The Web’s Worthy Downloads #4 [Guide to Goodness]

This is a new feature that I’ve decided to put on the blog. Here every now and again, I will put down all the stuff on the web that’s been released lately (and sometimes not) which is worth downloading. It could be games; music; programs – you name it.

I might do this weekly, biweekly, or even monthly. I’ll see how it goes. But one things for sure – everything you read about here is free, and therefore, very likely legal to download and play or use.

Let’s start off this issue with something different. Yes, there’s the usual plethora of game demos out there on the web, some of which will be featured here.

But just check this out: Epic recently released the Bulletstorm soundtrack… for free. Now even though they host the thing over at the main website for you to grab, you can also get it in other locations, naturally – and I’d try one of these, personally.

I haven’t played the game, personally, but I’ve read it’s not bad at all, and worth a try. And besides, how often do you see game soundtracks released gratis?

Next on the list is Anomaly: Warzone Earth. I know my brother has been dying to get a hold of this for some reason or another. I was reading a piece over at Big Download (which is now no more, alas) about it, and it’s similar to a tower defence strategy title, except this time it’s the reverse: tower attacking. It’s by an indie studio called 11 Bit, and seems to have garnered some praise.

There’s a demo of the game online, which you can download too, for less than 400 MB.

You might also like this next one. I know I’m excited about it. The latest version 5.0 of the Duke Nukem 3D HRP is out! After a long wait it’s finally here - weighing in at more than half a gigabyte. There’s all sorts of new additions this time around, and you can check out duke4.net for more info and screenshots and the like.

In short, this version debuts the official integration of Polymer (AKA “shiny”). Polymer is the new renderer, instead of the old Polymost used originally with Duke Nukem 3D and its Build engine. Other than that, new models and textures and so on mean that this is the biggest release since, well version 4. You’ll need a beast of a machine to run Polymer, the HRP and all the bells and whistles turned on, though. In fact, the recommended specs for Duke Nukem Forever are probably more forgiving than this.

But looking at what this game looks like 15 years later, since it was first released in 1996 - it’s just astronomical how much effort has gone in to this project.

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Anomaly: Warzone Earth Demo (395 MB)

Bulletstorm soundtrack (100 MB)

Duke Nukem 3D High Resolution Pack v5 (550 MB)

The Web’s Worthy Downloads #4 [Guide to Goodness]

The Best Video Game Soundtracks: Worms 2

Growing up playing games in 90’s, I was always a big fan of actual music playing in the background, before all this atmospheric, and orchestral stuff came along in recent years. With games like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D, you mainly had MIDI tracks – not that they were bad.

I think Quake was likely the first to break this trend in 1996 with Trent Reznor of NiN fame doing the soundtrack.

But then some games, rather than come up with their own soundtracks (or borrow heavily from other sources like Bobby Prince did with Doom I and II), they just licensed a number of tracks from real artists.

In 1997, the one game that had this was Worms 2 -  the sequel to the equally addictive Worms, released years earlier.

While playing, you were treated to songs like “Come Out And Play”, “Self Esteem”, and “Killboy Powerhead” – tracks off of Smash, the best album off of the then punk rock sensation known as The Offspring. You could also squirm your way to several other great tracks, like The Prodigy’s “Firestarter”.

Of course, all these tracks had different names to suit the game, like “Swim Like A Brick”. Funny stuff, seeing as the worms in the game can’t swim. I think especially the punk rock songs complimented Worms 2’s fun gameplay and defiant stance against other games at the time – particularly Doom clones or first-person shooters. It showed that a game could be fun and not overly violent to be a major success. That’s pretty much Team 17 though. They’ve really just stuck with the same sort of formula of strategy titles for the past near twenty years.

It’s a shame that it was the only Worms game to date that actually had a soundtrack as impressive as this. Other Worms titles, before and after, didn’t, to my knowledge.

The Best Video Game Soundtracks: Worms 2

Thief II: The Metal Age Remastered Soundtrack up for Download

About two or three years ago if not longer, it was announced on TTLG and Thief-The Circle that the soundtrack for Thief: The Dark Project, originally written and composed by Eric Brosius, was available for download. Only this time it was remastered by Child of Karras, a forum dweller over at TTLG. It was called “The Golden Soundtrack”, and had 23 tracks all on one mp3, plus some fancy CD artwork and a booklet in PDF format with the entire tracklist.

I just read the other day that after a long while, the sequel, Thief II: The Metal Age’s soundtrack has received the same treatment and is now available online for free.

