Vocal Music in Games: Gears of War

Even though most people might associate a certain song with Gears of War due to a commercial, the focus of this supposedly regular series is on original (not in the unique sense) music for/from video games.  Who then shall be highlighted?  None other than Dave Mustaine with his mega power of considering certain vowels unnecessary.  "Gears of War" is a song in the franchise-launching Gears of War.  It's rife with all of the elements you're used to from Megadeth.  Quite frankly it sounds like a generic Megadeth song, but hey, it works here.  It's definitely a musical style that fits quite well with the nature of the game.  The lyrics aren't too complicated either but what they lack in complexity they make up for in repetition and heavy handedness as they get across a feeling of "gears of war."  It's a simple tune that knows what it is supposed to be and accomplishes that goal rather efficiently.

Vocal Music in Games: MadWorld

In a continuing effort to reveal my poor tastes in not only games but music, I present the second entry in my series highlighting vocal music in videogames. 

When people think of the Wii they tend to imagine a family friendly motion sensitive casual gaming experience filled with the likes of Mario and other Nintendo mascots.  The ultra-violent and ultra-stylish MadWorld from Platinum Games is definitely as departure from traditional Wii fare.  For those unfamiliar with the game, MadWorld puts players in control of Jack, a bad dude with a chainsaw, as he is forced to compete in a game/reality show that puts contestants in a series of violent struggles and challenges.  Think Smash TV but instead of gameplay reminiscent of Robotron it borrows more from the fast paced style oriented beat ‘em ups and hack and slashers of the past decade.  Couple this rather low brow and base concept with a high contrast black and white presentation and you have yourself a fun blood filled romp of an artsy game.

Most of the games I intend to highlight in these features possess only one vocal song on their entire soundtrack, which naturally makes that song stick out more.  MadWorld is quite the oddity then, because it’s chock full of vocal tracks, as in every song has lyrics.  This musical departure from the norm infuses a sense of energy into the game to go with the homicidal tendencies of the main character, Jack.  It’s hard not to enjoy the stress relieving stylish virtual murdering of dudes when your actions are accompanied by the very descriptive lyrics of Ox, Doujah Raze, S.O.U.L. Purpose, Bandy Leggz, Wordsmith, Optimus, and Sick YG.  “It’s a Mad World” exemplifies the musical stylings of the title as it concisely delivers a summary of what you can expect from the game.

Lyrics:

No time to waste, I'm on a death watch.Wipin' out the enemy is my next thought. 10K bounty, thoughts not cloudy. Chainsaw make ya brains raw, don't doubt me. Put your life on the line to survive. This game of death, you must thrive. Stay clear because the world is mine. And the right fist backs every word in my lines. Attack on sight - Red, Black, White. Is all that is needed. Delivering a beating. Face all bleeding, you're no longer breathing.Stop sign through your eye, life is depleting. Call me a heathen, this mad world is feeding. My appetite for destruction and my reasonIs to last, ya feeling my drift? If not, you can feel your chest cavity split.
It's a mad world. Better watch ya step. It's a mad world. Now take your last breath.
No one can be trusted, get your face busted. The result is a fatal concussion. Organ combustion, metal spike thrusting. Through your back, Jack has no time for discussion. Spike bat busting, man darts gushing. Through your flesh, it's a mess while I'm pushing.Your body in the trash can. Who will be the last man? Ask me, I'll reply Jack while I'm bashing your head in. Homicide veteran. Psycho. If you were me then you'd might go crazy. Looney. Schizo. Better yet, insane. Now I must come and cause pain. The price on my brain is at 10,000 dollars. Don't let the chainsaw stop ya. I slice through similar to a surgeon. This is my world and I'm still here lurking.
It's a mad world. Better watch ya step. It's a mad world. Now take your last breath.

No time to waste, I'm on a death watch. Wipin' out the enemy is my next thought. 10K bounty, thoughts not cloudy. Chainsaw make ya brains raw, don't doubt me. Put your life on the line to survive. This game of death, you must thrive. Stay clear because the world is mine. And the right fist backs every word in my lines. Attack on sight - Red, Black, White. Is all that is needed. Delivering a beating. Face all bleeding, you're no longer breathing. Stop sign through your eye, life is depleting. Call me a heathen, this mad world is feeding. My appetite for destruction and my reason is to last, ya feeling my drift? If not, you can feel your chest cavity split.
It's a mad world.Better watch ya step. It's a mad world.

Vocal Music in Games: Night Trap

Music: they say it's the universal language.  Well what about deaf people?  The people that say that look like assholes now don't they? Back on topic, music is present in almost all multimedia.  A lack of music in a video game is a stylistic choice that would be more striking to most gamers than a tremendous score (score in the musical sense not "point" sense, though I guess it really works either way).  I do love me a good original  soundtrack and find that I enjoy/appreciate game music a little more than regular music.  That is to say, if I was to listen to two identical songs but one was labeled "Generic Overture 5" from Even More Olde Timey Classics and the other was "Theme of Mobius 1" from the Ace Combat 04 official soundtrack, I would tend to gravitate towards the one that I remember engaging in high-stakes dogfights to.

It's a safe assumption that most people are the same and this applies to anything (tie-in marketing is more or less built around this idea).  I mean I mark more for Diamond Dallas Page's theme than "Smells Like Teen Spirit."  There's some association thing going on that causes people to enjoy certain products of an inferior quality if they are related to something else you enjoy.  But you don't need me to tell you that and right now this whole piece seems asinine.

Let me get to the point: game music is good.  Game music with a vocal track is a whole different level.  No matter how you hum a tune, doing it with other people makes you an a cappella group, and you don't want to be an a cappella group, do you?  So I will be singing the praises of some of gaming's vocal anthems.

We begin this excellent adventure with an full motion video game shrouded in controversy: Night Trap.  Much ass-devastation was had by the typical anti-gaming crowd of the early 90's over the game's supposed "ultra-violent" and "sick" content.  Hate was particularly aimed at one specific game-over scene.  Night Trap players would contest these claims, but were too busy reevaluating their life and the choices they made that would lead them to play the game.  Concern really should have been focused on the fact that the good guys were totally into SCAT.