Great licensed songs in games

[TephlonPrice]

Tony Hawk: Project 8.

Oh No - Chump.

Put that song on, it feels like you're skateboarding in Venice Beach with your backpack on, fitted New Era Yankees cap, & a Gangstarr record on in your ears. And it gets no better than that.

 

[MajorTomServo]

Skyrim should have had something like that, like a bard follower little person that would play Safety Dance.

Game. Of. The. Year.

 

[Sarah Kerrigan]

I'll say anytime in Saints Row 3 the songs were handled amazingly, but 'Power' From Kanye West was awesome, not going to lie.

Also 'Mad World' from Gary Juels in Gears of War was just...so bad, it's a spoiler so I won't say, but i'll just say feels.

One more mention, 'Make it Bun' Them' From Skrillex in Far Cry 3 was just....perfection XD

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Most of my chices have been ninjaed, like Fallout 3 and New Vegas, so...

Star Spangled Banner - Jimi Hendrix for Spec Ops the Line

 

[Shinkicker444]

Spoiler: Bioshock Infinite

 

[Reginald the Butler]

Star Spangled Banner - Jimi Hendrix for Spec Ops the Line

Agreed. It was great at setting the mood of the game. That and

Spoiler

how the city/guard changes as you progress.

Dead Rising was another game to use music effectively to set the mood, especially for psycho battles.

For example, you come to hate hearing this: becasue it means those assholes are coming to run your ass over yet again.

 

[sextus the crazy]

I always thought that Dies Irae in the helicopter scene in Spec Ops: the Line was pretty awesome.

Also, playing "gangsta *****" in Saints Row 2 at any time is pretty good.

 

[bat32391]

Recently, I'd have to say Bioshock Infinite.

You guys know what I'm talking about

Did I miss something? Because I've already beaten it and all I heard was a bunch of old time sounding songs.

OT: I've gotta go with the Inkspots from Fallout 3 "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" is now one of my favorite songs ever.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Recently, I'd have to say Bioshock Infinite.

You guys know what I'm talking about

Did I miss something? Because I've already beaten it and all I heard was a bunch of old time sounding songs.

OT: I've gotta go with the Inkspots from Fallout 3 "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" is now one of my favorite songs ever.

Spoiler: Bioshock Infinite spoilers

There were quite a few tracks in the game that were old timey versions of more modern songs.

Remember, the game is set in 1912.

 

[Saregon]

Well, Ain't no rest for the wicked, from Borderlands comes to mind. A bunch from Fallout 3 and NV, but especially I don't want to set the world on fire. Also Superman from Tony Hawk 1. But these have already been said, so I'm gonna go with the scene from Alan Wake where you fight the Taken in a warehouse, with War by Poets of the Fall playing from the radio in the background. Gives me chills every time.

 

[purplecactus]

Definitely 'Ain't no rest of the wicked' from Borderlands, heh, got me listening to Cage the Elephant in general. They're fairly awesome. Got to mention the GTA games, it seems the radio stations have a great sense of timing as well...

 

[keiji_Maeda]

Some might see it as lazy, but I think that a well-chosen and well-placed licensed song can really be memorable in a game. The two examples I can think of off the top of my head are Power in SR3 and Ain't No Rest for the Wicked in Borderlands.

Any of you have a memorable rush of dopamine from a "real world" song in a game?

Edit: To clarify, I don't mean "I like this song, here's a game that it's in." I mean a song that perfectly catches the tone of the scene it's playing over. One that combines the feelings the game is creating for you and all the preconceived feelings you already had for that song into that one perfect moment.

THIS:


"Amazing" by Aerosmith for Dead or Alive 4. My favorite game ending ever.

I thought abouyt dead or alive, but this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHnPQPlBv2Q

 

[keiji_Maeda]

With Brayko i really do feel like.."Turning up the Radio"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPyxUUAyvNc

 

[Starik20X6]

LittleBigPlanet and its sequel introduced me to two great bands:



Both of them perfectly encapsulate that sense of wonder and charm that both games have in spades.

 

[AD-Stu]

Most of my favourites have already been ninja'd.

Definitely Star Spangled Banner over the menu screen of Spec Ops: The Line - in fact the entire licensed soundtrack to that game is worthy of mention for its contribution to the whole "WTF is going on" vibe of the game.

"Turn Up Your Radio" from the Brayko boss fight in Alpha Protocol is another gem, where not only was the song played in context within the game, but it set a perfect mood AND it made repeating the fight over and over again until you got it right bearable.

For one that hasn't been nominated yet though, I've got to go with the soundtrack to Need For Speed: Carbon. The whole underground series did quite well with its soundtracks actually (and I always appreciated the feature that let you cut the tracks you don't like out of the mix) but this game went a step further with having a particular musical style for each of the three gangs you take on. The old-school American muscle car gang had a rock soundtrack, the Japanese tuner crowd had a techno soundtrack and (my personal favourite) the European exotics gang had a grime soundtrack. This track in particular stood out for me:


The game itself wasn't the standout in the series, but the soundtrack was stellar.

 

[Andy Shandy]

There's been so many but recently Bioshock Infinite was just fantastic in it's use of licensed songs.

Spoiler: These two are particular favourites of mine

Absolutely spectacular.

 

[The_Fezz]

As much as it's really not something I'd usually listen to, Make It Bun Dem in Far Cry 3's weed burning mission just felt so right, the dubstep assaulting my ears fit the way the subtle hallucinogenic effects assaulted my eyes and while anything I say about the lyrics might sound a bit stereotypical...The whole thing just works so unbelievably well.

And of course, everything from Brutal Legend.

 

[Daggedawg]

Anything by Poets of the Fall in any video game, Alan Wake being the best example.

That's how you reshape destiny...

 

[Zeraki]

I was going to say M4 Part 2 by Faunts from Mass Effect, but that's already been mentioned I'll have to go with something else.

The ending credits for Shadow Complex is pretty good.

Spoiler

And from a game that is crammed full with licensed music... Cry of The Banshee by Brocas Helm, from Brutal Legend.

Spoiler

Prey also had good use of licensed music. In the opening when Tommy and Co. are first abducted the song "Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult starts playing on the jukebox full blast. It was a very effective use of the song.

Spoiler

Prey also introduced me to a little band called Clutch.

Spoiler