Quite fitting as earlier on this year, this classic title celebrated its tenth anniversary.

This time it comes in two forms. You can download the whole collection in one mp3, or you can get them separately. And the interesting thing I read about it is that it blends melodies from the English and German versions of the soundtrack. I likely haven’t heard some of those.

Thief 2 Soundtrack Gap-less MP3 [114 MB]
Thief 2 Soundtrack Single MP3s [100 MB]

You can bet that I’ll be recommending this some time for the NAG October 2010 Cover DVD Request Thread, which was opened recently. I’ll likely try my hand at downloading it myself as well though. Can’t wait a month until the next NAG!

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Source: Thief 2 - The Soundtrack Age [TTLG]

Thief II: The Metal Age Remastered Soundtrack up for Download

Trent Reznor not Working on Doom 4

It’s a long way off until Doom 4 will ever see the light of day, seeing as Rage – the title that id is currently working on – will only arrive next year as it is.

Still, there were those who probably wondered whether Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame would be working on Doom 4 as far as sound and music goes.

The answer it turns out, is “No”. Apparently he said that he doesn’t have the time to work on the game.

"I haven't been contacted by them and find it unlikely that I would have time at this point."

Trent previously worked on the music in Quake, and also did some work on Doom 3 that didn’t even make it into the final version of the game.

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Source: Trent Reznor Unlikely to be Involved with Doom 4 [1UP]

Trent Reznor not Working on Doom 4

Modern Warfare 2 Soundtrack Available Now

Video game soundtracks are usually released before or just about the same time the game which features the OST releases. Modern Warfare 2 is different, seeing as the OST for this game, which was released last November, was only released this month – this week in fact.

The score is by Hans Zimmer, and features 17 tracks from the game, which in total clocks in at just under an hour’s play length. It retails for $7.99 at Amazon, saving you over $8 if you bought all the songs individually, and also $2 cheaper than you’d find it on iTunes.

Track list:

1. Opening Titles       3:25
2. Extraction Point     3:35    
3. Breach                  3:22         
4. Guerrilla Tactics     2:58    
5. Siege                    4:05    
6. Infiltration               4:27    
7. Espirit de Corps     3:07    
8. Retreat and Reveille     2:57    
9. Ordinance              1:58    
10. Contingency         2:15    
11. Onwards              2:27    
12. Code of Conduct     2:09    
13. Chain of Command     2:00    
14. Safeguard             2:43    
15. Deadline               3:55    
16. Protocol                3:47    
17. Coup de Grace      3:21

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Source: Modern Warfare 2 Soundtrack [Blues News]

Modern Warfare 2 Soundtrack Available Now

Apocalypse Then: Motocross Madness 2

Ten Years of Motocross Madness 2

On this day in gaming, in 2000, Motocross Madness 2 was released.

It’s no doubt the sequel to Motocross Madness, developed by Rainbow Studios and published by Microsoft. It was only ever released for the PC.

Some improvements over the first one included better textures, and not to mention the addition of foliage which was strangely absent from the original.

Another new addition was that of a level editor which allowed you to create your own tracks. Not only this but there licenced motorcycle brands, customization of bikes and riders, and the soundtrack was done by non other than Incubus.

Also in the game were several different game modes which ranged from racing against other motocross riders to just playing around in freestyle mode, doing stunts and usually bailing a hell of a lot.

I fondly recall playing Motocross Madness 2 years ago with my gamepad, passing the time while recovering from sprained ankles – injuries incurred from skateboarding years ago. It’s not only one of Microsoft’s best games put out over the last decade, but one of the best motocross simulations ever.

Apocalypse Then: Motocross Madness 2

Remastered Fallout 1 and 2 Soundtracks Available for Free

I’m quite a big fan of listening to video game soundtracks, and while reading through my news feeds the other night I saw something that perked my interest. The composer for the original Fallout titles, Mark Morgan, has remastered  all the songs he composed for Fallout 1 and 2, in a project of his called the “Vault Archives”.

And the best thing about it, and I would expect no less, is that it’s a free download. You can get all 24 tracks, which are remixed and remastered. You can download them over on Aural Network. There are four streaming sample tracks that you can play to listen to as well. There’s also a mirror on NMA, in case it doesn’t work on the former site.

I don’t know if I’ll download them all. I have heard the originals, most recently when someone made a mod which incorporated the songs from the original two games into Fallout 3. You can bet that I’ll be adding it to the queue for the NAG DVD though.

