Evil Genius.
Maybe it’s because I just love big band and 50’s lounge music.
Best game music for 2004 goes to Rome Total War.
Jeff van Dyck’s music composition in RTW is simply sublime and meshes so well with the gameplay.
Guess you guys haven’t played Katamari Damacy yet.
I have only played a few games but of those, it’s R:TW by a landslide. Fantastic score.
I extracted all the RTW music into separate MP3’s using this utility - http://www.twcenter.net/downloads/db/?mod=32. Great stuff ! :wink:
I have all three. Evil Genius > RTW > Katamari Damashi.
Maybe the reason I’m not wowed by RTW’s score is because I’ve heard the themes before.in Time Commanders.
I extracted all the RTW music into separate MP3’s using this utility - http://www.twcenter.net/downloads/db/?mod=32. Great stuff ! :wink:[/quote]
What about that “exclusive soundtrack” CD it comes with?
I extracted all the RTW music into separate MP3’s using this utility - http://www.twcenter.net/downloads/db/?mod=32. Great stuff ! :wink:[/quote]
What about that “exclusive soundtrack” CD it comes with?[/quote]
I have no idea. I never received the soundtrack CD. I believe the soundtrack CD is 48 minutes in length whereas when you extract the music from the game the total length is 74 minutes.
Hmm, it came packaged with the version I bought but I haven’t listened to it yet.
Check it out ASAP. It’s great. My favorite tracks are “Time 2 Kill”, “Forever”, and “Soldiers Chant”.
Big band in a video game? Progress HAS been made. (Actually, I remember the SNES version of Zoop featuring some decent cocktail jazz.)
Sadly, I spent too much time catching up with pre-2004 gaming to check out this year’s best music. I’ll eagerly await your suggestions, though.
BTW, I’m most eagerly awaiting Sakimoto’s score to Gradius V, and Sakuraba’s complete contributions to Tales of Symphonia and Star Ocean 3. ToS is pretty good so far, but SO3 has superior pedigree.
WWII Fighters had classic swing music – Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller, very nice recordings.
And the high score theme to the C64 game “Wizball” had a wicked samba beat.
Hey guys, I’d just like to thank you all for thinking of original game music ahead of licensed pop tunes. I know that pop tunes work well for some games, but there is so much good music out there that gets missed or overshadowed by some lame fighting game with a 50 Cent track.
Well, you know what they say. It’s hard to put a finger on a great score, because it involves you, but it’s certainly easy to identify a mediocre or horrible one.
PS I’m still disappointed that Bobby Prince wasn’t tapped for Doom 3 music, but I guess it makes sense since the game isn’t even really Doom anymore.
Apparently there was some bad blood after the Doom projects. Not only that, but a lot of the tunes he did for Doom 1 and 2 were almost note for note rips of other songs. There was one that was an Alice in Chains song.
Besides EA, how many games don’t have original soundtracks? Is there really that many? Gran Turismo is all I can think of.
In any case, if given the choice, unless the selections are really inspired (I guess like how people appreciated the selections from the 80s in GTA: Vice City) I’ll always pick an original soundtrack over a licensed one. There’s usually no comparison. I never once played a fighting game with licensed music in it.
That said, for this year, I pick Dragon Quest V: Bride of Heaven. What an amazing symphonic score that is. Every time the normal battle theme plays you feel like angels are descending from heaven with light spears upon the planes of Asgard to battle the throngs of demons at the command of Loki or something like that. And the incredible string work in the sea theme is enough to make you cry. The overworld theme is incomparably beautiful and haunting, as is the “abandoned” music in that castle. I swear, I just stopped and had to listen to it for about ten minutes it was so gorgeous. And then there was the extremely fetching charming flute music in the fairy kingdom, that I can hum by heart.
Katamari Damacy is also downright awesome. (Those lyrics!) And the variety and downright quality of the entire soundtrack is stunning, but the redone Bride of Heaven soundtrack is just so superlative its that much better. I’d have to say its the best soundtrack I’ve heard since Chrono Cross. The Namco Sound Team is never one to discount though (Mr. Driller Drill Land, Klonoa, R4 and Ridge Racer V, Tekken 4, all sorts of great stuff by them, I want to go hear them play again, once is not enough.)
Third place would have to go to Fable whose very whimsical music made you really cognizant of the instruments and the effects they had. The only sore spot is the awful opening theme which sounds straigth Boring Movie Soundtrack Hell. I especially some of the stuff which plays in the towns and during the interludes. The main overworld theme is also very good.
I know it didn’t come out this year, but if I could, I’d nominate NOLF too. I just started playing it and I can’t get the catchy retro music out of my head.
-Kitsune
Speaking of which, release Jesper Kyd’s work for download or on CD. Whatever you have to do you sick sadistic fuck, do it now. I’m generally turned off by trance/electronica/whatever the fuck you want to call it, but MDK2’s sound track was outstanding.
Although, this is definitely and anachronism since the title states games of 2004 …
Heh - I just bought the Street Fighter Anniversary Edition, and they included the animated movie with it. It’s a meh movie, but what’s odd is that it includes the exact song you’re talking about. I have no idea what it’s called, but I couldn’t help but think “holy shit, that’s Alice In Chains! Rock on, I’d forgotten about them.” Then I thought, “WTF, that’s Halls Of The Damned, E2M6!” Then I thought “no wonder I always liked that song in Doom - how much of that game’s music was ripped-off material anyway?”
Anyway, do not front on Def Jam:Fight For NY’s soundtrack! There’s no 50 Cent to be found in it (I know he’s hugely popular, but what can I say, he bores me), and there’s a ton of pretty good rap tunes to be found, including a few old-school classics. I know it’s sort of “cheap” for someone to resort to licensing songs for a game instead of making original material, but this was a flawless case of the music fitting in with the theme of the game.
I’d still pick Katamari Damacy over everything else this year. I like R:TW’s music a lot, but I’m not constantly hearing it in my head every waking and dreaming moment of my life.
Also! Silent Hill 4 has an extremely good soundtrack. The entire series has always boasted highly unusual music - a bizarre mix of industrial, ambient and trip-hop - and SH4 doesn’t disappoint at all.
Amen to that.
That’s not music fitting with the theme of the game, or if it is, it’s cheating. The game is about those “musicians”. If there was a game featuring the Beatles fighting Elvis, I’d expect Beatles and Elvis music. There’s nothing wrong with that exactly, but it’s hardly inspired.