Best Video Game Music

I love video games (especially MMO style) and a few of them truly have some of the best video game music ever. There are times when I simply stop from chasing monsters, or fighting evil only to listen to the soundtrack till it's over.

Opera style, sci-fi style, medieval style, there is something for everyone, and you know you've hit it off with the song when you've got that hair standing up on your arms feeling, when you can't breath of emotion, when you're just swept away by the sound of it.

The idea for this page came to me the other day when I playing a new game (in open Beta just now) called Firefall. The whole game has awesome music, but one of the song played during the login simply woudn't let me login to play until the song finished. Throughout the entire day that song was stuck in my head - you know the feeling, right?

So this is when I decided on the theme of my new page - since I love listening to gaming soundtrack - to compile a list of the best in-game music that has been written the last couple of year.

The list is mine, and of course it might not fully match with your own favorites. It is based on the games I actually played. While I'm a major gamer, I can't claim to have played them all. If you do have other favorites, please do let me know the titles in the Guestbook section below, so I can check them out.

I hope you are moved by these songs just as I was when I listened to each and every one of them.

Image credits: Creative Commons Flickr

Ok first a disclaimer: I'm a longstanding gamer focusing mostly on RGP and above all on MMORPG (basically it's a multiplayer online gamer). I've started back in the day with Diablo um...in 1996. Not quite sure why, but I've been addicted to that game for years - could be that I had a great group of friends to play with. So anyway it was enough to hook me on pc games and I'm a game addict ever since - and proud of it.

Over the years I tried many games, some I liked, some not so much, and some I truly loved. Even if I didn't like to play one, it didn't stop me from enjoying the music if it was good. In cases so much that I simply bought the CD or downloadable mp3 songs just to listen to them.

Of course, if the game was also one worth playing - getting the soundtrack was a given.

Sadly I don't own an Xbox or other gaming gadgets, I only play on my PC, so I only listed here music for games that can be played on the pc (some can also be played on Xbox, for example, but there is also a PC version available).

For example I've listened to Halo 4 music on Youtube, and wow it's simply amazing - however I've never played it as it's on Xbox, so I didn't list it here separately.

Also a note - this is my personal list of favorite gaming music and soundtracks, so of course it will not always be 100% matching with your own favorites. If so, please list your loved ones in the Guestbook section below.

Image credit: my character in the latest game I'm playing: Firefall

I've been playing Mass Effect ever since it first came out on PC (I only play games on my computer, not on Xbox and other devices), in 2008. Made by Bioware, who also created Star Wars The Old Republic, Dragon Age and Neverwinter Nights (one of the first ones I played years ago), this is a science fiction style 3rd person shooter game, which I enjoy a lot.

In fact I've been following Bioware ever since Neverwinter Nights because if they could come up with such an awesome game, the next ones would sure be just as good - if not better (and I was right).

Mass Effect 3 came out last year, in 2012 and I was quick to grab the box right away. I loved it right away, but I especially enjoyed the soundtrack. In fact all Mass Effect video game music soundtracks are simply awesome, but somehow the music from the third one touched me to the core.

The third Mass Effect soundtrack is more personal somewhat in nature. More epic, but also more atmospheric. I love it so much better than the previous scores (although they are awesome in their own right as well).

For Mass Effect 3 there are currently 23 songs included in the album, with my favorite one being Leaving Earth, which you can listen to below. I hope you will be moved by it just as I constantly am as well.

Check out the Mass Effect 3 official website for more information about the game.

Image credits: Creative Commons Flickr

Firefall is another sci-fi MMO game (some people argue that it's a co-op game, not a real MMO) which I'm playing right now. It's been in development for more than a year and just now it has been released as an open beta, which means that everyone can download it and play. The game is free - and will remain free even after it's officially launched.

The fact that it is in beta stage means that not quite all the bugs are ironed out. The players can download it (it's just a little over 4 Gb, which is nothing really for such a huge gameplay) and play it to their heart's content. And if there are any bugs found, there is a handy 'Bug report' button where we can all send our feedback on bugs found. So far I've only sent in one bug as I discovered it while playing.

Btw, the few bugs really don't spoil it for anyone playing it so don't be weary of download it - it's totally worth it. I can easily expect this one to be one of the best games of 2013 or 2014.

Currently there is no official soundtrack for the game, but I've already found a few on Youtube, including the one that I truly, truly love.

The song below is one of the 6 (if I'm not mistaken) login songs. There are times when I don't click on the Login button until the song has fully played, as I can't get enough of it - and I know I'm not the only one.

Image credits: my own character in Firefall

Skyrim is one of my favorite games of all times. It is part of the Elder Scrolls (the 5th one) and it's maybe one of their best ever. Except Skyrim I've only played Morrowind (which is their 4th installment), so I can't compare it with the first two in the series.

I love the Skyrim soundtrack - in fact I also love the Morrowind songs, but Skyrim is just a bit more atmospheric, in my opinion.

Made by Bethesda Studios, the game first came out towards end of 2011. I bought it early 2012 and played the game quite a bit before moving on to something else. But the music is something I can listen to over and over again.

If you want to see what the game is about, head over to the official website.

Below you will find two videos: the first is one of the official songs from the Skyrim soundtrack, a favorite of mine.

The second one is played my Malukah - please listen to it, it's worth every minute.

Image credits: my screenshot of opening scene in Skyrim

Strangely, Perfect World is a game I tried, but didn't really enjoy it. But what I liked most was the music. Wow just awesome!

Perfect World is a relatively older one, I think it was brought to public in 2007. It is free to play that can be downloaded from the website directly.

It is in the fantasy genre with a Chinese theme that can be played online (it's an MMORPG - massively multi player role playing game). I'm not quite sure why it didn't speak to me, however I don't have to play it to listen to the songs within, which are just awesome.

Some might not agree with me on this, but Eve Online has some great music - I know quite a lot of Eve players who made their own compilations to listen to the songs when commuting to work, in the car or simply at home. I know, I'm one of them.

I love Eve as a game, and I keep subscribing every now and then - been playing it on and off for a few years now, and when I get a bit bored, I simply let my subscription lapse - only to pick it up a few month later. The great thing about this game is that the character remains with all the skill points and everything accumulated over time, so as soon as you reactivate your subscription, you can pick up from where you left off.

Eve Online is a very niche game with a relatively small number of players - but all harcore fierce players. What initially disturbed me about it was the fact that you don't really 'see' other characters - all you see is ship. The only place you get to see your own character is at the docking station, as shown in the image above. But once you get over this 'feature', you might just get hooked on it, like me.

Eve has several scores that are simply wonderful and I'm one of those people who made their own Eve music compilation - so I might be biased here, but I do find it to be one of the best video game music ever.

Image credits: my character in Eve