There were some jabs over on NMA, with some posters saying that you better hurry up and get it before Bethesda issues a Cease& Desist order.

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Sources:

Fallout Remastered OST available for free [No Mutants Allowed]
Fallout 1 & 2 soundtracks remastered, free to download [D’toid]

Remastered Fallout 1 and 2 Soundtracks Available for Free

StarCraft II: Pricing Details, Collector’s Edition Goodies, Box Arts

There is now confirmation that a Collector’s Edition for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty exists.

Items that it contains include StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, a 176-page art book, a 'Thor' unit pet for World of WarCraft, the original StarCraft plus the Brood War expansion on a USB thumb drive shaped like Jim Raynor's dog tag, behind-the-scenes DVD, the official StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty soundtrack CD, StarCraft comic book issue #0, and exclusive Battle.net downloadable content.

This is said to be one of the best collectors editions ever, and for good reason. There’s a lot of good stuff there. The Collectors Edition goes for $99.99 and is no doubt a retail product only. The standard edition is $59.99. [1]

 

Wings of Liberty is the first in a trilogy in StarCraft II, with Zerg and Protoss campaigns to come later, after the game is released this year. So far StarCraft II is in closed beta, which just received a patch the other day, resulting in some game balancing.

It’s also been confirmed that unlike Command& Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, StarCraft II will be playable offline, and doesn’t require any of this always online, new DRM malarkey. You only need to activate it once with a Battle.net account. There won’t be any LAN play though [3].

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Source: [1] Shacknews - [2] Examiner [Box Arts] - [3] Fudzilla

StarCraft II: Pricing Details, Collector’s Edition Goodies, Box Arts

BioShock 2 Soundtrack Coming 9th of February: Same day as the Game

BioShock 2 is going to flood retail stores and digital distribution outlets when it’s released… today. Now BioShock was known for having a great soundtrack (in fact as I remember it was released for free at one stage - seriously), so where is BioShock 2’s soundtrack?

Well, it’s releasing on the same day as the game. It will be released digitally, including Amazon, in two forms: the standard and the deluxe edition. The Standard Edition has 12 tracks and the Deluxe has 18. The difference in price is about a couple of dollars.

I was reading that until it’s released, you can listen to it (not download) on Rapture Radio.

Here’s the tracklist:

STANDARD EDITION:

The Boogie Man - Todd Rollins & his Orchestra
How Much Is That Doggie In The Window? - Patti Page
20th Century Blues - Noel Coward
Nightmare - Artie Shaw & His New Music
Daddy, Won't You Please Come Home? - Annette Hanshaw
Praise The Lord and Pass The Ammunition - Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
Dawn of a New Day (Song Of The World's Fair) - Horace Heidt & His Music Knights
Night and Day (Song of the World’s Fair) - Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra
My Heart Belongs To Daddy - Eddie Duchin & His Orchestra
Chasing Shadows - Quintette of the Hot Club of France
Jitterbug Waltz - Fats Waller & His Rhythm
I Cover The Waterfront - Connie Boswell

DELUXE EDITION:

The Boogie Man - Todd Rollins & his Orchestra
How Much Is That Doggie In The Window? - Patti Pag
20th Century Blues - Noel Coward
Nightmare - Artie Shaw & His New Music
Daddy, Won't You Please Come Home? - Annette Hanshaw
Praise The Lord and Pass The Ammunition - Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
Dawn of a New Day (Song Of The World's Fair) - Horace Heidt & His Music Knights
Night and Day - Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra
My Heart Belongs To Daddy - Eddie Duchin & His Orchestra
Chasing Shadows - Quintette of the Hot Club of France
Jitterbug Waltz - Fats Waller & His Rhythm
I Cover The Waterfront - Connie Boswell
Mental Strain At Dawn - Jack Purvis, trumpet solo, with rhythm accompaniment
Bei Mir Bist Du Schon - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra, with vocal by Martha Tilton
The Trouble With Me is You - Red McKenzie
The Skeleton In The Closet - Putney Dandridge
We Saw The Sea - Fred Astaire
La Mer - Django Reinhardt

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Source: D’toid

BioShock 2 Soundtrack Coming 9th of February: Same day as the Game

Dark Void Soundtrack Coming on 9th of February

Dark Void may have been a game that received mixed reviews, but the soundtrack is coming soon, on the 9th of next month. The music is composed by Bear McCreary (reminds me Bear Grylls, but it’s not), and it was the first game that he ever scored, according to Bear himself. Bear goes into detail about the OST on his blog.

