Best/Worst Licensed Soundtracks?

[Moonface]

So we have a thread for video-game OST's, but nothing for licensed soundtracks.

Most of the games I've played with licensed soundtracks are the Burnout, Need for Speed, and WWE games, and of those three I'd say Burnout as a whole consistently has the best licensed soundtrack choices. I can't decide between 3 and Paradise which one has the best song list though.

[WR91]

Best? GTA San Andreas, GTA Vice City and Tony Hawk's Underground.

All amazing games with amazing soundtracks.

[Moonface]

The only GTA I've played is V, which had a decent soundtrack but there wasn't many songs I'd want to listen to outside of the context of the game world and it's characters.

Same goes for Watch Dogs 2. It wasn't terrible but I don't remember much of it, but it felt fine to listen to inside the game.

[Mr EliteL]

Agreed about Need For Speed and WWE games, they're pretty good to OK, although if the game has a option to select what songs you want to hear in-game or on the menu, I do so and remove the songs I can't stand. NFSU2 I thought was better than NFSMW due to me unchecking more in the latter.

[Moonface]

...although if the game has a option to select what songs you want to hear in-game or on the menu, I do so and remove the songs I can't stand.

I love games that have that feature. It was really useful in NFS because some of the songs really don't fit being heard while racing (such as a lot of the rap songs), and others don't fit the menu, although I don't think I ever had a song that wasn't set to appear in the menu screens.

Another good thing to mention is how when WWE games introduced licensed music in the game that you could also set any superstar theme song to also be played in the later games. I think the non-licensed music that was in the earlier games was better during matches though.

[ShiraNoMai]

Tony Hawk 2 and 3 had the most memorable soundtracks that felt of an era, but the ones that actually left the biggest impression on me had to be from Guitar Hero 3 and 4 (World Tour). Definitely exposed me to a fuckload of classic rock hits I'd have probably never have otherwise properly experienced until I got to my current job position now.

Plus, it made me appreciate the hell out of some of the amazing rhythms some of the songs have. I'm really terrible at it, but Knights of Cydonia by Muse has one of my favorite riffs to play. I also learned that the crazy time signatures used by Tool in addition to the insanely long songs make Tool a pain to play

[Moonface]

So somehow I completely forgot that LBP has licensed music and so much of it is so good! One of the songs from it actually led me to finding one of my favourite album discoveries of this year, which is the album Junior by Royksopp. Volver a Comenzar from LBP1 also got to feature somewhere in @ShiraNoMai and I's wedding playlist. XD

[Maniakkid25]

I was about to ask if Rhythm Games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band counted in this case until I saw Shira's comment. The obvious nomination then is Rock Band 4, because ALL the other games' setlists (if you bought the expansion license when it was available), excluding The Beatles, is backwards compatible with it. Now if only they didn't get rid of Ride The Lightning...

Also, if you think Tool is bad, don't play anything by Dream Theater. Panic Attack has something like 20 time signature changes, and is easily at 125% the speed of Schism. And the less said about Dance of Eternity (thankfully not a chart on the game...yet), the better. Then again, GHWT had Pull Me Under, so this warning may be too late...

Saints Row is also a series with a great licensed soundtrack. It's a lot like GTA in that regard, what with having multiple stations to listen to whatever style you want, and having a custom option to make your own playlist. But I would be remiss if I didn't mention Midnight Club 2's soundtrack. It may be nothing but underground rappers and relatively obscure EDM, but it is filled with NOTHING but bangers. There's a reason why that soundtrack is a prized collector's item.

[ShiraNoMai]

I never listened to Midnight Club 2's OST since I only owned the first game. I gotta bump it some time though if you think it's that sick.

God Dream Theater's songs NEVER END holy shit. I thought Tool's dragged on forever, and then I got to that part of GHWT's campaign and wanted to cry.

[Maniakkid25]

It gets worse: Pull Me Under isn't even the hardest Dream Theater song on Rock Band. Except on Vocals, either Metropolis Pt. 1, Panic Attack (both on disc on either Rock Band 4 or 2, respectively), or Constant Motion is the hardest one, depending on the instrument. Guitar is EASILY Constant Motion, Bass is Metropolis Pt. 1, and Drums is a toss up between Panic Attack and Constant Motion (leaning towards Panic Attack because of how long it is).

If you thought Pull Me Under didn't end, Metropolis Pt. 1 is a full minute LONGER, with an easier chart...right up to the point it gets to the instrumental break, at which point it switches the time signature to 13/8 (?!), and then proceeds to a relentless instrumental for the next 4 MINUTES. And don't get me started on John Myung's (Bass) tapping shenanigans!

Panic Attack is all the time signature shenanigans of Schism, at a faster tempo with harder musicianship. My favorite part is the instrumental break before the solo, because it just has no goddamn reason to be charted the way it is. Because lulz, it INVERTS the chart at points so that the higher fret is the fret you return to (e.g. the intro riff is has a bunch of stuff on top of green, so you hold green. Then, when it inverts, the green fret goes to ORANGE.). Oh, and just for good measure, it has a section that alternates between 12/8 and 3/4 time, while keeping the same melody line. Because John Petrucci (Guitar) is a mad bastard that has learned to weaponize music. ...Damn it, I wanna play this chart, now.

And then there's Constant Motion. Mike Portnoy (Drums), you bastard! See, he wrote the song as a metaphor for OCD, so the song has an unrelenting pace to it. But you know things are gonna be difficult right from the start when it gives you a riff thats in (5+6+5)/4 + 15/8, and that's considered the EASY riff. Rock Band actually rates this song as the easiest Dream Theater song on Guitar (5 dots, as opposed to 5 demon heads, which is as high as the scale goes), and I can only assume that is a sick joke by the developers, because it is LYING TO YOU! Still, count your blessings; it's "only" 5 1/2 minutes long. Still, this is a rare song in that I cannot even PASS it reliably. The solo murders me every time; if I make it past that, I 5* the song.

But, back on topic: several of the Midnight Club 2 songs are actually on Spotify right now. Timeshift, Never Could Have Your Heart, Stealth, Blue Owl, G'z Up, What Is It?, and I'm sure a few others are all there. Now if only they had the full version of Only An Illusion and Round About Midnight...

[Moonface]

I was about to ask if Rhythm Games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band counted in this case until I saw Shira's comment. The obvious nomination then is Rock Band 4, because ALL the other games' setlists (if you bought the expansion license when it was available), excluding The Beatles, is backwards compatible with it. Now if only they didn't get rid of Ride The Lightning...

Since I feel like backwards compatibility is a little cheaty for saying a game in a series has the best soundtrack, which Rock Band (or GH if the songs from those games could also go into RB4) would you say has the best licensed soundtrack that is exclusively on that game and not having BC tracks included?

[Maniakkid25]

Which one without it? Probably Rock Band 2, if I had to puck one. At least, that's the one with all the fun songs, what with Battery by Metallica, Panic Attack, Painkiller by Judas Priest, and other utterly nonsense songs being on there.