Last week, I shared three songs from three major fantasy role-playing game franchises: Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, and The Elder Scrolls. This week, let's lean a bit more science fiction.
Halo 2, Mjolnir Mix
The original Halo games from Bungie Studios on the original Xbox and Xbox 360 had some of the best music in the first-person shooter genre. The first game was good, and the second built on every aspect, including music. Guitarist Steve Vai contributed an extra layer of heavy metal on top of the Gregorian Chant and orchestral instrumentation established in the original theme to create one of the most iconic introductions of all time. First, the song as heard in game and during the credits. Second, a behind-the-scenes look at his improvisation for what would eventually become that final piece.
Without Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, the series lost its soundscape, and 343 Industries (now Halo Studios) veered from the core ideas that made the gameplay work. Halo 4 was the start of a long decline as everything that made the prior games work seemed to have been stripped away, leaving an imposter wearing the visuals. We defeated the Covenant and the Flood only to be conquered by Microsoft's corporate bureaucracy. Nonetheless, music, memories, and the old games remain. Just stay away from Halo Industries and their alleged "remaster."
Perfect Dark, Area 51 (Rescue)
Moving on to a different console, the Nintendo 64 had some great games despite its weird controller. GoldenEye 007 was a surprise success, and arguably made the first-person shooter genre into a serious part of the console gaming world. The company behind it was British firm Rare, and their follow-up was Perfect Dark, a science fiction spy game involving a sentient A.I., an evil megacorporation, and two space alien factions.
Music was composed by David Clynick, Graeme Norgate, and Grant Kirkhope. It leans heavily on synthesizers for the N64 sound chip, and tends to be a bit repetitive for looping during gameplay in a level, there are some great pieces that would fit into a futuristic James Bond. This particularly suspenseful piece is called Area 51 (Rescue), and plays during part of a mission where the player is infiltrating the Area 51 military base in Nevada to rescue a survivor from a crashed spacecraft.
Someone kindly uploaded the entire soundtrack and divided it into chapter markings for each piece of music, so you can have a listen to more there if you like.
Gameplay and level design feel quite dated by modern standards, but my niece still insists we play the multiplayer mode whenever she visits. Old, but good, design holds up. It has been emulated and remastered both officially and unofficially. Give it a try if you enjoy what are now retro games. I think I felt my bones creak just typing that...
XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Mission Control
You have almost certainly heard of Halo before, and you may not be unfamiliar with Perfect Dark, but the XCOM series is relatively unknown outside the intended audience. Squad-based tactical games are far less popular than first-person shooters. My first encounter was the original hyphenated X-COM series, probably on a demo CD of DOS and Windows games, and it was a huge leap from the strategy games I had played. Back before they turned evil, 2K Games released what I would consider a good reimagining of the franchise with XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and that pulled me back into the genre. You command a squad of soldiers who gain experience and unlock specialty skills as they fight an invading army of extraterrestrials. However, if they die in a mission, they are gone. Recruiting and training up soldiers must be balanced with fielding skilled and well-equipped troops. It is a tense, but incredibly engaging, loop of strategy and risk. Movement and cover matter.
Somewhat like Perfect Dark, the soundtrack by Michael McCann is heavily synthesized, but much more nuanced and layered. It isn't the sort of music I would choose for entertainment. but maybe it's the kind of sound you would want in the background while doing something else? A lot is suspenseful, but some, like this track from the mission control screen, are not.
If this interests you, try this playlist for the entire soundtrack.
What are your favorite sci-fi games, and do you prefer more action or strategy? Am I too close to the UTC line for it to still be "Tuesday" in too much of the world? Chime in with a comment!
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