I've tried to find a tracklist, but all I know is it’s about 80 minutes long in total, and includes a bonus track, “Theme from Dark Void”.

You can pick it up at Amazon.

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Source: Big Download

Dark Void Soundtrack Coming on 9th of February

Mass Effect 2 Soundtrack Arriving Just Before the Game

Mass Effect 2 is scheduled for a January 26th release this year, but a week before, on January 19th (Tuesday next week), the soundtrack for the game is arriving. You can all ready grab it at Amazon for pre-order.

The soundtrack is composed by Jack Wall, who also made the soundtrack for the first game.

 

Here’s the track list:

CD 1   

1. The Illusive Man   
2. Humans Are Disappearing   
3. The Attack   
4. The Lazarus Project   
5. A Rude Awakening   
6. The Normandy Reborn   
7. Miranda   
8. Jacob   
9. Freedom's Progress   
10. Thane   
11. Garrus   
12. An Unknown Enemy   
13. Samara   

CD 2   

1. Grunt   
2. Horizon   
3. Tali   
4. Mordin   
5. The Normandy Attacked   
6. Jack   
7. Legion   
8. Jump Drive   
9. Crash Landing   
10. The Collector Base   
11. The End Run   
12. Suicide Mission   
13. New Worlds   
14. Reflections

You can check out the page for the soundtrack below, along with all the individual mp3s where you can listen to samples and buy them when the date arrives.

Mass Effect 2 Soundtrack

Mass Effect 2 Soundtrack Arriving Just Before the Game

Borderlands Soundtrack Coming Out in December

Didn't think there was a sound track in Borderlands? Well, yes there is, and it will be out this December in time for Christmas.

It features the talents of Sascha Dikiciyan, Cris Velasco, Raison Varner, Tim Larkin, and Jesper Kyd. Jesper Kyd is especially well-known in the industry, and is probably recognized as the artist responsible for the Hitman series and Assassin's Creed.

Hitman Blood Money contains one of favourite game OSTs ever, and it was composed by that man.

Well anyway, here's the track list. Note that it doesn't contain “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” by Cage the Elephant. There are some bonus tracks added though.

1. Prelude (Jesper Kyd)
2. Welcome To Fyrestone (Jesper Kyd)
3. Enter Skag Gully (Raison Varner)
4. Fighting Off The Skags (Raison Varner)
5. Removing The Bandit Threat (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
6. Traversing The Deep (Raison Varner)
7. Fighting Sledge's Minions (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
8. Welcome to The Bunker (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
9. Smoking Out The Bunker (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
10. Burning Rubber and Shooting Bullets (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
11. The Junkyard Vista (Jesper Kyd)
12. Welcome to The Trash Coast (Raison Varner)
13. The Rakkhive Emerges (Raison Varner)
14. Assaulting Krom's Canyon (Raison Varner)
15. Battling Krom's Minions (Raison Varner)
16. Fighting Krom and His Gun (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
17. Trash The Bandits (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
18. Trash The Bandits Some More (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
19. Welcome To The Wastelands (Jesper Kyd)
20. Traveling To The Vault (Raison Varner)
21. Destroying the Destroyer (Raison Varner)
22. Bonus - Bring Your Guns (Jesper Kyd)
23. Bonus - Borderlands (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
24. Bonus - The Old New Haven (Tim Larkin)
25. Bonus - Exploring the Mine (Tim Larkin)
26. Bonus - Exploring Overlook (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)
27. Bonus - The Threat At Overlook (Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco)

You can pick up the Borderlands OST from Amazon.



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http://twitter.com/GearboxSoftware/statuses/5805128094
Destructoid

Borderlands Soundtrack Coming Out in December

Classic Metal Tracks That Should Have Been on the Assassin’s Creed Soundtrack

Guy Fawkes Night

Speaking of soundtracks, and of the Assassin’s Creed II Soundtrack in particular, I was just thinking of something for a post, which has been in the back of my mind since last year while I was playing Assassin’s Creed.

If they had to have metal tracks in the soundtrack for the original Assassin’s Creed, which ones would they use? I came up with three so far, that all have a kind of middle-eastern Assassin type of feel to them, which I would listen to while playing the game:

Metallica- "Wherever I May Roam"

This track, the intro in particular, is played with an electric sitar, and sounds quite appropriate, almost reminding me of Sabu from the old ECW, if not the game.

Megadeth- "Holy Wars…The Punishment Due"

So the theme of the song actually had more to do with the IRA years ago, so I’ve read, but the name of the song and parts of it just remind me of the crusades, like in the game, with the battle between the Franks, or Crusaders, and the Muslims.

