I’m a gaming veteran. I’ve been a computer gamer for years now, from the early 80′s loading from cassette onto a ZX Spectrum then playing on a Commodore Amiga, then moving to consoles (Nintendo 64, Sony PlayStation), then hardcore PC gaming for years until I finally returned to consoles. I currently have a dusty X-Box 360 Elite and my gaming machine of choice: a PlayStation 3.
Game soundtracks have come a long way since the 80′s: most games now have official soundtracks, either licensed tracks or music especially commissioned and scored in the same way (and with the same budget) as blockbuster Hollywood movies. Many of these videogame soundtracks are now on Spotify, including the official soundtrack album for recently released art-deco shooter Bioshock 2.
Some early games had great theme songs: the Bomb the Bass John Carpenter-inspired theme to Xenon 2: Megablast, or Jonathan Dunn’s Robocop Title Theme (used by Ariston for their famous on-and-on commercials, for which composer Dunn received no royalties). But the first time I really noticed a full game soundtrack was in the Psygnosis game Shadow of the Beast from 1989. A weird and wonderful game, the ambient music fitted perfectly and really helped to create an atmosphere.
Here are five videogame soundtracks on Spotify: some official, some reconstructed, no joypad required.
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wipEout Soundtracks - 1995′s WipEout for PlayStation had such a cool soundtrack that I still have the game CD long after I sold my original PlayStation. With licensed electronica from many of my favourites of the day (Leftfield, The Chemical Brothers, Orbital), the WipEout soundtrack was massive. Although not officially on Spotify, here’s a custom playlist that features many of the tracks from that original game, as well as a selection from the sequels right up to last year’s brilliant WipEout HD, including that awesome Kraftwerk mix from Alex Gopher and Etienne De Crecy.
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GTA IV: ElectroChoc -- From my home city of Edinburgh, Rockstar North rule the gamescape with their Grand Theft Auto series. Since GTA III, in-game radio stations have provided the soundtrack to the city. Grand Theft Auto IV has a station called ElectroChoc. Mixed by DJ François Kevorkian (and later by production duo Crookers), ElectroChoc features some superb electro-house and discophonica. Here’s an ElectroChoc playlist on Spotify, featuring 20 tracks including Black Devil Disco Club, Padded Cell, Nitzer Ebb, and those boys again The Chemical Brothers. Be sure to check out Alex Gopher‘s Brain Leech (Bugged Mind Remix) with its nods back to that classic Xenon 2 theme.
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Mirror’s Edge -- Original Videogame Score -- EA Games (Electronic Arts) have added loads of videogame soundtracks to Spotify recently: Dante’s Inferno, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Dragon Age: Origins and The Sims to name a few. My favourite though is the soundtrack to first-person action adventure Mirror’s Edge, featuring music from psybient act Solar Fields (Magnus Birgersson) and the title theme Still Alive by popular Swedish artist Lisa Miskovsky.
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BioShock 2: Official Soundtrack -- With its gorgeous decaying art-deco setting, intriguing characters and intricate storyline, BioShock was surely the best game of 2007. Sometimes forgotten in all the acclaim was its soundtrack: an inspired mix of songs featuring Garry Schyman’s original score and licensed Great American Songbook jazz from the 1930s -- 1950s. Music from the likes of The Ink Spots, Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters helped contribute to the immersive atmosphere of BioShock. An official soundtrack album was never released, but I’ve reconstructed the soundtrack in Spotify: BioShock Soundtrack (Licensed Tracks).
BioShock 2: The undersea city of Rapture stands in ruins. Somewhere deep within, your Little Sister awaits. Once, you protected her and now, amongst hordes of genetically-altered maniacs, she is your only hope for salvation.
The sequel BioShock 2 was just released and I can’t wait to return to Rapture. The deluxe version of Bioshock 2: The Official Soundtrack is now on Spotify and gladly it continues in the same style as the original, including songs from Noel Coward, Billie Holiday, Fred Astaire, and Benny Goodman and his Orchestra.
Anyway, I’m ready for dreamtime Mr. Bubbles. If you spot any other game soundtracks on Spotify, would you kindly mention them in the comments?
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Thanks for all the tips. I’ve actually been doing a bit of collecting myself: http://open.spotify.com/user/naseer/playlist/5PDITYHO11WhyRJoVsK1F7
I’d missed the addition of the Dragon Age soundtrack, thanks for the tip!
Not strictly a game soundtrack, but brilliant: Czech Philharmonic Orchestra – PLAY! A Videogame Symphony LIVE!
Also not a soundtrack, but I went to this show and it was AWESOME:
Video Games Live
~A
In terms of soundtracks you missed:
Contra
Castlevania
Silent Hill
Silent Hill 2
(Yes, when I’m not doing Spotibot I’m a video game soundtrack nerd.)
There is no Outrun or Space Channel 5 on Spotify. I appreciate that you asked for ones that WERE, but this upsets me
Bully
Hellgate: London
Puzzles of Life (detail here)
Another collection:
“Entertainment System 64“
And a lone track, a MUST LISTEN for any classic nintendo fans:
http://spotibot.com/track/12S7qCaHb8OAWAQ9OElXVx
~A
The Bully soundtrack is really nicely woven into the game, as it goes. Each of the different “factions” have their own music, and it fades in and out over the top of the background music (which changes over the course of the day) when you start bringing the ruckus with them.
Bully is a great game.
Caveat: not on PC, though. It’s terrible on PC, by all accounts.
Some Command & Conquer for yo’ asses:
Red Alert
Tiberian Sun
Red Alert 2
Renegade
Generals
Red Alert 3
Bully really is good (this is a test: Andy’s struggling to post).
Brilliant links guys, I’ll update the main post with some of these later. Ones I miss include the soundtracks to Max Payne and Uncharted.
I didn’t play Bully, sounds like I missed out. Could be a reason to wipe the cobwebs off my Xbox 360…
Some EA greats (and not-so greats)
Army of Two
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Dante’s Inferno
Dragon Age: Origins
Sim Animals
The Sims 3
Need for Speed Underground
Sim City 3000
Skate.
Superman Returns
The Sims 2: Nightlife
Sim City: Societies
Medal of Honour: Rising Sun
Sim City 4
Here’s neogaf‘s Official game music on Spotify thread of awesomeness (thanks to @semisans)
And a few more:
Little Big Planet
Far Cry 2
Assassin’s Creed
Assassin’s Creed 2
Tom Clancy’s H.a.w.x
Not a soundtrack per se, but may I present one of the oddest video game releases I’ve come across in all my years collecting them:
“Super Mario Compact Disco” by Ambassadors of Funk
Frankly, I am *amazed* this has turned up on Spotify. It was hard enough for me to track down in MP3 format (though that was a good few years ago now)
Hitman 2
This really needs a bigger Audience, has been rumoured to be getting the big screen adaptation now for the last 9 years….
American Mcgee’s Alice
I also highly recommend Bully on the WII, added mini games to make use of the wiimote!!
A host of C-64 tunes by Martin Galway including the classic Wizball.