Game Music
Most games have music, but quite few have music. With music I mean stuff which is memorable, stuff that sticks and sets the mood. Not your average background tune which may be nice bout goes in through one ear and out through the other. For some reason, it seems to me that a larger percentage of the music in games were memorable back in the Amiga days than now. So, there is a certain chance a page like this will turn into an all-out nostalgia-fest, but I'll try to avoid that if I can.
The Neverhood
One of the coolest adventure games around also had some of the coolest music around. Bluesish, clayish kind of tunes with vocals that may or may not be real words ... A strange description perhaps, but it all sounds great, unique and makes me regret time and time again I didn't get one of those soundtrack CDs while they were still available. As it is now, I'll probably never get the chance to hear these tracks in my stereo as they're hidden in some file on the game CD. Sometimes I've started this game just to listen to the music (and see some of Klaymen's wonderful pause animations too of course) and that's not something you do just for your average game soundtrack.
Total Annihilation
This is something I haven't seen too often, a case where the music is a lot better than the game and doesn't really gain anything on the connection. The mighty soundtrack was recorded with a real symphony and sounds great, especially through a real stereo with good speakers. Still, like I said above, I don't really think the game lives up to its soundtrack, the music would pair even better with a fantasy or 19th century warfare setting. Pompous orchestral music may work for Star Wars, but it doesn't fit as well here. So, put the discs in your stereo and enjoy the music, and try to forget the connection to the game for maximum enjoyment.
Jeff Wayne's the War of the Worlds
It may be no wonder this music is so good, since it's re-mixed from the original album of the same name. However, I don't see anything wrong in using music from other sources, especially not when it's as excellent as this. The music sets the mood perfectly and raises the game experience several steps. Hearing it really makes you want to play the game again, a pretty good mark for game music, right?
Wing Commander I
I seem to keep coming back to this game whenever I mention game music, but it has its reasons. Not only did the music sound great, it was also interactive in a way that really worked. Hearing the music telling that an enemy missile was locked on you could really make your heart jump, and the fanfare when you destroyed an enemy ship always felt right. Or the strike mission theme, or ... Great stuff all the way through.
Lemmings 2
This game series is a classic. Guide a group of green-haired lemmings through a hostile world using a limited set of abilities. Fiendishly addictive, and also accompanied by some great music. Earlier Lemmings games sounded really good too, but Lemmings 2 was the best. I bet you thought Blue Danube couldn't make a good theme for the space lemmings, am I right? Well, you're wrong, it does. And that's only one of twelve equally memorable tribe themes. Why don't they make game music like this anymore?
For a list of more great Amiga game music, take a look at the mod-music-page.