Motörhead - "Assassin"

The title of the tracks pretty much says it all, I think, but it’s all that there is some drums and stuff going on half-way through the track that get the kind of feel I’m thinking of.

I might add some more later on when I come across a track that I feel fits the criteria I'm looking, or listening for.

Classic Metal Tracks That Should Have Been on the Assassin’s Creed Soundtrack

Assassin’s Creed II Soundtrack out This Month, Before the Game

This month, before the game is even released, the soundtrack for Assassin’s Creed II , composed by none other than Jesper Kyd, will be out. Jesper did the original Assassin’s Creed OST, and is no doubt also famous for doing the OSTs for the Hitman series of games, among others.

The album is available on Amazon. I've included links to the individual MP3s as well.

Here is the track list for the game:

Disc 1/2
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01. Heart 3:58
02. Venice Rooftops 3:17
03. Ezio's Family 3:57
04. Florence Tarantella 1:51
05. Home In Florence 4:29
06. Approaching Target 1 3:35
07. Approaching Target 2 6:06
08. Venice Fight 2:01
09. Florence Escape 2:49
10. Tour Of Venice 3:15
11. Flight Over Venice 1 5:09
12. Back In Venice 1:32
13. Dreams Of Venice 4:23
14. Home Of The Brotherhood 3:26
15. Leonardo's Inventions Pt 1 2:11
16. Venice Combat Low 1:44
17. Venice Escape 3:26
-------------------------------------------
57:09

Disc 2/2
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01. Darkness Falls In Florence 4:05
02. Sanctuary 4:05
03. The Madam 1:04
04. Approaching The Target 3 5:52
05. Flight Over Venice 2 5:18
06. Ezio In Florence 2:18
07. Venice Industry 3:09
08. Stealth 2:22
09. Venice Combat 2:03
10. Notorious 1:14
11. Night Mission In Venice 2:11
12. Chariot Chase 3:20
13. The Plague 3:30
14. Wetlands Combat 2:48
15. Wetlands Escape 2:36
16. Leonardo's Inventions Pt 2 2:47
17. Hideout 2:40
18. The Animus 2.0 4:14
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55:36

Assassin’s Creed II Soundtrack out This Month, Before the Game

The Joy That is Remastered Video Game Soundtracks

Okay, so I lied when I said that I wouldn’t cover anything more to do with John Romero. But one of his latest tweets has this to say, and this continued into a conversation with George Broussard of 3D Realms which I thought I would include in this post:

“Listening to Duke 3D soundtrack while working......oh yeah....”

"The Duke3D soundtrack mp3s? I listen to them a lot. In fact, last week i had the whole 42 song collection on repeat/shuffle."

I like to listen to music sometimes when I write or just when the mood strikes me, and I also enjoy listening to video game soundtracks; among those, Duke Nukem 3D’s. But the old midi tracks from the nineties only bring me so much joy. True, it does bring a retro, nostalgic feeling to mind, but where it’s really at is when old video game soundtracks are remastered by fans or even sometimes the games’ composers.

What I like is Mark McWane’s Duke Nukem 3D tracks- remastered mp3 versions of the old midis. They are also available in OGG format, and most of them are excellent and faithful covers or interpretations of the old tracks.

He also has the Blood soundtrack on his site as well, remastered, naturally, as well as a few tracks done on request, which include some from Shadow Warrior, Wolfenstein 3D, and Witchaven, among others. Mark has been doing these for years, but he was mostly actively involved in 2004 and 2005, and since then seems to have other things preoccupying his time. I have contacted him before to tell him “good job”, and I hope that he continues with these projects. I wish he or somebody else would try to remake all of the game soundtracks from the nineties.

Some modmakers even have plans to use the remastered Duke Nukem 3D tracks of his in their source ports for the game. I can’t remember which one, but EDuke32 is the best in my book bar none, along with the HRP pack, Polymer and DukePlus. An astounding combined effort. If only paid game developers worked so hard, especially to revive older (classic) games…

I’ve also come across many attempts to cover songs from Doom and Doom II on the internet. Most of these are at DoomWorld, although some are hosted elsewhere. Likely some of the best covers were found at hellonearthsound, where Neurological and Sonic Clang featured many songs which had proper guitars and drums playing, and perhaps the odd piano twinkle. Sadly this site seems to have been closed.

Sonic Clang’s tracks were featured in the Classic Doom mod for Doom 3, and they can be found at DoomWorld as far as I know.

