-By Kristen Dunleavy
In the 8-bit glory days of bleeps and bloops, early video game music was as banal as the graphics.
The Super Mario Bros. theme became the background music in living rooms everywhere, giving moms headaches nationwide.
Lucky for Mom, video game soundtracks have progressed a whole lot since that chubby little plumber came onto the scene.
Not only is music now an integral part of gaming, you don’t have to feel like a turbo nerd when you discreetly order the Halo soundtrack online. (Actually, that's still pretty geeky.) For a list of slightly hipper soundtracks, check out the list below:
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City & San AndreasA superior and super-eclectic mix of artists on both titles, from Kurtis Blow to Willie Nelson. And if I was about to shoot someone in the face and steal their car, I’d definitely want to be listening Judas Priest while doing so.
Katamari Damacy and We Heart KatamariKatamari and its sequel enjoy a cult following of Engrish loving freaks, but at least they have good taste in music. Full of infectious Japanese tunes, this soundtrack is pricey only available by import. However, it’s well worth it. Have you ever heard Japanese rap?
Def Jam Fight for NYMama said knock you out and steal your woman. Which is exactly what happens in this game to the music of Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, Outkast, and of course LL Cool J.
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 and Tony Hawk UndergroundEven if you can’t nail the backwards flying double elbow grab (which may or may not actually exist), you can expand your musical horizons. Cannibal Ox, Iron Maiden, N.W.A., and Busdriver are just a few of the artists you can break your virtual bones to.
NBA 2K6Over a dozen original tracks and music from the likes of The Roots,
Common, RJD2, Flava Flav, and Method Man. Too bad Flava Flav can’t be on your team.
It’s always important to pay homage to the originals. Betta recognize:
*Sonic the Hedgehog
*Super Mario Bros.
*PaRappa the Rapper
*Streets of Rage
*Toe Jam and Earl
*Megaman
