaming consoles, just for pure fun, and they all had great soundtracks. Don’t remember the music too much from the first instalment, but this song is pretty good. It is the song that sticks in my most from that first game.

FlatOut2:

This game had a better soundtrack. The music included was from more established artists, and really complimented the game well; a mixture of garage rock and pop punk that goes well with fast paced action of the game.

Flaout Ultimate Carnage:

Even though the tracks aren’t from bands that are high profile, the songs on FOUC are brilliant.

Forza Motorsport 2:

Took me ages to work out where I had heard this song before. Low and behold it was appeared on Forza Motorsport 2. Shows that Gnarls Barkley have done more than just ‘Crazy’.

Gran Turismo 3:

I am eternally grateful for Sony including Feeder on the soundtrack for GT3. It introduced me to their music, and I have been a massive fan ever since. In fact I turned all the other songs off and just left these three on the soundtrack in game.  I love all three songs, especially Just a Day.

Need For Speed Underground:

Can’t talk about games from my childhood and not include NFS Underground.  Played this game to death back in the day, and these two songs are the ones that take me back when I hear them.

So there you go, finally reached the end. Sorry its a bit longer than usual, but there was a lot of music from a lot of games. I know there'll be a lot of games that I didn't include, and a lot of music missed out from the ones I did, but its all personal preference.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it :)