I contacted Neurological about HOES it and he claimed that he may or may not reopen the site at a later date. I also asked him if the tracks were archived anywhere, and he replied that to his knowledge they weren’t anywhere else on the net. When I informed him that I had pretty much all of his Doom and Doom II tracks, he told me I had his permission to host them somewhere. He added that those tracks were mainly cr@p, and that he’s working on newer and better ones, at his other site- he’s modest too.

I should either look for those tracks again on the net to save myself time and effort or upload them myself sometime (the hard way).

The Joy That is Remastered Video Game Soundtracks

Available Now: Resident Evil 5 Original Soundtrack

Resident Evil 5 O.S.T.

$14.99

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 26, 2009)
• Original Release Date: May 26, 2009
• Number of Discs: 3
• Number of Tracks: 86
  
• Label: Sumthing Else

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Title Movie
2. Opening -Chris's Arrival
3. Item Box
4. New Fear
5. Magic Act
6. The Butcher
7. The Town
8. First Encounter
9. Majini I
10. Hospitality
11. Majini II
12. Game Over
13. Damsel in Distress
14. Majini III
15. A Piece of the Puzzle
16. Unidentified Threat
17. An Emergency
18. The Storage Facility
19. Result
20. The Ripper
21. Executioner
22. The Crisis Reinforcements Arrive
23. Voice of The Darkness
24. Terror from Above
25. Flying Nightmare
26. Pursuer and The Pursued
27. Shaking off The Majini
28. Grand Resurgence
29. Burning with Anger
30. Delta Team's Distress
31. Shadows of the Past
32. Eerie Stillness
33. Majini IV

Disc: 2

1. Majini V
2. Unite but
3. Too Late
4. Get out!
5. Majini's Trap I
6. The Patrol Boat
7. Evil Mutation
8. A New Clue
9. Ancient Noise
10. Majini VI
11. Majini's Trap II
12. Excella and Wesker
13. Underground Garden
14. The Claw 15. Huge Facility
16. Gigantic Attack
17. The Enigma
18. Majini VII
19. Haze of Horror
20. UROBOROS
21. The Mask
22. Two on Two
23. Old Friends, New Enemies
24. Sad but true
25. Trust 26.
The Tanker

Disc: 3

1. Majini VIII
2. Shot or Death
3. A New Nightmare Begins
4. Fragment of Fears
5. The Sign
6. A Big Despair
7. Message
8. Majini IX -in flames-
9. Rematch
10. Wind of Madness
11. The Vulnerability
12. Sky-high Skirmish
13. The Final Curtain
14. Deep Ambition
15. Striker
16. Homeward Bound!
17. Pray -Theme Song
18. Plan of Uroboros
19. Menu
20. Viewer
21. Colors
22. Assault Fire
23. Dreamy Loops
24. On the Bass
25. Rust in summer 2008
26. KILLERS
27. Do you challenge Again?

Sources:

http://www.joystiq.com/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0027GN6GA?ie=UTF8&tag=apocalypso-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0027GN6GA

Available Now: Resident Evil 5 Original Soundtrack

Where has all the music gone?

I originally sent this as an e-mail to NAG magazine recently.

I’ve been playing through all the Doom games lately along with the Doomsday sourceport that makes playing them on XP a cinch. 

While I was doing this, even though some are catchy, I laughed at the MIDI songs blasting out of my speakers, but after a while I realized something.

Games sure have become quieter, haven’t they?

Most developers go for atmospheric sound and music, maybe with the occasional flare up of dramatic music when the mood strikes, but beyond that they are a lot quieter. Gone are the days of the 1990s when you had a soundtrack playing all throughout the level. True, it did get irritating after a while, but look at how Sonic Clang pulled it off with their songs that accompanied the Classic Doom mod for Doom 3.

Doom 3 itself didn’t even have a soundtrack apart from the main menu music, and probably the last games that did were Quake 2 and Quake 3. Quake 2 still has one of the best OSTs ever, IMO.

Some people have even taken to remaking the old songs from Blood, Doom and Duke Nukem 3D, because they like to relive the good old days.

Wouldn’t it be great if more games had a proper dark, broody soundtrack with guitars and drums, and not this dramatic techno or classical stuff playing? Think of how it would sound nowadays compared to the original Doom games.

Here are a couple of sites where you can find more modern mp3 versions of old game OSTs.

http://www.neuro-lab.net/music/main.html

http://www.markmcwane.com/

Where has all the music gone?